Europe
Breakfast at the Hotel Bristol was quite good. Probably went overboard at the buffet, but heck, why not? Did a bit more exploring in the morning after breakfast, as last night's tour was late enough that the light was fading as the tour ended. Did not get in-depth anywhere, but with the presidential palace and old town so close, felt like those deserved a few more minutes. Had hoped to explore the University of Warsaw as well but ran out of time before I had to head back to the airport.
LOT Polish has a nice-enough lounge at Warsaw Chopin Airport for international departures; food is nothing fancy, it was a tad crowded, but it did the job, and had some nice views of the tarmac. Up a level to the gates themselves was still prety nice, with massive floor-to-ceiling windows, not-quite-enough seating, and the distinct impression of a busy but modern airport. Most odd sighting was a sushi vending machine (!) that actually looked pretty good, although having learned many lessons with refrigerated rice, I chose to skip the experience.
Had a smaller Embraer ERJ-175 on LOT Polish for the WAR-BEG flight today; this was actually a bit more comfortable than the Boeing 737 MAX 8 yesterday, probably due to the seating layout. The shorter flight didn't hurt, and the rhubarb pastry wasn't too bad a snack.
Arrival at Nikolai Tesla Airport in Belgrade was decidedly less pretty than Warsaw Chopin Airport; the arrivals level is focused on being efficient rather than luxurious, with the main concession to passenger comfort after making it land-side being a massive covered outdoor waiting area... which you'll spend a lot of time at if you are waiting for the bus. Public transportation is mostly free in Belgrade, which is awesome, but also not the most comfortable way to get from the airport to the old town (Stari Grad). The bus ride was advertised as 40 minutes, but took well over an hour due to traffic on the narrow roads, and the A/C on the bus could not keep up with the heat wave during my visit. The bus also apparently missed several scheduled arrivals, despite what looked like a live bus tracker in arrivals displaying the next bus (saw a bunch of other buses come and go, tracked on the digital signboard, but not the one I needed!).
Arrived at the city center something like an hour later than planned, hot and sweaty. Ended up being a bit of a walk from the bus stop as well, but that was okay-- got to see more of old town before I hit the hotel, and there were no less than three different free walking tours that I'd found. Outright missed the first one due to the bus delay, the second never showed, but the third one was excellent. Gave quite a bit of history of old town, Belgrade fortress, as well as the geography of the area, with both the Danube and the Sava rivers meeting right in Belgrade. Some additional sights to the east of old town were also recommended for future exploration that he did not have time to cover, and the guide thoughtfully included the Church of Saint Michael, which is such a modest building I would have walked right by and missed the beautiful interior if I was on myown.
Belgrade Fortress has turned into a combination of a museum and a public park, and while I have no idea how much time we spent there, it was actually quite a nice way to end the tour. Turns out there was a Renaissance festival going on during the tour, complete with falcons and armored combat, quite cool to see. The tour proper ended just across the street, after we'd seen some Soviet-era military hardware on display, then a bunch of dinosaur sculptures, at a big shopping mall.
Instead of the mall, though, I did dinner at a restuarant the guide had recommended earlier, Vuk. Traditional Serbian food was quite good, from the Serbian salad, bread, potatoes, and cevapi (Serbian sausage). Wish I had more stomach space, but alas. Was a short walk back to Republic Square and the hotel, where the streets were crowded with shoppers and street performers-- including a unicyclist/juggler who was quite skilled.
The Courtyard by Marriott in Belgrade is getting a bit dated, but the location is excellent if you're visiting old town, the rooms are spacious, and the staff are quite friendly. Filtered water taps are also easily accessible on every floor, which is a plus.