Hello from the Intercity Hotel at Hamburg Altona station. An almost 2 hour delay flying into here, but fortunately the kebab shop & Edeka supermarket (for cold beer) were still open. The platforms are eerily empty now, but not tmrw morning when I will take my last trains of 2021. 
Goodmorning from Hamburg Altona! The early morning long-distance IC and ICE trains are shunted into this terminus station, including an InterCity train to Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps (the infamous location of Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat).
I'm however on the EuroCity service to Zurich, the EC8, which is famous for its 1st class panorama wagon and scenic stretch along the River Rhine.
As I'm only taking the train as far as Cologne today and thus will miss out on the scenic Rhine stretch, I didn't bother paying more for first class and just settled for a seat in 2nd class in these comfy SBB wagons. Little German bakery breakfast at my seat to wake up!
Yesterday @hvondelen managed to picture my train along the Rhine as it was going northwards to Hamburg! I'll take the entire route in that 1st class Panorama another day hopefully..
https://twitter.com/hvondelen/status/1476238583128285191?t=HKKBCmi3YLwXGe7Wlckjzw&s=19
Of course, this Swiss EuroCity train has a proper @_DiningCar, so I'm treating myself to a nice second breakfast. I went for the "sweet winter combo", a flan au caramel with a hot drink of choice for 8.40 euro. Both are superb.
A look inside the @elvetino restaurant wagon as the EC9 from Hamburg to Zurich travels somewhere south of Münster on its way to the Ruhr..
As it's holiday time, I'm in Germany, and the train is approaching the grey and grim cities of the Ruhr, it's time for a Weizen beer.
Crossing the Hohenzollern Bridge over the Rhine and seeing the impressive Cologne Cathedral right next to the main station is always impressive no matter how many times I've done it before.
11.50am. Arrival on the dot at Köln Hbf. Pleasant train and journey, I really should do this once all the way in that first class panorama wagon.
10.50am that was, not 11.50 - my clock still showed Eastern European time! But the 10.50am arrival is right in time for the opening of the Gaffel Brauhaus am Dom at 11am. The perfect spot in Cologne for one or two glasses of Kölsch before your connecting train.
The problem w these traditional Kölsch places in Cologne (or Altbier bars in nearby Düsseldorf) is that they put a new glass on your table when you are nearly finished, adding another stripe to your coaster. If you don't flip the coaster soon enough you rack up quite a few beers!
Back at Köln Hauptbahnhof for some currywurst and my connecting S-bahn train (suburban train which stops everywhere).
Köln-Bonn Flughafen, where I will take the plane to Sarajevo. Would rather have gone overland, but as there are no trains between Romania and Serbia, never mimd from Serbia to Bosnia, that's impossible. Imagine, links are so bad that I had to take a detour via Hamburg & Cologne!
The only 1-stop flights with a same day connection (Turkish, Austrian) were an exorbitant 400+ euro. Even one-stoppers with a next-day connection (Air Serbia) weren't cheap. This is still well enough priced (Bucharest-Hamburg €19, Hamburg-Cologne €31.90, Cologne-Sarajevo €15).
Departing from Cologne-Bonn Airport..
Landing at Sarajevo - my first time arriving here by air. The previous two times in this beautiful city I came by train from Zagreb (now sadly not running) and driving behind the wheel of a Yugo.
Let's start the 3 days in Sarajevo with a nighttime walk up the hill to the Park Prinčeva restaurant for some great food, live music and lovely views over the city.
Sarajevo night view..
Morning in Sarajevo..
What a glorious winter day. With the sun out and shining strong it almost feels like spring.
A short impression of the vibe in Baščaršija, the Ottoman-era old town of Sarajevo. Cafés and restaurants are abuzz with activity.
Some more old town impressions..
Walking out of the old town towards a communist-era sports and events hall which has a small Christmas market and large ice rink front of it.
Proper brutalist vibes here.
Back along the river, Academy of Fine Arts and the Eternal Flame to the old town..
