Feb 17: London-Munich

Another day, another early start. Today’s journey is from terminal 5 in Heathrow to Munich. When booking the trip, I had 16000 Qantas frequent flyer points which were never going to be used, so this seemed a perfect opportunity to redeem a ticket, clear out the account and use the facilities in terminal 5.

After checking in and spending longer than expected at security, it was time to explore yet another lounge, the Galleries lounge. Out of all the lounges, this would be the biggest yet, being spread over 2 levels. The spread here was also the most impressive yet as well, with a European style breakfast bar and porridge, as well as the items found in the Star Alliance lounge (see yesterday).

At the time of checking in, the flight was scheduled to leave from the southern end, but with Heathrow working the way it does (where gates change every 10 minutes), the flight ended up leaving from the other side of the terminal, so it was a mad dash to board. Once aboard, we were told that we would be leaving on time, but not scheduled to take off for an hour. Fortunately, this was moved forward by 30 minutes, so the delay wasn’t too bad.

Once the flight took off, the in flight entertainment (flight map) started, and breakfast was served (again), which was a full English breakfast (bacon, eggs, sausage, tomato & mushrooms). Apart from the delay in taking off, this was another uneventful flight, until landing – in snow flurries.

The shuttle to the hotel (like Germany in general), was prompt and efficient, but there was a surprise. Apparently the Munich radio playlist includes You’re the Voice by John Farnham.

The hotel, the Munich Marriott, is your typical business hotel, so there’s nothing special here. After checking in, I headed to the Marianplatz area and did some exploring around there, then decided to have an early night in.

Tomorrow, more sporting tours.