I had been fighting off a cold for several days, but it started to take over in Berlin. We had also figured that things would close down early on the 24th, so we planned a mellow evening in our hotel room getting ready for our return flight. During the day, we went out and procured some essentials for the evening, saw a cheesy American movie, and had an early dinner. I was losing my voice, so I was just fine with the idea of laying low.
Our hotel in Berlin is brand new. It has 'style'. All black and white, very modern. A further look reminds one of Ikea, but for $55 US, we're not complaining. We lit some candles, and watched whatever was on the CNN world feed, the only English channel. It started slowly. First a 'bang'. Then another. Flashes of light. Is this how Berlin celebrates? Is it gunfire? After all of the history we had seen and thought about during our time here, we wondered if we were witnessing some of our own. In the end, we're pretty sure that they were fireworks set off by the predominantly Turkish people in our neighborhood, but we'll never really be sure. In any case, it reinforced our readiness to return home.
The flights we off without a hitch and we are safely home, looking out the front window at the winter wonderland that remains in Seattle.
The next couple of weeks will be busy as well, as we prepare for the Wilsons to arrive next week. We are looking forward to the 2nd Amazing Race, where we hope to rectify the "bush league" contest that we put together last year. After that, Curt has work in Pullman, while I head to Cabo with Susie. It doesn't seem fair, but that's life;-)
We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and wish you all the best in the new year.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Furliche Weinachten von Berlin!
Guten Tag! First of all the keyboard is different here, so please forgive that the y's and z's will be transposed.
Our final daz and night in Prague was enjozable. We found the "Bohemian" side of the night life culture and heard some great music and talked with an Italian living in Prague. The next morning we took the train to Berlin. It was a bit of culture shock at first. We had gotten used to the simplicitz of the slightlz smaller cities. Berlin is huge and modern. Everzthing is spread out and the subwaz\tram\bus szstem is complicated. Good thing I have Wilson. Honestlz, I couldn`t hope for a better companion than him. He ALWAZS knows where we are and where we need to go. I love that about him.
The first thing we did was head to one of the local sportsbooks in the neighborhood of our hotel so Curt could get a little action on Seahawks vs Jets. Farve in the snow in Seattle. I guess that didn#t turn out the waz we had thought. Anzwaz, I was the onlz woman in the seedz place. It was full of Turkish men who looked a little annozed at mz presence. We quicklz exited and wandered to the modern Sonz place to find some food after a long journez.
We spent a good chunk of time at the German historz museum zesterdaz. Verz interesting. We have also wandered through countless Christmas markets but are not buzing much. Everzthing looks the same after a few markets, and mostlz stuff we can get at home. It is still interesting to watch the people and get snacks and authentic bratwurst.
I#ve got to saz that there is not too much to report from Berlin. We´ll head to the airport on Christmas morning and look forward to catching up with everzone then.
Our final daz and night in Prague was enjozable. We found the "Bohemian" side of the night life culture and heard some great music and talked with an Italian living in Prague. The next morning we took the train to Berlin. It was a bit of culture shock at first. We had gotten used to the simplicitz of the slightlz smaller cities. Berlin is huge and modern. Everzthing is spread out and the subwaz\tram\bus szstem is complicated. Good thing I have Wilson. Honestlz, I couldn`t hope for a better companion than him. He ALWAZS knows where we are and where we need to go. I love that about him.
The first thing we did was head to one of the local sportsbooks in the neighborhood of our hotel so Curt could get a little action on Seahawks vs Jets. Farve in the snow in Seattle. I guess that didn#t turn out the waz we had thought. Anzwaz, I was the onlz woman in the seedz place. It was full of Turkish men who looked a little annozed at mz presence. We quicklz exited and wandered to the modern Sonz place to find some food after a long journez.
We spent a good chunk of time at the German historz museum zesterdaz. Verz interesting. We have also wandered through countless Christmas markets but are not buzing much. Everzthing looks the same after a few markets, and mostlz stuff we can get at home. It is still interesting to watch the people and get snacks and authentic bratwurst.
I#ve got to saz that there is not too much to report from Berlin. We´ll head to the airport on Christmas morning and look forward to catching up with everzone then.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Authentic Prague Pub Experience
I know it is hard for some of you to believe, but part of our agenda in Prague was to soak up the pub culture. We consulted our guide books and came up with a couple of choices. The first place we went to was fairly subduded. They on have once choice of beer, Pilsner Urquell, a favorite of Curt's. There were all sorts of folks there, and a nice family sat next to us and were served what looked like a roasted pig head.
