IWM Duxford

After leaving Alesund I flew with Norwegian Air to Oslo and then flew to Gatwick.

From London you take the Train from Kings Cross to Cambridge and from there to Duxford for the Museum.I decided to go on Sunday since a Shuttle picks you up near the Train station and takes you to the main entrance of the Museum.

The Bus is about 3 USD and runs about 3 times a day it is No. 132

It is a lot of fun to be close to the Aircraft that fought all through World War 2 and even watching them in action if any are being flown that day.

Make some time when you are in London and you can experience the Museum and Cambridge.

The Bus from Cambridge is about 30-40 minutes.

Here are some Pics.

Use it or lose it.

The best way to accumulate Rewards quickly are with sign up bonuses for various credit cards with the main Banks and American Express.

The problem is the Reward programs are being devalued more often and with a greater impact to members of the programs.

My opinion outlined in a previous post is you need to model your Rewards portfolio in the same manner as an Investment portfolio.In that sense no matter where you travel and whatever Airline you use you will have a strategy to Travel at low cost just by using your Rewards.

The issue is the Big Guys either Marriott or IHG or Hyatt or Delta or United or British Airways or American keep raising the bar on the use of their currency then why bother at all in this Rewards Jamboree.

At this point the only logical answer is plan a trip and either use the Rewards you have now or plan a trip sign up for the bonus from the program or programs you think will work best and use them in a short time because they are losing value as I am writing this post.

All the major Hotel programs are watching each other lower the value of their programs where it stops no one knows.

So the mantra is Use it or lose it.

A quick trip to Alesund

It is strange but often I find that the colder the climate the warmer are the people.This is certainly true in Norway.

After flying on Norwegian air from Geneva to Oslo I then took a short flight to Alesund.The Weather was typical really awful with

rain and high wind with cold temperture as well.

Alesund is made up of many islands so if you go any type of distance on Public transportation you will enter a major adventure.It will involve Buses,Ferries then Buses that drive on Ferries and more Buses.That was my trip from Alesund to the Geirangerfjord.This is a trip that is in my view even more interesting then the destination.

You can arrange your trip to stay in the city of Geiranger for a few hours which has nice places to eat and friendly local people.

Here are a few Pics

On the Ferry to
Geirangerfjord

The front of the Bus on the front of the Ferry.

Getting close to another Ferry or another Bus.

Did you know there is a Canyon in New York ?

You heard it right the largest Canyon on the East coast it is called

Ausable Chasm and it is a fun visit.

I came from Burlington Vermont with a local Ferry which takes about 1 hour.

You call the great people at the Park and they send a free Shuttle to pick you up about 10-15 minutes later.

After you arrive you decide what route you want to take and if you want to include the raft tour.Yup a raft tour which in my view is the best part of the adventure.

The various trips through the park take an average of 2-3 hours so you can arrange to take the Shuttle back if you are coming from Burlington.

As usual the Pics are the best way to get a feel for the experience.

So if you are in the area check it out.

A recent visit to CERN

Since the discovery of the Higgs Boson Cern has become a very popular attraction.

It is a short distance from the Geneva train station with frequent local transportation.

The ride takes about 20 minutes and takes you close to the French border.

It is best to try to book a free tour in advance but the slots fill up quickly so you must first Register on the CERN Web site and then request your tickets when the slots become available.This changes so if it is not 30 days before or 14 days before you arrive keep checking to avoid missing your chance to get tickets.

The tours begin in what I call Swiss time which means on time.

You are taken only to a few select parts of the complex for obvious Security reasons.

It was fascinating to watch scientists monitoring the Large Hadron Collider for any abnormal changes in the device including Radiation levels.

We also were taken to a part of the Complex that contains the original Collider which is the size of a Truck.

That is in comparison to the present Collider which is over 16 miles long.

The underground area is closed to visitors and now is being renovated with various upgrades.

All in all it is a fun stop if you are in Geneva or in the area it is worth your time.

Jamboree Part 3

The amount of information on the Rewards programs are endless so will just choose a small bite today.

British Airways Avios program has its good and bad points.

They can not be a good option out of London since the taxes and fees are too high, in fact it is cheaper to fly with Norwegian air out of Gatwick to any city in America then getting a so called free seat using Avios at London Heathrow.

