Zagreb - October 25



leaving the UK on a wet October Morning we were off to Zagreb, the usual BA lounge before taking our exit row seats ( more leg room for the quick hop across to Zagreb, the usual obligatory BA delay for no apparent reason ( they are never going to turn around a domestic flight in an hour  - unless there's no one on board )

Some lovely views over the Alps




We land in Zagreb in sunshine but still cool

After an £15 Uber from the airport ( around 30 minutes )sees us at our hotel - the Marriot Westin Zagreb - not a very pretty hotel from the outside and looks like something out of the 1970's - not the most modern inside either but still very nice and close enough to either walk ( 20 minutes ) or tram ( 3 - 4 minutes ) to the centre - the trams are really frequent and easy to navigate with multiple lines going into the centre


Westin Zagreb

It was a special occasion and the hotel had left us a bottle of Fizz a nice touch


We had arrived a while before the usual 3pm check in, so dumped our bags and headed into the centre taking in all the old buildings  ( and a beer ) - Zagreb seems to be being rebuilt with lots of building works on old and new buildings alike


A nice pint in Valhalla
Valhalla beer bar




feeling a bit peckish, we decide to find somewhere , and tucked in small alley just off the main area is Kai street food - don't be put off by the surroundings/ alley which feel like a drug deal is just about to go down...The sit up bar style,  seats around 20 I would guess. 

Some lovely flavours and great portion sizes, with quick friendly service




After a nice sleep and breakfast , we wander out of the hotel and something takes my eye - Zagreb Fire Service have an open day- something I can't resist having spent over 20 years serving in the UK. The Mrs indulges me as I engage in a bit of geekiness, then we wander into the centre again, taking in the plethora of architecture







You can get an old UK open top bus tour if you want








We stop in the sunshine for lovely local brew , in one of the multitude of bars and restaurants to the north of the main square








Short of walking around bars and restaurants all day, we decide to take a short 12 euro taxi/Uber to the cable car which which goes up the mountain. It cots about 17 euros for return ticket and takes about 20 minutes to get to the top with some lovely views on a clear day ( which we had)

cable car








Stopping at the top for the most choclaty ( is that a word ? ) of hot chocolate and a bite of the local delicacy sausage dish - there are bars and restaurants and I imagine in the ski season the place is really rocking





We catch a tram back the centre ( the tram stop is right next the cable car entrance ) and really easy to just tap on/off with the tram app which stores your ticket, then onto the hotel as the sun starts to set



The next day is damp and drizzly - something we hadn't really packed for..(oh well !) we headed up to a part of the old town where they shoot a cannon at 12 o'clock - and it is loud , and yes, I still jumped even though I knew it was coming


the tower where they shoot the cannon



We stop for beer to escape the rain



Back the hotel for a rest then we head out to a pizza restaurant that gets great reviews - Basta bar and pizzeria, a couple of beers and a massive pizza we're stuffed - time to head off to bed

https://basta.bar/zagreb/



Mid morning, Uber back to the airport, a quick drink in the prime class lounge that BA use ( very limited and quite stark) we head to the gate for the return flight boarding quickly and on time


Nice views coning in to land



 A short hop to the car park and an hour later were back at home.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this journey. Join me for another.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LHR to MLE ( Maldives ) Jan26

Image
 Our Journey starts mid afternoon on a cold January Sunday, leaving home and arriving after around 45minute journey on the M25 , we had booked Pod Parking as it so much easier and had a good deal , we would have arrived in the 5 minute journey, if it wasn't for me leaving my phone in the car, so back to pod parking and return after retrieving my phone !! Today we're flying business class LHR (19.20hrs) to Male and onto our destination island in the Maldives, with a short stop in Doha. We checked in at the first class check in area, as I hate doing the self serve bag drop, the check in lady was as ever really friendly and efficient as you would expect, then through fast track security which is undergoing a bit of a change at LHR but still really fast and efficient. The gate is not shown yet, so we go to the north club lounge - it's busy, but the food and drink is still on lunch/ tea menu so we fill up, as the meal on board would be another 4 hrs proba...
Read more

Maldives stay - 9 nights in January

Image
 So you'll have maybe read my other Blogs on getting to our Maldives holiday which was from 12th January, so here's an honest opinion of the hotel, staff food and amenities. We were staying at Riu Atoll, which we booked through BA holidays.  Riu Atoll The hotel (s) as there's two sides to the Atoll , guests at the smaller Palace side can go to either side, but guests at the Atoll side can only stay in their side - the Palace side is a lot more expensive but in my view doesn't give you that much extra, apart from private pools and a couple more restaurants, but as the food was a good quality anyway, not sure it 's worth the extra (opinion). The clientele was mostly older and couples, with the occasional young family, but there appeared to be a lot of angst with the families of young children as the activities were very limited for them ( there is a kids club area but it was very stark from what I saw) and basically the pool is the main feature for kids and you are st...
Read more

Edinburgh - Jan 26

Image
So after returning from +30 degrees in the Maldives, what better than to go to other extreme- a quick hop for a couple of days to Edinburgh. Sunday mid morning flight from LHR sees the Usual M25 slow traffic pleasingly missing and 45 mins we arrived to park in Pod parking T5 , a little bit more to park but so much more convenient - 5 minutes and you are in the terminal. Through fast track, and straight into the BA Lounge as the flight is going from gate A1.  I can't remember the last time we used the lounge at this end, It's packed and in my opinion not as nice as the other lounges, seating is quite stark, although the views over the runway are nice.   After the obligatory breakfast  ( not a particular fan of the BA sausages lately - they've obviously changed brand - they are bigger but not as tasty)  After awhile we make our way to gate A1 and are swiftly boarded, although the auto gates don't seem to want to recognise the wife's face - it's usually me with the...
Read more