This Part B of the Surakarta itinerary series is meant for when I’m traveling with my Mom & Dad or people in their late 50s – early 60s, that typically likes to try various local cuisines but only in adequately comfortable places but not too fancy, prioritizes buying souvenirs (oleh-oleh) for neighbors and people ‘back home’, not good with long walks or stairs, and will take pictures of anything wherever they are.
SATURDAY
12 pm – 2 pm: Arriving at Solo | Lunch @ Cari Makan
If we can’t check in at the hotel yet, it’s better to have some lunch at this time. My dear Mother loves spicy food so that’s why I am fixed to recommend Cari Makan for our first lunch here. But I put some other places to get lunch at at the bottom box of the graphic (“Restaurant Alternatives”).
2 pm – 2.30 pm: Hotel check-in | Dzuhur prayer
Tidy ourselves up, change of traveling gowns to tourist outfits, and get ready to explore.
2.30 pm – 4.30 pm: Museum Batik Danar Hadi
A fully guided tour with thousands of premium batik and antique collections, some are even been there for more than a hundred years. The reason why I included this museum even though my parents aren’t so big on cultural stuffs is that this museum is intricately beautiful, all their tour guides are great, and it’s air-conditioned. I always try to avoid being under the sun for too long when I’m traveling with my parents.
4.30 pm – 5.15 pm: Souvenir stores
The stores I would recommend would either be Era Jaya, Abon Mesran, or Abon Varia. It just depends on what brands my parents want to buy and the crowdedness of each place on that particular day. All those stores also sell various kinds of other oleh-oleh, so, it’s really a one-stop shopping if you visit any of them.
5.15 pm – 6 pm: Al Wushto Mangkunegaran Mosque
We’ll do Ashar prayer here if we haven’t got the chance to before, and wait for Maghrib (it is usually around 5:30pm in Solo). The reason why I chose Al Wushto instead of Masjid Agung is because they’ve been to that Great Mosque before, and that place these days is not being so properly maintained, unfortunately.
6 pm – 8 pm: Dinner @ Selat Solo Tenda Biru
Selat Solo Tenda Biru is one of the most popular place for authentic Solo dishes. Aside from selat, they also sell nasi gudeg, soups, and nasi pecel.
8 pm onwards: Back at hotel | Rest and Sleep
Parents can get tired quite early and after dinner they’d rather get cozy in the hotel bedroom. If we want some snacks to munch on while watching tv, our favorite is usually martabak telor, but I might look for anything popular around the area through the food delivery services apps (Gofood/ Grabfood/ Shopeefood).
SUNDAY
5 am – 6 am: Rise and shine
Subuh prayer in Solo is usually around 4:20 am.
6 am – 7.30 am: Car Free Day @ Slamet Riyadi Street
A good time and place to get those legs moving while also getting some snacks or just random items during this weekly morning market (it lasts until 9 am). Loji Gandrung, the official residence of Surakarta Mayor is opened for public during this time. Also, Batara Kresna railbus will still pass through as scheduled (it departs at 6 am from Purwosari station) despite the crowd. My Dad is the amateur photographer in the family so I know he’ll like being there for it all.
7.30 am – 8:30 am: Breakfast @ Soto Triwindu
We could’ve just had breakfast at the CFD because there are tons of food stalls there, but why pass the chance to taste the legendary Soto Triwindu while we’re in Solo?! This soto place is said to be one of the favorites of current president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo.
8:30 am – 9.10 am: Serabi Solo Ny. Handayani
There are 2 most famous brands of serabi solo: Ny. Handayani and Ny. Lidia. Their stores are quite literally just across the street from each other. I picked Ny. Handayani because even though it’s often thought as the runner-up, I personally liked its serabi’s taste better than Ny. Lidia’s. And Ny. Handayani’s place usually is not as crowded.
9.10 am – 11.30 am: Toko Roti Orion & Pasar Gede
More oleh-oleh buying! Toko Roti Orion is a legendary bakery shop. Their best sellers are roti semir and spikoe mandarijn, both of which I liked (though, not necessarily has to be from Orion because lots of bakeries in Solo have those products, too, and they’re similarly good). In Pasar Gede, my parents usually looking to buy telor asin and traditional chips in bulk. I wrote chips in italic because what I meant is keripik made from tempeh (keripik tempe), chicken intestines (keripik usus), or chicken feet (keripik ceker).
11 am – 12 pm: Back at hotel | Hotel check-out
12 pm onwards: Lunch @ Es Gempol Pleret & Mie Thoprak
Another local cuisine lunch. This particular place was featured in a popular food show on television, so that’s why my parents knew about this place and have been wanting to try it for so long.
This post is the second of a 4-part-er Surakarta weekend itinerary trip suggestion I wrote for this blog. The same recommendation I’d give for all the parts is to seek for hotel located anywhere along the Slamet Riyadi Street.
- Part A: For solo/ local duo trip.
- Part B: For when I’m traveling with my Mom & Dad (people in their late 50s – early 60s).
- Part C: For when I’m traveling to entertain children under the age of 10 like my niece & nephew.
- Part D: For a trip with a foreigner partner who’s eager to learn about the richness of Javanese culture and accustomed to pay more for things because of their skin color privilege in exchange for additional ease, comfort, and politeness in hospitality (yes, this is both stereotyping but also oddly specific; thanks for noticing).