So that is why I check on flights outside the UK often Madrid using Avios with Iberia……you simply transfer your Avios online on the BA Web site and if you have had an active Iberia account for 3 months the transfer will be almost within a minute.

The same flights are cheaper on the Iberia site as opposed to the BA site.

The Avios will be lower and often even out of London the taxes and fees will be lower but not much lower.

You need to Book outside the UK to get good value.

A sweet spot for the British Airways Web site is using Avios in America.

I have often flown on Flights of about 1200 miles or less in First class for 15000 Avios that is a value of over 3 cents for each Avios.The fees are about 5 USD

Avios are valued around 1.2 cents each so if you can get at least 3 cents you are doing well.

Also Economy seats on these short Flights are 7500 miles not as good value but still a good deal.The Fees are also about 5 USD

Will take you to CERN on my next Post.

Jamboree Part 2

I compared your Rewards programs to having cash in the Bank this is true but it is really an investment in your Travel future.

That is why like your investments you have to diversify.

Every program has its strong and weak points so the more programs you belong to the more likely you will have an option to have a Reward available to you that you can use.

As an example Marriotts program may not have any options in Cairns, Australia but another program may offer you a attractive option.The same is true for Airline miles Asia miles can not offer the same options in Europe as American Airlines can with their program.

Once you have done some research online with all the programs available you then can decide what can work for you or your Business or your family.

There is not a universal answer as to how you should start but I prefer having cards like a Amex card that gives Membership rewards because their program has so many options.

Chase has been building its Ultimate rewards program but its weakness is that transfers often take much longer then Membership rewards with Amex.

It is also more useful to belong to a Hotel rewards program like Marriott because their portfolio is so large which gives you so many more options.

I believe in learning in short amounts so will continue this Primer in my next Post.

The Rewards Jamboree

This is a very extensive topic that will just tip the iceberg.

First off if you are just starting to collect Rewards points or have started recently you need a plan.

The Bernina Express

Recently Starting in Tirano Italy got a real buzz riding The Bernina Express to Chur in Switzerland.

Swiss Trains are expensive so I purchased the same Ticket with a stop in Singen in Germany through Deutsche Bahn…… the same Ticket purchased through Swiss Rail is about 135USD my Ticket was less then 33 USD.

The trick is to make your last stop in Germany and getting off early if you are going to in my instance Zurich.

The Train leaves this sweet and relaxing town around 2:30 PM so rather then connect from Milan or another town I arrived the night before and stayed at a Hotel that is a few feet from the Train station.

The Hotel is called Binario Zero and was very modern and clean the only problem is you must check in at another Hotel a short distance away.

I booked the Panoramic car which cost an additional 15USD but it was more then worth it.

After leaving exactly on time in Swiss style we started to travel around a nearby lake before beginning our ascent.The Train offers you an App to download so you can have a Narrator in the language of your choice give you a minute by minute explanation of this wonderful ride.

The Photos will give you a better idea then anything I can tell you.

The main point is Go…………. this is a great 6 hour ride that you will remember for the rest of your life.

sdc11044

My first Blog ever

This is not only my first Blog post but my first Blog post ever.

My interest in setting up this site is to give you the benefit of my experience of Traveling all over the World for personal and Business reasons.

I will show you how to travel at low cost and even for free using various Reward programs.

I will give reviews on various attractions including Hotels and Airlines.

I will discuss issues such as traveling healthy and the potential health risks of just getting on a Airplane and what we can do to lower our risk.

The recent reports regarding the Health effects on Cabin crews are very troubling.The Cabin air has been questioned for many years and we now have evidence that real people traveling on a regular basis have had serious impacts as a result of frequently being in the air.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-32786537

Boeing did make adjustments in the 787 with air in the Cabin not influenced by the Engines and the toxic fumes they produce.However in other Aircraft passengers are exposed to dangerous levels of various chemicals related to the use of the Engines during Flight by simply sitting at their seats.

I believe the risk of litigation is very high for the Manufacturers and the various Airlines so they just deny,deny,deny.

So I believe anyone reading this Blog should contact their Representatives in Washington and the Airlines they fly with.

We must take charge of our lives no one else will.

On a more pleasant note will soon start giving you interesting insights on traveling the World at low cost.