10 days, two countries, three cities

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When you have a long distance relationship, the most time you think about when you will reunion with your partner, in which city you will catch up and how to spend quality time while you’re together. When you have two people who are crazy about traveling together, then they do not have the problem to travel around 20+ hours by bus to meet up with their other half in a new city. We prefer to organize our own trips, rather than traveling by agency offers.

So in December we planned a roadtrip of 10 days, two countries and three cities. My initial destination was Sarajevo, and D was Germany, our first city together, after 5 weeks separated, was Zagreb.

Our first destination – Zagreb

Zagreb is the best destination to visit during the month of December, due to the colorful, glittering Advent, that is, the Christmas Market, which extends on almost all the major streets and squares in Zagreb. We spent three days in Zagreb visiting the main squares and streets, which during the Advent becomes a real Christmas fairy tale. Be sure to taste mulled wine and punch. 🙂 My favorite part of Zagreb during the holiday days is part of Zagreb’s Upper Town, a part that the locals call Advent on Stross. Decorated in red and white colors, with tablecloths with puffs, and a retro look, it reminded me of Paris. By the way, it is a beautiful view of the city, so it’s a good location for all the Instagram lovers.

 

For the evening, I advise you to visit Advent at Zrinjevac, where large trees illuminate with special shine thanks to the large number of white lights, and the old music pavilion becomes the main destination of lovers of Christmas classics and valcer. We also visited the ZOO which is part of Maksimir Park. The park is beautiful, spacious and irresistible for walking in two. Nevertheless, the zoo was a bit disappointing, since it was a winter period, the animals were mostly displaced, and the price ticket was fully charged.

Since I love breakfast very much, we had to visit places in Zagreb where breakfasts are served. All recommendations for Eggspress, a local specialized in making eggs. If you enjoy breakfast and eggs, you must visit this place.

 

 

New Year in Vienna

After four beautiful and sunny days in Zagreb, we headed for Vienna. Fortunately there is Flixbus, so traveling was pretty fast and comfortable. Vienna also surprised us with the weather. Considering that it was December / January, we expected much colder, more cloudy weather and the wind that Vienna is known for. The first day we spent walking to Stephansplatz. You will not be able to escape the beautiful cathedral of Stephansdom. It is interesting to note that at the Vienna Cathedral, W. A. Mozart’s wedding ceremony was held, as well as his funeral ceremony. Definitely one of the most beautiful views, as well as the # viennainstalocation is the restaurant located in the hotel, across the cathedral – DO & CO. The prices are a bit more expensive, but the view is worth paying for, especially if you are lucky enough to find such a good location as we did.

 

Schönbrunn Castle (meaning ‘beautiful well’) is one of the main tourist attractions in Vienna. Although you can see tourists here are all year round, you can not go to Vienna and not walk through the beautiful and huge garden. In the garden you can also find the Vienna Zoo and pavilion palms. In front of the castle during Christmas and New Year’s holidays, there are Christmas houses, with many different decorations, souvenirs, food and drinks. Still, I had there the worst mulled wine I have ever tried. Be careful. 🙂

The New Year’s Eve in Vienna was quite disappointing for us. We expected good music and great fireworks. Still, Rathausplatz where we were was all just not what we expected it will be. Whether this is because we had too big expectations from the New Year’s in Vienna, or not, judge yourself.

My breakfast recommendation in Vienna is in Meierei im Stadtpark. You can read more about our experience here.

 

Two-Day Trip to Linz

Our last destination in 10 days of traveling was Linz, the third largest city in Austria. There are two railway lines in Austria – ÖBB and Westbahn. Our recommendation is to travel only with Westbahn, the prices are cheaper, the trains are newer and you have access to the internet throughout the ride. Make sure that you buy a ticket at the Trafficking Station (Tabak Trafik), and not in the train, as they are cheaper for 5 and more euros.

Linz is a magical city that belongs to Upper Austria. It is famous for its beautiful promenade next to the Danube, charming alleys in the old town, and the Mariendom church, which is the largest one in Austria.

 

Pöstlingberg is a viewpoint of the entire city, with a beautiful church. You can reach Pöstlingberg  with a special tram – Pöstlingbergbahn, which is the steepest railway route in Europe.

In Linz you definitely must try the famous Linzer cake, an irresistible specialty considered to be the oldest cake in the world, whose first recipe dates back to 1653.
For all you cocktail fans, stop at the Boiler Room, a specialized cocktail spot – you will not regret it. The pictures will better glimpse my delight with this place. 🙂

Our 10 days together passed very fast, as well as every time we are together. Until the our next trip we will remember our Christmas and New Year’s Eve days in Zageb, Vienna and Linz, and we’ll plan and eagerly await our next reunion and trip.