Moldova, Transdneister, and a Balkan trifecta, or how I completed visiting Europe
Jul 5, 2015, 10:02 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,462
Moldova, Transdneister, and a Balkan trifecta, or how I completed visiting Europe
On my recent trip to Poland and Ukraine I missed out on visiting Moldova as I couldn't make the flight/train schedules sync up properly with my trip plans. I then planned on visiting just Moldova over the 4th of July weekend. That would leave Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia as the only remaining countries in Europe that I had not yet visited. I managed to book a one-way Delta award on Aeroflot into Chisinau, Moldova and a one-way United return from Chisinau with a 23:50 layover in Vienna. That got me to thinking, I could rent a car in Vienna and drive to Slovenia. Even better, Croatia wasn't too far away and the Bosnian border was only another hour or so from Zagreb... I looked at buying flights from Vienna to Zagreb or Ljubljana but was pricing at over $300 for just a 40-minute flight.
I started playing around with reorganizing my United award and was finally able to come up with a crazy routing giving me 14 hours in Zagreb, with 16-hr overnights in Sarajevo and 12-hr in Geneva. Geneva wasn't preferred but there was limited award space back to the US and I was only able to make GVA-EWR work with the schedule. Then in Zagreb I would rent a car and drive to Maribor in Slovenia, completing the Balkan trifecta. Easy, right? Just to spice things up a bit, while in Moldova I planned on visiting the breakaway region of Transdniester, a Russian-speaking (and Russian-supported) area. Despite having their own border controls, currency and flag since the early 1990s, it has only limited official recognition, mostly by other breakaway Russian regions (Abkhazia, South Ossetia).
Hotels proved a bit of a challenge, Chisinau has no chain hotels other than a Best Western, Sarajevo has a couple Marriotts and Geneva hotels are just expensive. Nothing I could use on points, for sure. I found a nice looking apartment in Chisinau but was worried about getting the key due to my late arrival and very early departure (23:30 and 05:30, respectively). In Sarajevo I found a bed and breakfast in a great location near City Hall. And Geneva I lucked out as they had a Jet Away to Geneva package that included hotel and Geneva pass (usually ~25 EUR) for cheaper than the same hotel was showing online. Too bad I wouldn't actually get to use the Geneva pass (lake cruise, cable car, etc) as my flight times didn't allow it.
Flight plan:
I started playing around with reorganizing my United award and was finally able to come up with a crazy routing giving me 14 hours in Zagreb, with 16-hr overnights in Sarajevo and 12-hr in Geneva. Geneva wasn't preferred but there was limited award space back to the US and I was only able to make GVA-EWR work with the schedule. Then in Zagreb I would rent a car and drive to Maribor in Slovenia, completing the Balkan trifecta. Easy, right? Just to spice things up a bit, while in Moldova I planned on visiting the breakaway region of Transdniester, a Russian-speaking (and Russian-supported) area. Despite having their own border controls, currency and flag since the early 1990s, it has only limited official recognition, mostly by other breakaway Russian regions (Abkhazia, South Ossetia).
Hotels proved a bit of a challenge, Chisinau has no chain hotels other than a Best Western, Sarajevo has a couple Marriotts and Geneva hotels are just expensive. Nothing I could use on points, for sure. I found a nice looking apartment in Chisinau but was worried about getting the key due to my late arrival and very early departure (23:30 and 05:30, respectively). In Sarajevo I found a bed and breakfast in a great location near City Hall. And Geneva I lucked out as they had a Jet Away to Geneva package that included hotel and Geneva pass (usually ~25 EUR) for cheaper than the same hotel was showing online. Too bad I wouldn't actually get to use the Geneva pass (lake cruise, cable car, etc) as my flight times didn't allow it.
Flight plan:
Code:
JUL01 AUS-LAX DL JUL01 LAX-SVO SU JUL02 SVO-KIV SU JUL04 KIV-VIE OS JUL04 VIE-ZAG OS JUL04 ZAG-SJJ OU JUL05 SJJ-VIE OS JUL05 VIE-GVA OS JUL06 GVA-EWR UA JUL06 EWR-AUS UA
Last edited by hauteboy; Jul 5, 2015 at 10:15 am
Jul 5, 2015, 10:23 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Posts: 5,525
Jul 5, 2015, 10:30 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,462
Jul 5, 2015, 11:39 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,462
Jul 1-2, 2015
Flight: Austin, TX (AUS) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX); Delta E175 economy
Flight: Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Moscow, Russia (SVO); Aeroflot 777 economy
Flight: Moscow, Russia (SVO) to Chisinau, Moldova (KIV); Aeroflot A320 economy
Hotel: Central Australian Apartment; Chisinau, Moldova; 600MDL ($32/nt)
Managed to get in a half-day of work before heading to the airport. I had recently applied for the Citi Prestige card which gives Admirals Club access but apparently you only can use it when flying AA. Not to worry as I also have United club access. The Delta flight left on time and we actually arrived into LAX a bit early which was good as I had only a 2-hr connection. I've been suffering from a gout attack recently (change in diet) and it's been pretty painful to walk. Luckily I got some new drugs before leaving and was able to hoof it down to TBIT without problem.
