SWISS Airbus A320-200 Economy Class, Nice to Berlin

Today was our last day here on the Côte d'Azur. Before we returned to Germany with SWISS and its rainy/stormy weather, we took a little time to explore the area around Nice.

Fort Mont Alban

Having already explored Nice's city center extensively, we chose a mountain east of the city today. Here stands Fort Mont Alban. From here, we had a breathtaking view of Nice and its harbor. To the east, we could see Villefranche-sur-Mer. Our landlord had mentioned on our departure that Elton John's house was also located up here. We found a property with high walls and hedges not far from the fort. However, we didn't look at the nameplate on the doorbell.

After a picnic on one of the many benches, we watched the ferries to Corsica and Sardinia dock in the harbor. A very tight maneuver! After exploring the mountain, we drove towards the airport in the afternoon. Our flight to Berlin via Zurich was scheduled to depart at 6:55 p.m.

Salon Azur (Nice)

After returning our Opel Astra to Avis, we took the bus back to Terminal 1. Check-in at the empty business class counter went smoothly. After security, we headed for the lounge. Since Lufthansa and Swiss don't have their own lounges in Nice, we went to the Salon Azur. This is a lounge operated by the airport or a service provider. The selection of food and drinks isn't as good as what we had in Berlin. There are various drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. However, the food options are limited to pre-packaged chips, cookies, and a few sandwiches. So, mediocre! But it's definitely better than the regular waiting area. A minor complaint, really. :)

Flight via Zurich to Nice

We departed from Gate A33 ahead of schedule and took off heading east. The economy class was almost full. Shortly after takeoff, we made a sharp turn to the south. We overran Cannes and crossed the Alps quite quickly. Some of the peaks were still covered in snow. We were served the same butter pretzels we had on the outbound flight last Saturday. And to top it all off, we were given another delicious chocolate bar.

Our early arrival in Zurich at 7:50 pm allowed us to access the Senator Lounge before boarding our flight to Berlin (8:20 pm). The lounge was much less crowded this evening than last week, so we were able to enjoy our dinner in peace.

On our flight to Berlin, we were assigned seats at the emergency exit. In the A321, this means there was no other seat in front of my seat (11A). So, we had an enormous amount of legroom, making it the best seat on the plane. To our surprise, the plane was relatively empty, resulting in a very quiet flight with hardly any chatter from the other passengers. After a baguette with sausage and a flight time of 1 hour and 20 minutes, we landed at Berlin Tegel Airport. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset over Germany while having dinner.