Holy shit, a travel blogger who’s writing about Lufthansa in coach?!?? Crazy, right? From reading some blogs, it seems like Lufthansa only has a first class cabin. I flew Lufthansa from Athens to New York JFK, with a layover in Munich (no First Class Terminal either???). And yes, I flew in coach, and it was…
The Melina Merkouri Lounge at Athens International Airport is the Olympic Air lounge, but you can also get access through Priority Pass. As I had an early flight, I was the first person in the lounge. It’s also worth noting that the lounges are located prior to security, but after boarding pass checks, so you…
Travel Tip #1: Get to the Acropolis at 8am. Seriously. Not 8:15, not 8:30, get there at 8:00. It doesn’t sound like that much, but those extra 10 or 15 minutes can really help you get a jump on the crowds so you can take unobstructed photos without tons of other people in them. And…
When I booked flights for my friends and myself to fly from Istanbul to Athens on the Aegean Airlines website, I reserved a strict vegetarian/vegan/VGML, as that’s my normal dietary preference. But since it was so easy to request special meals, I decided to request a Kosher meal for one of my friends because hey,…
I don’t like checking bags. Checking bags means that they’re liable to be late or lost, unscrupulous baggage handlers might rifle through your stuff, your bags can be damaged en route, etc. But one thing that I think is unnecessarily aggravating about checking bags is the baggage claim experience. It annoys me to no end…
After dropping by the HSBC Club Lounge and stuffing myself full of cake, I made my way down two floors to the Primeclass CIP Lounge. This is the same lounge that British Airways uses operating out of Istanbul. It was immediately clear that this lounge offered many more amenities than the HSBC Club Lounge. For…
There are two Priority Pass-eligible lounges in the International Terminal at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, and the first that I stopped by was the HSBC Club Lounge. It’s a rather basic lounge: one large room with seating, a couple of computers, a bevy of desserts, and basic drink options. As I was planning on visiting the…
Tip #1: Kaymak. Eat it. It’s wonderful and delicious and similar to clotted cream. I think the best kaymak we had was at Karakoy Ozsut, which is right near the Karakoy tram stop. The owner is super friendly and talked to us about the herd of buffalos that he keeps and good farming practices. Tip…
Although very few locals seem to ever shop at the Spice Bazaar, I thought that going to the bazaar was one of the most fun things that we did in Istanbul, largely because the salespeople can be extraordinarily entertaining. To be clear, you’re almost assuredly not going to get a deal on buying anything at…
Going to a hamam (aka a Turkish bath) can incite a lot of apprehension in a lot of travelers: it’s not clear exactly what’s going to happen to you, there’s often a language barrier, you’re generally going to be naked, and the stories range from very positive to very negative about the experience. Or at…