Our bravery increased after a couple of beers and we ventured to the second place on our list. It was famed that the Czech president took Bill Clinton here to show him local beer culture. In fact, we saw the photo on the wall. We tentatively entered and looked around for a place to sit. We had also read that it is common for others to join a table, so we asked three men if we could join them. They told us to ask the bartender, and round and round. They were giving us crap, but eventually welcomed us to the table. Here again, there is only one kind of beer, and they just keep coming. He put a slip of paper on our table and wrote down a mark for every beer they brought us. We notcied the tables around us had lots of marks. Mind you, the clientel was 90% male. Big guys. Curt looked slight in comparison. There was one table of older Czech women. They were not to be dismissed either. In fact, one of the women was trying to fistfight an older gentleman. Her friends held her back as she was trying to throw punches and screamed at the man. I would not have messed with her. Things were starting to get interesting...At the other end of the bar there was an accordian player and a group of people singing like a rugby team. The guys at our table got some food. They shared a large scoop of beef (hamburger) with a raw egg on top. Mind you it was all raw, like a meatloaf before the oven. They mixed in onion, mustard, etc, and put it on toast. I guess I won't be eating. A few more check marks into the evening, and the guys at our table started to try out their english and talk to us. They bought us a round. By the way, they had no less than 40 check marks for the 3 of them. We had a good time talking to our new Czech fishermen friends and stumbled home with a bucket of KFC.
Yesterday we made the pilgrimage to Plzen to tour the brewery and the brew museum. One more day in Prague, and we will be off to our final destination.
We've read of the cold and snow in Seattle. Good luck to you all.
Our bravery increased after a couple of beers and we ventured to the second place on our list. It was famed that the Czech president took Bill Clinton here to show him local beer culture. In fact, we saw the photo on the wall. We tentatively entered and looked around for a place to sit. We had also read that it is common for others to join a table, so we asked three men if we could join them. They told us to ask the bartender, and round and round. They were giving us crap, but eventually welcomed us to the table. Here again, there is only one kind of beer, and they just keep coming. He put a slip of paper on our table and wrote down a mark for every beer they brought us. We notcied the tables around us had lots of marks. Mind you, the clientel was 90% male. Big guys. Curt looked slight in comparison. There was one table of older Czech women. They were not to be dismissed either. In fact, one of the women was trying to fistfight an older gentleman. Her friends held her back as she was trying to throw punches and screamed at the man. I would not have messed with her. Things were starting to get interesting...At the other end of the bar there was an accordian player and a group of people singing like a rugby team. The guys at our table got some food. They shared a large scoop of beef (hamburger) with a raw egg on top. Mind you it was all raw, like a meatloaf before the oven. They mixed in onion, mustard, etc, and put it on toast. I guess I won't be eating. A few more check marks into the evening, and the guys at our table started to try out their english and talk to us. They bought us a round. By the way, they had no less than 40 check marks for the 3 of them. We had a good time talking to our new Czech fishermen friends and stumbled home with a bucket of KFC.
Yesterday we made the pilgrimage to Plzen to tour the brewery and the brew museum. One more day in Prague, and we will be off to our final destination.
We've read of the cold and snow in Seattle. Good luck to you all.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Prague
Yesterday we were good little tourists and went up the hill to the Prague castle. There is a catherdral, several art museums, the palace, and museums with artifacts dating back to 2000 BC that were found in this area. We watched the changing of the guard, and checked out the knights' armor and the torture museum. It was a lot to take in, but very interesting.
After a Czeck lunch (more goulash), we walked across the bridge and through the old town. There is a clock there that does a lot of fancy stuff each hour, and it was chiming just as we walked up. A lady touched me on the shoulder and said 'I knew we'd see you here'. It was one of the Aussies we met on the bus to Bratislava! They came directly to Prauge, so they were a day ahead of us. We haven't really chatted with many English speaking people, so it was nice to bump into them and exchange tips.
Over a couple of beers at a pub that has been pouring Pilsner Urquell since the 1800s, Curt
had the following observations of our journey:
1. Everyone on Romania had dark hair and white skin. No boobs.
2. No boobs in Hungary. A few blondes here and there. There are no fat people - at all.
3. Slovakia - women there have big boobs.
4. Czech - melting pot (of white people). There are a few Japanese tourists, and a small number of Africans. But very small minorities.
We have encountered very few Americans. I think we've only talked to one couple from Iowa - they were at the internet terminal in our Budapest hotel.
The American dollar has slid since we got here. We should have bought more Euros when we arrived!
