Random Shots From Our Days In Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary

 We have been back home since last Wednesday and have recovered from our travels. The older we get, the more jet lag seems to impact us and so it took more than 2 days for our bodies to adjust to being back in the Pacific time zone. We so enjoyed our travels to Europe; but it is always good to be home. The laundry is done, the bills are paid, the house is bit of a mess as we prepare to leave for Southern California this weekend for a planned family vacation and to start the next adventure in our lives, becoming grandparents for the first time.
 I ended up with 581 pictures from our trip. These are some shots from where we were showing what we saw and the people with whom we saw it. As always, there were some pictures that elicited the "what was I thinking when I took this picture?" response, but some of them are good. I have tried to serve you up a small smorgasboard of our trip and hope you enjoy the pictures.
Art

Some Final Thoughts

As the sun sets on our final night in Budapest, some final thoughts for the blog. Are we pleased with this trip? Absolutely! Even though it did not go as planned, we ended up seeing places we would not have seen had we sailed as planned. Our three day road trip to Transylvania was a highlight. There was an all day optional trip to Bran Castle and Brasov as part of the pre-cruise itinerary; but it probably would have been in a big bus and that big bus would have needed to navigate its way along windy narrow mountain rides and the amount to be seen would have been minimal since the roundtrip on the bus would have been about 7 hours. Another huge plus was our tour guide in Romania, Sorin, who was a delight, as was his charming wife Florentina, who arranged all of of our tours and accommodations in Transylvania and who batted 1.000 with all of her arrangements. We enjoyed Sorin' s humor, knowledge of Romanian history, punctuality, and always making sure that we were all well taken care of. He was a real gem. We have added Budapest to our list of favorite cities in Europe along with Florence, Paris, and Prague. Everyone we know who has traveled to Budapest had told us it is beautiful and that we would love it. They were right on both counts. The city oozes with charm and captivated us from the moment we were driven into it. We would return in a heartbeat. We also are grateful that we made new friends with the Frosts, the Bianchis, and the Leightons. Chances are we would have met them on the cruise as the capacity of the MS Treasure is 118 passengers; but there is no guarantee we would have bonded as we did. We were forced together by circumstances beyond our control and we got along so well. It was a pleasure to travel with them and we wish all of them safety as they finish their journey and make their respective ways home. As for us we are looking forward to returning home since we will soon begin a new chapter in our lives by becoming first time grandparents. Our grandson, Dylan Jacob Stephenson, has been most cooperative and has decided not to make his appearance early before we get home. Thank you , Dylan. We have two alarms set and have a wake up call, all scheduled at 3 am so we can get to the airport for our 6:10 am departure for Frankfurt where we are scheduled to be on the ground for 1hour and 45 minutes minutes and then it's off to SFO and home. Travel is very broadening, and thanks to the amount of delicious bread I have consumed here and in Romania, the majority of the broadening appears to be be at my waistline. I hope you have enjoyed sharing our travels with us.

Winding Down

Our days in Budapest grow short and the time for us to return to America draws nigh. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Romania and Hungary. Budapest is truly a beautiful city and has something to offer people of all ages. We are glad our trip ended here rather than in Bucharest because Bucharest pales in comparison with Budapest. Today we had a tour of Buda and saw the Hospital in the Rock which, since it opened in 1944 has been a hospital and a nuclear bomb proof shelter. It is now a museum and the tour through it is fascinating. It is literally in rock and is about 15 meters (approximately 45 feet) beneath the surface. It was made from limestone caverns that were converted to an air raid shelter and hospital during the war. Budapest was heavily damaged during WWII and the hospital was extremely busy caring for civilians and soldiers both. After the war during the Soviet occupation, it was converted to a shelter for doctors and nurses who would shelter in there for three days after the blast and would then go out in protective clothing to find survivors, bring them to the hospital and try to decontaminate them. That use of it never occurred, but  for those of us who lived during the Cold War, the fear of and preparation for nuclear Armageddon makes perfect sense. With the end of the  Cold War, the hospital was shut down and was opened as a museum in 2007 or 2008. We also went to the Palace Hill from where it is possible to see a panoramic view of Budapest. The Buda side of Budapest is hilly while the Pest side is flat, so being perched on this vantage point affords excellent views and multiple photo ops. At the end of our tour, we bid farewell to the Bianchis and the  Frosts who fly to Prague tomorrow. Tomorrow it will be time to say adieu to Garry and Joy Leighton who will fly to London and from there to Iceland, then to America, and then home. They will have been gone for 40 days and will have circled the globe on this trip. Not too shabby for a man who is 80 years old and his wife who is likely in her north 70's. They are really a delightful couple who have traveled the globe and seen much. We are glad to have become their friends. We will have a very early call on Wednesday as our flight to Frankfurt departs at 6:15 which means we leave our hotel at 4 am. By the time we get home on Wednesday, it will be mid afternoon in California but around midnight for our bodies. Welcome to jet lag once again. I guess we should be thankful we did not take BART to the airport because that  would have lead to an extended stay camped out at the airport waiting to get to home sweet home.

