Pano, Munich International Airport, Germany

Originally we planned to go to Kaefer's Bistro again at  Munich International Airport Terminal 2 on our way back from Dubai to Dublin. Unfortunately our gate was a different one, so we didn't have the chance, but we found Pano instead.

The design was contemporary and rustic.

It was self-service. There was a wide range of soups, sandwiches, fruit salads and cakes available.

The setting was restaurant style or a large communal table. Since it was busy we took the communal table.

We had one kiwi juice, one natural yogurt topped with fruits and one large slice of plum cake. All was very delicious, fresh and high quality.

The price was high, but fair, at 18.40 Euro (ca. 23.85 USD).

If we had to connect/depart again from the area H and we don't encounter Kaefer's Bistro, we will have here a meal.

 ©2014

Costa Coffee Dubai International Airport Terminal 1, United Arab Emirates

Before our return flight to Munich International Airport and on to Dublin, we made a stop at Costa Coffee at Dubai International Airport Terminal 1, Concourse 1.

It was already busy and I had to wait a bit to order our drinks. Earlier we received a take away breakfast from the Holiday Inn Bur Dubai - Embassy District, so we weren't hungry and needed a pick me up, since we had a very early start at 3 a.m.

Normally we don't frequent Costa very often, because of previous experiences and the coffee being not to our taste.

This time around we weren't disappointed.

After ordering one bottle of Voss water and two cappuccinos, we were given a number and the waiter brought the drinks to our table when they were ready.
The coffee was strong and smooth, just as we like it. It just gave the jolt we needed.

The cost was 44 AED (ca. 9.30 Euro or 12.00 USD).

When we are in Terminal 1 at Dubai International Airport we will visit Costa again.

 ©2014

Kaefer Bistro Munich International Airport Terminal 2

I have been introduced to Kaefer thanks to my fiancé many, many years ago when we still lived in Germany. We are both fans and go to Kaefer whenever possible on our travels.

While we were waiting for our flight from Munich International Airport to Dubai International Airport we felt a bit peckish and made a stop at Kaefer's Bistro at Terminal 2.

The design is French bistro style with a few Bavarian touches. This time around the Oktoberfest was near, so ginger bread heart decorations reminded patrons about it.

The restaurant was full and we nearly didn't find a table.

We received our menus after waiting a bit. The Rhubarb Schorle caught our eyes, so we had two of those and a Frozen Caramel dessert to share, plus we had a hot chocolate each, served in a Kafer "hafferl" mug.

The schorle was very good and the dessert interesting. It was like Crème Caramel, but frozen and delicious and creative.

Even if the staff was extremely busy, they were very friendly and always there when needed.

Our bill came in at 22.10 Euro (ca. 28.60 USD).

We will return to this outlet, if we are at Munich International Airport Terminal 2 again in the future.


 ©2014

COA - Cuisine of Asia, Frankfurt International Airport Terminal 1

While we were connecting in Frankfurt for our flight to Munich and from there to Dubai, we had late lunch at Cuisine of Asia, short COA.

The restaurant offers pan Asian cuisine and is decorated in contemporary Asian design. We felt immediately attracted to it.

There was also an open kitchen, where Asian chefs prepared the dishes.

Floor to Ceiling Window tables gave views over the runway. They were already occupied, so we took a seat at the communal table.

The attentive staff brought the menu. They spoke fluently English.

We chose an Apple meets Carrot and one Thai Art Mocktail, Gado Gado chicken and Vietnamese stir fried noodles. The portions were big, tasty and fulfilling, so there was no room for dessert.

The meal cost 37.60 Euro (ca. 48.70 USD).

We would return any time, when we fly from Terminal 1 in Frankfurt.

 ©2014

Lufthansa flight Dublin - Frankfurt - Munich - Dubai - Dubai - Munich - Dublin

Originally we found a very good rate with Emirates to fly to Dubai, but then Lufthansa released lower rates. We thought it was better to pay less and fly more, so we booked Lufthansa.

Our first leg was from Dublin to Frankfurt International Airport, taking off shortly after midday. We had already checked in online the day before to choose our seats and print out the boarding passes.

The person at bag drop was friendly and our suitcase checked in quickly.

Security in Dublin was as always a breeze.

We had time for a quick stop at Starbucks before going to our gate.

During the flight we were offered non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, tea and coffee. There was also a vegetarian sandwich on offer, which I liked, but he not so much. The juices and water were very good.

The seat of the Airbus A321 took a while to get used to for me, but was comfortable then.

He was happy with the leg room. Even when the person reclined in front of him he had still enough space.

In Frankfurt we had a remote stand. There was a shower pouring down when we had to leave the plane. There was one bus in front and one in the back. The first was very full, so the driver didn't let anyone in. The second one wasn't willing to open the door, so we had to wait until the first bus left and the second moved into the correct position. A few of us were fuming. I think this should be a bit better planned and passengers allowed earlier on the bus if the weather is bad.

We had three hours to connect in Frankfurt, which was comfortable to have late lunch and browse the shops a bit.

Our plane, an Airbus A321 - upgraded due to demand from an A320 - between Frankfurt and Munich International Airport was also located at a remote stand.

We were served free drinks on the short flight to Munich.

In Munich we had another remote stand and also three hours connecting time before our overnight flight to Dubai.

Our plane to Dubai was an Airbus A330-300. It was a newer model, very comfortable and the inflight entertainment system easy to handle. It had a good choice, but I prefer Malaysia Airlines’ or Emirates' ICE. They have an even wider selection of movies and TV series and also a lot of World Cinema and Bollywood movies.

Dinner - chicken in our case - was served shortly after reaching cruising altitude and was tasty and healthy.

