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Wizz Air (London Luton to Bratislava)

My Wizz Air flight was the second of the day to leave London Luton, so I just arrived late the previous evening by train and then waited at Pret landside. The security area opens at 02:00 sort of time, which is really quite early for an international airport.

Not many other people were so keen to get through this early in the day. The security process was though well managed and the staff seemed upbeat, which can’t be easy at that time of the day.

At least it’s easy to get a seat at this time of day.

I’ve written about my visit to Big Smoke separately. As for the food, it was a little bland as that avocado was quite watery, but nonetheless it wasn’t unpleasant. It’s the first time I’ve been here for breakfast and the first time that I didn’t order beer, I instead went for a pineapple juice.

I then popped to Avalon for a chicken and avocado salad, along with a Fanta, that most typical of breakfast drinks. This is expensive, well it would be if I was paying for it, at £12 and it was rather dry but I think there was a healthy element to it.

And then an almond croissant and half a pint of Menabrea. It’s a generic lager, but it was free and although the croissant wasn’t very authentic, it was light and was a satisfactory snack. The service here is always warm and friendly, although I was dreading them making an error with the number of guests as Priority Pass might have found it suspicious if I had phoned up again.

And then a double espresso. My flight was called to board twenty minutes earlier than advertised, so I thought that I might as well wander over.

It’s all happening now at Gate 21.

The joys of the bus gate.

Boarding the aircraft, which is G-WUKT, an A321 which has been in service since April 2022.

The flight was uneventful yet again, although the seating Gods gave me a middle seat. However, the two neighbouring passengers weren’t annoying, so the flight went quickly enough (it’s a one hour fifty minute journey), not least as I was asleep for half of it. One advantage of an early morning flight is that everyone seems to be asleep as they’re so exhausted, and I suspect Wizz Air has a fair number of customers who haven’t had any sleep at all, so it’s an extra peaceful arrangement. The crew were quite bouncy and keen, the airline does recruit some really good people and the pilot announcements were all as expected.

And safely into Bratislava, where it was evidently too hot. There was a queue of twenty minutes for border control, but although she did look at my passport stamps I was saved having to wait whilst she counted as she just stamped the passport. All very easy, and another £8.99 well spent with Wizz Air for my first time to Slovakia.

June 26, 2025
Bratislava – Bratislava Transport Museum (Pragotron Display Board from Sturovo Railway Station)

I like a little bit of geeky rail infrastructure heritage and this is the last Pragotron display board which was used in the Slovakian rail network. These are the split-flap displays that were either made by Solari of Italy, or by Pragotron who are a Czech manufacturer. It was taken from Štúrovo railway station where it remained in use until 26 January 2022, before it was brought here. I liked the sound of these when they had them in stations such as Liverpool Street in London, and although I know they had become dated, they did feel like exciting things with their mechanical noises.

For anyone interested, here’s a photo from Google of when this item was actually being used at the railway station. I particularly like that in the museum the top destination is Warszawa Wschodnia railway station, which I’ve caught many trains from.

June 26, 2025
Luton Airport – Efficient Priority Pass Service after Big Smoke Overcharge

The title of this post sounds rather tabloidy, but there we go, it’s 04:00 in the morning at Luton Airport and I’m going to take what excitement I can. One thing that I’ve discovered is that Big Smoke are one of the first outlets to open airside at the airport, being open at 03:00 which is earlier than their advertised time and an hour ahead of many other venues. That at least was handy.

The service was friendly, but the restaurant was in something of a state. The sauce bottles had a not inconsiderable amount of dried up bits of sauce on them and the menu was so sticky that it was hard to open. The surfaces had also not been cleaned the night before, nor had the floor, which felt an odd situation. But, it was early and I was content. I was using Priority Pass which gets me £18 to spend and I specifically mentioned, as I always do, that I had zero guests.

However, almost immediately I received an e-mail confirming that Priority Pass had helpfully charged me £18 for my guest, the one that I didn’t have. I queried this and the staff member insisted that was right and I should have been charged. It evidently wasn’t and I showed him he had typed two guests. After some faffing about he came back and told me to make a claim with my bank. This is a ridiculous way of doing it, that would be a chargeback for Priority Pass, as well as a heap of paperwork for them and the bank. So, I asked for someone else and the manager, who really didn’t seem that engaged either way, came over.

The manager repeated the poor advice and I queried what happened if Big Smoke said there were two people and not just one? They said that they couldn’t do anything, so I asked if they could just note on a receipt that there was just one guest. The manager didn’t show any interest and she didn’t do that, she just ignored the situation. Fortunately, I discovered that Priority Pass have a 24 hour call centre and so I phoned it, at 03:30 in the morning which I thought was rather decent. After some internal querying what to do, Priority Pass said that as I was still at the restaurant they were willing to refund the extra guest as it was a mistake.