Despite checking in online with Delta and Aeroflot and already having my boarding passes and no checked baggage, the security line dragons at TBIT force you to recheck in with the airline desks (a stupid policy). I had already verified my passport with Delta in Austin. I don't have Skyteam status so had to wait in line 25 minutes just to get a boarding pass which was identical to the ones I'd already printed out... that made me lose TSA precheck status on my BP (though appears TBIT doesn't have precheck anyway? another stupid policy). I did have a few minutes to kill and went to the Diners Club (Korean Airlines) lounge for a few minutes before boarding. As it was they didn't start boarding until about 10 minutes before scheduled departure. The line stretched a fair distance and they didn't seem to enforce any boarding rules.
LAX TBIT Korean Airlines lounge
The last time I flew Aeroflot was in 2005, both times on old Russian Tupolov airliners. This was a pretty new 777 with Biz + Premium economy. The premium eco seats looked pretty nice and I was regretting asking if it was possible to pay to upgrade (though likely not on an award ticket). I had one of the first rows in regular economy though. Seat was comfortable enough with a good choice of AVOD movies. The flight was completely full from what I could see. We ended up leaving about 30 minutes late. I watched a few movies during the 11-hr flight including Into the Wild and Horrible Bosses 2. I have been on a low-carb/high protein/veggies diet lately but that's hard to maintain while traveling and I figured I would have to cheat this week.
Aeroflot 777 Economy Plus seat
Aeroflot Y LAX-SVO
We arrived a few minutes early into SVO. My phone was confused, thinking it was an hour later than it was. Russia did away with daylight savings this year so it's actually now GMT+3 instead of GMT+4. I had a long (7-hr) layover in Moscow but didn't get a Russian visa so I was stuck. The 'new' D-terminal was pretty nice though, certainly much better than the last time I flew in and out of Moscow (old SVO1/2). I went to the Blues lounge (Diners Club) to sit and wait out the hours. They had some limited food available (chicken meatballs, sausage) and some desserts.
Blues Lounge, SVO Terminal D
We finally started late boarding and departed for Chisinau 15 minutes late. This flight also was pretty full but we arrived 30 minutes early. I had a good economy seat but on arrival they deplaned via bus which always messes up the order of arrival at immigration. Very quick and efficient immigration and I found an ATM in the lobby. I called the apartment to let them know I'd arrived. No-hassle taxis as well, 100 Leu ($5.25) rate to town center. I was liking Moldova already! Arrived at the apartment gate to find nobody there... but the girl (cute) showed up with the key a few minutes later. I apologized for the late arrival and early departure times. The apartment was quite nice, just a single large room with kitchenette and washer/dryer. The room had a minibar, flat screen TV, aircon and a portable wi-fi device. Had a shower then crashed for much-needed sleep. Tomorrow, Transdniester!
Aeroflot SVO-KIV
Chisinau Apartment
Flight: Austin, TX (AUS) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX); Delta E175 economy
Flight: Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Moscow, Russia (SVO); Aeroflot 777 economy
Flight: Moscow, Russia (SVO) to Chisinau, Moldova (KIV); Aeroflot A320 economy
Hotel: Central Australian Apartment; Chisinau, Moldova; 600MDL ($32/nt)
Managed to get in a half-day of work before heading to the airport. I had recently applied for the Citi Prestige card which gives Admirals Club access but apparently you only can use it when flying AA. Not to worry as I also have United club access. The Delta flight left on time and we actually arrived into LAX a bit early which was good as I had only a 2-hr connection. I've been suffering from a gout attack recently (change in diet) and it's been pretty painful to walk. Luckily I got some new drugs before leaving and was able to hoof it down to TBIT without problem.
Despite checking in online with Delta and Aeroflot and already having my boarding passes and no checked baggage, the security line dragons at TBIT force you to recheck in with the airline desks (a stupid policy). I had already verified my passport with Delta in Austin. I don't have Skyteam status so had to wait in line 25 minutes just to get a boarding pass which was identical to the ones I'd already printed out... that made me lose TSA precheck status on my BP (though appears TBIT doesn't have precheck anyway? another stupid policy). I did have a few minutes to kill and went to the Diners Club (Korean Airlines) lounge for a few minutes before boarding. As it was they didn't start boarding until about 10 minutes before scheduled departure. The line stretched a fair distance and they didn't seem to enforce any boarding rules.