From Budapest

After an uneventful day of travel (if you discount Dianne attempting to travel under a name that did not match her passport and almost being detained in Romania) we arrived in Budapest and settled in at our hotel. The Hotel Meridien is beautiful and very centrally located, close to the Danube in the Pest side of Budapest. The view from our window allows us to see a church, not sure which one or its denomination, and an absolute icon of American entrepreneurship, Starbucks where I treated Dianne to a very extravagant lunch that set me back 1,650 Forints. When we travel, cost is no obstacle for us and we believe in living the high life because,after all, you only live once and you may as well grab all the gusto you can. At our hotel last night, there was a buffet featuring traditional Hungarian dishes (probably with much less spiciness to accommodate the mostly American audience) and Hungarian and Gypsy music and dancing. The food was delicious, the music sublime (a four piece orchestra made up of one bass, one dulcimer, and two violins), and the dancing intricate and energetic. We went with the Leightons and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were quite pleased we did not need to trundle into a taxi to get there.
What we have seen of Budapest is beautiful and charming. We have not seen much yet, but we will see more this afternoon as we have a half day tour of Pest with the Leightons, the Bianchis, and the Frosts. I did a little exploring on my own with my camera earlier this morning before lots of people were up and about as I like to get scenic shots with as few people as possible in them. We have been told one activity we should do is an evening Danube sightseeing cruise so we can see Budapest lit up. As we near the end of our trip, we begin to long to be home; but please, Bay Area folks, turn off the hot weather before we return.

Back In Bucharest

The road trip is over. We got back to Bucharest around 4:30 and checked in to our hotel and got settled in. During the course of our excursion through Transylvania all eight of us agreed how fortunate we were to experience this trip. Truth be told, we were all a bit bummed when we learned our river cruise had been cancelled as we were all looking forward to settling in for a week on the Danube without having to shlep luggage around. One couple from Fremont, CA decided to accept Tauck' s refund and returned to California California two days after arriving. One of our group thought that the wife may have had Parkinson's and that travelling by bus, even with a minimum of luggage, would have been too taxing on her. Another couple from Orange County found out about the cancellation before departing for Bucharest, but were able to get themselves on a Black Sea cruise. One possible small tiny insignificant potential fly in their ointment was that their cruise departed from Istanbul, Turkey. I don't think that would be our first choice of places to go given how volatile things have been there of late. Our friends from Australia, the Leightons, and we put our heads together with the Tauck tour directors and, once we learned we could not get on another cruise, chose to see parts of Romania we would never have experienced. The Bianchis and the Frosts asked if they could join us, a proposal we readily accepted; and so we set off. All of us agreed that we had a marvelous trip, even if we had more than a fair amount of rain. Transylvania is north of Bucharest through the mountains. It is situated on a plateau and it provides some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable, lush green hills, rushing mountain rivers and streams, dense and verdant forests. It got the name Transylvania because it was the route the Romans took as their armies conquered more and more of Europe, across or through the forest. Today, on our drive back to Bucharest, we followed the river the Romans followed through the mountains and forest. We again encountered many RDWDW (Romanian Drivers With a Death Wish) who seem to make a sport of seeing how close they can come to having a head on as they pass slower moving traffic, blind curve, solid double line, or approaching big rig be damned. There are many towns and villages along the way and many Orthodox and other Christian churches are clearly visible and usually dominate the skyline. We loved the three cities in which we stayed, my favorite being Sighisoara, probably because the old walled city where our hotel was,  had the fewest cars and was very high on the quaint scale for me. If you ever come to Romania, I would recommend no more than 2 days in Bucharest followed by some real quality time in Transylvania. You won't be disappointed.
Tonight we had to say goodbye to our tour guide, Sorin, who was our constant companion since our arrival, and his wife, Florentina, who made all of our travel arrangements to Transylvania. Since today is our wedding anniversary, we invited them and the Leightons to be our guests at dinner. We had a delightful time and feel really blessed that we met Sorin and Florentina and now consider them friends. Sorin is very knowledgeable and likeable and has a wonderful sense of humor and was always mindful of what we wanted to do and see. If any of you ever come to Romania, we can get you in touch with him.
Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 10, go to the airport, and head to Budapest via Munich. If you are wondering why go through Munich, the answer is there are no non-stop flights on Saturday. We look forward to seeing Budapest and will reconnect with the Bianchis and Frosts while in Budapest. By the way, for all you tennis fans out there, Google Jack Frost Tennis to find out some interesting facts about our traveling companion. He competed at Wimbledon in the 50's, and is also a member of the Stanford University Sports Hall Of Fame.