After a Czeck lunch (more goulash), we walked across the bridge and through the old town. There is a clock there that does a lot of fancy stuff each hour, and it was chiming just as we walked up. A lady touched me on the shoulder and said 'I knew we'd see you here'. It was one of the Aussies we met on the bus to Bratislava! They came directly to Prauge, so they were a day ahead of us. We haven't really chatted with many English speaking people, so it was nice to bump into them and exchange tips.
Over a couple of beers at a pub that has been pouring Pilsner Urquell since the 1800s, Curt
had the following observations of our journey:
1. Everyone on Romania had dark hair and white skin. No boobs.
2. No boobs in Hungary. A few blondes here and there. There are no fat people - at all.
3. Slovakia - women there have big boobs.
4. Czech - melting pot (of white people). There are a few Japanese tourists, and a small number of Africans. But very small minorities.
We have encountered very few Americans. I think we've only talked to one couple from Iowa - they were at the internet terminal in our Budapest hotel.
The American dollar has slid since we got here. We should have bought more Euros when we arrived!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Escape from Budapest
I'm sure the news of the impending Rail Strike was easy to find around Budapest, if you can read or understand Hungarian. We got lucky when the nice folks at the hotel alerted us to the strike when we asked where we could purchase rail tickets. After doing some quick research at the hotel, the following is a thumbnail of our escape in chronologial order.
We successfully located the international bus station, but were not very good at locating the proper line to buy international tickets, after a 30 minute wait in the wrong line, we were directed upstairs to what is best descibed as a complete disaster. Imagine the the lines at the license tab place at the end of a month. We got our number and were shocked to see that our number was called shortly thereafter. But alas, it wasn't so simple, they were calling the previous person with #117. There were 100 people in line in front of us waiting to purchase tickets at one of two windows. Rumours started to circulate that the earliest one could leave was midnight the following night. The final straw was when we saw both ticket agents take lunch at the same time.
At this point, our options were less than pleasant . . .
Take a bus to Sopron, Hungary and walk across the border into Austria.
Go down to the docks and look for a boat going upstream on the Danube (tour boats were not operating)
Wait out the Rail Strike, afterall Budapest was quite nice.
Try to find some 3rd rate bus company we read about at the hotel on wikipedia.
Amy had noticed a couple of signs for this other bus company as we traversed the main bus terminal, so we went in search of "Orangeways". Up the stairs, across the square we went following the little stickers they had plastered on the wall/floor every 20 feet or so. It was like Hansel and Gretel. We eventually stumbled into an empty office and asked where we needed to wait in line to buy tickets. We were stunned when the lady said, "Right here. Where do you want to go ?" We said Vienna, she said the bus leaves tomorrow morning. We said Bratislava, she said fork over 12 euros and be back here in three hours for a 4:30 departure.
We were convinced this was a trick, it couldn't be this easy. Perhaps we would have to get out and push the bus every now and then, or maybe they hired farm trucks to haul us to Slovakia and we would have to ride in back with the animals. Nope, it was a nice bus, with nice seats. We each got our own row. The trip was uneventful, Curt watched some movie with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, while Amy conversed with the hoarde of Aussies on the bus.
As we appraoched Slovakia, we both were dilligent in making sure we had our passports ready to go, and actually wondered what the bus stamp would look like. The well lit border station was quite massive, and completely empty. We never even slowed down.
After getting dropped of at the station in Bratislava, the trip started to get a bit more interesting. We had smuggled some Hungarian wine on the bus, and we had some pilsners while waiting in Budapest, so the booze may have started to cloud our thinking a bit. The only option for transport to Old Town was the city bus. After some grueling map reading, we decided that bus #50 was our best hope. Out to the station we went, after a quick wait, the bus showed up, Amy got on the bus, the doors closed, the bus left, Curt was left standing at the station. Disaster was averted when Amy wisely exited the bus at the next stop and walked backed to the bus terminal. Eventually, we found a cab and discovered that Slovakia was switching to the Euro on Jan. 1, and they paying for the cab was going to be easy.
That night, we explored Old Town and discovered the Slovakian Christmas market is a bit different than those in Romania and Hungary. In Bratislava, the entire town shows up to drink hot wine. The regional treat was a lefse, which both of us had enjoyed as kids. We joined in and had a rather enjoyable night in Slovakia.
We sucessfully got a train to Prague the next day, where we will be for the next few days. We had an interesting conversation on the train with an Aussie couple. It turns out that the guy's family escaped Slovakia when he was nine. They told him he was going on holiday, and they never went home. So many stories. Such fascinating history.
