Traveling: 2024

Sunday, 17 November 2024

Qatar 2024 - Part 1

Munich Airport

Friday - November 8th 2024

Our next was vacation was upon us and so Friday after work we drove to Munich Airport, where we stayed for one night at Novotel, since our flight to Doha left in the morning. After we checked in, we took the bus to the terminal to find something for dinner. We ended at Oliva and got a plant based döner, which was just okay. Then we bought some magazines for the flight and returned to the hotel, where we enjoyed a glass of wine before heading back to the newly renovated room.

Munich Airport

Plant Based Döner

Drinks

Our Room

Saturday, 16 November 2024

Qatar 2024 - Part 2

Travel Day

Saturday - November 9th 2024

Since our flight departed in the morning, we had to get to the airport pretty early. From the hotel we took a taxi to the terminal and once we dropped off our luggage and passed security, we headed straight to the airport lounge for breakfast. We enjoyed a quiet and relaxed breakfast before it was time for boarding. Our Qatar Airways flight left on time and about six hours later we arrived in Doha. The flight itself was very uneventful, but the offered plant based meal was disppointing. After immigration and picking up our luggage, we stopped at Costa Coffee for iced coffee and croissants. Then we picked up our rental car from Avis and soon we were on our way to the hotel. Of course we got lost several times, but we finally made it to the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha. After we unpacked, we checked out the hotel and got a welcome beer at the outdoor hotel bar. Since it was already dinner time, we went to the adjacent Doha City Center Shopping Mall to get something to eat. We stopped at an Indian fast food restaurant and to our surprise the food wasn pretty decent. Afterwards we checked out the mall before returning to the hotel and calling it a day.

Airport Lounge

Breakfast

Flying to Doha

Inflight Meal

Doha Airport

Coffee Break

Marriott Marquis City Center

Our Room

Pool Area

Welcome Beer

Doha

Doha City Center Mall

Dinner

Friday, 15 November 2024

Qatar 2024 - Part 3

Exploring Doha

Sunday - November 10th 2024

Our first day in Qatar started with breakfast, which was included in our booking. Once we were ready we headed down to the restaurant and were amazed by the huge selection of continental, Indian and Middle Eastern dishes. Needless to say the breakfast was really goods. Afterwards we hit the road and drove the Katara Cultural Village or at least we tried to, because we got lost in the streets of Doha, but finally we arrived and parked our rental car. Katara Cultural Village is a cultural and commercial complex with mosques, galeries, shops, cafés and a huge amphitheatre. We just strolled around the village and checked out the area before leaving, since there wasn't a lot to do.

Breakfast

Katara Cultural Village

Our next stop was The Pearl Island, an artificial island with residential areas, restaurants, shops and cafés. The main reason for coming here was Qanat Quartier, designed after the Italian city of Venice. Qanat Quartier stretches along different canals, like the real Venice, however despite looking really nice it's just a knock off and really can't be compared with the real Venice. We enjoyed our time there and on the way back to the car, we stopped at Starbucks for iced coffee and a snack for lunch.

The Pearl

Qanat Quartier

The Pearl

Lunch

The Pearl

In the afternoon we returned to our hotel to spend the rest of the day at the pool and enjoy the warm weather. The Marriott Marquis Doha was located in Doha West Bay and from the pool area we had a lovely view over the area. For dinner we went to YoVego, a vegetarian restaurant right next to the hotel. We got a plant based chicken burger and shawarma with fries and were really happy with our choices. Afterwards we drove to Place Vendome Shopping Mall in Lusail, where we spent the rest of the evening browsing through the many stores. Place Vendome was an amazing and really beautiful mall, where you could spend hours and lots of money. Back at the hotel we enjoyed an ice cold beer at the outdoor bar.