Italy, Montenegro, Serbia and Austria

[RB]

First overseas holiday for quite a while for us- building a new house does that! We are off to Europe for about 6 weeks- visiting Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, Germany & Austria. As before we are using public transport to get around and mainly staying at apartments-we never did much travel for work so have no hotel affiliations and enjoy the space & flexibility. Flights are a combo of Lifemiles, credit card travel credits and a couple of paid tickets. Rooms were booked direct or through booking.com (generous cancellation conditions). We are keen walkers so the destinations were to allow us to enjoy our love of the outdoors. Between booking and travel TG changed schedules so we had significant time at BKK both ways.

21st May
PQQ-SYD. VA 1184 Seats 12 A & C ATR72

We had been watching Uber over the previous week to get an idea of the number of vehicles out there prior to 9am. Today there was only 1 showing so we bit the bullet and left home early to avoid any hassles. A good service and turns out we had a common friend with the driver! Plenty of work still happening with the expansion of the airport facilities. No wait for dropping our bags & we then sat in the sun & killed time. As expected I got a full body wave & bag scan as we moved through to the waiting room. Priority boarding worked as expected at a small airport-half of the rows at a time. Looked like about 20 spare seats scattered throughout the plane. We actually pushed back about 10 minutes early but arrived in SYD on time. Crew were fine but the mini granola cookie & orange juice aren’t very inspiring.
Bags were quick to the carousel and being a great sunny day we decided to stretch the legs and walk to the Meriton Suites at Coward St Mascot. An easy flat walk but heaps of roadworks happening so it took us about 20 minutes with our roller bags ( train, bus service or the Meriton shuttle are easy alternatives)

PQQ Airport Works In Progress


ATR 72 Legroom


VA Offering

 

[RB]

I have reviewed our stay at the Meriton here Meriton Suites Coward St Sydney

May 22nd
Very easy to get to the airport from the Meriton. A 5 min walk then a lift down to the platform at Mascot station. Senior Opal card meant it cost around $7.70 each so good value for the convenience-just missed 1 train so an 8 min wake for the next.

TG 476 747 All Series J 16A & K.
Thai Business Check-In -We had no wait & we were successful when I asked for exit row on upper deck-smaller screens but easier to get past one another if we decided to snooze. The facility upgrages that were happening did not slow us down at immigration. I got the full treatment-had to go the full body scan & then had our cabin baggage taken aside for an inspection-nothing found & we were through within 15 minutes of lining up at check-in.
TRS claim-I had done the exercise to produce the QR code for our claim. A bit of a line & some people were still doing paper claims but quick & friendly & we were out in 10 minutes.
Our boarding passes had Air NZ lounge printed on it but we opted for the SQ lounge. Not a lot of people inside so we got window seats to do some watching- a nice barista made coffee & variety of hot or continental breakfast products did the trick. Celebrated the start of the holiday with a Beer, JW black & a champers. We were warned there were no boarding calls but could see screens.
Boarding a little late after 9.30am-separate line for F/J/Elites and Y had 2 lines according to seating row.
We had 16J & 16K but prior to take-off I was able to move to 16A-so we both had windows & the only 2 spare seats upstairs were next to us! Lacoste amenity kits were at the seat as we boarded.
Thought the food was pretty good & the staff were attentive.
Most people slept after the 1st meal service. A pretty smooth flight with a few bumps after we left Aust.
We touched down a little early & had only a very quick taxi to the gate. There was no hurry as we had around 8 hrs to kill.
BKK Transit Security-shorter lines than previous but belts & shoes off.
We figured since there was a storm happening we would stay at the airport.

Singapore Lounge SYD


Lacoste Amenity Kit


Plenty of Leg Room






Think I have the correct description-Beef tenderloin with potato in Massaman curry served with Chicken with straw mushroom in Coconut Galangal Soup, Deep Fried Marinated Pork, Stir Fried Kailan and steamed Jasmine rice


2nd service included grilled herb chicken beast with Turkish Bread Roll, Swiss Cheese & Onion Relish

 

[I love to travel]

Where in Austria are you going? I am there in 5 weeks so any tips for Vienna and Salzburg would be great.

 

[RB]

Where in Austria are you going? I am there in 5 weeks so any tips for Vienna and Salzburg would be great.

