Hi all! It's time for some holidays. After making a quick research, I decided to go to Zadar. I have never been to Croatia, so it will be a new country for me. As for now, I have only booked flights and accommodation, so all the rest will be decided on the go.
I had an opportunity to book boring trip via FRA/MUC, but we are not here to go the boring way, right?
So, this is what I booked after some research:
Polonez Elite for some breakfast. It has been some time since my last visit there, so let's see how it is now.
WAW to VIE on Austrian E195 (BAU)
Senator lounge in VIE - new lounge for me, since reaching Senator I did not have the opportunity to transit via VIE.
VIE to ZAG on ATR72 Austrian, but operated by Brathens Regional. New plane type for me, so I'm excited about it. Business cabin is at the back, so let's see how it works with this configuration.
Lounge in ZAG, no idea which one, but will see.
ZAG to ZAD with stopover in Pula on Croatia Airlines Q400, business cabin at the front. Probably one of the few flights in Europe with a stopover, interesting experience. And coming back to Q400 after retirement from LOT. Also, new airline for me.
Flight back
ZAD to FRA on Discovery, A320, as far as I remember. New airline for me, let's see how it works in comparison to LH.
Senator lounge in FRA, BAU.
FRA to WAW on LH, boring as always, but let's see the new food concept.

Apartment in Zadar is booked, all other decisions will be done at upcoming days, or just at the moment. I need to rest, so there is not much plan, deliberately.
If you have any suggestion what to do, and where to go there, it will be highly appreciated!

Greetings from Vienna Senator lounge. So, time to start this trip.

Bag dropped, so it's time for a quick breakfast in Polonez Elite.




Really classic offer, only new things are the new branded wafers.

Near the gate 43 there is a beer pub with some nice offerings (and airport prices):


Now, it's time to hop on E195. 4 rows of business cabin, 2 seats taken. Load rather light. Meal - business as usual. Boring, but in a positive manner.





Typical morning flight, uneventful.

Where (and how/why) did the peg come from? Not the sort of thing you usually see on a plane!

Typical from Austrian. To clip the napkin. I don't know why, but I have some strange temptation to remove them from plane and have quite a few of them in my house

Happy with the meal and my flight, it was time to land. Nice views after landing (see you soon, ATR)


Also some plane spotting


Senator lounge is smaller than the business one, with limited facilities (toilets outside, showers outside, no sleeping beds). Offering os typical


Eggs, sausages and cold cuts available. But, we are not here for eggs. Say that you're in Vienna, without saying that you're in Vienna:


More turboprops on the tarmac


N�w it's slowly time to go and catch an ATR for the first time for me.

Boarding from the back, also new for me. I'm lucky to have the Compact carry on, so I was allowed to bring it to the cabin.



No curtain, OK legroom





Big plus for the card with explanation what and why is going on. Time for a meal and some drinks. On the morning flight and in the lounge I was not in mood for any wine or something, but it's slowly time to change it. We are on holidays, right?





Unfortunately, this meal can only be classified as a sad joke. No information, wooden cutlery. Packing it home? Good joke, it can open easily, and spread everywhere. Sorry, but no. At least flavor was OK. But still I think that Austrian can do better. At least serve it on proper china.

Can say, that comparing to Q400, ATR is less bumpy and shaky. Noise is acceptable, legroom OK. No objections to fly again.

With about 3 hours on the ground in Zagreb, I had an idea to explore the airport at first. But there is nothing really to explore, despite having about 26 gates. Signage is poor, so you go, where you think that It may be good to go. Few floors up, than somewhere around, and you are in the shopping and food area. Even magnets are poor, so for now I don't have one. Oh, there is some form of exhibition:




With no other options, I went to the lounge. Croatia Airlines do not have their own lounge (shame, BTW), there is only the Prime Class lounge. Well, I expected little bit more, but let's see.
And I'm surprised, in a positive way. This is a really good contract lounge! Comparing to some, especially in Italy (LIN), it's a luxury place to be!








Good Austrian coffee, pancakes station, soup, chicken in horseradish sauce, some salad bar and sandwiches. Well, that's above my expectations. Still no bells and whistles, but the job is done. You will not leave this place hungry and/or sober

Karlovacko is a nice beer, with clear bitterness, very drinkable. Time to sit here for some time, and then board final leg of this trip.

Enjoy your vacation!

Interesting itinerary, did you book directly on Austrian?

I sat in the PrimeClass lounge for 8 hours in August 2021, self-connecting from a SPU-ZAG Croatia Airlines flight to BA's ZAG-LHR service. Given that we were still coming out of the pandemic, SPU-LHR (never mind to the US) was extremely limited.

My buddy also found Karlovacko extremely drinkable during our time in the lounge and proceeded to puke in the Galleries lounge during our layover at LHR! Good memories...

Great tr - enjoy the holiday!

at least they don�t require much space like Conrad plush and fra rubber ducks.

Yes, searched via google flights and booked directly on Austrian.

So, final flight of the day. Spoiler: nice views, disappointing service.

Boarding was from gate 10, which is quite a distance from the lounge. On the way we can see the new charging stations:


During boarding there was a beep on the gate - seat change. So, they changed my seat from 1A to... 1A. But of course.
Q400, front door boarding.


Very good legroom in 1A


Few minutes after takeoff small snack box and a beer was served. And, well, this was the end of the service for this trip.



In Pula crew was replaced, plane was cleaned, etc. Passengers going to Zadaw were not allowed to leave the plane even for a minute. When I asked if I can take some pictures of the plane, the answer was "if you will now step down from the stairs, than yes". OK...
The stopover took maybe a good 50 minutes. I used the lavatory in the meantime, and it was really claustrophobic. Really.
Trip in total took about 2 hours, more than it was scheduled. BTW, passengers from Pula to Zagreb have to fly via Zadar, so it's a triangle route. Interesting.

Finally, some pictures:









Overall, interesting experience, but very limited service and total duration makes it a questionable choice. Do I regret? No. Will I repeat? Rather no.

Now you know the triangle. If you had just flown via muc / fra then you’d still wonder what you were missing :-)
enjoy the trip!

Oh, just one small addition to the lounge topic - when I was about to leave I saw a "pizza". Well, let's not call Italians, as they will have many questions, but it was tasty, especially the one with cheese (salty, rich, really nice).

When it comes to food, I think that there is a lot of things to do here. Remark #1 - pizza is the most common food here. You can find pizza everywhere, even in bakeries, when a slice is 3-3.5 Euro (budget option). In restaurants from about 12 to 18. Haven't tried it yet, as there are better things to do






The cevap with bread and craft beer was 23 Euro with tip at Bistro Gusti (they have few locations in Zadar, BTW). Great, simple food, loved the spicy sauces (just be aware, the 5/5 is a no-s...t opponent )

Today I had a lunch at Well.
Beef tartare for a starter and grilled squid for main, combined with a glass of sparkling wine and white wine.










Excellent tartare with burrata (I think) and sweety flavor. Not teriyaki, but something similar. Very interesting. Nice bread, good quality butter and olive oil. The squid was pretty good, the serving was more than enough. 60 Euro total with tip. Worth it. I consider coming back for some lamb dish. I had the lunch about 3 p.m. and I'm so full, that I skipped the dinner. Had just few bites of prsut from the fridge.