I went back to the “California” smoothie shop for breakfast, grabbed some lunch items at the supermarket and we left Sofia around 11am. We drove south through gorgeous scenery into the Rila mountains, to the Rila Monastery. It was all very Pacific Northwest-y. The Rila Monastery was founded in the 10 century and acted as a safe haven for Bulgarian culture during their foreign rule and WWI &…
I read that Veliko Tarnovo was good for rock climbing. So yesterday, after searching for the climbing office, which was closed with no signs of re-opening, I decided to just relax for a day. Today, we took an early morning bus to Sofia. At first glance, it appears to be a big, rundown city, which is quite common for the old Eastern bloc. However, Sofia is incredibly charming, especially…
Our train left Bucharest at noon, crossing the Friendship Bridge into Bulgaria in the afternoon and arrived in Veliko Tarnovo around 6pm. Although the trip was long and hot, with six people to a cabin, it was nice to have a breeze from the window. We listened to music, read, chatted, snacked and played celebrity head. It was interesting being the only North American, as our views of…
We took the morning train to Bucharest and walked from the station to our hotel. It was already noon, so we took the metro to the “Champs-Elysées” of Bucharest and to see the People’s Palace – Romania’s Parliment building and also the second largest buidling in the world, after our very own Pentagon. Bucharest is not my kind of city. It seems rather soulless and eerily quiet. Perhaps…
After a leisurely breakfast in Sinaia, we headed for the top of the mountain. The plan was to take the second gondola up from town, and hike around. As we followed signs to the “telegondola” we ended up walking half way up the mountain, through little backstreets and neighborhoods. It was boiling outside, but still a good time. Today was one of those days that no amount of…
After a morning visit to Rasnov Fortress, outside of Brasov, we continued on to Dracula’s Castle (Castle Bran). The Fortress was cool to walk around, but not amazing. I also learned that Cold Mountain was filmed in Romania. After grabbing some picnic supplies, we headed to Bran Castle. When we arrived there was a massive line all the way down the hill, but our local guide walked us…
We took the train to Brasov this morning. After a tour of the Black Church, the largest Gothic church in Eastern Europe, we walked through town to the “Skinniest Street in Eastern Europe”, and then walked to the cable car to visit the other thing Brasov is well-known for. A quick lesson in politics. How do you get people to vote for you? Well, in Brasov, the politician…
We took the train to Sibiu yesterday morning. There was a Zorro spotting at the train station, but I wasn’t able to take a picture. Maybe it was Antonio Banderas. Sibiu is the cutest little town! Full of plazas and churches and a river and it’s all quite sweet. So sweet, that it was awarded the European Capital of Culture in 2007. Forget Italy, if you want a…
This morning, after breakfast, I wandered back into town. After checking out the Internet place, I walked back up to the Citadel and looked at all the main sights on my map. The covered staircase was especially cool. After circling back down to the Citadel, I sat in the old church and listened to organ music, checked out the Torture museum and had a lunch in the square.…
I’m out on the porch this morning, surrounded by early morning Romanian village life. A horse-drawn cart just went by and earlier a German shepherd came trotting up, followed by his farmer and a dozen sheep on their way to the field. Now, a big dairy cow is wandering around, grazing, with her bell ringing. I love farm life! In fact, I’ve been told that if I love…
I woke up at 4:30 this morning! After a quick breakfast of coffee and chocolate cake (I could get used to that, the cake, not the waking up!), we drove to the train station. It’s amazing that the old women are already out on the benches chatting at 5am! After six hours on the train, and then an hour bus ride, we finally arrived in Viscri. This town…
When I looked out the window this morning, there was already one the old babushka grandmas out walking slowly in the garden, hunched over with her scarf and many layers. A very neat moment. This morning we traveled around Maramures seeing traditional local things, like a Palinka “factory”. First, we stopped at the Merry Cemetery. All the tombstones are wooden with pictures and a poem about the person’s…