Rhodes: Island in the Sun (September 12-September 17, 2011)

From Thessaloniki we caught a flight to the Greek island of Rhodes (Rodos) where we spent five nights before catching a hydrofoil to Turkey. Old town Rhodes (maybe most famous as the former home of the Colossus of Rhodes - one of the seven wonders of the ancient world) is a medieval maze of narrow cobblestone streets and crumbling buildings surrounded by thick city walls. We spent a day exploring the town; though founded in the 5^th century BC, most of what still stands was built in the 14^th century AD by the Knights of St. John. The Knights, a religious and military order whose objective was the care and defense of the Holy Land, settled in Rhodes after being expelled from Jerusalem by rising Muslim powers. Besides the 12-meter thick city walls, the Knights left behind their imposing residences and Palace of the Grand Masters along what is now called the Avenue of the Knights.

After battling tour groups in Rhodes town’s narrow streets and sunburned Brits on its beach, we spent two days exploring the island on a scooter. On our first day we headed south along the windy, hilly west coast. After a perfectly clear morning, a thick fog rolled in over the hills, reminding us of the Bay Area. After a circuitous route to Monolithos Castle (1480), we followed the sun inland for a picnic lunch. Patrick navigated our 80cc scooter (the aptly named “Dink”) up an unpaved road to a hilltop for a wonderful view of the island. At the top, we found two firemen manning a fire lookout, and one, who spoke impeccable English (with an Australian accent), invited us to join them while we ate our lunch. We agreed and he immediately pulled out his homemade souma, fished around for some ice at the bottom of his cooler, and poured us each a stiff one. As we drank, he told us about growing up on the island and how things have changed, and of course about the process of making his souma. We finished the day heading north along the sandy east coast, stopping for a swim at Gennadi beach and a meander around the ruins of the Castle of Faraklos near Haraki.

We began our second day on the scooter by visiting the town of Lindos on the east coast. Its hilltop location, ancient Acropolis, whitewashed buildings, and blossoming bougainvillea make it postcard-pretty. Unfortunately, for this very reason, Lindos is firmly on the tourist trail. We found that the narrow streets were even more packed with bright-red tourists than were the streets of Rhodes. After visiting the Acropolis at the top of the hill, we got back on the scooter and spent the rest of the day beach-hopping up the east coast back to Rhodes town. With their warm turquoise waters and colorful beach umbrellas, each beach seemed better than the last. It would have been hard to leave Rhodes if we hadn’t known more sea, sun, and sand awaited us on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

Click on the photo below for our Rhodes photo album.

Thessaloniki (September 10-September 12, 2011)

As we moved south and east across Europe, our plan had always been to travel from Bulgaria directly into Turkey. When we realized that we would need to delay our arrival in Istanbul to coincide with the visits of some friends and family, however, the allure of a quick jaunt through neighboring Greece became too great for us to resist.

Our first stop in Greece was Thessaloniki, where we spent a couple of days before flying to the island of Rhodes. Located on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Greece, Thessaloniki was an important Roman, Byzantine, and then Ottoman port. Presently, it is Greece’s second largest city, though it is off the Greek tourist trail and sees far fewer tourists than Greece’s first city, Athens.

We had wonderful weather during our short stay and spent as much time as we could outdoors exploring Thessaloniki. High above the newer parts of the city built along the coast, we followed the Byzantine city walls to the Acropolis and stopped for coffee and brunch at a bustling outdoor café that reminded us of San Francisco on a sunny Sunday morning. Meandering downhill through winding streets, we eventually made our way into the newer parts of town and the waterfront. Here, remnants of the city’s past such as the huge palace complex (including the Arch of Galerius and the Rotunda) and the Roman forum (all built by the Roman emperor Galerius in the fourth century), and the White Tower (a 15^th century Ottoman fort and prison known for bloody massacres), sit amidst modern pastel apartment buildings and along busy intersections.

Thessalonikians were also taking advantage of the lovely weekend weather. Sidewalk cafes and restaurants were packed with locals and we could hear the roll of the dice and quiet click of people playing backgammon from their balconies. A pedestrian promenade along the waterfront made for a nice stroll and good people watching one evening after kebabs (stuffed with french fries and topped with ketchup and mustard). Other Thessalonikians were getting out for a different reason: the Greek prime minister was in town for a speech about the economy and the protesters were out in full force. Though we arrived too late to witness most of the action, we caught a glimpse of a march through downtown on our first night and later saw the smashed windows of banks and government along the protesters’ route.

