Award Travel

Our Time in Seattle

Posted on October 23, 2026 by 2btravel

Trip Introduction – Alaska Cruise on Holland America
Lodging Review: Element Seattle Downtown
Our Time in Seattle
Ship Review: Holland America ms Noordam
Our Time in Kodiak, Alaska
Our Time in Anchorage, Alaska
Our Time in Valdez, Alaska
Our Time in Juneau, Alaska
Our Time in Ketchikan, Alaska
Our Time in Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Hullo Ferry Between Nanaimo and Vancouver

I hadn’t done any real planning for things to see in Seattle other than asking AI to give me some suggestions of things to photograph. I knew that we’d be sleeping in since we arrived so late and that proved to be the case.

It was a gloomy morning when we set out and I decided to wear jeans instead of the shorts I’d packed – a decision I came to regret. Later in the day it was sunny and gorgeous and I was hot. Live and learn.  Here are some things we saw while exploring the city.

The Troll Under the Bridge

My roomie on this trip loves to find the off-beat tourist things and she read about the Troll Under the Bridge, so naturally we had to hunt it down.

The Fremont Troll

Not only did we find that, we also found the three Billy Goats Gruff!
Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, North America, Trip Report, United States, Washington | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Element Seattle Downtown

Posted on October 22, 2026 by 2btravel

Trip Introduction – Alaska Cruise on Holland America
Lodging Review: Element Seattle Downtown
Our Time in Seattle
Ship Review: Holland America ms Noordam
Our Time in Kodiak, Alaska
Our Time in Anchorage, Alaska
Our Time in Valdez, Alaska
Our Time in Juneau, Alaska
Our Time in Ketchikan, Alaska
Our Time in Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Hullo Ferry Between Nanaimo and Vancouver

Since I was departing Memphis on a Friday evening and we couldn’t board our ship until Sunday, we needed two nights’ lodging in Seattle. We eventually settled on the Element Seattle Downtown which was about a 30-minute walk from Pike Place Market and other attractions along the waterfront. While it would have been nice to be closer, the hotel offered free breakfast and as it turned out there were loads of other folks there ahead of their own cruises, so it was a popular choice. I had a free night certificate thanks to my Chase Marriott credit card. The free night certificate only covered the first 25K points but I was able to add 9K points to it to cover that first night and then 34K points for the second night.

Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Element, Hotel, Lodging Review, Marriott, North America, Trip Report, United States, Washington | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trip Introduction – Alaska Cruise on Holland America

Posted on October 21, 2026 by 2btravel

Trip Introduction – Alaska Cruise on Holland America
Lodging Review: Element Seattle Downtown
Our Time in Seattle
Ship Review: Holland America ms Noordam
Our Time in Kodiak, Alaska
Our Time in Anchorage, Alaska
Our Time in Valdez, Alaska
Our Time in Juneau, Alaska
Our Time in Ketchikan, Alaska
Our Time in Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Hullo Ferry Between Nanaimo and Vancouver

Welcome to my next trip report where I’ll cover my late-summer cruise, which was round-trip from Seattle to Alaska.

A friend from Australia already had this cruise booked, so when my Los Angeles-based friend – who had never been to Alaska – suggested we join her, it sounded like a great idea. My only visit to Alaska was a cruise in 2005 so I was happy to go back.

Continue reading →

Categories: Alaska, Award Travel, British Columbia, Canada, Cruises, Element, Holland America, Hotel, Marriott, North America, Trip Report, United States, Washington | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

Posted on June 23, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

While I explained in detail what happened with my return flights in the Trip Introduction, I’ll give a quick recap here so you don’t have to click back to that post.

The Plan vs. Reality

The plan had been to use Aeroplan miles to book a flight on SWISS from Bucharest to Chicago via Zurich. From there I’d use the second half of my MEM-ORD-MEM positioning flight on American to fly home, landing in the 6 PM hour. But then, as usual, airline schedule changes happened and it was enough to have to scramble a bit. A few months after I booked my flight SWISS changed the timing of the ZRH-ORD leg such that it landed in Chicago about 10 minutes after the AA flight to Memphis took off. I kept hoping there would be another schedule adjustment but there was not. I eventually canceled the second half of that positioning flight and bought a flight on United (first with miles, then changed to cash when the price dropped) that finally got me home just before 10 PM.