(Curt was the primary author of this post)
We successfully located the international bus station, but were not very good at locating the proper line to buy international tickets, after a 30 minute wait in the wrong line, we were directed upstairs to what is best descibed as a complete disaster. Imagine the the lines at the license tab place at the end of a month. We got our number and were shocked to see that our number was called shortly thereafter. But alas, it wasn't so simple, they were calling the previous person with #117. There were 100 people in line in front of us waiting to purchase tickets at one of two windows. Rumours started to circulate that the earliest one could leave was midnight the following night. The final straw was when we saw both ticket agents take lunch at the same time.
At this point, our options were less than pleasant . . .
Take a bus to Sopron, Hungary and walk across the border into Austria.
Go down to the docks and look for a boat going upstream on the Danube (tour boats were not operating)
Wait out the Rail Strike, afterall Budapest was quite nice.
Try to find some 3rd rate bus company we read about at the hotel on wikipedia.
Amy had noticed a couple of signs for this other bus company as we traversed the main bus terminal, so we went in search of "Orangeways". Up the stairs, across the square we went following the little stickers they had plastered on the wall/floor every 20 feet or so. It was like Hansel and Gretel. We eventually stumbled into an empty office and asked where we needed to wait in line to buy tickets. We were stunned when the lady said, "Right here. Where do you want to go ?" We said Vienna, she said the bus leaves tomorrow morning. We said Bratislava, she said fork over 12 euros and be back here in three hours for a 4:30 departure.
We were convinced this was a trick, it couldn't be this easy. Perhaps we would have to get out and push the bus every now and then, or maybe they hired farm trucks to haul us to Slovakia and we would have to ride in back with the animals. Nope, it was a nice bus, with nice seats. We each got our own row. The trip was uneventful, Curt watched some movie with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, while Amy conversed with the hoarde of Aussies on the bus.
As we appraoched Slovakia, we both were dilligent in making sure we had our passports ready to go, and actually wondered what the bus stamp would look like. The well lit border station was quite massive, and completely empty. We never even slowed down.
After getting dropped of at the station in Bratislava, the trip started to get a bit more interesting. We had smuggled some Hungarian wine on the bus, and we had some pilsners while waiting in Budapest, so the booze may have started to cloud our thinking a bit. The only option for transport to Old Town was the city bus. After some grueling map reading, we decided that bus #50 was our best hope. Out to the station we went, after a quick wait, the bus showed up, Amy got on the bus, the doors closed, the bus left, Curt was left standing at the station. Disaster was averted when Amy wisely exited the bus at the next stop and walked backed to the bus terminal. Eventually, we found a cab and discovered that Slovakia was switching to the Euro on Jan. 1, and they paying for the cab was going to be easy.
That night, we explored Old Town and discovered the Slovakian Christmas market is a bit different than those in Romania and Hungary. In Bratislava, the entire town shows up to drink hot wine. The regional treat was a lefse, which both of us had enjoyed as kids. We joined in and had a rather enjoyable night in Slovakia.
We sucessfully got a train to Prague the next day, where we will be for the next few days. We had an interesting conversation on the train with an Aussie couple. It turns out that the guy's family escaped Slovakia when he was nine. They told him he was going on holiday, and they never went home. So many stories. Such fascinating history.
(Curt was the primary author of this post)
Monday, December 15, 2008
Oops
Rail Strike in Hungary has thrown our plans into chaos. Instead of a leisure 3 hour train ride to Bratislava today, we will now spend the afternoon in Budapest plotting our escape from Hungary. Austria might be back on the table for us. We've got our fingers crossed.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Four Magyar Observations from the Old Man
First, Burger King is king in Budapest. Their fast food joints are quite flashy with flat screen tv's, and other devices to entertain. Meanwhile, McDonald's usually has the lesser locations on side streets.
The second observation can be summed up with one word . . . teeeeekit. We've become experts in riding the Budapest subway. But we quickly discovered that you must always have your validated ticket at your ready to display to any of the numerous "ticket" police. We've been hounded on every trip at several places. In spite of this constant pressure to always have ticket ready for inspection, the system is very efficient and easy to use. Curt plans to wite Mayor Nickels and explain him that he doesn't need some fancy multi-billion dollar system. Just copy what the Hungarians built in 1896, small stations, small trains, and frequency that never leaves you waiting more than 3 minutes.
Thirdly, if you were presented with these clues about an attraction, what would you do ?
it's not listed on any of the tourist maps.
it does have a nice advertisement on those maps, but fails to mention the price.
it's 30 minutes away.
no other former eastern bloc country has such a display.
you can't access it very easily with public transportation.
it provides it's own transportation from a bus stop jammed with tour buses.
you are informed that you will be at the attraction for 2 hours if you take their bus.
and lastly, you discover the inflated price before the bus leaves.
