24/03/2022 – Juliano’s World Frenzy Resumes! – Day 4
Having finally hit the hay a little after midnight, I eventually woke up at 0745, so I’d had a good bit of heavy sleep clearly! After a coffee, and bag packing being started, I decided I’d get down to the gym for a good session on the exercise bike. A 60 minute session, plus 5 minutes cool-down, got the sweat built up on Level 6 (I forget how many levels there are on the LifeFitness exercise bikes, but it’s definitely a good few) throughout the hour, and by the 30 minute mark I’d got my second energy gel sachet consumed. The first had been had in the room first, and while they did their job the Science in Sport ones are still the best for taste!
By 50 minutes, the derriere was getting frustrated with me, but I made it to a grand total of 38.84km after 65 minutes, which I’m pretty pleased with. I was glad to head back to the room, after cleaning down the machine of course, and have a good shower! A second coffee was also well earnt after all that exercise, I wasn’t in the mood for an upper body workout after all. I eventually was all packed and ready to go at 1048, and after paying 24kn for the city tax, I was off. An easy going walkabout in Zagreb was the order of the day, with no specific plan except to have lunch in Ben Jelačič Square. My walk took me to Centar Kaptol, where I first visited bio&bio, an organic store. Their vegan range was pretty excellent, and while I had spent a fair bit of money I did have a good feast coming up!
With lunch enjoyed, and I had arrived just before the cannon sounded at 12 noon which I’d forgot about. That is loud from the square, I dread to think what it’s like up close! After an excellent feed, I set off on another random walkabout, finding more beautiful places to admire, before eventually reaching the Grič Tunnel’s western end. It was getting pretty warm, and a 500ml bottle of water did not last long in that heat. So I figured a cool-down in the tunnel was a good idea, and down there I ended up meeting a couple from Manchester who were on a tour of Europe. Their YouTube channel is Sefton Memoirs, and as I started typing this up outside the airport I had not yet checked them out. However, they’re really nice people and I was keen to see what they had already done. At the time of typing, their latest video was from Finland, which sounded like a good one to start on!
Eventually, I ended up near the coach terminal as I knew there were facilities by a particular tram stop. I’d used them on Day 3 after all, and by now it was becoming key. Quite, I nearly went for a pair of older trams before I did that, but just missed them. I doubt I’d have made it to the airport in any comfort if I had done them and not gone for the PNB! Modern tram number 22122 took me to Savišće, at the end of Route 2, and it seemed to take an eternity to get there. The single cab trams do mean a view out of the back of the tram though, which is pretty fun.
A short walk across the busy junction got me to the bus stop with a short wait for a Route 290 bus to the airport, which was very busy! Initially I was stood next to someone who smelt as if he’d been on the beers and cigarettes all day, thankfully I got to move back soon enough. At 1430, I finally arrived at the airport having left on the tram at 1347. A cheap way to do the journey to the airport, and it’s worth noting it can be walked or cycled all the way, but next time I would probably just make sure I took cash with me to do the express coach! Just doing the bus would have definitely meant needing two 30 minute tickets, but this way meant I got to sample the trams too.
At the airport, I bought a large americano from Caffè Nero for 27kn. Very expensive compared to most places, the most expensive I saw in the city was 14kn but this was a big cup (unlike those in the cafes I saw) and decent quality stuff. There was no guarantee of that in the city, and to be fair it was really hot so walking around with a coffee would have been silly. By now, it was 1503 and my flight, BA849 1655 (GMT+1) Zagreb to London Heathrow was not far off. The day had gone fast, it must be said!
At 1512, I’d discovered the flight was expected at 1720, oh well I was ready to go by then. A boarding pass check was first, and security upstairs was on just one lane. Even so, I was through in just a few minutes with no issue, and passport control was quiet. I was sat at gate 25 at 1527, turning my WiFi on and loading up YouTube, so not a long process from start to finish. Team Netherlands were on the way to somewhere, which is noteworthy as when it comes to teams I follow, it is of course always Team GB first, then Team NL and Poland. I felt like I was in the presence of some truly special people as a result, as weird as that might seem!
It’s a rather nice terminal, and unlike Terminal 3 at Heathrow there’s a view of the runway so that was a nice bonus. When I next fly from Heathrow, and I can assure you I was already in Trip Planning Process Mode, if it is a flight from T3 I will not be booking that! Talking of, did I feel the need to use VeriFLY? Considering it’s not been used for any verification, was there any point in getting it? Not really, but it is a free service and there are doubtlessly places to visit which would use it. So while it’s getting uninstalled at the end of Day 4, it might come in handy in the future.
Oh, where was I planning to go next? Well it might not surprise anyone to learn that I’m pushing New Zealand back up the priority list. I still love my city breaks, as this trip proved, but as this adventure has also proved I’ve grown a real love of connecting with nature. New Zealand has bucketloads of gorgeous scenery to admire, and my research so far has shown I’m going to spend most of my time on the South Island. A week touring that part of the country sounds incredible to me, will I do the North Island too? Well, the King of Impulse will reveal all in due course!