LAX TBIT Korean Airlines lounge
The last time I flew Aeroflot was in 2005, both times on old Russian Tupolov airliners. This was a pretty new 777 with Biz + Premium economy. The premium eco seats looked pretty nice and I was regretting asking if it was possible to pay to upgrade (though likely not on an award ticket). I had one of the first rows in regular economy though. Seat was comfortable enough with a good choice of AVOD movies. The flight was completely full from what I could see. We ended up leaving about 30 minutes late. I watched a few movies during the 11-hr flight including Into the Wild and Horrible Bosses 2. I have been on a low-carb/high protein/veggies diet lately but that's hard to maintain while traveling and I figured I would have to cheat this week.
Aeroflot 777 Economy Plus seat
Aeroflot Y LAX-SVO
We arrived a few minutes early into SVO. My phone was confused, thinking it was an hour later than it was. Russia did away with daylight savings this year so it's actually now GMT+3 instead of GMT+4. I had a long (7-hr) layover in Moscow but didn't get a Russian visa so I was stuck. The 'new' D-terminal was pretty nice though, certainly much better than the last time I flew in and out of Moscow (old SVO1/2). I went to the Blues lounge (Diners Club) to sit and wait out the hours. They had some limited food available (chicken meatballs, sausage) and some desserts.
Blues Lounge, SVO Terminal D
We finally started late boarding and departed for Chisinau 15 minutes late. This flight also was pretty full but we arrived 30 minutes early. I had a good economy seat but on arrival they deplaned via bus which always messes up the order of arrival at immigration. Very quick and efficient immigration and I found an ATM in the lobby. I called the apartment to let them know I'd arrived. No-hassle taxis as well, 100 Leu ($5.25) rate to town center. I was liking Moldova already! Arrived at the apartment gate to find nobody there... but the girl (cute) showed up with the key a few minutes later. I apologized for the late arrival and early departure times. The apartment was quite nice, just a single large room with kitchenette and washer/dryer. The room had a minibar, flat screen TV, aircon and a portable wi-fi device. Had a shower then crashed for much-needed sleep. Tomorrow, Transdniester!
Aeroflot SVO-KIV
Chisinau Apartment
Last edited by hauteboy; Jul 5, 2015 at 4:05 pm
Jul 5, 2015, 11:40 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,462
I think there's a limit on # of connections/airlines you can use. The website let me select the flight segments but errored out when I went to actually make the change. Had to get a supervisor to sort it out. This is my first crazy award ticket I've tried to book, most of mine have been pretty simple so far!
Jul 5, 2015, 5:54 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,462
Jul 3, 2015
Hotel: Central Australian Apartment; Chisinau, Moldova; $32/nt
Even with the long travel the past few days I was up early at 6:30AM. I left the apartment, walking through the quiet streets to the bus station about 5 blocks away. On the way I passed an Uzbek restaurant and I decided to come back for dinner. The houses and buildings here reminded me a bit of Tbilisi, Georgia. At the bus station I found the minibuses waiting to go to Tiraspol, the capital of Transdniester. There were only a few people onboard and the buses usually don't run until full. The fare was 37 lei ($2). Luckily the wait for other passengers wasn't too long though and we were on the road by 7:20. It started drizzling as we left town for the ~2 hr ride. Along the way we picked up a few locals, including a peasant woman with a black eye and her rough looking husband.
It was still raining as we arrived at the border crossing into the Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya Respublika (PMR). In the past supposedly this crossing was rife with corruption, but now it was very easy. As I was only going for a day visit they gave me an entry card and said I needed to cross back by 18:30. The rain continued as we passed through the town of Bender, although it is on the west bank of the Dniester it is still controlled by the PMR. As we crossed the river there were some Russian soldiers and equipment stationed here. It was another few minutes to Tiraspol, luckily by this point the rain had stopped. I had my GPS so I got off the minibus early instead of going all the way to the train station. It was just past 9AM.
PMR Entry Permit
I walked down a few blocks, past Karl Marx and Puskin streets to October 25 street, the main street containing the government buildings and monuments. I also passed the Russian consulate which had a large group of people waiting outside, supposedly for visas. One problem with being an unrecognized country is Transdniester residents don't have a passport.. many have other nationalities such as Russian or Ukranian passports. The Parliament building was further down the street with a huge Lenin statue in front. Supposedly you're not allowed to take pictures of the building but I managed a few discreet ones... there wasn't much traffic around and I didn't want to get noticed! Next was the tank monument and memorial to soldiers killed in Afghanistan and the Transdniester-Moldova war in 1990-92.