Sorry no help to you there-we visited Schruns & Seefeld. Both those areas had a damp spring apparently so the countryside was magical

 

[RB]

I think we have decided that if we travel TG on the 747 again we would not bother with chasing the exit row seats. Our only motivation is that the exit row means you don't have to clamber over your partner to get to the aisle. The payback is that you miss out on the much better seat-back screen. Note also that aisle seats have no storage & that would be a nuisance if you aren't travelling with the person in the wing seat (that has the big storage bin).
Silk Lounge Concourse D was first stop-plenty of variety of small snacks, some self serve others presented by staff. No bubbles available.
Next step was the Spa-30 minute treatment available as J passengers. No wait & enjoyed the very strong neck & shoulder massage. This is a very nice area in the airport and we have always been greeted warmly and treated well.
With plenty of time up our sleeve we opted to undertake our own mini lounge crawl.
Eva Lounge-had read it was funky & that is probably a good description re the lighting & furniture. Very few people, Flat white wine and a self pour Heineken tap available. A (very hot) bidet in the toilet! No waiting to use either of the 2 shower rooms (leave your boarding pass at the front desk to get a key). Heaps of room, plenty of hot water & pressure & L’Occitane products in use. So a very pleasant stay.

Turkish Airlines Lounge-Newish building, manned bar with 2 choices of bubbles-BellevilleE Brut or Villa Sandi prosecco. Canned beer only and the food supply was very limited at that time of night. I think they have a 22.45 flight and those people would have departed by the time we arrived.

Singapore Lounge-we were welcome but they were closing at 11pm (10 minutes time) so it was back to the Royal Silk Lounge to wait to board

Photo1-Thai, Photos 2-6 -Eva Photo 7-Turkish

 

[RB]

TG 940-A350-900 15A & 16B BKK-MXP

Our plane was apparently late in, so boarding was delayed. Fairly orderly with no extra security check carried out at the holding gate-this extra check had been a total pain when we travelled previously as the area where it is done becomes a shambles . Boarding was very rushed in an attempt to makeup time. Departure was supposed to be 00.40am, we pushed back at 00.55am. The cabin was sprayed as we taxied. Amenities case is Mandarina Duck-something I was not familiar with. Mrs RB immediately regretted opting to take a B seat-very exposed to the aisle. Seatbelts are a shoulder style & a nuisance & the cabin crew overooked explaining how to unlatch for the lying position. I was very unimpressed by the sleeping position of my window seat. I am around 188cm & rubbed both my head & feet when in the sleeping position. The pillow is a mini ( asked for an extra & it improved things) and the footwell is very small (Ok my feet are larger than average!). Overall the seat is not suited to a side sleeper. Exiting the seat area is also narrow & uncomfortable. I did appreciate cabin crew making up the bed. Food for dinner was Ok, continental breakfast very enjoyable- no photos of menus, I was pretty weary by then. Got some great views coming up from the south & the moon still visible in the morning sky.
We made up no time & landed at a remote stand that seemed nearer to Terminal 2. What followed was a very long bus ride then only 4 working at immigration & no priority luggage. The pattern continued as the ticket machines for the trains at the airport were down. The coughulative effect was we ended up on a train that was a bit of a “milk run” to Como San Giovanni station. From there it was the familiar No. 10 bus to Argengo. From there our long-time friend (we met on holidays in Malaysia in 1991) drove us up to the hamlet of Pigra.-you soon forget the little challenges when you finally get to settle after a long time on the move. We have been very fortunate to enjoy a dozen or so visits here and it is a wonderful part of Lake Como-none of the glitz & glamour but relaxed living in an old village with it's lanes and stairways and some fine hiking in the surrounds.

Mandarina Duck


Very uncomfortable feet position

 

[OZDUCK]

That foot-well is positively tiny, my Size 11's would struggle.

 

[RB]

That foot-well is positively tiny, my Size 11's would struggle.

Yes was a total pain. Those shoes are Merrell size 13. I haven't got a photo but the space for getting out into the aisle was also very tight- not sure how some "bigger" travellers get out. Overall I was much more comfortable in the 777-300 on the way home

 

[RB]

Pigra
This map gives a bit of an indicator of where Pigra is relative to the rest of Lake Como- so western side, located high (880m) above Argegno. Access from the lake is via a road leading from Argegno (plenty of switchbacks), through San Fedele Intelve and onwards. The other alternative is via funicular that leaves a few minutes walk north-west of the ferry terminal at Argegno.