Plenty of good cafés, pubs, restaurants and nargila places in Sarajevo to sit down with friends and enjoy the local life - which was exactly what I did today. NYE party to follow soon - so I'd like to already take the opportunity now to wish you all a Happy New Year!
Brunch of grilled cevapi and some other meats - a lot of it - at Hodžić. Perfect way to recover from the NYE celebrations.
A relaxed day walking around Sarajevo, stopping frequently for coffee and good food.
Klepe (garlicky Bosnian ravioli) and a nice chocolate cake with Bosnian coffee as dessert..
During my stay in Sarajevo I stayed at the Isa Begov Hamam hotel, which was great. Wonderully testored building as you can see from the last picture! Hamam experience great too. (Pic 1 & 2 not mine, as it was not allowed to snap pics inside the hamam).
To fly back to Romanian from a non-EU country you now need a PCR test even when vaccinated. Easy to arrange at the airport and fortunately negative. I was happy I didn't book a flight to Istanbul but decided to travel back via Belgrade..
Having checked in, there was a hold-up at security as all airport operations had temporarily halted due to fog. When it reopened, I couldnt pass through as the security guy told me my flight to Belgrade was now cancelled as well..
Flight is rescheduled to tmrw afternoon, but that'd mean I miss my Belgrade-Bucharest flight.. in such a case never wait but be proactive! Mad dash to the Sarajevo bus stations. Buses frm the federal station fully booked but a Republika Srpska suburb should have a 10pm departure!
I fortunately got a ticket on the 10pm bus to Belgrade.. now let's hope for a safe and relatively comfortable for this 8 hour long bus journey..
Today again some perfect examples how fractured Bosnia still is. Taxi from downtown Sarajevo to the Lukavica suburb in Republika Srpska had to take off Bosnian Federation taxi sign. Beer here is Jelen, not Sarajevsko (likewise in Croatian parts you'd drink Ozujsko or so).
Not looking forward to this, but at least the bus feels modern and even has working WiFi..
I freaking hate bus travel. 3 hours in and didn't manage to get comfortable even a bit despite having an empty seat next to me.
Border facilities in the cold at 2.30am are always fun.
Belgrade. 6am in the morning. Completely knackered as I only managed to sleep a wee bit during the last few miles on the motorway. Balkan breakfast at the bus station next to the now defunct railway station. I really wish they could restore the train services here!
From the main bus station it's a short walk to the Zeleni Venac bus stop for the airport bus. Fortunately I still know the way having visited this city many times before, although I probably walk around more like an aimless zombie at this point.
Belgrade Airport, finally. As economy class passenger with Air Serbia you can access their Premium Lounge for just 20 euro (free even if you have Priority Pass). Well worth it for the great coffee and shower alone.. so happy now I added this to my booking!
The lounge also has complimentary à la carte dining and fine Serbian wines on stock at the bar. Win!
Besides the quality of the coffee also the wine is superb at this lounge. Did a little tasting to get back to senses and the entire Aleksić range is simply great (esp the Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot). Aleksić is located in Vranje, close to the North Macedonia border.
Out of the lounge in the public areas, also the little exhibit about the history of Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport is well worth a look. Lots of Tito, bit of Nixon, Prince Charles and Haile Selassie, and even Johan Cruyff is featured!
My flight back with Air Serbia was a bit of a pleasant surprise as it was originally scheduled to be operated by an ATR 72 turboprop, but a last minute equipment change meant an upgrade to an Airbus A319 and thus 40-50 minutes faster flying time. Entire bulkhead row to myself!
Cool take-off views over central Belgrade and the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers.
Air Serbia has a hybrid on-board service in economy class similar to LOT Polish Airlines. A small snack & bottled water is free, plus there is a buy-on-board menu if you want something else or extra. Pleasant short-haul flight, although I'd wish they'd bring back 🇷🇸 - 🇷🇴 trains!
And back at Bucharest Otopeni Airport after a fun New Year's Trip. Hopefully many more fun journeys will follow in 2022!
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