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Flying EasyJet from Geneva to Berlin

July 18, 2022

We were very nervous before our flight after hearing of friends’ EasyJet flights getting cancelled & then reading news of delays & cancellations because of strikes. That’s why we were very surprised at how fast the line was for bag drop-off but we were still holding our breaths & praying for no delays.

EASY LUGGAGE ALLOWANCE

We were allowed 1 check-in suitcase (23kg max) each + 1 small under seat cabin bag each. Each hand-carry must fit underneath the seat in front of you, no large cabin bags. What we brought:

  • CHECK IN: 2 full sized suitcases + 1 small trolley
  • CABIN/HANDCARRY: a handbag for me & a backpack each for TD & DiploBaby

Because buying goods is expensive in Geneva, I packed our 3 suitcases half full. We weighed before leaving the house & each was also less than half the 23kg maximum.

WHY WAS ONE SUITCASE SMALL? I usually place the heaviest stuff – like the Weleda loot that I was planning to buy in Berlin – in a small suitcase. This is to prevent us from overloading a huge suitcase. Also a small heavy suitcase easier to handle. If a big suitcase was too heavy the airline might not allow it or it might get damaged when it’s thrown by the bag handlers.

READ EASY JET BAG ALLOWANCES & HOW TO UPGRADE

SOME RULES

Below are what are allowed & not allowed on EasyJet, but I was also surprised with the ZERO TOLERANCE sign on each drop-off counter. I wonder what happened to cause them to have this sign in the Geneva Airport?

FLYING EASY JET WITH CHILDREN

I also packed a booster seat for DiploBaby because:

  1. Germany is very strict about carseats for kids
  2. We knew we would be driving through the autobahn where there is no speed limit so SAFELY USING AN APPROPRIATE CAR SEAT IS SUPER IMPORTANT

I made a mistake PACKING IT INTO THE SMALL SUITCASE. I should have had him use it then just place it in a paperbag because EASYJET can carry two additional items for your child in the hold for free i.e. travel cot, pushchair, car seat, collapsible or non-collapsible pram, booster seat and/or baby back carrier.

Surprisingly coming back from Berlin, they just allowed us to carry this booster in a paperbag with us into the cabin. Had it been a full-sized carseat, I am sure they would have asked us to check it in or gate check it. Gate check is when you carry the car seat till right before boarding & surrender it to the plane staff right before boarding. This keeps the car seat safer because it isn’t manhandled like the rest of the luggage.

READ MORE ABOUT FLYING WITH CHILDREN ON EASY JET

BEFORE BOARDING

I didn’t realize that Geneva Airport celebrated it’s 100 year anniversary in 2020. Wow!

Diplomats are quite lucky here in the Geneva Airport. I think because there are so many diplomatic missions, consulates & international organizations with diplomatic status, they have made some great concessions, like a special parking lot for Diplomats, which makes it easier to also pick up visiting dignitaries, and being able to go through special access. How lucky are we?

SWATCH DESTINATION WATCHES

After going through security, TD pointed out the special Swatch display showing all the cool SWATCH DESTINATION WATCHES. I never saw these before & I think it’s such a great way to remember a favorite city!

QUICK BITE

While waiting to find out what gate we will board on, we decided to have a quick bite. The restaurants were all crowded, thankfully we found the last table in this restaurant. We’ve had good experiences wherever we choose to eat. The pain au chocolat & butter croissants were heavenly! DiploBaby‘s face says it all!

SURGICAL MASK REQUIREMENT

TD insisted on only brining our favorite UNIQLO AIRISM MASKS because he didn’t think they would be so strict, because basically there are no more COVID restrictions or rules in Switzerland. I was telling him we should buy a surgical mask since we didn’t bring our KN94 masks which we still have so much of.

Here we were being super chill waiting, when we should have used the time to buy disposable masks. As usual we board last to be relaxed, not stand for too long & socially distance from crowds.

As we were one of the last to board, the EasyJet staff told us we could not go in without SURGICAL MASKS. So TD had to run to the nearest restaurant that sold masks. Thank God they let him cut the line because they were about to close the gate on us! Talk about photo finish!!!