All we had to do was get off the bus. That's it. No harm, no foul, and we could go on our merry way. But noooooo, we were hellbent on going to "Statue Park". For some reason, we both just had to see all the communist statues that had been torn down throughout the city following the peaceful revolution in 1989 and placed in nice park on the edge of town. The park was a nice gravel lot with a few red brick facades, it was raining, it was cold, and it took about 15 minutes to slowly walk through it and read all the placards. Thankfully, "Statue Park" had an accompanying "museum" in which we could learn all about the secret police that roamed Budapest following the uprising in 1956. The museum consisted of the nice photos that highlighted the events of 1956 and 1989 that took another 15 minutes to read, and then it was onto the highlight of this sidetrip . . . a one hour docementary on the aforementioned secret police. But wait, there's more. This wasn't a traditional film, it was a compilation of training films that the secret police produced in the 1960's to train new recruits. Even though it had that "grade school film" quality, it was the first real thing we've seen that cast some light on what it was like around these parts before 1989.
Lastly, we finally found the Hungarian meal that we were craving in a place called Rustico. We ordered two bowls, one with chicken smothered in paprika sauce over dumplings, and the other a very thick beef stew with a hearty paprika sauce, over potatoe wedges.
Even though our 1999 Budapest guide book gave us a few options, we were not able to find the Seahawks game at 7:00pm.
The second observation can be summed up with one word . . . teeeeekit. We've become experts in riding the Budapest subway. But we quickly discovered that you must always have your validated ticket at your ready to display to any of the numerous "ticket" police. We've been hounded on every trip at several places. In spite of this constant pressure to always have ticket ready for inspection, the system is very efficient and easy to use. Curt plans to wite Mayor Nickels and explain him that he doesn't need some fancy multi-billion dollar system. Just copy what the Hungarians built in 1896, small stations, small trains, and frequency that never leaves you waiting more than 3 minutes.
Thirdly, if you were presented with these clues about an attraction, what would you do ?
it's not listed on any of the tourist maps.
it does have a nice advertisement on those maps, but fails to mention the price.
it's 30 minutes away.
no other former eastern bloc country has such a display.
you can't access it very easily with public transportation.
it provides it's own transportation from a bus stop jammed with tour buses.
you are informed that you will be at the attraction for 2 hours if you take their bus.
and lastly, you discover the inflated price before the bus leaves.
All we had to do was get off the bus. That's it. No harm, no foul, and we could go on our merry way. But noooooo, we were hellbent on going to "Statue Park". For some reason, we both just had to see all the communist statues that had been torn down throughout the city following the peaceful revolution in 1989 and placed in nice park on the edge of town. The park was a nice gravel lot with a few red brick facades, it was raining, it was cold, and it took about 15 minutes to slowly walk through it and read all the placards. Thankfully, "Statue Park" had an accompanying "museum" in which we could learn all about the secret police that roamed Budapest following the uprising in 1956. The museum consisted of the nice photos that highlighted the events of 1956 and 1989 that took another 15 minutes to read, and then it was onto the highlight of this sidetrip . . . a one hour docementary on the aforementioned secret police. But wait, there's more. This wasn't a traditional film, it was a compilation of training films that the secret police produced in the 1960's to train new recruits. Even though it had that "grade school film" quality, it was the first real thing we've seen that cast some light on what it was like around these parts before 1989.
Lastly, we finally found the Hungarian meal that we were craving in a place called Rustico. We ordered two bowls, one with chicken smothered in paprika sauce over dumplings, and the other a very thick beef stew with a hearty paprika sauce, over potatoe wedges.
Even though our 1999 Budapest guide book gave us a few options, we were not able to find the Seahawks game at 7:00pm.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
The Wurst
Budapest is a big, clean, efficient, lovely, vibrant city. We had a nice day wandering around, but that doesn't make for the most interesting read. We walked around the castle district and the hills of Buda, across the Chain Bridge to Pest and through the Christmas market. By then, the smells of the food vendors were intriguing. I selected a cup of gluwein (hot spiced red wine) and a fried potato concoction - think pancake batter mixed with shredded potatoes cooked in a vat of oil served with sour cream on top - yes...healthy. Curt immediately got himself a long hunk of grilled mystery meat. It was so big that it curled around the paper plate twice, served with a small hunk of bread and a generous dollop of mustard (dijon). I sampled a few bites, and it tatsted ok. Nothing special. The pool of grease that grew around it was intimidating to me. Of course, it was not as scarey as the dark red/purple/black hunk of mysery meat that the Hungarian guy across from us was eating (blood sausage). Curt managed to eat the whole thing. For the rest of the day, and into the evening, I kept smelling that smell. Eventually, I busted him. Burps! Stinky sausage burps!! As disgusting as it was, I kinda felt sorry for him having to taste it all day. The 'snacks' filled us up for a good long while and Curt wasn't too interested in eating again. A few beers into the evening, I was starting to get peckish. We couldn't find anything appealing, so we ducked into McD's. It is something that I try to avoid during international travel, but sometimes you just want to know what you're getting. It is also interesting to see the differences - like Royale w cheese. We recall the McPink in Florence. Well here, the unique menu item was McFarm. What the hambone is THAT?!? I stuck to the tried and true McChicken and we were back on our way.
