Midweek winter break in Brighton January 2025

A midwinter break by the sea. 

In January 2025 I had a some leave from work. I arranged a short break in Brighton with Carl. Carl is a steward on Cross Country Trains, and lives in Bournemouth.

Wednesday January 15th 2025

I set off from my home in Calcot, around 9am and travelled by bus to Reading station, and Cross Country train to Southampton Central Station. I had a spare 30 minutes before I met Carl, and decided to go out for some fresh air.

I like street art and I managed to see some outside the station. 

When I met Carl we caught the 11.20 Southern service to Brighton, via Havant and Barnham.

We arrived at 13.05 and stopped for lunch in Greggs. I had a "Mexican" chicken roll and a cup of tea.

Carl outside The Quadrant, also home of the Folklore Rooms 

After lunch we checked in to our hotel, a Travelodge, Brighton Seafront.

In the afternoon we settled in and arranged to go out for our dinner around 5pm. We had a Thai dinner in Siam Siam, in Preston Street. I had a mild pork curry with coconut rice and spicy prawn crackers.

Carl had managed to contact Josh (Webb) who used to be a steward with Cross Country in Reading and Birmingham.

Carl and I returned to the Travelodge. As Travelodge offer a 2 for 1 drinks deal between 5 & 7pm, we decided to arrange to meet Josh in the hotel bar where I had 2 bottles of Budweiser. Although the deal sounded like a bargain, there were too many limitations. Josh joined us later for a drink and we then moved to the Fortune of War on the sea front. This pub has a nautical theme. Josh has an app on his phone which enabled us to special deals for local and international beer. I had Laine's Mango ale.

Carl and I returned to our hotel around 11pm.

Thursday 16 January

The weather was dry and mild.

Carl and I had our breakfast in the Bright Helm, a Wetherspoon pub close to the hotel. 

After breakfast we caught a Number 12  bus to Rottingdean, which a village to the east of Brighton.

We had a coffee in the White Horses pub/restaurant, where we met Josh. Rottingdean is an upmarket village, and among its famous inhabitants was writer Rudyard Kipling.

The Pond, Rottingdean village, Rudyard Kipling's home from 1897-1902 is behind. 

Josh, Carl and I went for a walk around the village, stopping off at the village pond, the church, the Windmill and the beach. We had a coffee and a mince pie outside Molly's cafe.

The Rottingdean Windmill

Carl and I then walked along the coastal path to the next village, Saltdean. We returned to Brighton, Old Steyne. We went for a stroll around the Lanes, where we saw street art, and independent shops. 

Angel painted on the side of a building 

We also visited a retro clothes shop, Quadrophenia and we talked with the owner about Mods activities in Brighton.

After having lunch in Burger King we returned to the hotel for a couple of hours. 

Serbia and Montenegro 2024 Part 8 a day in Podgorica

June 4th, a day in Podgorica

I had breakfast included in my hotel tariff and I went to the dining room around 8am. 

The breakfast was the continental style, cold meat, egg, cheese, fresh fruit, sweet pastries, fruit juice and coffee. 

After my breakfast I set off for my walk.

The weather was very warm & sunny, particularly in the afternoon, so I went out to explore in the morning and evening.

During the morning I explored the Old Town with its narrow winding streets & traditional Turkish style buildings.

Before I returned to the hotel, I had my lunch, burger, chips & a beer in Cafe Bazar, close to the Clock Tower.

I spent the afternoon in my air-conditioned hotel room.

The "Discover Podgorica" walking tour started at 5pm and I met Vladislav and 8 other visitors.

We passed by the Gradski Stadium, the local football ground and visited St. George's Church just outside the entrance to Gorica Park. 

Gorica Park is an area of park land & woods. There is a memorial to the Partisans Fighters in the park.

We walked through Petar II Petrovic-Njegos Park where we saw the statue of the former king. While leaving the park, walked down some steps which led to Saline, the confluence of the two rivers, Ribnica & Sastavic. We crossed the old stone bridge Sarstavic Most. We saw a folk-rock band practising on our way to the ruins of the old fortress, Nemanjica Grad. 

Vladislav had arranged a visit to a craft shop "Kaldma" which sold locally made Souvenirs, craft beer and cakes.

We passed the Clock Tower on our way out of the old town and we finished our tour, by having a local beer in the courtyard of Bar & library "Itaka" which is a popular place for locals to meet.

I returned to my hotel room after the tour had ended, around 9pm. 