The First Leg

But to get to Zurich I first had to leave Budapest. The flight was at 0630 which meant that we had to have our bags packed and in the hall at 0300 and be in the lobby of our hotel for an 0330 departure. Fortunately Viking provided us with a sack breakfast which was greatly welcomed. The flight departed on time and soon enough we were above the overcast Romanian skies just in time for the sun to peek out.

Zurich Airport

While I did visit a lounge in Zurich it was quite crowded and I didn’t feel comfortable taking photos. But I was glad to have a place to hang out because our flight was delayed. Due to inclement weather in Europe, several of the flights feeding our longhaul flight were running late and we needed to wait for them to arrive before getting underway. Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Flight Review, Star Alliance, SWISS, Trip Report | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time in Krakow, Poland

Posted on June 9, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

I feel like I let myself down during our time in Krakow. We did hit some bumps that I couldn’t have foreseen but I definitely could have planned our time better. But here’s an overview of the things we saw and did on our visit.

First, the bumps:
– While our original flights had us landing in Krakow at 4:20 PM, due to the air traffic control issues in Chicago we missed our original connection and didn’t land until just after 5 PM. While that’s not much of a delay, in itself, the sheer fatigue we were feeling after not departing from Chicago until nearly 11 PM really knocked us out.
– My traveling companion had a bit of a sinus bug which left her feeling worn out for about the first week of our trip. Thus we didn’t stay out and experience the city as we otherwise might have. That lead to us dining at the hotel more and experiencing local restaurants less.
– I asked ChatGPT for things to do during our stay. I had it exclude Auschwitz since we’d already visited Dachau a few years ago. Since I don’t drink alcohol I also had it exclude wineries and breweries. While it gave us a good plan, I left it at that and didn’t follow up to see if we needed to buy tickets online ahead of time. That caused us to miss one attraction we’d have like to have seen, Oskar Schindler’s Factory.

We didn’t have great weather in Krakow. It rained off and on our whole first day, a Friday, and eased off on the weekend. But it was overcast almost the whole time and quite humid. In early-to-mid-October the temperature was in the upper-50sF which meant a jacket felt nice.

Wieliczka Salt Mine

Getting There and Back

While this had been on our agenda for a later day, since it was raining we thought this would be a good place to stay dry. While it’s possible to reach the salt mine from the hotel using public transit, it would take quite a long time, so we opted for an Uber. It was only about $11.25 going to the Salt Mine at 9:30 AM on a Friday but it was about $22 on the way back around 1:30 PM. I guess because the salt mine is a tourist attraction? It just seemed odd. I was fortunate that the salt mine has a couple of areas with strong WiFi: the cafe and the gift shop. I was having issues with my data-only eSIM card but was able to use the WiFi to pick up an Uber for the return trip. Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Europe, Historical Site, Poland, Trip Report | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW

Posted on June 5, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

Our flight to Warsaw didn’t have the most auspicious beginning but it wasn’t the airline’s fault. Due to the government shutdown, many air traffic control folks had called in “sick” so that caused delays which stacked up over the course of the day. Our flight on LOT was due to depart at 9:40 PM but the inbound flight didn’t even arrive until about 8:50 PM. Looking back on it now, the ground and flight crews did what they could to get us on board as quickly as possible, but it still took just over two hours before we could depart.

We checked in at the LOT counter in O’Hare’s Terminal 5 about 7 PM. There was not much in the way of lines, even for my friend who was flying in economy. I found it interesting that the desk agent initially spoke to me in Polish. I suspect many Americans aren’t even aware of LOT but I had no issues on my prior trip with them and was glad to fly them again. link

Of course arriving 2.5 hours ahead of time gave us lots of time in the concourse. I was glad to see that the construction was (mostly) completed since my last visit a couple of years ago. There were certainly a lot more restaurant choices. While I was eligible for the lounge that LOT shares with other airlines, my friend was not and a pass would have been about $60 so that was a hard pass. We’ve both given up our credit cards that offered Priority Pass access so we just found a quiet area to hang out in while we waited. We migrated over to our gate shortly before the aircraft arrived and, all things considered, we were able to board reasonably quickly at about 10:10 PM.

