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Published: August 13th 2005
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Hollywood Romania
I have to say this gave me a good chuckle. It seems so out of place with all of Romania's beautiful countryside and old architecture. It seems that I exist in a time vacuum, having no concept of the days of the week, or the uncanny ability that time has to fly by. Really it's unbelievable to me that it is now August, another month is gone, and another country awaits. However, the next stop will not be reached without a considerable amount of suffering as my train trip from where I am now in Suceava, Romania to Kiev, Ukraine will take me roughly 23 hours. I can't say that I'm very much looking forward to this one, especially considering the last few trips I've taken on trains here in Romania where a simple 3 hour train can turn into a ride from hell when you understand what the "gypsy factor" is. Basically what that means is that you're on a train that stops anywhere and everywhere. We're talking all that exists of some of the towns where a train might stop is one sign and a few scattered shacks, then nothing around but countryside. You sit there wondering what is out there and who lives there. Well, after spending about 2 weeks in Romania you find out who these people are; they are the Roma
Veliko's Big Draw
This is the entrance to the fortress in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. It's a massive fortress, unfortunately I got caught in a relentless rainstorm while visiting. (the gypsies). They live in a world that is detached from anything I would consider modern, they drive a cart with a horse, subist of the land, and beg you incessantly for money. It's amazing to see this in a state that is bidding to join the European Union. The Roma may only be a small, small percentage of the population, but these honestly are people that technically don't exist--no identity cards, no money, nothing. It's a shocking contrast to life in the city; however, even there it is common for a cart pulled by a horse to pull up beside you at an intersection on a main road.
I'm running out of time here at the internet cafe so I'm just going to give you some brief highlights of the weeks since my last update. I hope to supplement these blurbs with pictures when I get to a more advanced internet cafe.
The Route since Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria-->
Varna, Bulgaria (2 days; 07.00 train for ~8 hrs)----> Bucharest, Romania (5 days; apply for Ukraine visa, explore the city, meet old Slovenian friends)-------> Brasov, Romania (1 day; Enter Transylvania)-----> Sighisoara, Romania (4 days; by car with a
Sighisoara's Old Town
Another Romanian fortress that holds a cobble-stoned old town with brilliant history. German friend)------> Cluj-Napoca, Romania (2 days; by train with A/C, truly unheard of?)---------> Sighisoara, Romania (Again, yes, and for the annual Medieval Festival)-------> Suceava, Romania (2 days; by hellacious 14 hr. night train)---------> Today Kiev, Ukraine......
In Varna, I got to relax on the first decent sand beach of the trip; however, the beachfront in Varna has become so commercialized that it consists of a string of discos who party late into the night during the summer. An absolutely amazing number of people strolll down the pseudo-boardwalk here in the evening. Not what I would call a relaxing town; however, that do claim to be the possessor of the WORLD'S OLDEST GOLD dating back to 4600-4200 BCE, and was discovered in an undewater necropolis some years ago.
Bucharest is a big city, with a grand facade that was built after WW II by the megalomaniac dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. The city has huge Piatas that mimic those in Paris. Ceausescu also decided that he needed to build what is now the second largest building in the world. To erect this building Nicolae, the good guy that he was, tossed 70,000 people out of their homes, and then ironically named
the palace, Casa Poporului (the Palace of the People).
After five days in Bucharest waiting on administrative things for my Ukrainian visa, I left for Brasov for only a quick stopover. During this time, however, I had time to see the a couple of families of wild bears that come into the town to feed on the trash that is left in the dumpsters. Not only that I saw one of the bears, while attempting to scavenge in one dumpster, fall in and have the lid close on him. From that point on, the dumpster looked like a extremely large dancing toaster that was emitting very perturbed growls. (Not to worry, the police came to the rescue not long after, tranquilizing the bear and releasing him back into the wild)
On to Sighisoara, still in Romania, and Sighisoara is one of the countries highlights. It's a small town, but is famous for being the home of Vlad Dracul, otherwise known as Dracula himself. Supposedly I had coffee in the house of his birth. Heh, I don't know how accurate that is, but ole Vlad got his reputation by torturing his enemies with a wooden stake (ringing any bells?);
And here is a gorge...
Just outside of Cluj-Napoca in Turda; the payoff for all that hot walking. however, he didn't puncture the victims heart with it. Instead, he drove a stake into the victims spinal column being very careful not to sever any vital nerves or arteries. By doing so, his victims would suffer great agony with a wooden stake in their back for roughly two days before dying. A bit gruesome indeed. I was fortunate to be able to stay in Siggy during the time of their Medieval Festival, which consists of live peformances of Romanian music, very Eyes Wide Shut-type of fashion shows, and of course a lot of merrymaking.
And then onto, Cluj-Napoca, Romania for a very short visit; however, during my time there I made a solid 20 km hike with a Scottish bloke and a Australian mate. We saw some great Romanian landscapes and a superb gorge, but destroyed ourselves by hiking most of the day in the sweltering heat where there was no shelter from the sun.
Nextly (i know it's not a word), I headed to the border of Romania to a town called Suceava where I was to find the greatest hostel on the face of the planet--quiet, homey, and out in the country. The hostel is
Lunching
Myself, Douglas (the Scot), and Geordie (Australia) are ducking for a little shade and munching on some Romanian salami on our way to the gorge. called The Class Hostel, and class it has. When you're staying here you are definitely taken care of. When we arrived, Douglas (the Scot) and I had taken a punishing 'gypsy train' from Sighisoara, arriving in Suceava around 08.00. We then began the arduous task of finding a place to stay. We found out that there was a hostel approximately 1km from the train station so we begin to walk. We've been walking for around 10 minutes when a very kind, and young, smiling face in a Renault minivan stopped next to us and asked us if we were looking for the hostel. So, we hop in, cruise to the hostel, get situated, and I'm about to have my championship breakfast consisting of bagel crisps and water when Monica, the owner/operator who is 26, admonishes me and tells me that she's going to cook me a proper breakfast. Ahoy! A proper warm breakfast? I can't tell you how excited I was to hear her say that after living on toast, jam, and cheese for breakfast for the past few months. (Those of you who have traveled know what I'm talking about). We got proper toasted sausage and cheese sandwiches, tomatoes and peppers, fresh milk straight out of the cow, and homemade yogurt cheese. All completely organic and all completely delicious. Little did we know that this was the tip of the iceberg, for Monica loves to cook for her guests. That means we got homemade, organic delicacies out of her kitchen for breakfast and for dinner! So, if you go to Suceava, look up Monica. She's unbelievable, she's single, she's a good cook, and she'll even give you a personal tour of the amazing hand-painted monasteries of the region. Oh yeah, I almost forgot; the monasteries are absolutely stunning and excellently preserved. It is only nuns who live there and maintain them now and they date from the 1200's. I think I can throw in a few pics though the weather wasn't so good on the day we visited.
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Corinne
non-member comment
wow
It seems that you are truly an active traveler and not a passive tourist. Your writing is inspirational. It put a smile on my face to see that you visited Dubrovnik. It was my most favorite in Europe. I can't believe you've been gone almost a year. I look forward to your next entry.