No-one came over to check on this situation, so I meandered off. It’s hardly the issue of the century, but I’m not keen on managers shifting responsibility to other people and causing others a heap of work when they could have easily dealt with it. Moan over….

June 26, 2025
Dortmund – German Brewery Museum (Declining Number of Breweries in the City)

More on the brewery museum in other posts, but there was an interesting display at this museum at just how brewing has changed in Dortmund. From tens of brewers at the beginning of the twentieth century, the number had fallen sharply by 1958 and it was down to just one by the beginning of this century.

1901 and there was no shortage of breweries to surprise and delight the locals.

1958 and consolidation and buyouts had begun.

2006 and down to just one brewery in the city, which is Dortmunder Actien Brauerei (DAB) who are owned by Dr. Oetker of pizza fame.

June 25, 2025
Vilnius – Monument to Zemach Shabad

This is the Monument to Zemach Shabad (1864-1935), a physician in Vilnius during the first half of the 20th century, famed for both his medical expertise and his tireless dedication to the community. He was known as the doctor of the poor, which seems to me to be just the right balance of noble and tragic. Unfortunately, the sun was so bright and it was so hot, that the photos are a little exposed.

He was born in 1864 in Lithuania (or Russia, or Poland, or the Russian Empire depending on who you ask and what year it was), Dr Shabad became a towering figure in Jewish intellectual and public life. He chaired everything from science societies to humanitarian organisations, helped found schools and somehow still had time to cure people. He is widely considered to be the inspiration behind the character of Doctor Aybolit, the Russian equivalent of Doctor Dolittle, except with slightly fewer singing animals and marginally more existential dread. He was popular at the time and a monument was constructed to honour him in the 1930s, but that got destroyed in the 1930s.

The statue itself is genuinely rather lovely. Created by sculptor Romualdas Kvintas and unveiled in 2007, it shows Dr Shabad in full sage mode, gently leaning down to a small girl who is holding what looks like a cat. The whole scene feels very deliberate as this isn’t one of those ‘man on a horse shouting at the sky’ affairs, instead it’s quiet, tender and just a little melancholic. It’s tucked away in a nice quiet part of the park, all rather understated.

June 25, 2025
Vilnius – Portal with Lublin

There are a few of these portal arrangements around the world as something of an art installation and to make people feel closer to each other. There was one between Dublin and New York which was ultimately scrapped as there were a minority of people on the Irish side trying to spread hate which was all a bit sub-optimal for the country’s reputation. Although the Dublin situation wasn’t exactly the spirit of global harmony they were going for, this one is linked to the rather glorious city of Lublin in Poland and hasn’t had the same issues.

I can’t be doing all that socialising, but there was a lady nearby who was fully engaged in the whole arrangement.

The Vilnius portal is located in front of Vilniaus rotušė, which is the Vilnius City Hall. It’s all rather exciting in many ways, almost like going back to 1998 and the excitement of the earliest webcams. There are plans for more of these to be installed and this seems like something that seems really quite positive in building bridges and all that, perhaps between cities which are already twinned in the more traditional way.

June 25, 2025
Podcast – Travel, Craft Beer and Bar Billiards (but mainly gossip)

As if my blog isn’t exciting enough (now that I have two loyal blog readers although I’m starting to think one of those is a bot) I’ve also decided it’d be a great idea to start a podcast with a friend. My bit will be travel, food and craft beer (mostly the beer and food elements to be honest) and he’ll be focusing on his thoughts about beer (often quite opinionated although his Untappd isn’t as curated as mine), reacting to my travel ‘excitement’ and dishing out bar billiards gossip like he’s the Hello! magazine of Norwich’s niche sporting scene (we’ll see if it becomes an agenda item at next year’s AGM).

We know we’ll get at least ten people listening to see who we’ve been rude about, and frankly, if that’s not a solid marketing strategy, I don’t know what is. The first edition of this earth-shattering audio marvel dropping soon. Buckle in. Or don’t. Either way, we’ll be talking as we’re good at that.

June 23, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 18 and City Taco

This is week 18 of James and I eating at every food stall at Norwich market and this is the former site of Cocina Mia which was honoured with third spot when we did this in 2023. It only closed a few weeks ago and there’s some hype about its replacement, City Taco. On this week’s ‘how many middle class people did we bump into that James knows?’ the tally was 5, including one actually at the food stand which I think is a first. At this rate, James will be hosting his own artisan networking brunch and LinkedIn masterclass by mid-July.

The menu is limited in size, but I think that’s very often a good thing. I’m not sure that there’s much here for vegetarians and I’m not sure if there are plans to expand the menu offering in the future, but everything looked tempting to me.

The service was excellent, engagement about the menu, general conversation and clear enthusiasm about the food. I think it’s really positive when there’s that excitement from the team members, it all bodes well. I did mention to James that it reminded me of the tacos that I’ve had in southern California, but reading on the stall’s social media, that’s understandable as the owner spent several years living there.