There was a cinema nearby showing/advertising all the latest movies (Inside Out, Terminator Genesis, etc). I was getting a bit hungry but Andy's Pizza didn't open until 10 AM. I still had a few minutes to kill so found an exchange place to convert leu into rubles, wandered up to the Orthodox Church where I discovered the farmer's market next door. Lots of fresh veggies, fruits and honey for sale. One of the guys selling honey had pictures of him and his gf? covered with bees... The meat market was here and had lots of stalls of pork, beef, lamb, rabbit, etc. I asked if I could take pictures and one woman just shrugged her shoulders in Slavic indifference. I wandered around a bit but then I guess the market matron came by and started speaking to me in Russian. Probably asking why I was taking photos there. I just said 'I don't understand' in Russian and walked away. I'd gotten enough photos by that point anyway.
Market
Back to Andy's Pizza where I tried to keep off the carbs and instead ordered a chicken wrapped around spinach. Pretty good but it came with potatoes which I ate anyway. The waiter spoke pretty decent English and had been to the US before. It was about 11 AM so decided to head back to Chisinau and visiting some monasteries. I was on my way to the train station when I spotted a Chisinau-bound minibus and flagged him down. A bit more expensive at 40 rubles ($3.33). Which still left me with 25 rubles ($2) left over as a souvenir. Leaving the PMR was even easier as a female officer got on board and just collected our entry permits. On the way back I started talking with a guy in front of me who spoke some English. I hopped off the bus early in Chisinau to walk a bit and I was back at my hotel by 2PM. I suddenly felt very tired and had a nap for a few hours. So much for getting out to the monasteries, when I finally headed out again it was nearly 5PM.
Transdniester rubles
Andy's P izza
As I was heading out of the apartment there was a group standing there wearing traditional clothes. I thought they might be performing at the theater next door. I walked down to the corner and found there were hundreds of others dressed all in folk costumes.. apparently there was some sort of parade/festival going on! There were groups from all over Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, of all ages. Some were singing and dancing and playing instruments. Made for great photos. I'd gotten there just in time as the parade started heading up the main street. I ran ahead of the parade to the 'Arc du Triomphe' where each group would stop and do their dance or song. The skies looked like they were about to pour rain at any minute. I stopped by the Russian Orthodox church but there was a huge line stretching out the door. I headed back to the apartment none too soon as the cold front blew in, throwing dust and leaves everywhere, but luckily made it back before the rain started.
Folklore Parade
Arch of Triumph
Cathedral
It was still raining an hour later but by then I was famished. The apartment provided an umbrella and I headed to the Caravan restaurant I had seen earlier. Ordered a plate of manti (dumplings) and kebab. Very good but Central Asian cooking tends to use a bit heavier hand with the fennel than I like. I then had a cup of coffee for dessert, which ended up being a bad idea. It was still light so I walked up to the park where the folk groups were still performing on stage. I found a Romanian doll for miss hauteboy and went back to the hotel.. I had to be up at 3AM to catch my 5:30 AM flight to Vienna.
Moldovan Leu
Caravan Restaurant
Hotel: Central Australian Apartment; Chisinau, Moldova; $32/nt
Even with the long travel the past few days I was up early at 6:30AM. I left the apartment, walking through the quiet streets to the bus station about 5 blocks away. On the way I passed an Uzbek restaurant and I decided to come back for dinner. The houses and buildings here reminded me a bit of Tbilisi, Georgia. At the bus station I found the minibuses waiting to go to Tiraspol, the capital of Transdniester. There were only a few people onboard and the buses usually don't run until full. The fare was 37 lei ($2). Luckily the wait for other passengers wasn't too long though and we were on the road by 7:20. It started drizzling as we left town for the ~2 hr ride. Along the way we picked up a few locals, including a peasant woman with a black eye and her rough looking husband.
It was still raining as we arrived at the border crossing into the Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya Respublika (PMR). In the past supposedly this crossing was rife with corruption, but now it was very easy. As I was only going for a day visit they gave me an entry card and said I needed to cross back by 18:30. The rain continued as we passed through the town of Bender, although it is on the west bank of the Dniester it is still controlled by the PMR. As we crossed the river there were some Russian soldiers and equipment stationed here. It was another few minutes to Tiraspol, luckily by this point the rain had stopped. I had my GPS so I got off the minibus early instead of going all the way to the train station. It was just past 9AM.
PMR Entry Permit
I walked down a few blocks, past Karl Marx and Puskin streets to October 25 street, the main street containing the government buildings and monuments. I also passed the Russian consulate which had a large group of people waiting outside, supposedly for visas. One problem with being an unrecognized country is Transdniester residents don't have a passport.. many have other nationalities such as Russian or Ukranian passports. The Parliament building was further down the street with a huge Lenin statue in front. Supposedly you're not allowed to take pictures of the building but I managed a few discreet ones... there wasn't much traffic around and I didn't want to get noticed! Next was the tank monument and memorial to soldiers killed in Afghanistan and the Transdniester-Moldova war in 1990-92.
