Christmas Markets in Vienna

Vienna at Christmastime is truly special, and I feel very lucky that I was able to visit twice in December! 

Of course the main thing I wanted to do was visit the Christmas market, or “Christkindlmarkt” as it’s known in German. Having lived in Austria for 6 years, I know how festive and pretty they are.

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Unfortunately the market in Vienna has strict timings, and closes at 9pm on the dot, unlike what I remember from Klagenfurt (where I lived) where the Glühwein stands would stay open much later.

We made our way straight from the hotel after landing to catch the last hour os so before they closed and be able to enjoy a festive mulled wine.

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December Roster

The final roster of 2019 is here! It’s been a great year and I’ve visited many of my favourite destinations, as well as a few new ones.

I’ve also worked my way up from FG1 (first class crew) to CSV (cabin supervisor) which has been a new challenge but something that I am enjoying so far, although it’s very different!

I haven’t been posting much on here the past few months as I’ve been preparing things for my CSV “pool”, as it’s called – the 6 month probation period that we have to pass. 

For the last month of the year I’ll be heading off to some familiar destinations and hopefully enjoying the Christmas spirit around the world! My roster next month looks like this:

  • SEP 
  • VIE – Vienna, Austria
  • SYD – Sydney, Australia
  • CAI – Cairo, Egypt (turnaround)
  • AMS – Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Leave
  • VIE – Vienna, Austria

First up are my annual exams – time to get studying! We have 2 full-on days of exams every year and this time it’s at the beginning of the month, which means I can get them out of the way before Christmas.

Then I have a trip to Vienna which I’m very excited about – I love Austria at Christmastime and I’ll definitely be checking out the beautiful markets and drinking some Glühwein!

Following on from that, a 43 hour layover in Sydney. This is a bit longer than our usual Australian layovers so I’m very much looking forward to 2 days Down Under. While I’m there it’ll also be exactly 7 years since I joined Emirates and moved to Dubai!

After that is my one turnaround of the month, Cairo. A fairly long day as the flights are around 3,5 – 4 hours each way … but at least it’s not as long as the two Istanbul turnarounds I’ve just done!

Then I have a flight to Amsterdam – I think it’s been around 2 years since I last visited. I’ll definitely be going into the city and having a wander around as it’s such a beautiful place.

That’s the last flight before my leave, which I’ll be spending at home with my family of course! It’s over Christmas which I’m very happy about, and although we usually spend it in Austria I think we’re planning to stay in England this year. Looking quite unlikely for a white Christmas but you never know!

My final flight of the year is another layover in Vienna. I’ll be landing back into Dubai  just before midnight on New Year’s Eve – so I’ll most likely be bringing in 2020 collecting blankets and headsets on the plane! 

Thanks as always for following along with my journey at Emirates and reading my blog!

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

Mauritius: An Island Escape


When I think of a holiday in paradise, Mauritius is one of the places that always springs to mind. Since we celebrated Christmas at home with my family last year, it was time to head to Mauritius this year, and Joe very kindly invited my parents to join us and his family for a relaxing getaway in the sun.

We touched down after a 6-hour flight through the night, having not managed to sleep much. I certainly couldn’t complain about these views though, even if I’m not a fan of being trapped in the window seat!

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Christmas Lights in New York


Even though Christmas is over now, I thought I’d show you a few pictures from my trip to New York. I bid for the flight in December specifically to see the beautiful Christmas lights, and although I only got rostered a 24 hour layover, I made sure to make the most of it!

The flight over takes around 14 hours, and we touched down after this beautiful sunrise, early in the morning.

As usual, there was plenty of traffic in New York, but since our hotel is right by Times Square, nobody minds the long drive from JFK airport.

Once we got to our rooms, I freshened up and got ready for the cold!

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December Roster


I can’t believe we’re already on to the last roster of 2017! Where has this year gone?!

Although I actually only got one flight that I bid for in December, I’m not too disappointed with my roster. I managed to get on the swap page and get a London instead of Perth to do my Christmas shopping which is perfect!

I’m finishing up November with my trip to Taipei, and then I’ll be heading to:

  • PER – Perth, Australia – swapped for: LGW – London Gatwick, UK
  • SEP – Safety and Emergency Procedures, our yearly exams!
  • JFK – New York, USA
  • AMM – Amman, Jordan (turnaround)
  • HKG – Hong Kong
  • Leave
  • AMS – Amsterdam, Netherlands

Fortunately I’ll be back to working in first class next month, I have to say I’ve really missed it – business class just isn’t the same! 😀

As I mentioned above I’ve swapped the Perth for a London, so I’ll try and get some Christmas shopping done there, as well as a trip to the supermarket for all of my essentials.

After that I’ve got my yearly exams, which are always great fun…not! 😉

Then it’s off to New York, which is the only flight I got that I bid for, so I’m looking forward to seeing all of the Christmas lights and perhaps even going ice skating in Central Park.

Next up is a quick turnaround to Amman and back, before a flight to Hong Kong, which I didn’t actually bid for but do love. I’ll be getting my fix of dumplings from Din Tai Fung!

I’m lucky enough to have leave for Christmas the second year in a row, and we’ll be heading to Mauritius for some sunshine this year – let’s hope the flights aren’t too full!

My last flight of the year is to Amsterdam – I haven’t been there for quite a while so if anybody has any good wintery suggestions I’ll be more than happy to hear them.

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