To be fair, before I started this trip I had no idea about Brasov or anything regarding what there could be to do here or in the area. That is the joy of hostels - somebody says something and you go. Interestingly enough, that means that you end up meeting the same people over and over again in the hostels, but that's a good time, too. Also, in the interests of full disclosure, I am not now, nor have I ever been a sweet transvestite from Transsexual Transylvania. So, Brasov, great little town. It looks like it should look. It is [View Full Entry]

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Bucharest is an interesting city. I, like most people, had no love for the town, but some really found the place great. That is not to say that there is nothing interesting there - that is anything but the case - it is just that it s difficult to get a grasp on what makes the city. There is no "there" there architectually speaking, by which I mean that one can get no sense of what the city's past was by studing the buildings (at least no earlier than the mid-20th century when Ceaucescu tore most of the city down). Friday, [View Full Entry]

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Veliko Turnovo is an beautiful little slice of central Bulgaria. It's a town of about 80,000, and relatively touristy, but it really doesn't feel that way. It's actually also the original capital of Bulgaria, from the first independence from the Ottomans to the relocation of the capital to Sofia in the 20th Century. Wednesday, May 14th: Up early to get out of Sofia this morning as I hoofed it to the train station for my ride to Veliko Turnovo, which was easy enough, if a bit long. I did sit across for the whole way from 2 little old Bulgarian ladies [View Full Entry]

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Not a whole lot going on in Sofia. The place is actually kind of boring, though there are a few things to see. Perfect for a pit stop, unless you're there on a bachelor party (I saw a few of those), or on somebody's birthday (some of the guys I met later on had that) as the place is cheap with good looking girls. Tuesday, May 13th: Not a whole lot of sleep on the train this morning, as I kept on not wanting to miss my stop in Sofia. It was nice, though, having the sleeper cabin all to myself. [View Full Entry]

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Istanbul is a very cool city. It straddles two continents, tens of centuries and multitudes of little neighborhoods, each with its own feel and character. The most impressive thing about Istanbul, though, is absolute cacophony of sound and chaos of the city. Sunday, May 11th: Up early today to beat the rush to the shower in my 30-bed dorm room, so after the shower and a quick bite in the hostel, I was off to the Ottoman Palace and museum. After paying my entry fee for the palace as a whole, I saw a couple from New York that was looking [View Full Entry]

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Back in the Holy Land for the first time in 10 years, and it was definitely worth the trip to come out and see Alan, even if just for a few days. While I did not really do a whole lot of sightseeing, I had a great chance to spend time with a very good friend of mine while celebrating Yom Ha'Atzmaut in Tel Aviv. I even got a chance to see me cousin - and meet her husband for the first time. As with just about everywhere else I go, this visit was too short, but I guess that is [View Full Entry]

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My first three days traveling made for an interesting time, to say the least. It is amazing that one can so totally detach himself or herself completely from the real world that has been left behind to go traveling. Except, of course, when someone really wants to talk politics in an election year. Barcelona is a wonderfully active, vibrant city constantly flowing with people, and full of tremendous architecture. It is the city of Picaso, the city of Gaudi. However, my memory of my time here will forever be dominated by my Omi's passing yesterday, the 5th of May 2008. I [View Full Entry]

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The funny thing about Venice is that just about everywhere in Venice looks like everywhere else in Venice, but nowhere else in the world looks quite like the place. It is also a city that you need to get lost in - which is very easy, by the way - to really enjoy. Getting lost in Venice allows you to see the real bits of the city and to get a feel for how the people in the town actually go about thier daily lives away from the main touristy points (Piazza San Marco, Ponte Rialto, Academia, Lido) and the routes [View Full Entry]

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Ok, for some reason, the previous entry was cut off early. So, here is the exciting conclusion to my trip to Wales... The hilight of the day on the road, though, was the ruin of Castle Y-Bere. This is an old Welsh-built castle that was destroyed by Edward I in his invasion of Wales. What remains are really just the bare bones and bases of the walls, so it is not all that impressive in and of itself, but you can see that it once commanded the valley in which it sat and that it was once a very impressive and [View Full Entry]

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Ridiculously awesome weekend in Wales over Easter. I didn't sleep much the night before after a very late Shabbat dinner at the Taylors and getting up early to make the 7am bus from Victoria. I also didn't get much sleep on the trip, so I was working almost entirely off adrenaline - but it was so worth it and I never felt like I was too tired to do anything along with the group. Luckily, we had a great bunch of people who were cool and fun and we all got involved with each other (ok, to be fair there was [View Full Entry]

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