Serbia and Montenegro 2024 Part 7, Moving to Podgorica

On Monday June 3rd with the Virtual Tourist weekend over, it was time to move on.

I had to pack my case and leave my apartment. Although there had been some rain in the early morning, the weather was going to be very warm for the rest of my time. 

One of the cats of Kotor outside the North Gate. 

I walked to the bus station and caught the 10.17 bus to Podgorica. 

The bus arrived in Podgorica bus station around 12.30. I then made my way to the city centre, and while waiting for check in to my hotel room I had a beer in a bar near to the hotel and Independence Square.

The hotel Kerber was ideally located in the city centre, close to shops, bars and the sights.

After checking in, I settled in to my room for the afternoon. I spoke to Tim Vale, via WhatsApp. Tim was staying in a nearby home stay in the countryside. 

Around 5pm I went for a walk in Gorica Park. 

After walking in the Gorica Park, I continued walking and exploring the city and reached the Clock Tower which is on the edge of the old town. 

I returned to my room and had an early night after the late nights during the Virtual Tourist Euromeet in Kotor. 

Serbia and Montenegro, Day 6, June 2nd 2024

Serbia and Montenegro

Day 6, June 2nd 2024

The day started off with rain, and some of us were going to visit a smallholding which is halfway up one of hills which surround Kotor on three sides. The bay of Kotor is where Kotor meets the sea.

I was with a small group of friends and by the time we started the sun was shining. 

The uphill walk to the farm was quite challenging but the views we saw were spectacular.

We took solace and shade in an old disused church and we had to shade with a donkey, who had the same idea about keeping out of the sun. 

When we reached the farm we met the family who let us try their homemade lemonade which was now so refreshing. We also tried their homemade prusito ham and goats cheese in a homemade bread roll. 

I found the walking down far easier than the uphill walk. 

We returned to the Sea Gate and we were in time for the coach trip to Lake Skardar. The lake is home to rare birds, amphibians and fish. We travelled to the lakeside town of Virpazar, by coach. We then travelled by boat, (similar to a gondola from Xochomilco, Mexico) to the winery. On the way to the Pjesacac winery we saw a pair of Dalmatian pelicans, these birds are protected.

We had fresh fish, cheese, salad and red & white wine.

We returned to Kotor by boat then coach and went to Moja Kafana for the final VT dinner.

I had a local beer with a starter of Njegush salad with prosciutto, cheese, olives. Main course was Montenegrin steak, baked potato and salad. For dessert I had Krempta (Kotor cream pie).

I spent the end of the last evening with some friends, we had a couple of beers outside the Evergreen Bar. 

Serbia & Montenegro, Day 5, June 1st, 2024

We had a full day of sightseeing, enjoying local food and I was also celebrating my birthday today.

We started a tour of Montenegro early morning and I met the group outside the Sea Gate from where we caught the coach. 

Our first stop was Cetunje, the former Royal capital city of Montenegro. 

We had a guided tour of the Royal palace, where King Nikola Petrovic-Biljarda, his wife and five daughters used to live. The palace is now a museum. The palace is now left as it would have been in the first few years of the 20th Century. 

Outside the palace, there is a monastery and we also had some time to explore the city and I had a cup of coffee with some of the group. 

When we returned to the coach park there was a rally of Yugo cars which were manufactured in the former Yugoslavia upto the early 1990s. 

We had a lovely Montenegrin lunch in the Konak restaurant and then we went into the mountains to visit the Lovcen Mauseleum where Petar Petrovic-Njegos is buried. 

There are 421 steps to the viewing platform, and part of the walking route is through a tunnel. The mauseleum and views are spectacular, so the walk was worth the effort. 

We returned to the base of the mauseleum and had a cup of coffee in the café. 

We travelled back to Kotor via the mountain roads, and arrived in time for our second dinner in Bastion 3 Restaurant, just outside the city by the North Gate. 

I had beef broth, stuffed peppers, salad, beer and a banana for dessert, but as the day was my birthday, I had a piece of birthday cake. 

Some of our group noticed the activity in Trg od oruzja, including the building of a stage. We found out that Prijavo Kazaliste, a band from the former Yugoslavia were performing a live concert. 

I joined Valentina, Simon, their daughter Frosina and others and we watched the concert in a very busy square. 

Prijavo Kazaliste were formed in the 1980s, and their "Yugo-stalgia" rock music was popular with the audience including many young people.

Photo Prijavo Kazaliste in Trg od oruzja