LOT Polish 787-9

LO 4 ORD-WAW
Boeing 787-9
Departs: 2140 (actual 2246)
Arrives: 1350+1 (actual 1430)
Seat: 3C (Business Class) Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Flight Review, LOT Polish, Star Alliance, Trip Report | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction

Posted on June 1, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

I’m kicking off year 12 of this blog with my next trip report and this one includes some eastern European countries I’d never visited.

This year’s trip centered around a river cruise on the eastern part of the Danube. We’d previously cruised the western part of the river back in 2016. That trip left from Erlangen, Germany (just outside of Nuremburg) and ended in Budapest, Hungary. This trip departed from Budapest and ended in Bucharest, Romania.

As the cruise/tour was only 10 days, we decided to go to Krakow, Poland for a few days ahead of the cruise to visit yet another country we’d not been to.

Transportation

I flew from Memphis to Chicago to meet up with my friend who lives in the area. I used cash for a round-trip positioning flight on American Airlines. From there we flew LOT Polish Airlines to Warsaw and connected to Krakow. The government shutdown in October meant our flight out of Chicago was delayed causing us to miss our connection. Fortunately we were accommodated on the next flight to Krakow and even ended up in exit row seats. I used 70K Air Canada Aeroplan miles + $78.03 for my business class seat which would have sold for about $3064, giving me a fantastic value of about 4.38 cents per point. My friend used 40K Aeroplan miles + $78.03 for her seat in economy. While her ticket “only” worked out to about 1.4 cents per point, it still saved her over $500 out of pocket. Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cruises, Europe, Hampton by Hilton, Hilton, Hungary, JW Marriott, LOT Polish, Marriott, Other Hotels, Poland, River Cruise, Romania, Serbia, Star Alliance, SWISS, Trip Report, Viking | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Hyatt House Denver Airport

Posted on February 2, 2026 by 2btravel

(credit: hyatt.com)

I stayed at the Hyatt House Denver Airport for one night ahead of a ski trip. It happened to be the weekend the severe snow and ice hit much of the eastern US so there were a lot of canceled flights and the hotel was quite busy.

Arrival

The hotel shuttle leaves the airport every 30 minutes at :15 and :45 after the hour. It departs the hotel at the top and bottom of each hour. It’s not a 24-hour service but I think the first hotel departure is in the 3 AM hour. The instructions I’d received via email say to wait on Island 3 outside door 512 on the baggage claim level but at least for right now there is no door 512 as there’s construction in that area. So just leave via door 510 or 514 and you’ll be fine. These even-numbered doors are on the United side of baggage claim so if you flew in on another airline you’ll likely need to cross to the other side of the building. Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Hotel, Hyatt, Hyatt House, Lodging Review | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Atwell Suites, Denver Airport

Posted on March 13, 2025 by 2btravel

I once again had the opportunity to stay at a Denver airport-area hotel as I arrived a day before my ski club. This time I selected the Atwell Suites Denver Airport, as it was an IHG property and I could use the free night certificate I have with my IHG Select credit card.

I have to admit I’d never heard of the Atwell brand but, in general, I quite liked the hotel. It’s located just off Tower Road, a main thoroughfare that has many similar hotels lining each side. It has its own private shuttle. I had a friend pick me up at the airport but it was very nice not to have any other stops on the way back to the airport the next day.

The hotel has a very modern feel. As I understand it, this building is only a couple of years old so it’s still in quite good shape. The front desk was straight ahead upon entering. I arrived quite early, before noon, and asked if I could get a ground-floor room since I was wrangling both my skis bag and a larger wheeled duffel. None of those rooms were ready yet, but that was fine as my friend and I went off for lunch and a free tour through the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, which is now a wildlife preserve. While we were in the Arsenal I received a call that my room was ready. Continue reading →

Categories: Atwell Suites, Award Travel, Chase, Colorado, Hotel, IHG, IHG Rewards Card, Lodging Review, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

2024: The Year in Travel

Posted on December 31, 2024 by 2btravel

As each year draws to a close I like to take a look back at my trips over the past twelve months.  I did not have any work travel this year (and am not sure I ever will again thanks to Zoom & WebEx!) so my travel patterns were very normal for me.

Here’s how my travel looked on the map:

My 2024 Flights – made with gcmap.com

 

Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Breckenridge, Crested Butte, Denmark, Europe, Norway, Park City, Sweden, Trip Report, Year in Review | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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