In this photo the Pigra funicular station is at the centre top


Wiki doesn't have a lot of detail
Pigra - Wikipedia

Pigra has had a bit of a resurgence since our last visit in 2015. The shop continues to trade, the 3 bars are still kicking along and there seems to be a lot more younger people around. Happily a lot of the old familiar faces are still around. The funicular has been updated & many more people seem to be venturing up from the lake for a look around and having lunch while up here.
Unfortunately our stay has coincided with variable weather. Snippets of nice sun but mainly cloud, some colder winds, thunderstorms, general rain & low cloud-not what we had ordered!
Hiking-there is much improved signage. We had noticed on Facebook that the locals hikers seem to have put a lot of time into signage & clear descriptions of the hikes available. On this trip those improvements are very noticeable & seem to be boosting numbers visiting the village.
Shopping-there is only 1 small store. The current owners have been here quite a while now & receive good support. It is more corner store pricing but the locals appreciate the availability-many are older people who do not drive & the closest alternative at San Fedele is not a very welcoming road. The shops actually walks deliveries to some people.
Entertainment- 3 bars/coffee shops that are well patronised.
The shop owners also run the Pizza joint ( La Lanterne di Pigra). We have patronised here for many years. Only doing lunch time at the moment although they did do a night meal for us- good pasta in wild boar sauce & Mrs RB enjoyed the carbonara. They have a tap white wine that make a reasonable everyday sipper.
Il Capannone-the premises are owned by the community and over time we have seen quite a few iterations. The current owner started in early April this year. They have attracted a strong following & seem to be attracting the younger families along with the regular drinkers. They do pizzas & burgers as standard fare. I enjoyed the Hell tap beer 4 Euro for half litre, Pizzas are 8 Euro & Burger & Chips 10Euro-seemed odd that locals were ordering ketchup with their burgers.
There is also a small wine bar close to the funicular but we didn’t make it there this visit.
We also had a super spaghetti meal at another friends place and a great feed of home cooked fish-bought fresh from the markets at Argegno. Those markets seem to have deteriorated over time, there are very few outlets now & nothing special on offer. Strangely Argegno does not have a supermarket but is now busier overall & the harbour has more boats.

View of Lake Como From Pigra Funicular Station-even better on clear days!-the start of the road up from Argegno is on the bottom right of the photo

 

[RB]

Fri 24th May-first full day in Pigra. Given our travels, we were not considering much exertion on this day and thunderstorms reinforced our thoughts to just wander around the village and have an easy time of it.

The Panee Da l'Alp

Inscription (not sure who wrote it!) reads-the washtub was the meeting point of the village women who had to go there to do the laundry service several times a day, since there was no running water in their houses.
At the washtub the women used to have all types of conversations and this is where all the village gossip originated.
Even after the construction of the Basin da Frecia (town aqueduct) the Panee da l'Alp remained for years the only water spring of the village where all the people wanted to go.

WW2 Pigra Monument


View to West


View from cemetery


Some of the new signage outlining treks available


View in general direction of Bellagio

 

[RB]

The Opera building still hosts some shows


Some nice doorways around-many buildings have been restored but there are also many vacant, derelict ones


One of the many steep pathways-I admire the older locals still getting around-of course there are more longer flat options in a lot of cases


Seems to be a pretty equal population of cats & dogs

 

[RB]

25th May-More storms around
Alpe di Colonno-a hike we have done previously but with the new signage, this time we used the ancient forest road/mule track and path through pines then the beechwood forest. It is a relatively easy climb. There are old stone walls and various streams. The last part of the trek rejoins the main road. The refuge at the top of the climb (we have visited previously) had their fire going but storms were getting closer so turned straight around. From this refuge there are many more paths. One winds down to Lenno on Lake Como-we once missed a turn on this and ended up down on the lake.

Rifugio Alpe di Colonno - Backcountry Huts



The views down to Lake Como aren't the best today




Bit of a View Towards Corniga

 

[RB]

26th May-pretty ordinary weather so we spent the day in the village and reacquanted ourselves with the bars. The changing light provided a different backdrop for photos



View from house yard down to Lake Como



Looking towards the Colico end of the Lake


The former town square

 

[RB]

27th May-another ordinary day with regards the weather. We had never walked down to Argegno and our hosts planned to catch the funicular down & meet up with new friends-both groups owned Russian Bolonka dogs-not sure the breed has reached Australia yet. It was a pretty easy downhill walk (saw a few wild pigs) and the meeting extended past lunch before a ride back up on the funicular.
Starting Point


Our Target

 

[RB]

Argegno Walk Continued
Saw quite a few visitors attending a wedding at the Argegno Belvedere-I am sure it is a nice spot on a fine day!

