Greetings from the United Polaris Lounge in Chicago O’Hare! I want to start out by letting you know that I’m doing things a bit differently this weekend. In the past I would take an entire trip, sit on everything for a few days (weeks), and eventually post my trip report. However, this weekend is different. This weekend, my goal is to complete the trip report during the trip. That begins now, while sitting in the United Polaris Lounge, drinking a pint of Guinness.
Where In The World Am I Going?
As the name of this trip report implies I’ll be traveling to Stockholm Sweden and back this weekend. My flight to Stockholm departs in a few hours and I’ve arrived at the airport early in order to check out at least two United Club locations and to begin this trip report.
Oh no, don’t worry, there’s no way I’m flying to and from Stockholm in just two flights, that would be too easy. Instead, I’m leaving Chicago on a flight bound for Frankfurt. Then, tomorrow morning, I’ll board a flight from Frankfurt to Stockholm. From there I’ll explore a little bit of Stockholm and then wake up the following morning to head back to the US.
Again, I’m not flying from Stockholm back to the US directly. To get home I’m flying from Stockholm to Helsinki and from Helsinki to New York. I’ll then have a short layover in New York before heading to Charlotte and then ultimately back to Chicago.
What Airlines Am I Traveling On?
If you didn’t figure it out by now, I’m not flying American or a OneWorld partner to Europe tonight. No, tonight I’ll be flying Lufthansa First Class on the 747-8! I’m extremely excited about the flight and I’m quite literally counting down the minutes until boarding. The hardest part about sitting in this lounge is avoiding the temptation to eat as I know an incredible meal awaits me on board. Once I get to Frankfurt I’ll then board another Lufthansa flight to get to Stockholm.
To get home I will be flying with a OneWorld partner. For this trip I’ll be flying Finnair economy class from Stockholm to Helsinki and Helsinki onto New York. Once in New York I’ll fly American Airlines to get to Chicago.
What Will I Review On This Trip?
Well, that’s a darn good question. See, normally when I do these trip reports I organize my photos before I begin writing. I do this because I sometimes find that I didn’t take enough photos to do a lounge or flight justice so I’ll skip it. However, for this trip I’m going to be doing everything on the fly so I shouldn’t have that excuse.
On this trip I hope to review at least each of my long haul flights. That would be Lufthansa First Class to Frankfurt and Finnair Economy Class from Helsinki to New York. In addition to the flights, I’d like to review the Lufthansa First Class Terminal (again) and the Finnair Lounge in Helsinki. I will also for sure be doing a full review of the United Polaris Lounge in Chicago and, if the timing works out, the new American Airlines Flagship Lounge in JFK.
On top of that I’m not really sure what I will/won’t get to. Since I’m doing this trip so quickly I’m not sure that I’m going to have the time to see everything I want to see. But, I’m hoping by doing this on the fly that I will get through more than I might if I do the trip report after the fact.
What About My Other Trip Reports?
Don’t worry, I have a fairly long backlog of reviews as the moment and I’ll eventually get to everything. For the time being though, this trip will take precedence, until it doesn’t…
Final Thoughts
I’m extremely excited for my flight tonight and for the whole weekend for that matter. I’m also quite excited to “live” blog the entire thing. In the past I’ve always sat back during flights or in lounges and relaxed. This weekend I’m going to be working for most of the time that I’m awake which is completely different. At the end of the trip I’m going to decide which method I prefer and stick to that for upcoming trips. Also, I say “live”, in quotes, because I don’t plan on posting each installment live. As with most of my posts I will schedule these out over the next several days.
Well, thanks for reading, I’m off to grab a few more pictures of the United Polaris Lounge so that I can write a proper review.
Ps. taking pictures of airport lounges is by far my least favorite activity. I know I look like an idiot doing it. So, if you ever see someone taking pictures of a power outlet in a lounge, give them a break!
