http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/rrruss/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from rrruss en-us Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:07:04 +0000 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:07:04 +0000 17 hours to Kiev on a train with a stinking cold wasn't nice but at least we were both suffering Since then neither of us have fully recovered but we have had an amazing week seeing the sights and meeting up with friends old and new. Apologies to anyone if we've been a little too generous with our germsKiev has been an amazing city and we have no doubt we will be back The question is only wh http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Kiev/blog-443263.html From Yalta it took a little under 2 hours for our bus to twist and turn its way along the coastal road to Sevastopol. We were dropped off at the bus station conveniently located over the bridge from the train station. On arrival we were greeted by the sight of a stationary train with its cargo of an antiaircraft gun No doubt that was a reminder if one was necessary that we had arrived in a mili http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Krim/Sevastopol/blog-442524.html It took just over 12 hours on the train to get from Odesa to Simferopol. Despite being very comfortable compared to Azerbaijani trains we still didnrsquot sleep well At the station we found somewhere for a McBreakfast before buying tickets on the Worldrsquos longest and slowest trolleybus. From Simferopol to Yalta is just 85km but it took almost 3 hours. Itrsquos a nice route but after the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Krim/Yalta/blog-441935.html What a palaver We left Sulina intending to travel up to Chisinau in Moldova. Tourist Information in Tulcea had said we needed to get a bus to Gelati to do so but this proved troublesome. So we took the hydrofoil along the Danube from Sulina to Tulcea from where we took the small local bus to Gelati. This took us through rural Northern Romania where the grape harvest has just begun. The narrow c http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Odessa/blog-441745.html Just 90 minutes away from Tulcea lies the small town of Sulina. 90 minutes by fast hydrofoil down one of the Danubersquos many arms double that if you take a slow boat. The scenery isnrsquot that much to write home about though so we recommend speedIn Sulina we were met from the boat by a guy offering us a room in a pension just 5 minutes walk from the jetty and apparently 8 minutes walk http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Dobrogea/Tulcea/Sulina/blog-438232.html From Constanta it took us just 2 hours by maxitaxi to reach Tulcea. That was despite the police pulling the bus over and detaining us for 10 minutes or so. We donrsquot know what the problem was but we suspect it is part of a drive to get unsafe buses off the road. If thatrsquos the case we canrsquot really complain.The bus station is on the edge of town on the banks of the River Danube wel http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Dobrogea/Tulcea/blog-438226.html Getting to Constanta seemed so straight forward. Get the bus to Varna walk 10 minutes to the bus station get the bus to Constanta cross the border from one EU country to another get off in Constanta find hostel. Well it wasn't quite that simple The bus from the village where we were staying arrived in Varna 15 minutes after the Constanta bus left. The solution was to cadge a lift off one of http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Dobrogea/Constanta/Constanta/blog-437541.html Our stay in Varna has essentially been 10 days of down time a welcome break halfway through this trip. It's just a shame the British weather came to greet us as we were looking forward to lying by the pool and getting a tan.We were met off the bus by Rob who we worked with in Azerbaijan. He kindly invited us to stay at his house in the hills above Varna. Our first full day with him was glorious a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Bulgaria/East/Varna/blog-436161.html 2 Pages of photos again SorryGetting out to the Gallipoli peninsula turned out to be more troublesome than anticipated. Having bought tickets on a Metro bus one of the biggest companies in Turkey we thought it was going to be easy. Their servis transfer at 0910 took us to the bus station but not the bus station we expected to go to. There we were put onto another bus which eventually took u http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Canakkale/blog-434238.html There are 2 pages of photos again. Where there is a poem or a quotation click on the photo. It should open in a new window and hopefully you can read the inscriptions.We came to the Gallipoli peninsula quite ignorant of any detail about the events which took place here in 1915. The night before our visit we watched the film Gallipoli starring a very young Mel Gibson. It was very interesting and I http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Gallipoli/blog-433523.html There are 2 pages of photos again Please have a look at all of themIstanbul is a wonderful place. It's been about 10 years since we were here before. Back then it rained and snowed and we didn't really enjoy it This time was very different we loved itIt took us 6 hours to get there from Safranbolu. Our 1030 departure was actually a 1030 transfer to Karabuk bus station and then we had an hou http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Istanbul/blog-432401.html Safranbolu was just a short 6 hours bus ride from Sinop Actually our bus dropped us off in nearby Karabuk and we had to get a local bus to Safranbolu. That took 45 minutes as it went all the way around the local towns before depositing us near the impressive old hammam. Ali from the Bastoncu Pension came to meet us and then we followed him along cobbled lanes to the old Ottoman house which was to http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Safranbolu/blog-431400.html Sinop is a beautiful small town on a peninsula jutting out onto the Black Sea. It is Turkey's northernmost town but not quite it's most northerly point. Getting there involved a 2 hour bus ride from Sivas to Samsun followed by 3 hours or so more along twisting coastal roads with incredible views.We stayed at Otel 57 which has been most comfortable. At 60 Lira per night we've been more than happy. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Sinop/blog-430848.html Amasya was 4 hours away from Sivas by bus. Once again the scenery was impressive. It was a shame we passed through Tokat without stopping but the only reason we wanted to go was to experience a Tokat Kebab. Aubergine and meat are alternatively threaded on a skewer and it is cookedsmoked vertically resulting in an apparently exquisite taste Never mind it's only foodWe arrived in Amasya at 8pm http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Amasya/blog-430421.html It took 8 hours to get to Sivas from the bus station in Trabzon. The journey wasn't too bad and certainly took in some interesting scenery as the road climbed from the Black Sea coast up onto the Anatolian plain.When we got there our Couch Surfing friend Sefa met us and his cousin Emre drove us around the city and back to Sefa's flat. There we were introduced to his parents and his sister and i http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Eastern-Anatolia/Sivas/blog-430406.html We arrived in Trabzon with only a vague idea of where we were going to stay. The bus from Rize dropped us off at the bottom of a market which climbs uphill towards Ataturk Square. The driver pointed us in the right direction and we climbed up through the market our rucksacks attracting many gazes to the top where we found several hotels. As we walked past one a voice said nice room 40 Lira so http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Trabzon/blog-429798.html Crossing the border from Georgia to Turkey was quite easy. The Georgian side was incredibly smooth especially after we were told to go to the front of the queue The Turkish side was slightly more problematic. We had to show our passports to the border guard only for them to say ldquoyou need a visardquo. They wouldnrsquot listen to us when we said it. Then we had to carry our rucksacks a f http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Rize/blog-429776.html After a long time with no views of the sea unless you count the Caspian of course but that's really a lake Batumi was a breath of seabreeze fresh air. It's just a shame about the hotel we chose. If you choose the cheapest room in a hotel it's usually the cheapest room for a reason and we paid up front for 2 nights It was stuffy damp our handwashed clothes didn't dry in almost 2 days http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Georgia/Adjara/Batumi/blog-428937.html The journey to Kutaisi was uneventful. It's probably a beautiful road running through the mountains but the rain was too heavy and the cloud too low for us to really appreciate it The big problem then was that we had no idea where we were when the driver dropped us off That meant getting a taxi and he didn't know exactly where we wanted to go It all sorted itself out though and he took us to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Georgia/West/Kutaisi/blog-428545.html 2 Pages of pictures againIn 1878 Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili 43124317432143084305 4305430843214304432043124317431643124321 43314308 433543234326430443284309431243144312 was born in the Georgian town of Gori 4306431743204312. He went from being a theological student to being Stalin quite a turn arou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Georgia/East/Gori/blog-428471.html