Our twin hosts nursing the Bolonkas-the brown dog is the one we know






Not sure if Gem 56 & Jacques Vert were on this

 

[RB]

28th May-last full day at Pigra & we were determined to have a hike despite the ongoing threat of thunderstorms. We headed in the direction of the Agriturismo set up La Radici. Bit of a climb first up to get to the top of Pigra then through general countryside-slippery in patches & a very narrow track where I found it difficult to fit my feet in the worn path! This was an out and back track

Sporting fields at the top of Pigra- wild pigs had been tearing up the playing surface


The current owners have been ploughing big dollars into restoring the Pigra Belvedere


A spot for water refills


Not all sections are this open

 

[RB]

29th May
Pigra to Malpensa to Podgorica
The Pigra-Argegno funicular runs on a restricted basis. We caught the funicular then a Number 10 bus to Como station and then a train to Saronno. From there it was an easy transfer to another train to Malpensa Terminal 1 station. It is a bit of a hike from the train to check-in but nothing arduous- just a bit of walking and escalators to navigate with luggage.

Wizz W64902 Y 12A & C with Priority booking. MXP-ADT (Milan Malpensa-Podgorica Montenegro) A320-200
Priority booking was a bit of a fizzer for us although we had read beforehand that the check-in process is a weak link for Wizz. . Check-in opens 2hrs prior to departure. We had checked-in online well before the day but still had bags to check. On the day general check-in opened prior to priority and passengers made it a random scrum (similar to Indian traffic) with roughly 4 lines merging randomly into 2. Priority does give you a cabin allowance of 2 bags (I trolley bag max 10 kg & 118cm and a non-wheeled bag max 90cm to be put under the seat in front). Checked bag allowance was 20kg. We also had an exit row & few had stumped up for the extra-only 4 of the 12 (2 to us) in middle of plane had been sold. From what I had read Wizz has 83 A320's & the average age is only 4.4 yrs.
On the day, Malpensa just seemed to be a mess to get through-longish walk then only 2 security lines operating (pulled aside for extra check-my hands were swabbed & my cabin bag opened swabbed & contents pushed around-the lady in front of me was then eventually pulled aside for more checking). Another long walk & only 4 working at passport control.
By now we only had a short time until scheduled boarding. We had Priority Passes that would go unused if not used on this day so we ventured to the Sala Pergolesi lounge-again totally underwhelming-sad stale food with the exception of some very nice cake-packets of chips were the pick of the rest of the food. Mrs RB really enjoyed the self-pour prosecco on offer, I was less impressed by the luke warm Czech beer & the scotch that was labelled as “about” 5 yrs old
Gate B28 was pretty random by the time we got there. We were bused to the tarmac & despite the boarding pass informing you which door (front or back) to use there were still people confused by this (think there were a lot of inexperienced flyers on the fight). The cabin bins were very large so hassles were minimised. After a rushed boarding we pushed officially left 17 minutes late and arrived 11 minutes late. Despite the cloud we had some great views at the end of the flight. We picked the wrong line at passport control! By the time we were through our bags were waiting!



Some Malpensa options


Leg room shot-I am around 188cm

 

[RB]

Virpazar
This was our 1st visit to Montenegro. Having considered our options we organised for our Virpizar host to meet us at the airport for a 25 minute car transfer (charged us 15 Euro total). Podgorica to Virpazar is an excellent road surface with dual lanes in parts & quite a few roundabouts (we are used to those at PQQ). Our host stuck to the 80km/h limit but there were a few speedsters. Close to Virpazar brilliant views of Lake Skadar emerge.

View out the front of our apartment


Downtown Virpazar

 

[RB]

While at Virpazar, this is the noise and view we woke to each day

 

[RB]

I have posted a review of our Virpazar apartment here Lake View Apartments Virpazar

I think these 2 links provide pretty good background information for Virpazar and Lake Skidar

Virpazar, Montenegro National park Lake Skadar

Virpazar is a small settlement on Lake Skadar, which belongs to municipality of Bar. This is one of the most visited places in National park.

outdoorandmore.me

Undiscovered Montenegro - Lake Skadar National Park

Lake Skadar National Park is a wild wonder waiting to be explored. A vast freshwater lake straddling the borders of Montenegro and Albania and surrounded by dramatic karst mountains, its mirrored waters play host to more than 260 species of birds, traditional fishing villages, islet monasteries...

undiscoveredmontenegro.com

We had arrived in the late afternoon. Despite thunderstorms that continue through our first night we find it very easy to get to the supermarket (open til 9pm) and the restaurants. I am a beer drinker and the Apatinska 500ml cans at around 70 euro cents hit the spot. Dinner was at a spot recommended by our hosts-Konoba Basta. Ok food but nothing special-mains about 7-10 Euros, wine & beer 2-3 Euro so not expecting top food. We got a bit of a wet bum getting home.

Konoba Basta restaurant adjoins the stone bridge