Christmas Markets in Munich

I’ve just got back from a very festive trip to Munich. For once I was happy when I saw MUC on my roster as I knew December would be the perfect time to visit the Christmas market!

The flight over was nice and easy, with most of our passengers sleeping through the flight, having connected from Australia or Asia.

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We arrived into Munich around lunchtime, and I messaged my brother Matt, who lives there, to let him know I’d arrived at the hotel. He set off to come and meet me, and after a quick shower and change I was ready to go. Matt arrived at my hotel and we were ready to hit the markets!

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December Roster

It’s that time of the month again…my December roster has been published! It was my “bottom bid” this month, so I wasn’t expecting too much.

In fact I really should be studying for my upcoming exams but instead I’m procrastinating and writing my blog!

In December I’ll be heading to:

  • ATH (Athens turnaround – a very long day!)
  • SEP (2 full days of Safety & Emergency procedures – my yearly exams)
  • BOM (Bombay turnaround)
  • MUC (Munich – can’t wait for the Christmas market!)
  • MAN (I was rostered Jakarta originally, but swapped for Manchester to get some Christmas shopping done!)
  • 5 days leave (just before Christmas, plus a few days off before my leave officially starts)
  • CPH (Copenhagen – on Christmas Day, which I am desperately trying to swap!!)
  • HKG (Hong Kong)

So a couple of turnarounds, and a few of the usual destinations. Munich should be lovely this time of year, I’m hoping for some snow. As my brother Matt lives there (and he does;t have university on the day I’m there) we’ll go to see the Christmas markets which should be very pretty.

I will most likely be heading to Mauritius on my leave (again!) and am sending hundreds of swaps to get rid of my Copenhagen so I can at least have Christmas Day off….I’ll keep you posted!

For now, it’s back to the books, wish me luck in my exams! 🙂

EDIT: Within about half an hour of posting this, someone accepted one of my many swaps!

Instead of heading to Copenhagen and Hong Kong, I’ll now be doing a quick KWI (Kuwait turnaround) which gives me Christmas off, and then heading to ALG (Algiers) for a 48 hour layover. I’d love any tips, as it will be my first time there! 🙂

Beautiful Cape Town

I recently got sent a swap for my London Gatwick…for Cape Town! Without hesitation I accepted straight away, I’ve only been to Cape Town once before and I was desperate to go back.

The flight is long, around 9 to 9,5 hrs each way depending on the wind, and it’s usually very busy. Especially if you do the daytime flight, as everyone is awake and thirsty! This time though, even though we had a full cabin in business class both ways, other than the usual service we weren’t crazy busy. I was pleasantly surprised, and with plenty of coffee in me I arrived in Cape Town late afternoon, ready to make the most of my time there.

A group of us arranged to meet and go up Table Mountain, as I hadn’t had the chance to do that last time.

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A special guest in Dubai!

As my 3 years in Dubai are creeping up, it was time to renew my contract, and along with it, my visa. Since this can take a few days at a time, I was rostered 3 days off in a row, and after swapping some flights, I had a nice little string of days off…perfect for a visit from my mum!

She flew out from Vienna and arrived late evening, just time to have a nice cup of tea on the balcony. Certainly makes a change from the chilly Austrian autumn weather!

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After a long breakfast on the balcony (now Dubai has finally started to cool down I couldn’t be without my balcony!) we decided a trip to the beach was in order.

We drove down to the public beach which is not too far from my apartment, and set up camp….quickly realising we should have brought a beach umbrella!

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November Roster

My November roster has been published, and it was my “top bid”, which means my group is the highest in seniority for bidding.

We did have a new bidding system roll into place this month, so I think that may be why I didn’t get everything I bid for!

In November (which by the way – where has this year gone?!) I’ll be heading to:

  • VIE (Vienna – originally I was rostered Manchester but someone sent me a swap for Vienna, of course I accepted straight away!)
  • 6 days off (to attend a wedding of friends in Mauritius, yay!)
  • AMS (Amsterdam)
  • LGW (London Gatwick)
  • PVG (Shanghai)
  • HKG (Hong Kong)
  • HKG (Hong Kong)

These are all subject to change as I may get sent some swaps or send some myself, I’ll keep you updated!

I did also bid for Orlando and Bologna, but all of the above flights are A380 flights (except Vienna) so it looks like the rostering system didn’t want to give me any 777. Shame, would have been nice to see some new destinations!

I bid for HKG to go and see my ex-flatmate Kirsty who lives there now, so I’m very excited to finally be able to catch up with her as I haven’t seen her since her wedding in August!

Do let me know if you have any requests for posts – my Macbook battery has been playing up a lot recently and I fear it may need to be replaced, which is why I haven’t been able to post as much recently.

Thanks to everyone who follows my blog and leaves me lovely comments on each posts, it’s really appreciated! 🙂

P.s. Follow me on Instagram & Twitter for more day-to-day updates of where I am in the world!