There was a cinema nearby showing/advertising all the latest movies (Inside Out, Terminator Genesis, etc). I was getting a bit hungry but Andy's Pizza didn't open until 10 AM. I still had a few minutes to kill so found an exchange place to convert leu into rubles, wandered up to the Orthodox Church where I discovered the farmer's market next door. Lots of fresh veggies, fruits and honey for sale. One of the guys selling honey had pictures of him and his gf? covered with bees... The meat market was here and had lots of stalls of pork, beef, lamb, rabbit, etc. I asked if I could take pictures and one woman just shrugged her shoulders in Slavic indifference. I wandered around a bit but then I guess the market matron came by and started speaking to me in Russian. Probably asking why I was taking photos there. I just said 'I don't understand' in Russian and walked away. I'd gotten enough photos by that point anyway.
Market
Back to Andy's Pizza where I tried to keep off the carbs and instead ordered a chicken wrapped around spinach. Pretty good but it came with potatoes which I ate anyway. The waiter spoke pretty decent English and had been to the US before. It was about 11 AM so decided to head back to Chisinau and visiting some monasteries. I was on my way to the train station when I spotted a Chisinau-bound minibus and flagged him down. A bit more expensive at 40 rubles ($3.33). Which still left me with 25 rubles ($2) left over as a souvenir. Leaving the PMR was even easier as a female officer got on board and just collected our entry permits. On the way back I started talking with a guy in front of me who spoke some English. I hopped off the bus early in Chisinau to walk a bit and I was back at my hotel by 2PM. I suddenly felt very tired and had a nap for a few hours. So much for getting out to the monasteries, when I finally headed out again it was nearly 5PM.
Transdniester rubles
Andy's P izza
As I was heading out of the apartment there was a group standing there wearing traditional clothes. I thought they might be performing at the theater next door. I walked down to the corner and found there were hundreds of others dressed all in folk costumes.. apparently there was some sort of parade/festival going on! There were groups from all over Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, of all ages. Some were singing and dancing and playing instruments. Made for great photos. I'd gotten there just in time as the parade started heading up the main street. I ran ahead of the parade to the 'Arc du Triomphe' where each group would stop and do their dance or song. The skies looked like they were about to pour rain at any minute. I stopped by the Russian Orthodox church but there was a huge line stretching out the door. I headed back to the apartment none too soon as the cold front blew in, throwing dust and leaves everywhere, but luckily made it back before the rain started.
Folklore Parade
Arch of Triumph
Cathedral
It was still raining an hour later but by then I was famished. The apartment provided an umbrella and I headed to the Caravan restaurant I had seen earlier. Ordered a plate of manti (dumplings) and kebab. Very good but Central Asian cooking tends to use a bit heavier hand with the fennel than I like. I then had a cup of coffee for dessert, which ended up being a bad idea. It was still light so I walked up to the park where the folk groups were still performing on stage. I found a Romanian doll for miss hauteboy and went back to the hotel.. I had to be up at 3AM to catch my 5:30 AM flight to Vienna.
Moldovan Leu
Caravan Restaurant
Jul 5, 2015, 9:12 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Los Angeles / Basel
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 26,923
^^^^
I have to get my Transnistria report up so we can [compare] notes.
LOVING this so far.
I have to get my Transnistria report up so we can [compare] notes.
LOVING this so far.
Last edited by MatthewLAX; Jul 6, 2015 at 10:24 am Reason: compare, not prepare!
Jul 6, 2015, 3:44 am
#9
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Dubai
Posts: 3,301
Congrats on finishing Europe, Jordan! Must be up to 185 countries now
?
I'm catching an Aeroflot flight to SVO next week too.
Tiraspol looks like it was super interesting, and seeing all the locals dressed up in traditional dress in Chișinău must have been a highlight.
Looking forward to the Balkan road trip and Croatia Airlines flight.
?I'm catching an Aeroflot flight to SVO next week too
. Tiraspol looks like it was super interesting, and seeing all the locals dressed up in traditional dress in Chișinău must have been a highlight.
Looking forward to the Balkan road trip and Croatia Airlines flight.
Jul 6, 2015, 1:15 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,462
Congrats on finishing Europe, Jordan! Must be up to 185 countries now?
I'm catching an Aeroflot flight to SVO next week too.
Tiraspol looks like it was super interesting, and seeing all the locals dressed up in traditional dress in Chișinău must have been a highlight.
Looking forward to the Balkan road trip and Croatia Airlines flight.
?I'm catching an Aeroflot flight to SVO next week too
. Tiraspol looks like it was super interesting, and seeing all the locals dressed up in traditional dress in Chișinău must have been a highlight.
Looking forward to the Balkan road trip and Croatia Airlines flight.