EASY JET AIRPLANE RIDE

We made it! But truthfully the mask hurt so bad, they were basically folding our ears, that TD shifted to Airism Masks after a while.

It’s so strange how strict they are, but when it’s time to serve refreshments, everyone removes their masks to eat & drink anyway. Me being the girl scout that I am, I kept the painful mask on.

DiploBaby was soooo excited to be back in Germany, which he considers “his home” because he was born there. We have told him so many stories about it: how he was in my tummy when we had our church wedding there, and how he was born & baptized there.

TOUCH DOWN FLUGHAFEN BERLIN BRANDENBERG!

After a bit of a rough landing we were in Berlin! I was a bit sad that we were arriving in the new FLUGHAFEN BERLIN BRANDENBURG because we really love the super small but super efficient airport that was in the heart of Berlin. I remember how easy it was to commute to the airport. It was only 20mins away from our old place! Now it’s an hour away.

It’s also an NEW BUT OLD AIRPORT because it had been delayed so long that by the time it was launched it was already old. It’s funny because it reminds us of Terminal 3 in the Philippines. When you arrive, the walkalators aren’t even working when you are in the last gates – which you are bound to be if you are flying a budget airline. Sounds familiar?

It’s also worth noting, that if in Geneva Airport what will great you are advertisements for luxury watches and encouragement to invest your money in gold bars & Swiss Investment Banks, what greets you in the Berlin Brandenburg airport are CARS of course! The Germans are as car obsessed as the Swiss are luxury watch & money/investment obsessed.

One of my regrets during our 2.5 year stay in Berlin was never doing the boat tour around Museum Island or Museum Insel. This sign reminded me of that!

I did this quick reel to remember this trip! I hope you enjoy watching it. Tap on the reel to pause it so you can read the subtitles!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ayessa | UnDiplomaticWife (@undiplomaticwife)

READ: THE REST OF OUR BERLIN 2022 TRIP ITINERARY

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Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
MARINA BADALONA HOTEL At first we were going to MARINA BADALONA HOTEL 

At first we were going to stay in the heart of Barcelona, where we stayed 8 years ago (I didn’t even know that @diplobaby was already in my tummy at 2 weeks old) but the “hotel” is now expensive with no amenities & small rooms. So TD found a hotel in #badalona - a 20min taxi ride from Barcelona city center - that was so fabulous & slightly less expensive.

SAVE THIS NOW for future trips to Barcelona

WHY I LOVED marinabadalona
🤍 All white interiors was so beautiful & calming
🤍 Gorgeous view of the Marina 
🤍 Everything was so aesthetic, even where you tap your card to enter the room
🤍 Massive bed
🤍 Electric curtains
🤍 Lots of closet space & hangers
🤍 2 TVs
🤍 Refrigerator
🤍 White/cream Nespresso & kettle
🤍 Architecture & interior design is sooooo me!
🤍 Small rooftop pool with unbelievable views (need to do a separate post)
🤍 5min walk to the beach
🤍 Gorg esplanade
🤍 Yummy restos beside
🤍 Mercadona right beside - so convenient!

FEW RECOS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
✌️ Loved the textured wall paper, but it’s difficult to keep clean inside the bathroom
✌️ The bathroom surface area was a bit small & our stuff kept falling off the sink
✌️ Not a single chair in the family room so when we had room service we had to eat standing
✌️ No salt & pepper with room service so we called to ask & were told we would be charged for them taking it up. After TD clarified that there was no S&P with our meal, they said they would bring it up. The person brought a small bowl of of salt & pepper combined. The salt was for DiploBaby’s salmon, but he can’t eat pepper, I wanted both for my pesto. Had to run down in my slippers & the resto staff were very apologetic coz who serves a mixed S&P ever? They gave me individually packaged ones which I really appreciated.
✌️ Since the hotel has a pool & is by the beach, I wish there was a place to hang & dry swim suits. Our suits & watershoes did not dry in the tub.

All in all the value we got from staying in this hotel was so high compared to a more expensive hotel in Barcelona. No hotel stay is perfect.

Now, would I stay there again? YES PLEASE! Would you?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries
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