Italy, Montenegro, Serbia and Austria

[RB]

I have reviewed our Munich hotel here Hotel Meier Munich

Around Munich.
30th June-very hot. We had last visited for Oktoberfest 2004. We did very little except wander near the hotel. It was a Sunday so all shops closed-very surprising. Had Dinner at Augustiner Braustuben-we visited there previously because the brewery horses were stabled there during Oktoberfest. Don’t think the décor has changed! Great beer & wine & both ordered the mixed meat plate- chook & roast pork nice but the pork knuckle was extremely fatty & the dumpling was best left alone. Walked back to hotel & had an early night.

 

[RB]

Munich Flight.-TG 925 777-300 19A & 21A MUC-BKK

We opted to travel to the airport by train-a short walk from the hotel. Used one of the many ticket machines with the 28 degrees card & validated the ticket before an escalator down to the S1 & S8 options. The trip is around 45 minutes and around 11.30 am the train is not busy & the carriage racks are big enough for our main bags to go up top. The last half of the ride is through nice farmland-again plenty of corn being grown (apparently a lot is used for biogas production) along with some wheat.
From the train it is a very easy walk to T2 (bit of construction happening outside).
There were plenty of check-in staff & we were served straight away. Boarding passes for the BKK-SYD leg were also issued (but couldn’t help with exit row options for this leg). We seemed to miss the dedicated business class screening lanes but there were not long lines. We were also able to use the Easy PASS at passport control-still got a stamp from an officer after passing through the automatic gate. The Lufthansa lounge was pretty comfortable-easily found seats with power, some hot food, self serve bubbles & prosecco, self pour beer, showers and very clean toilets. There were no departure announcements.
There was a separate business class boarding line and we were soon enjoying a pre-departure champers. This was easily the most comfortable seat of the trip. Much bigger & straighter footwell & longer than the 350. The captain announced traffic congestion on air space (I assume related to the Pakistan/India situation) was delaying us by around 20 minutes. Also got a thunderstorm as we sat on the tarmac. Got some great views of the Black Sea and Mt Ararat-light wasn't so good for photos.
The avocado salmon tower with cream fraiche was excellent. The pork with bamboo shoots in Green Curry was pretty spicy (came with separate small plates of deep fried crab meat, stuffed cucumber with minced pork, coughake mushroom in clear soup, stir fried choy sum and steam jasmine rice). The morning free ranch omelette proved to be a poor choice-heavy and more resembling the constitution of a rissole! During the flight I really enjoyed the 12yr single malt Glenmorangie (the Lasanta).

Prefer the straight footwell




Looking back at MUC




Pork with bamboo shoots meal


Avocado salmon tower


Believe this was near Bayburt Turkey-


Mount Ararat Mount Ararat - Wikipedia





BKK
We had a 13 hr layover as a result of another Thai flight change-way too long to kill at the airport so we had booked a close by hotel. There were a few delays at immigration (our bags were booked through) and we were soon waiting for a hotel transfer.

 

[RB]

I have posted a review of our transit hotel here At Residence Hotel Bangkok-Near BKK

BKK
Back at BKK the Thai service at their home airport was very evident. We had already been given our boarding passes at Munich but wanted to get exit row seats. Thai plenty of staff at the Royal Silk check-in and we are seen straight away & granted the seat change. From there it is through a TG specific security check. We were quickly at the TG spa to book for the 30 minute neck & shoulders massage-wait time was around 25 minutes. The rest of our wait time was spent in the nearby lounge- good wi-fi, hot food options and a bit of comfort-not much drinking as we had better options available after we boarded.

TG 475 747-400 16J & 16K
We opted for an exit row for ease of access to the aisle. No matter where you sit the old sloping recliners are not great for sleeping and this was a night flight. This was not helped by an indifferent mother in 18B who let her youngster run free-partner in 19A was similarly not interested in helping. I think there were 12 free seats on the upper deck. Service was good without being outstanding. The food was well presented and the fish dish was excellent (think both of us were past photos by that stage) and the continental breakfast was much better than the Munich flight. We lost time as we approached SYD & ended up late at the gate.