Last edited by hauteboy; Jul 6, 2015 at 1:23 pm
Jul 6, 2015, 2:00 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,462
Jul 4, 2015
Flight: Chisinau, Moldova (KIV) to Vienna, Austria (VIE); Austrian F100 economy
Flight: Vienna, Austria (VIE) to Zagreb, Croatia (ZAG); Austrian DH8 economy
Flight: Zagreb, Croatia (ZAG) to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina (SJJ); Croatian DH8 economy
Hotel: Pansion Vijećnica; Sarajevo; 30EUR/nt
Today was going to be a crazy kind of day. Wake up in Moldova, transit Austria to Croatia, lunch in Slovenia, dinner back in Croatia, then sleep in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Assuming I could keep my sanity, by the time the day was finished I would have visited every country in Europe. Having that coffee didn't help things as I wasn't able to sleep at ALL. Even after taking a melatonin. So I tossed and turned for a few hours before it was time to get up at 3AM. Ugh, not looking good for sanity. I tried booking a taxi to the airport online but it required a Moldovan cell #.
I called the apartment girl and she showed up about 20 minutes later, and luckily had a taxi waiting. She gave me back the security deposit (500 Leu). Dropped her back at her place then to the airport, arrived about 3:45 AM for 100 Leu. There was already a line for checkin. There didn't appear to be a lounge so I had a bit of a wait. The flight to Vienna left on time which was good as I only had a 35-minute connect time! Vienna has a 25-minute MCT and I'd been checking the flight times and this flight seemed to be consistently 30 minutes early. I did finally get some sleep on the flight and arrived 20 minutes early. It was only 6AM so very little traffic yet in the airport and I was through to the non-Schengen gates in just a few minutes. I didn't have enough time to visit the lounge. The Zagreb flight also left on time for the quick 40-minute hop. There were two Australian-Croatian families onboard taking their kids to see family.
Austrian Airlines KIV-VIE
Once in Zagreb I picked up my rental car and was on the road by 8:30AM. I was still feeling pretty good despite not getting much sleep! It was a gorgeously clear day and not yet too hot, about 28C. The road north to Slovenia was mostly motorway/tollway. My maps said the driving time to Maribor should only be about 90 minutes for the 80-mile trip. The toll was 47 HRK. The last part of the drive was dramatic, passing through several tunnels and through the mountains. Arrived at the border about 9:45 and paid 15EUR for a 7-day vignette to drive in Slovenia. There was a huge line of cars crossing into Croatia from Slovenia and I worried about how long it might take to cross back into Croatia. My concerns got worse as I passed mile after mile of backed-up cars... apparently half of Europe was headed to Croatia this weekend. The traffic finally thinned once I passed Ptuj. The going on my side was clear and smooth though and I arrived into Maribor about 10:15 AM.
Driving in Croatia
I had read about the Lent festival going on this week in Maribor, they said free parking was available at Europark across the river. Never to turn down free parking, I found the parking garage with no problems. I walked across the bridge and into old town. There were lots of booths and tents setup for the festival but it looks like most of them didn't open until later in the evening. There were a few bars and restaurants here along the river. The "world's oldest grapevine" is located in Maribor at Hisa Stara Trte. I found an ATM, grabbed some more Euro then bought a sour cherry ice cream. Found a postcard for miss hauteboy then wandered around to the central square. There were some dancing troupes here from all over the world, Benin, Hawaii, Thailand for the festival.
Maribor, Slovenia
Hisa Stara Trte - world's oldest grapevine
Maribor, Slovenia
After an hour so of wandering, I decided to head back to Croatia earlier than planned. Still was concerned about making it back across the border and still having time to see Zagreb before catching my 10PM flight to Sarajevo. I was checking my phone GPS for alternate routes and saw one that veered off near Ptuj. That turned out to be a great option as not only was there no traffic, but it was a much more dramatic and lovely drive. I came to one town that had a huge church perched on top of a hill with a great view out over the surrounding countryside. The rest of the drive reminded me strangely of eastern Ohio a bit... my aunt lives there and I remember taking lots of rural back roads to get to her place. The towns here were small farming communities and the road ran through the hollows in the hills.
Slovenia
I reached the Croatian border at 12:45, absolutely no traffic here and no problems crossing. There weren't even any officers on the Slovenian side so I just drove through. Both Slovenia and Croatia are in the EU but Croatia is not yet part of Schengen. I rejoined the expressway soon after and was back at the Zagreb airport by 2:30PM. Another advantage of the detour, the toll was only 28 Kn vs 47! They really stiff it to you those last 10kms or so of the toll road! Originally I'd planned on driving the car into town and then out to the airport, but lack of sleep was catching up with me and I just decided to return the car and catch the shuttle bus into town.
