London, May 1-8

Thanks Carol…. I forward your info to my son and dil who are going in. Few weeks and staying about a week.

Thanks for the TR

Did you like Icelandic air? We are flying with the in 6 weeks or do from Reykjavik to Glasgow.

Kim

Thanks Carol,
I will be spending a few days in London after my rescheduled tour in a couple of weeks. Appreciate getting a feel for how things are in London at this time.

@ Kim I did like Icelandair. Just be prepared for the plane to be full, little to no masking, and food snack options limited in coach. They are organized, fly on time, and get you where you want to go. I checked bags and had them within 5 minutes of clearing immigration both ways. After seeing how fellow passengers smashed and pushed at others’ carryon luggage to get “one more thing” in the overhead bin, I was glad I checked bags (essentials with me in backpack).

"After seeing how fellow passengers smashed and pushed at others’ carryon luggage"

Yep, their's has to be be right above where their seats are, yours on the other hand, can be 5 overheads back of your seats - most convenient when deplaning.

Sounds like you had a great time! I am a bit like your son - I don’t mind doing home tests to check on myself but I prefer to head to a clinic and have someone else do my official test….. But you are right - having to do that test brings a little extra stress and no way around it.

So glad your trip went well and you both aced your covid tests! That requirement sure did add a cloud of impending doom over my head.

The airlines really need to monitor the ridiculous amounts and sizes of "carry-on" luggage getting onto a plane. While I like the idea and have done it successfully twice, it's very frustrating when trying to put my regulation size suitcase in the overhead and just my purse at my seat, to find that the bins are crammed with people's smaller totes that easily fit under the seat-- I get it, we all want our leg room--or worse, see people staggering aboard with a roller, equally large tote, backpack and a purse.

Thanks for the trip report! It is good to see another Mom and adult son traveling together.

My son (25) and I (57) are leaving for a mad dash trip in 9 days (who's counting).

I am calling the trip GASP. Germany (Munich and Berchtesgaden), Austria (Salzburg, Melk, Durnstein, Krems, and Vienna), Slovakia (Bratislava, Cicmany and Puchov), and Prague (day trips to be decided).

"it's very frustrating ... to find that the bins are crammed with people's smaller totes that easily fit under the seat"

See here's the deal, I pay to check my big bag, indirectly, with the purchase of an upgraded seat. In doing so I believe I have paid for the right to put my day pack in the overhead above me, so I can enjoy the legroom underneath the seat in front of me. I owe nothing to the "people staggering aboard with a roller, equally large tote, backpack and a purse."

Periscope--you are not the problem, though on a few flights I have seen flight attendants removing smaller bags and making the owners stow them under the seat in order to let people put those larger suitcases overhead. This was in economy; I have no idea how they treat other classes of travelers.

Periscope, everyone is entitled to put a regulation sized carryon in the overhead bin. Since you don't have one of those, of course you can use your allowed space for your carryon. This obviously doesn't apply to you, but airline officials need to enforce the rules-if a purse is not in a bag when a person boards, it counts as their personal item.

I am wondering how my trip report turned into a thread about luggage?…..

Thanks for the trip report Carol- you never know what direction a thread may go after posting:-)

We are headed there in a couple of weeks, so a little "scouting report" ahead of time is nice to read. Looks like the masking, or lack thereof, is pretty much in line with what others are reporting. We're staying in the Holborn area of London, so we'll walk as much as possible and just mask up for longer trips that require taking the tube.

Your mention of your son's limits sounds very familiar. At the end of our last trip, in Rome, we were getting ready to head out on a private guided tour of the Forum and he told us he was pretty much burned out. To be fair, I had packed in a lot each day, but it's funny that my wife and I typically find ourselves having endurance when it comes to touring. This past experience reminds me to try to slow things down a bit and try not to cram every single minute running from one place to the next- at that point it's almost like checking off a list rather than savoring the moment. Looking at my itinerary for our upcoming trip I'm not entirely sure I've mastered the "slow it down" concept. :-)

Thanks again for the great (and helpful) trip report.

Thanks for the TR Carol! Glad you had a good time with your son and you tested negative.

Carol now retired; thanks for the report.
If you had tested positive before return to USA would you have been required to Quarantine in England??

update: my son did test positive the day after our return. I remained negative.

If he had tested positive in the U.K, they encourage self isolation but do not require quarantine.