We've got another full day here, but need to continue plotting our journey. The next stop will be Bratislava, Slovakia. We've got convenient internet access, so I will probably post again before we go.
Have a great weekend everyone! Curt tells me you are in for a cold front in Seattle, so keep warm.
We've got another full day here, but need to continue plotting our journey. The next stop will be Bratislava, Slovakia. We've got convenient internet access, so I will probably post again before we go.
Have a great weekend everyone! Curt tells me you are in for a cold front in Seattle, so keep warm.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Good Morning from Hungary
It is 7:52am, and we just finished breakfast in Bucharest. It is nice not to be hungry in Hungary anymore. The train ride yesterday was 9 hours, and it was not the nicest coach in Europe. Although Curt asked for 1st class, we got 2nd class tickets. That did not end up to be a problem since the whole train was a pile. At least we had a compartment all to ourselves, although I tried not to touch much. We did have success in navigating the train station and the subway directly to our hotel. We arrived late and were not able to locate food in the neighborhood. It tricky when you are beyond hungry, in a new city, know nothing of the language (and this one is weird!) and they have a propensity for lard in a bowl. We are 'splurging' on a nice hotel here since we found a great internet rate. Curt claimed the buffet was the best he's ever had this morning.
Back to Transylvania...The 2nd town we stopped in was Shigisoara. It was a very small and medieval place, with the "old town" being quite similar to how it was in the 15th century, with the exception of electricity, plumbing, the random, vehicle, and of course the maruading Turks were absent. We walked from the train station, across the river and up the stairs to the town wall . . . sounds simple, right ? Yes it is, if one can find one of the few entries/exits through the city wall. We eventually found a dirt path that led to the Shoemakers gate. Apparently, this town required each of the local guilds to build and then man each of the 13 battle stations in this town that literally surrounded by a steep 100 foot hill. None of the roads were paved, and since we arrived after dark, it was a cool and creepy adventure. We stolled around and eventually stopped in a pool hall for a beer - even the slot machines had a cheezy 'dracula' theme. Seeking to escape the bad disco music (more on this later), we moved on to the "Dracula Inn" for a nightcap. The building was actually the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, and the whole place was a frightening homage to him - there were no less than eight busts, paintings etc. of the local hero. The evening ended early due to a lack of nightlife in the sleepy village, and the only thing that bit me was a bit of food poisoning.
We got up early and walked up the hill to the church tower. The local high school was also on the hill, so we found ourselves walking the 172 steps with the youth. We kept their pace, and even passed many of them as they stopped for cigarettes along the way. Good to know the tobacco industry is set for the future. Shigisoara had a wonderful old world charm. We'll need to post photos to convey it.
We're starting to notice a theme with the music, if you can find an ice rink or a pub/bar with the lights on, you will also find a horrid combination of american disco and euro techno electronica. This is not confined to the Eastern Bloc, Curt confirms the same thing happened in Austria and Switzerland when he was working there.
We're starting to figure out the train system a bit, the key to success is to find the train that's pulling cars from the western most country. For instance, our train rides in Romania were aboard a train that was eventually going to Prague (even though we rode two legs in Romania). On the first two trips, we had nice seats in a clean car with ample beverage service. Then, as we waited for the third leg (Translyania to Budapest), Curt informed me that we were due to get a train with Hungarian or Czech cars since the first two legs had been on Romanian cars. I failed to note that he didn't explain how he knew the first two legs were on Romanian cars. After we boarded it was very clear that we were now getting our first look at Romanian cars, the temperature control was very simple and very effective . . . too hot, or too cold. And it was easy to adjust, just open the window in your compartment on a nice 30 degree day. The "high speed" Intercity trains in Romania ramble along at speeds approaching 50 mph with frequent stops in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. After crossing the border into Hungary and successfully navigating two border checks without uttering a word of English, it was off to Budapest with no stops and high speeds.