Afterwards liqueurs, coffee and tea made the rounds.

We both managed to catch around four hours sleep, which wasn't too bad.

No breakfast, but a snack was served with coffee or tea. It was a hard Florentine type biscuit and a bit meagre. We would have preferred at least a continental breakfast.

A day before our departure we checked in online again for our flight from Dubai to Munich and Munich to Dublin.

At the baggage drop off, which was very quiet, we were offered to change the seats on the leg between Munich and Dublin, but we had consciously chosen a seat at the back, because we wanted to avoid stress.

The aircraft, also an Airbus A330-300, but this time around was an older model on the flight between Dubai and Munich. The inflight entertainment system was hard to use and some passengers complained it didn't function at all. The flight wasn't fully booked, so a few could change seats.

The meal choice was pasta with mushrooms or chicken in paprika sauce, roasted vegetables and rice. We had the chicken, which we thought was okay. There was also a shrimp salad and a raisin cake, which he couldn't eat due to allergies.

There was a snack served with cream cheese, crackers and a muffin. Interesting enough there wasn't any cutlery offered, so seeing a neighbor's messy affair, I was more careful and found a solution to avoid that, by keeping the wrapper partly on. A knife would have been appreciated.

In Munich we had around two hours’ time to connect and had a remote stand again.

We slept partly on the Airbus A321 flight to Dublin and missed the food - it looked like the same sandwich we had had between Dublin and Frankfurt, but woke up in time for the drinks.

We liked the spotless toilets, the friendly service on all legs, ease of connections at the airports and the generous portions of Baileys and other drinks.

We think there is room for improvement in regards to head sets (Customers have to put on the soft part themselves and the headsets aren't keeping out the aircraft noise.), plus how a remote stand embarkment/disembarkment during bad weather is handled, a bigger breakfast "snack" when arriving in Dubai and offering cutlery for cream cheese.

Overall Lufthansa offers a good product, the food quality is good, the staff friendly and the inflight entertainment system is adequate, so we would use Lufthansa again on medium and long-haul routes, if the timings and value are right.

 ©2014

Clodagh's Kitchen @ Arnotts Department Store, Dublin, Ireland

On the day before our trip to Dubai we were organizing a few things for our travels in the city center and were hungry, so we decided to test Clodagh's Kitchen at Arnotts department store in Dublin, Ireland.

Clodagh McKenna is responsible for running the restaurant. She is also working together with Aer Lingus and created some in-flight meals, which we already tried. The quality was good, so we hoped the restaurant would be the same.

Clodagh's Kitchen is located on the top floor of Arnotts. There was no menu outside, which we think should be changed.

We were welcomed warmly and could choose any table we liked.

Unfortunately the cleanliness wasn't up to the standard we expected, so we couldn't take the first table, because the floor was dirty. Someone had dropped food, but it hadn't been brushed up.

There wasn't much of an atmosphere.

We were nearly alone, beside some much older couples and ladies.

The interior was contemporary and the chairs comfortable.

In our opinion the tables were too close together and too small.


When our order arrived we had barely space for it.

The emphasis is on Irish produce and staples like egg dishes.

The coffee/tea set was a good deal. You can order any coffee or tea and have a slice of cake. It costs together 5 Euro (ca. 6.50 USD).

We had brought appetite with us, so we wanted something more substantial. We had two orange juice, two hot chocolates, one omelette with chorizo and cheese and one smoked haddock chowder.

The orange juice came with ice cubes - both of us don't like that - without being asked. The Aine (an Irish company) hot chocolate was slightly too sweet, but the omelette and the chowder were very good. They were flavorful and moreish.

We paid 32.90 Euro, ca. 42.60 USD. We thought it was a bit too high, comparing it to Cafe Novo at the Westbury, where omelettes start at around 8 Euro (ca. 10.35 USD). Clodagh's Kitchen’s were 12.95 Euro or ca. 16.90 USD.

Unfortunately it is unlikely that we return to this establishment.

 ©2014

The Jim Thompson House Museum Bangkok, Thailand

We heard the first time about Jim Thompson during our second visit to Thailand.

We were intrigued from the beginning about his mysterious vanishing and have read a few books about it.

Finally we found the time to visit the Jim Thompson House Museum.

We took a taxi from our hotel, the Four Seasons (Please see also review.) to the museum.

Entrance was 100 THB per person or ca. 2.35 Euro (ca. 3.15 USD).

The house and garden were an oasis of peace and quiet in the heart of Bangkok.

Near the entrance were the cashier, the restaurant and the shop.

There were also ponds with two turtles and kois. The gardens were surprisingly large and can be explored alone, but there is a compulsory guided tour, if you want to see the inside of the house.

Meeting point for the tours was the central square. There are different languages on offer including English and French.

Before our tour started we went through the garden. It was peaceful and romantic, until one of the groups disturbed us and we were in the way.

Jim Thompson was more Thai than the Thai themselves, so he was fascinated with everything the country had to offer. Besides single handed saving the Thai silk industry, he also amassed a large collection of Thai Buddhist art, but after a run in with the government, he gave it up and started instead to collect Buddha statues from Cambodia and Burma - according to the author William Warren. There are some of the oldest and rarest in the collection.

The house is made up of six traditional Thai buildings - they are from the 19th century -, which interconnect. There are some differences though, for example the external walls and decorations are inside as is the stair case. In a classic Thai house it would be the opposite.

Upstairs are the infamous dining room, the living room and two bed rooms. One was Jim Thompson's. Even the mattress, where he slept on, is still there. Touching is not allowed, though.

There was security as well, so there is no chance to wander off and search the house for clues what really happened.

We enjoyed our visit and indulged in some retail therapy after the tour.

©2014