There is a shuttle bus that runs every 30 minutes from the airport to the bus station and v.v. for 30 Kn. I caught the 3PM bus and managed to get some sleep on the 30-minute drive into town. I dropped my bags at the left luggage and started walking towards old town. It was pretty warm by this point, over 30C. I walked to the main Cathedral and the Dolec market, but it had already shut down for the day. Zagreb seemed like a nice town, clean, lots of trams and just a bit touristy. I saw several other tourists and tour groups wandering the streets.
Zagreb
The St. Mark's church was nearby, with its gorgeous tiled design on the roof. The Museum of Broken Relationships is a unique stopping place nearby. They have 'Beers as cold as your ex's heart'. I was starting to fade pretty heavily by now. Grabbed a kebab for a quick dinner and a tram (10 Kn) back to the bus station only to just miss the 6PM bus. Arrived at the airport at 7PM still with 3 hours to kill. I saw the Diners Club lounge up on the 2nd floor but didn't see how to get up there. I went through security and but the Star Alliance lounge was for Gold/Biz only (no UA Club access), they said the Diners Club lounge is pre-security only. bummer.
St. Mark's Church, Zagreb
Museum of Broken Relationships, Zagreb
Croatian Kuna
The flight to Sarajevo left on time and we luckily arrived early. I did manage to get some sleep on the airport bus and flight so I found a bit of a second wind. My bed and breakfast offered transport from the airport, and we soon set off, with him giving a bit of a mini tour as we drove into town. We passed the Latin Bridge where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, then the City Hall. The pension was just past City Hall, a good location for exploring the old town.
Despite it being nearly midnight, I was pretty hungry and decided to go walk around town a bit. The air here was refreshingly cool, much better than sweaty Zagreb. I walked back to the Latin Bridge then into Baščaršija, the old Ottoman quarter. This was full of bars, restaurants and hostels and was packed with people. I eventually found a place still serving food and ordered a ćevapčići, traditional bread filled with spicy sausage, delicious! Got back to the pension about 1AM, and totally crashed. My goal of finishing visiting every country in Europe this trip was now complete!
Pansion Vijećnica
City Hall
Water fountain - Sarajevo water is very good
ćevapčići
Flight: Chisinau, Moldova (KIV) to Vienna, Austria (VIE); Austrian F100 economy
Flight: Vienna, Austria (VIE) to Zagreb, Croatia (ZAG); Austrian DH8 economy
Flight: Zagreb, Croatia (ZAG) to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina (SJJ); Croatian DH8 economy
Hotel: Pansion Vijećnica; Sarajevo; 30EUR/nt
Today was going to be a crazy kind of day. Wake up in Moldova, transit Austria to Croatia, lunch in Slovenia, dinner back in Croatia, then sleep in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Assuming I could keep my sanity, by the time the day was finished I would have visited every country in Europe. Having that coffee didn't help things as I wasn't able to sleep at ALL. Even after taking a melatonin. So I tossed and turned for a few hours before it was time to get up at 3AM. Ugh, not looking good for sanity. I tried booking a taxi to the airport online but it required a Moldovan cell #.
I called the apartment girl and she showed up about 20 minutes later, and luckily had a taxi waiting. She gave me back the security deposit (500 Leu). Dropped her back at her place then to the airport, arrived about 3:45 AM for 100 Leu. There was already a line for checkin. There didn't appear to be a lounge so I had a bit of a wait. The flight to Vienna left on time which was good as I only had a 35-minute connect time! Vienna has a 25-minute MCT and I'd been checking the flight times and this flight seemed to be consistently 30 minutes early. I did finally get some sleep on the flight and arrived 20 minutes early. It was only 6AM so very little traffic yet in the airport and I was through to the non-Schengen gates in just a few minutes. I didn't have enough time to visit the lounge. The Zagreb flight also left on time for the quick 40-minute hop. There were two Australian-Croatian families onboard taking their kids to see family.
Austrian Airlines KIV-VIE
Once in Zagreb I picked up my rental car and was on the road by 8:30AM. I was still feeling pretty good despite not getting much sleep! It was a gorgeously clear day and not yet too hot, about 28C. The road north to Slovenia was mostly motorway/tollway. My maps said the driving time to Maribor should only be about 90 minutes for the 80-mile trip. The toll was 47 HRK. The last part of the drive was dramatic, passing through several tunnels and through the mountains. Arrived at the border about 9:45 and paid 15EUR for a 7-day vignette to drive in Slovenia. There was a huge line of cars crossing into Croatia from Slovenia and I worried about how long it might take to cross back into Croatia. My concerns got worse as I passed mile after mile of backed-up cars... apparently half of Europe was headed to Croatia this weekend. The traffic finally thinned once I passed Ptuj. The going on my side was clear and smooth though and I arrived into Maribor about 10:15 AM.