P.S. Romanian men have not yet received the memo about deodorant

From Sighisoara With Love

First, I am so glad about the SCOTUS rulings on DOMA and Prop 8. The words that end our Pledge of Allegiance "with liberty and justice for all" are that much closer to becoming a reality.  Congratulations and blessings to all of our gay and lesbian friends.
Today, we traveled from Brasov to Sighisoara.  The cancellation of our cruise has yielded us treasures we never would have experienced had the Danube not flooded. We are seeing parts of the Romanian countryside we'd never have but for the intervention of Mother Nature. We are traveling in a very comfortable mini tour bus designed for 14. Since we are returning to Bucharest, we have not needed to carry all of our luggage with us, but are getting by with minimal clothing. The other two couples who are traveling with us and the Leightons have had to bring everything because they will be driven to some city whose name I don't recall and then will take a train to Budapest. We have been very fortunate in that the eight of us are extremely compatible and are all good travelers with no complainers in the lot. Dianne and I and the Leightons will return to Bucharest on the 28th and fly to Budapest on the 29th.
As I mentioned above, the cancellation of our cruise has turned out quite well for us. We were really enchanted by Brasov and wish we could have spent more time checking it out, but rain, thunder, and lightning changed our minds and our plans. Since we had no desire to be lightning rods, we came indoors and then did a little exploring after the rain passed and after we ate a very light supper. Since I prefer to take pictures of quaint places without people being in the picture, I got up a little past 6 this morning, packed up my camera, and set out to explore with my camera. WRONG. It was raining, so I did the next best thing, I got some coffee and caught up with Facebook and news. For most of our trip today, rain was our constant companion, but it did not dampen our spirits. We visited two Saxon churches that were worth seeing. This part of Transylvania was settled by Saxons who built churches surrounded by high walls where the population could take refuge if they were attacked. The families had dwellings in the walls and food needed for survival as well as a well, so they could stay there for a considerable amount of time. The interior of the churches was quite spartan and it would have been difficult to fall asleep during the sermon because the congregation sat on very narrow plank benches with no backs. The leading citizens had it somewhat better with their seats in the front. The second church we saw was in a little village called Viscri which was 8 km off the road via a narrow, bumpy road that went through a Gypsy village. The road was in real disrepair, but our driver was very skillful and navigated it in the best possible way given the condition of the road.
We arrived in Sighisoara and were immediately taken with the town. We are in the old medieval fortress section. Our hotel room is large by any standard and absolutely gargantuan by European standards. I don't know the age of this building, but I know it's counted in centuries. There is much charm here and after the rain stopped, we got a chance to roam the narrow cobblestoned streets. There is a church on the top of a hill that is accessible by 176 stairs. The climb is a challenge, but the views and photo ops up there were numerous and worth it. After the climb, I joined Dianne and the Leightons for some tea and conversation. We all agreed that the Danube's acting up had given us the opportunity to experience Romania, something that a visit to Bucharest alone could not provide. Tomorrow we are off to Sibiu for one more night, then back to Bucharest.

Still On The Grid In Brasov

We have arrived in Brasov in Transylvania. We are thankful that we are in the old part of Brasov because the new part did not appeal to us. It is modern and frankly, not very attractive. We much prefer the older and that is what we have found in a the old part of Brasov. The hotel at which we are staying is right on the town square and when we walk out the door it is almost as if we have walked back into the 15th century, that is until we walk a few yards, turn left and feast our eyes on the 21st century and the clothing stores, jewelry stores, sex shops, tattoo and piercing parlors that stretch for three blocks. If, on the other hand, you walk diagonally and to the right, you can't miss the Gothic Basilica known as the black church that dominates the view. One slightly offputting feature that is unfortunately right next to our hotel is KFC, a little taste of home (yippee skippy). Our exploration of Brasov was truncated by some fairly powerful Romanian thunder, lightning, and rain. The rest of group went to Bran to see the castle of Vlad the Impaler, so we were dropped off in Brasov since we went to Bran last Wednesday, a good thing too because it might be a bit dicey being on the road with RDWDW(Romanian Drivers With a Death Wish) during a summer storm. The roads here in Transylvania are not quite super highways. They are two lanes with the occasional short passing lanes and some, not all drivers, treat the roads like the Daytona 500. Fortunately, our minibus drivers are very good drivers and have not exhibited any signs of being RDWDW.
Tomorrow our group will explore Brasov with our guide and then it is on to Sighisoara for another one night stay