SYD
After arrival we were quickly off the plane. We made a quick stop for a bottle at Duty Free, got through Smart Gate & our bags were already on the carousel. With nothing to declare we were soon catching a train to Wolli Creek & then on to Thirroul to catch up with a mate.
A day later we did the train trip in reverse.

SYD-PQQ VA 1191
Spent some time in the Virgin lounge via passes from a credit card. A while since we had visited and didn’t particularly notice any improvements or changes. We enjoyed some bubbles and tap Stella and a few snacks-pizza that basically did a job. Not unexpected that boarding was a bit late & we ended up 20 minutes or so late into Port. Surprised to see around 20 empty seats on the flight. Some progress while we were away with parts of the extension now open. Bags are still coming out on a cart at the moment! Ubers were very scarce and we waited 20 odd minutes-others gave up around then & got a cab as they turned up.

Back soon with a bit of a summary/thoughts

 

[RB]

Just a few thoughts to wind things up:
Sometimes prior to travel you see photos that highlight spots in a country & you end up being a little underwhelmed. Montenegro certainly surpassed our expectations. We saw some amazing, scenic sites. The people were excellent hosts and went out of their way to make us comfortable. Still haven't worked out why it was but at Virpizar they don't clean up after their dogs & the food was a total letdown-we are not foodies but everything was just way overcooked.
Kolasin-excellent train ride & the Biogradska Lake day was excellent
Kotor-extremely busy on some days with cruises. Apartment was in an excellent location. St John's Fortress climb & bay boat trip highly recommended
Zabljak-Durmitor Ring trip was excellent
Serbia-certainly seemed more affluent than the parts of Montenegro we had visited.
Zlatibor-an absentee apartment owner who over promised & under delivered. Incredible building boom happening. Somewhat disappointed with their catering to our style of travel. Just nothing at the time for Mokra Gora & other villages. Our reading had led us to believe that we would be able to join in day tours-tourist offices seemed to not have enough numbers to bother organising
Belgrade-surprised what a vibrant place it was. Excellent apartment
Schruns-magic countryside, efficient, co-ordinated & plentiful public transport. Excellent well priced lift system that we accessed via the visitor card
Seefeld- bit more developed for visitors compared to Schruns. Great natural environment.
Munich-only overnight in well connected city for our departure. Easy connection to airport & easy once there.
Buses-most buses were not late model nor well equipped but we enjoy the adventure that this can bring. The Flixbus was excellent.
Wizz Air-look past the check-in process & all was fine. Would certainly use them again.
EasyJet- have used them before & would have no hesitation using them again
Thai-all Ok. The 747 J sloping seats are something I will try & avoid from now on. The A350- Mrs RB was fine but my big feet & the short bed were uncomfortable for me-much preferred the 777. All flights the temp in the cabin was fine (have often found them too hot) and the air less "stale"

Looking forward to 2020 trip already. Thanks for reading along

Celebrating finishing a walk!

 

[tgh]

Thanks very much RB.
While I really enjoy all the tr's , yours was particularly atmospheric due to the beautiful countryside and your excellent eye for a pic.
I need to return….

 

[VPS]

Some of your photos were just stunning. I'm impressed with the amount of walking you do - way out of my league. Thanks for a great TR

 

[craven morehead]

Thoroughly enjoyed following this scenic and informative TR. Never been hiking before but I think I must give it a whirl at some stage. Cheers & Thank you

 

[henleybeach]

Excellent report @RB
I have friend in Montenegro ATM and he rang yesterday to tell he has a new favourite country !

 

[OZDUCK]

Great report. Lovely photos of your walks - which I could not manage these days. Thanks for your efforts.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Thanks RB.

I enjoyed tagging along.

 

[drron]

Thanks.I tag along for the ride and enjoy your great photos.
I only get out in the bush when working away and alone so good to experience these walks.

 

[offshore171]

Day 4 Seefeld 28th June-
Another hot one. Back to the cable car

Thanks for the lovely shots of Seefeld. We spent a white Xmas there a few years ago - a great experience.

Definitely will be back.

 

[amaroo]

Smashing trip trip report - not sure how I missed it!

We spent Christmas 1992 in Seefeld .... looks a lot different in your photos.

 

[Cossie]

Was in Seefeld in the seventies, have found memories of driving around in our Dutch registered beetle.

Great tr, thanks for posting.