One last tidbit on Romania, the vestiges of Communism were a sight to be seen. During this journey, we passed the two most obnoxious coal plants that either of us had ever seen. Huge complexes with those infamous looking towers like you see in nuclear plants and rotting structures surrounding them, and an unearthly glow of smog hanging in the valley.
Budapest was a culture shock, we took the subway into downtown after arriving at the train station, so we didn't really get a feel for the city until popping out of the metro station in front of the opera house. We had been magically transported from the 15th century top the 21st century. This part of Budapest was more similar to Manhattan than Transylvania. Today, we're going to check out the castles, the christmas market, and I suppose I'll have to allow Curt a little time in one of the pubs that will be showing NFL games.
Back to Transylvania...The 2nd town we stopped in was Shigisoara. It was a very small and medieval place, with the "old town" being quite similar to how it was in the 15th century, with the exception of electricity, plumbing, the random, vehicle, and of course the maruading Turks were absent. We walked from the train station, across the river and up the stairs to the town wall . . . sounds simple, right ? Yes it is, if one can find one of the few entries/exits through the city wall. We eventually found a dirt path that led to the Shoemakers gate. Apparently, this town required each of the local guilds to build and then man each of the 13 battle stations in this town that literally surrounded by a steep 100 foot hill. None of the roads were paved, and since we arrived after dark, it was a cool and creepy adventure. We stolled around and eventually stopped in a pool hall for a beer - even the slot machines had a cheezy 'dracula' theme. Seeking to escape the bad disco music (more on this later), we moved on to the "Dracula Inn" for a nightcap. The building was actually the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, and the whole place was a frightening homage to him - there were no less than eight busts, paintings etc. of the local hero. The evening ended early due to a lack of nightlife in the sleepy village, and the only thing that bit me was a bit of food poisoning.
We got up early and walked up the hill to the church tower. The local high school was also on the hill, so we found ourselves walking the 172 steps with the youth. We kept their pace, and even passed many of them as they stopped for cigarettes along the way. Good to know the tobacco industry is set for the future. Shigisoara had a wonderful old world charm. We'll need to post photos to convey it.
We're starting to notice a theme with the music, if you can find an ice rink or a pub/bar with the lights on, you will also find a horrid combination of american disco and euro techno electronica. This is not confined to the Eastern Bloc, Curt confirms the same thing happened in Austria and Switzerland when he was working there.
We're starting to figure out the train system a bit, the key to success is to find the train that's pulling cars from the western most country. For instance, our train rides in Romania were aboard a train that was eventually going to Prague (even though we rode two legs in Romania). On the first two trips, we had nice seats in a clean car with ample beverage service. Then, as we waited for the third leg (Translyania to Budapest), Curt informed me that we were due to get a train with Hungarian or Czech cars since the first two legs had been on Romanian cars. I failed to note that he didn't explain how he knew the first two legs were on Romanian cars. After we boarded it was very clear that we were now getting our first look at Romanian cars, the temperature control was very simple and very effective . . . too hot, or too cold. And it was easy to adjust, just open the window in your compartment on a nice 30 degree day. The "high speed" Intercity trains in Romania ramble along at speeds approaching 50 mph with frequent stops in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. After crossing the border into Hungary and successfully navigating two border checks without uttering a word of English, it was off to Budapest with no stops and high speeds.
One last tidbit on Romania, the vestiges of Communism were a sight to be seen. During this journey, we passed the two most obnoxious coal plants that either of us had ever seen. Huge complexes with those infamous looking towers like you see in nuclear plants and rotting structures surrounding them, and an unearthly glow of smog hanging in the valley.
Budapest was a culture shock, we took the subway into downtown after arriving at the train station, so we didn't really get a feel for the city until popping out of the metro station in front of the opera house. We had been magically transported from the 15th century top the 21st century. This part of Budapest was more similar to Manhattan than Transylvania. Today, we're going to check out the castles, the christmas market, and I suppose I'll have to allow Curt a little time in one of the pubs that will be showing NFL games.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Romania
We arrived in Bucharest without incident. Curt is a really good navigator, and got us from the airport, on the correct bus, off at the correct stop, and walked a few blocks directly to our hostel. Not bad since neither of us knew a single word of Romanian. We resisted the temptation to nap and headed out to explore. We quickly found a central square that was lined with huts of vendors selling Christmas crafts and foods. One of the few things we wanted to make sure to do in Bucharest was to eat the grilled 'mystery meat' featured in the Anthony Bourdain Romania episode, and lo and behold, there it was. We enjoyed a couple of the selections which ended up being our meal that night. I think we paid less than $1. Since we were tired from travel, we barely made it to 7pm before calling it a night. Of course, I was wide awake agian before midnight. I turned on the light to read for a while and we were both up for several hours. The sleeplessness was not helped by the HARDEST bed I have ever slept on. It was a long painful night, but we managed.