Eventually my plane arrived from Heathrow, and imagine my displeasure to find I wasn’t getting another one in the book for fly-age. Some seriously bad luck there, as it was fresh dud G-EUUO that I had on the Heathrow to Zagreb flight! Oh well, never mind, luck of the draw and all that. Boarding was understandably late starting, as the plane had been caught up in delays out of Heathrow, and when boarding did start then it took a long time to get everyone on. Eventually I was at my seat, 10A, at 1716 and 2 minutes later the last passengers were on.
We got pushback at 1726, 31 minutes late, after the crew had had a big job trying to get everyone’s bags and coats into the overhead lockers. Away we went before too much longer, and the safety demo was soon done. Up into the air, with a lot of engine noise enjoyed as we roared along the runway, my seat being right next to the engine, at 1737. Very smooth going up to 38,000 feet, smoother than the departure from Heathrow had been, and the same over the Austrian Alps.
I looked at the shop via the WiFi this time, and there are some nice looking things available. Included in that wishlist were a BA 747 model, a 787 model and 3 flavours of vegan chocolate. Not available to buy on board apparently though, I could have bought in advance for them to have available for pick-up on the flight but I’ll know for next time. Or just order it all to be delivered to the house! I did go back a few minutes later to check out the refreshments available, and I think this is actually not a bad way of doing it. Service is quicker I think, and things that aren’t available are marked as out of stock, which must help make decisions on what to order easier. I got a Twinings Earl Grey for £2.70, and I have to ask this:
Is there anything more British than buying tea to drink on a flight? Consider also that the view was coming with a reflection of the left side of the plane on the engine, and it was just so nice to be back on board BA. It’s a shame it wasn’t a long haul flight, but that will soon change! With not an awful lot to do, following the devouring of the big bag of crisps which certainly sorted my appetite out, it was time to proof-read Days 2 and 3 of the report, ready for posting to the forum.
At 1905, we crossed the coast of Europe and were over the English Channel, soon it would be back onto GMT and I would have to make my tough decision. Which way would I go to Paddington? I was strongly considering taking the Piccadilly line to Barons Court, changing for a District line to Notting Hill Gate and walking to the hotel from there. However, I was also fancying the more fancy way of getting to Paddington. Yes it costs so many times more, but I really fancied a ride on Heathrow Express. Now it’s 387s, it’s going to be so different to the 332s. Talking of, I’m glad I had the chance to have a final farewell to them on my January 2020 adventure, I had wanted a proper ride on them before they went, but at least I had something!
I also had on this occasion the option of using the former Heathrow Connect services, now run by TfL Rail and soon to be CrossRail/Elizabeth line services. As of typing this, CrossRail was still due to open in the first part of 2022, but I had not yet seen a date for it. Hopefully, by the time the next World Frenzy adventure happens, it might actually be open! These use 345s, and like with the 332s I am glad I got to have a little farewell to the 360/2s that were used on Heathrow Connect services. Nothing too crazy, but it was enough. I had by now spent 7 minutes deciding this, no doubt an impulse decision would get made after the border controls! 1917, we were back over England.
Landing was at 1834 (now back on GMT) and arrival at the terminal at 1846, 16 minutes late. It was time for further delay, as we then had to wait for someone to come and operate the airbridge, so disembarkation was not until 1907. I scored 6 planes for sight on Day 4, so I can’t complain too much there. Ooh a day of planespotting at Heathrow sounded like fun! I used the time to help make a decision about my route to London. Heathrow Express in Standard Class was £25 single, £32 in First Class. TfL Rail £11.60, and via the Piccadilly line it would be just £3.50. The longer I waited for somebody to arrive and operate the airbridge, the less patience I had for LU and it was looking tempting to go for the quickest option!
Which is what I did in the end, by the time I had done a fast walk to passport control and got to the ticket machines it was 1924 and I ended up paying £32 for a First Class single on Heathrow Express. Winner 387140 rolled in with dud 387135, just two more 387s with the Express fleet to get and they will fall eventually. The Express 30 minutes later turned out to also have a required 387 on it, and for those curious (I know most of you will be!) I require just 387134 and 387141 to clear the Heathrow Express fleet.
Once in London, I was soon at easyHotel Paddington, one I hadn’t stayed before. I had a small double without a window room booked, £33.30 so it was a reasonable price. When I found out I was in a Lower Ground (basement to us normal people) room I wasn’t too impressed, and what a dump this whole hotel is! The main area of the hotel needed some TLC, but the room was even worse. Amongst the main issues was a vent which leads to the street, so you get all the noise from that in LG7, plus being close to the Underground means you get the sound of the trains rumble by regularly too. Oh fun! Chuck in a heater which has seen better days, and an air conditioning unit which had a slightly stale smell to it, well I was not impressed. Power sockets? Yes, two of them, right by the door, pure genius!
During my evening I went to Tesco Express for some food, and had a walk around the Paddington area. I knew it would be a big come-down from the sheer luxury that was the Sheraton Hotel, but this was by a LONG way the worst easyHotel experience I’d ever had. Even as I finish these notes off on Day 5, I am still tempted to blacklist the hotel chain and never put my money in their pockets ever again! I made a similar promise a good number of years ago with Travelodge, and I’ve kept to that. I could easily do the same with easyHotel, by the end of Day 5 I would make that decision. Put it this way, the hostels I did in Sydney, and indeed the one in LA, were better than this hotel and that’s saying something as they were not great!
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