Driving in Croatia
I had read about the Lent festival going on this week in Maribor, they said free parking was available at Europark across the river. Never to turn down free parking, I found the parking garage with no problems. I walked across the bridge and into old town. There were lots of booths and tents setup for the festival but it looks like most of them didn't open until later in the evening. There were a few bars and restaurants here along the river. The "world's oldest grapevine" is located in Maribor at Hisa Stara Trte. I found an ATM, grabbed some more Euro then bought a sour cherry ice cream. Found a postcard for miss hauteboy then wandered around to the central square. There were some dancing troupes here from all over the world, Benin, Hawaii, Thailand for the festival.
Maribor, Slovenia
Hisa Stara Trte - world's oldest grapevine
Maribor, Slovenia
After an hour so of wandering, I decided to head back to Croatia earlier than planned. Still was concerned about making it back across the border and still having time to see Zagreb before catching my 10PM flight to Sarajevo. I was checking my phone GPS for alternate routes and saw one that veered off near Ptuj. That turned out to be a great option as not only was there no traffic, but it was a much more dramatic and lovely drive. I came to one town that had a huge church perched on top of a hill with a great view out over the surrounding countryside. The rest of the drive reminded me strangely of eastern Ohio a bit... my aunt lives there and I remember taking lots of rural back roads to get to her place. The towns here were small farming communities and the road ran through the hollows in the hills.
Slovenia
I reached the Croatian border at 12:45, absolutely no traffic here and no problems crossing. There weren't even any officers on the Slovenian side so I just drove through. Both Slovenia and Croatia are in the EU but Croatia is not yet part of Schengen. I rejoined the expressway soon after and was back at the Zagreb airport by 2:30PM. Another advantage of the detour, the toll was only 28 Kn vs 47! They really stiff it to you those last 10kms or so of the toll road! Originally I'd planned on driving the car into town and then out to the airport, but lack of sleep was catching up with me and I just decided to return the car and catch the shuttle bus into town.
There is a shuttle bus that runs every 30 minutes from the airport to the bus station and v.v. for 30 Kn. I caught the 3PM bus and managed to get some sleep on the 30-minute drive into town. I dropped my bags at the left luggage and started walking towards old town. It was pretty warm by this point, over 30C. I walked to the main Cathedral and the Dolec market, but it had already shut down for the day. Zagreb seemed like a nice town, clean, lots of trams and just a bit touristy. I saw several other tourists and tour groups wandering the streets.
Zagreb
The St. Mark's church was nearby, with its gorgeous tiled design on the roof. The Museum of Broken Relationships is a unique stopping place nearby. They have 'Beers as cold as your ex's heart'. I was starting to fade pretty heavily by now. Grabbed a kebab for a quick dinner and a tram (10 Kn) back to the bus station only to just miss the 6PM bus. Arrived at the airport at 7PM still with 3 hours to kill. I saw the Diners Club lounge up on the 2nd floor but didn't see how to get up there. I went through security and but the Star Alliance lounge was for Gold/Biz only (no UA Club access), they said the Diners Club lounge is pre-security only. bummer.
St. Mark's Church, Zagreb
Museum of Broken Relationships, Zagreb
Croatian Kuna
The flight to Sarajevo left on time and we luckily arrived early. I did manage to get some sleep on the airport bus and flight so I found a bit of a second wind. My bed and breakfast offered transport from the airport, and we soon set off, with him giving a bit of a mini tour as we drove into town. We passed the Latin Bridge where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, then the City Hall. The pension was just past City Hall, a good location for exploring the old town.
Despite it being nearly midnight, I was pretty hungry and decided to go walk around town a bit. The air here was refreshingly cool, much better than sweaty Zagreb. I walked back to the Latin Bridge then into Baščaršija, the old Ottoman quarter. This was full of bars, restaurants and hostels and was packed with people. I eventually found a place still serving food and ordered a ćevapčići, traditional bread filled with spicy sausage, delicious! Got back to the pension about 1AM, and totally crashed. My goal of finishing visiting every country in Europe this trip was now complete!
Pansion Vijećnica
City Hall
Water fountain - Sarajevo water is very good
ćevapčići
Last edited by hauteboy; Jul 7, 2015 at 9:04 am
Still wondering how long it will take Burger King to sue them.
Jul 6, 2015, 4:06 pm
#13
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,141
In its way, this is even crazier than most of your trips -- a real logistical ballet dance. Outdoor local "market days" are just about my personal favorite, too, along with the art & architecture.
With the Prestige, by the way, they often don't check boarding passes and so it doesn't really matter what airline you're flying. That's been both my experience and the experience of a friend who also has the card. That's at least for domestic AA clubs.
With the Prestige, by the way, they often don't check boarding passes and so it doesn't really matter what airline you're flying. That's been both my experience and the experience of a friend who also has the card. That's at least for domestic AA clubs.
Jul 6, 2015, 4:17 pm
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,462