After a less than satisfying breakfast - soft boiled eggs, hot dogs, and salted kiwi - we explored the city on foot. The overall impression was better than I had expected. There is a quaint older quarter with lots of interesting architecture, although the roads are ripped up and it doesn't seem like anyone is working on them. If they ever finish it, it will be nice. We also checked out Revolutionary square, where the people rebellled communist leadership in 1989 and the publically hung the dude a few days later. There many dull grey buildings that were obviously a product of communist times, which juxtapose against the old baroque styles, and then a smattering of shiny new buildings. A bit of everything. We were awed by they way the cars were parked every which way, and the number of stray dogs wandering the streets. On the other hand, the cars were nice and new, and no one was asking for handouts.
We caught an afternoon train to Brasov in Transylvania where I am writing now. This is a very enchanting place. We had a great little room overlooking the town square and the Christmas tree. We are skipping the tourist trap of Dracula's castle, since he didn't even live there, and we saw it on tv.
This afternoon we will head to Sighisoara, another Transylvanian town, where we'll explore the creepy cemetary under a full moon. I wonder if my next post will include a real life vampire story?
After a less than satisfying breakfast - soft boiled eggs, hot dogs, and salted kiwi - we explored the city on foot. The overall impression was better than I had expected. There is a quaint older quarter with lots of interesting architecture, although the roads are ripped up and it doesn't seem like anyone is working on them. If they ever finish it, it will be nice. We also checked out Revolutionary square, where the people rebellled communist leadership in 1989 and the publically hung the dude a few days later. There many dull grey buildings that were obviously a product of communist times, which juxtapose against the old baroque styles, and then a smattering of shiny new buildings. A bit of everything. We were awed by they way the cars were parked every which way, and the number of stray dogs wandering the streets. On the other hand, the cars were nice and new, and no one was asking for handouts.
We caught an afternoon train to Brasov in Transylvania where I am writing now. This is a very enchanting place. We had a great little room overlooking the town square and the Christmas tree. We are skipping the tourist trap of Dracula's castle, since he didn't even live there, and we saw it on tv.
This afternoon we will head to Sighisoara, another Transylvanian town, where we'll explore the creepy cemetary under a full moon. I wonder if my next post will include a real life vampire story?
Saturday, December 6, 2008
November
Its hard to believe we have been home for 5 weeks. At first, I was antsy and didn't know what to do with myself. But, as those who have experienced the life of leisure had assurred me, I got used to it. Get up, have coffee and read the paper, make breakfast, go for a walk or a bike ride, visit with family and friends, grocery shop, yard work, build shelves and make curtains, etc etc etc. Oh, and search online for travel bargains...
Which leads us to the next adventure. We're using miles to go to Europe...on Monday. We'll fly into Bucharest, Romania via Amsterdam arriving on Tuesday afternoon. From there we'll take the train to Transylvania and eventually on to Hungary, Czech Republic, and Germany.
Probably not the most prudent thing for one of the many recently unemployed to do, but we're going to take the opportunity while we have it. The justifications I used are these:
Seats are going unused on airplanes - tragic.
The dollar is much stronger vs the Euro than it has been in a long time.
The worldwide economy wants me to keep the $$ flowing.
Empty hotels = cheap rooms
I want to check out the Obamavibe during the engagement period. Before the luster wears off from the corrosive climate.
From my research, we should have good internet access along the way to post on this blog. But, we're packing light and Curt won't bring his laptop, so we may not be able to post photos. If anyone has a suggestion or request, please let us know.
See you all upon our return!
Which leads us to the next adventure. We're using miles to go to Europe...on Monday. We'll fly into Bucharest, Romania via Amsterdam arriving on Tuesday afternoon. From there we'll take the train to Transylvania and eventually on to Hungary, Czech Republic, and Germany.
Probably not the most prudent thing for one of the many recently unemployed to do, but we're going to take the opportunity while we have it. The justifications I used are these:
Seats are going unused on airplanes - tragic.
The dollar is much stronger vs the Euro than it has been in a long time.
The worldwide economy wants me to keep the $$ flowing.
Empty hotels = cheap rooms
I want to check out the Obamavibe during the engagement period. Before the luster wears off from the corrosive climate.
From my research, we should have good internet access along the way to post on this blog. But, we're packing light and Curt won't bring his laptop, so we may not be able to post photos. If anyone has a suggestion or request, please let us know.
See you all upon our return!
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