A One-Day Solo Trip to 'Solo'

A few months ago, before the pandemic spread out, I went to Solo for a trip. It was such a great experience after I have never been to the City for about two years. It was a kind of a nostalgic moment after my last trip in the City.

I left for Solo by train, the Pramex. I took the second line of the day, which departed at about 6.45 a.m. from Tugu Railway Station. And the trip took around 1 hour and a quarter. Then I dropped off at around 8 at Purwosari Station. The train was so crowded, but not as crowded as it is on weekdays. I didn't even get any seat. FYI, Pramex doesn't serve booked seat. So, If you take this train, be ready to stand on board for an hour or more. 

Dropping off at Purwosari Station, then I walked along Slamet Riyadi Street, the City's main hub. Purwosari Station is situated on the Street. It is lined up with colonial and modern buildings on its sides, such as The City's Mayor House, Gramedia Shop, A church (I forget the name), Sriwedari Park, some restaurants, stores, hotels, and a destination that really attracts me, i.e. Danar Hadi Museum of Batik.

My first stop was 'Gedung Djoeang 45'. The building has just been finished renovated around a month ago. When I visited it, the renovation was still in progress. However, even in its state of being renovated, the building already showed off her beauty. No wonder many people already came and went for taking pictures it or selfies. The architecture resembles the beauty of colonial/indies style. Its presence adds to the colonial heritage buildings of Solo.

After the sneak-a-peek at 'Gedung Djoeang 45', I headed to 'Bank Indonesia' Solo Branch Office. Once I got there, I The architecture is very beautiful as it resembles colonial style. And as always, I took some photographs of it (though I finally only posted one). Then, as I felt so tired, I took a rest on a bench in the front yard of Solo City Hall. Though it was hitting 11 a.m. and was really hot, because there are shady trees and green yard, the atmosphere was very cool. After some time, I started to feel starving. Without any further due, I decided to find some lunch at 'Pasar Gedhe', which is only across from the City Hall. I love market's architecture, too because it depicts a combination of colonial-Javanese style.

After I finished eating, I headed back to the City Hall, on foot. But this time I went straightforwardly to its Masjid, which is set on the south part of the yard. It is very close to the 'Bank Indonesia' as both the Hall and the Bank are next to each other. BTW, while waiting for adzan before praying, I sat back for a while on a bench and took a rest. I even had sometime to sketch the Hall. I'm an amateur, of course!

After I was done with sholat Dzuhur, I headed to Pura Mangkunegaran, still on foot. I literally wanted to stroll around the City. This place has been on the list of destinations I want to visit when I'm in Solo. Quite disappointingly, the palace is not as pretty as I expected. It's not as well-maintained as 'Kraton Yogyakarta' or 'Pura Pakualaman' in Yogyakarta. Once, I got there, I just took a couple of photos and then left for 'Danar Hadi Museum of Batik'.

Once I got to the Museum, I was astonished by its architectural design, i.e. classic Javanese-colonial. For me personally it's very beautiful. Even its beauty is already obviously seen once we stand out of its front gate. The combination of the design and green environment spoil all visitors. After enjoying the front yard and taking a deep breath due to the stroll, I came in and enjoyed the batik collection. The museum holds various types of batik clothes based on their patterns, colors, places of origin and creation process. Unfortunately, visitors are not allowed to take any photos of the collection. What truly amazed me was that all collection has aged, but they are totally well-kept. They a certain type of spice and put it on a small glass cup/grail at some corners. No wonder the room as well as the collection smelled really good. After I was finished, I did sholat Ashr and headed back to Purwosari Station, walking. To get back to Jogja, I took another Pramex that left at around 6 p.m. Though it was pretty short, I really love that exploration.