So I just want to say a big thank you to everyone I met along the way, to the crews on Alaska, JAL, Cathay Pacific, KLM, Emirates and British Airways, to the train staff at both the stations and across the train lines of the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, to Mat and Sean back home, to my family in Hamburg, to Berit and her family in Germany, to Maureen and Kim in Singapore, and of course to the hotel staff at Starwood Brands Aloft, Meridien, Sheraton, Westin and Luxury Collection. It was an amazing trip that truly was eye opening.
As well a big thank you to everyone for reading this blog, following me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and for your comments, likes, and help with suggestions and information to make my trip better.
One of the biggest questions I had was how much were the hotels, the flights etc...
I used a lot of points from the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and British Airways Executive Club, paid for the Emirates portion, and paid for my Eurail ticket.
JAL - 50,000 AVIOS SEA-YVR-NRT Business. Tax $160.00 US
JAL - 15,000 AVIOS NRT-ICN Business Tax $35.00 US
CATHAY - ICN-HKG-DPS $1,000.00 US Business
KLM - DPS-SIN $350.00 US Business
SIN - BKK - $350.00 US Business
BKK-AMS - $1,600.00 US Business / 30,000 American Express for First Upgrade
Eurail First Global Ticket 15 Days plus 2 Bonus $625.00 US
BA- BUD-LHR-SFO-SEA 70,000 AVIOS $220.00 US Tax.
Hotels averaged $100.00 US per night but for some I used cash and SPG points (Sheraton Singapore), some I used just SPG points (Park Lane London) which lowered the cost, and then there was the higher Bristol in Vienna at $325.00 US. Of course two nights with Berit were free! Not too bad for Business and First Class flights that typically cost considerably more and the train tickets would be much more expensive if not for the Eurail discount.
Travel can be expensive but hopefully many people can get the time of work and get the chance to explore. It is a big and amazing world with wonderful people in it, I had forgot that to some degree over the past few years and I was happy to be reminded. I added my Smurf travel pics as well. Thanks again, Lance!
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