I couldn’t decide between them so I went for one carnitas taco and one beef taco, so a total of £6. James went for the same, but he’s often creatively inspired by me even if he doesn’t admit it. The pork one is on the left, the beef one on the right. The sauce in the pot is the consomme and the team member mentioned we could either use it as a dip or down it, which transpired to be a good suggestion as I tried it both ways. Both tacos had a depth of flavour to them, they were well presented and at the appropriate temperature. I enjoyed them both, but the delicate nature of the beef and dipped in the consomme was my favourite of the two.

James remembered to take a photo this time, which will save him having to draw the whole arrangement. He said something about enjoying them, being pleased about not spilling them down himself and also thinking they were a little small but still decent value. To avoid any bird attacks, we had our food whilst standing at the stall, as the neighbouring dining area shared by Toby’s Beers and formerly Cocina Mia now seems to be closed.

Although it’s a shame to have lost Cocina Mia, this seems a really quite decent replacement. The service was some of the best we’ve had yet and the food had a depth of taste and flavour. The pricing was reasonable as the food was surprisingly filling, with everything seemingly well managed. I look forwards to returning here and trying the burrito to get the full taste experience.

June 23, 2025
Gdansk – Arrived

It’s a delight to arrive in Gdansk, a city where I spent a couple of weeks in late 2016. My first impressions are that there seems to be more development taking place, and the railway station appears to be being modernised. Well, either that or it’s falling apart, and it does seem to be improvement work rather than random demolition.

Since I’m here for a stag weekend, it might prove inappropriate to take too many photos, but I will inevitably have to take photos of bars and restaurants. I’ll also really excite everyone by uploading photos from my November 2016 visit to add even more content, fully aware that lots of people have already had to trawl them the first time….

June 22, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 17 and Churros for the People

This is week 17 of James and I attempting to eat at every food stall at Norwich market. I visited this last time in 2023, on that occasion with Nathan, and it was a very positive experience where we thought we’d both likely visit again. I hadn’t noticed when taking the photo, but James is standing there looking studious whilst reading the menu. As usual, it took us several minutes to fend our way through all the people in Norwich who know him, nearly all of whom seem to be middle class or above. However, I don’t judge.

The menu which had plenty of choice. The prices seem reasonable for the market, there’s an inevitable cost to this sort of produce and making it fresh, but they’re not charging exorbitant prices. There’s a choice of eating in or taking away, fortunately there were seats and so we were able to dine in to get the full experience. The service was friendly and prompt, with the stall accepting cards and cash. The surfaces in the stall were clean and I noticed that they were cleaned again numerous times when we were there. The area was also a seagull free zone, which is a win for everyone. There’s talk of doing up the market, but I’d personally just like to see a few more of the food stalls have their own seating area, it adds to the experience.

The specials board (and those meatballs sound delicious), although when someone next to us tried to order they’d run out of a few things by that point. Although that is perhaps the excitement of specials, their very temporary nature. The selection available here really is quite impressive given the limited size of these stalls and the small food preparation area, but the whole process seemed efficient. Customers were always welcomed promptly, spoken to politely and their food and drink served after a reasonable period of time. It all felt like a competent set-up and I felt welcome throughout. Incidentally, they also have authentic Spanish food ingredients and drink which customers can take home with him, so it operates a bit like a deli arrangement as well.

The food arrived and looked well presented, with the chorizo having a depth of flavour and it’s always a bonus to have it served fresh from the pan. The roll tasted fresh and of a high quality, James was particularly engaged with this. It was also filling, this wasn’t one of those times I’ve left a stall after eating feeling just as hungry as when I ordered.

I wasn’t going to have a drink, but as we found a seat and we were asked nicely if we wanted one, I thought I’d have an Alhambra Reserva 1925 which was malty, light and went down well with the chorizo. There aren’t a large number of stalls where you can get beer with the meal, so it seemed sensible to take advantage of the opportunity. They were a little low on beer stock as the first two I asked for they didn’t have, but I’m ever helpful in finding a beer based solution.

The kitchen area and the whole set-up felt authentic and there were vibes of being at a Spanish market, so full marks for the atmosphere.

James forgot to take a photo of his food, so he kindly did a drawing instead. It’s this kind of professionalism that has made this blog what it is today…. As mentioned, he very much liked the roll element, so he’s focused on that in the image. I suspect that he forgot what was inside, as that element of the drawing is quite vague, although when I helpfully mentioned this, he said it’s clear that it’s chorizo but that he had forgotten the beer and that was very vague indeed.

I very much enjoyed this visit and it’s up there as being one of the best so far this year. The service was friendly, the food was freshly prepared and had a depth of flavour, with the atmosphere feeling authentic and welcoming. The menu was broad, the stall was clean and there was a choice of different beers, so all rather lovely.

June 21, 2025