Ultimately, we really liked what we saw of Thessaloniki and felt that it is a worthwhile off-the-beaten path destination. Had we known how much we would like this vibrant city, we surely would have allowed for more time here before catching our flight to Rhodes.

Click on the photo below for our Thessaloniki photo album.

Plovdiv (September 7-September 10, 2011)

Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second largest city after the capital, Sofia. It has a pretty, but small, old town as well as some Roman ruins which we explored with Nadege (whom we had met in Veliko Tarnovo). The majority of the city, however, is a sprawling homage to the communist era with lots of concrete apartment buildings and lingering communist statues - including Alyosha - the statue of a Russian soldier, on the “Hill of the Liberators.” We explored the hill (a city park) on our way to the statue at the top and found what seemed to be a once lovely park in ruins. At the top, the dilapidated monument to Russian soldiers hints at the former grandeur of this era.

Plovidiv is also a convenient city from which to visit Bachkovo Monastery, the country’s second largest monastery. Founded in 1083, it lies in a beautiful mountainous setting along the Chepelare River. At the monastery, the Sveta Bogoroditsa cathedral and inner courtyard have some nice frescos, but our favorite part of the visit was hiking up into the mountains behind the monastery to visit some smaller churches, including one  built around a mountain spring and one built in a cave on the side of the mountain. Though we weren’t sure where the trail lead (there were signs, but only in Cyrillic) and though we had a briefly scary, but ultimately hilarious, encounter with a barking, growling dog that came charging at us, it was well worth the journey.

We also spent one evening in Plovdiv at a jazz concert Nadege had heard about. The setting, a pretty outdoor bar, was a lovely venue for live music and we were looking forward to the show (we even convinced two Brits from our hostel to come with us). When the band came out, however, and consisted of only a singer, keyboard, and drum player we were a little suspicious of what jazz means in Bulgaria. Our doubts were confirmed when they began playing something similar to smooth jazz, and the singer tried to “scat,” beat on his chest frequently, and occasionally jingled some chimes. They sang some originals with lyrics like “if I give you my love, will you treat me like a child,” and some old favorites like “Summertime” (which was all but unrecognizable), and “I shot the sheriff” which was sung as “I shot a sheriff, but I did not shot a deputy.” We had trouble controlling our laughter at a few key moments, and though it wasn’t what we expected going in, it ended up being a totally entertaining, if odd, evening!

Click on the photo below for our Plovdiv photo album.

Veliko Tarnovo (September 4-September 7, 2011)

Though we had never heard of Veliko Tarnovo, it was well-regarded by other travelers we met and was a convenient place to meet up with David (our host in Lucerne), who also happened to be traveling through Bulgaria at the time. Located in central Bulgaria, Veliko Tarnovo sits along the meandering gorge of the Yantra River and once served as the capital of the Bulgarian empire from the 12^th to 14^th century (before the Ottomans conquered the area).

On our first full day here we went with David to the nearby folk village of Etar where we watched artisans use traditional techniques to make a variety of crafts (woodcarving, weaving, cutlery making). Being a bit unsure about what else to do here, we did as the Bulgarians did and stood in a long line to sample what looked to be delicious vanilla and chocolate drinks and fresh-baked cinnamon rolls, but which, disappointingly, turned out to be buttermilk, wheat juice and plain bread. The highlight of the day, though, was the adventure of getting to Etar on public transportation. Our first obstacle was that none of us can read Cyrillic, making the rare posted timetable useless to us. Second, while everyone was extremely helpful and eager to please, no one spoke English or seemed to know much about the bus system (including the people working at the bus station). Finally, we were reminded several times that in Bulgaria nodding your head means “no” and shaking your head side-to-side means “yes”—very confusing when you ask whether the bus you are on actually goes to the city you are aiming for.

On our second day we visited the extensive Tsarevets fortress in town. Mostly built between the 5^th and 12^th centuries, it was a defensive stronghold and home to the royal family before being destroyed by the Ottomans in 1393. The grounds were nice, with excellent views of the area, but we found the life-size animatronic talking mannequins of some imaginary royal family a bit creepy. In the afternoon we visited another folk village, Arbanasi, with Nadege, a French woman we met at our hostel. The highpoint of the village was the late 16^th century Church of the Nativity. The plain exterior, built to look like a small barn to disguise the structure from the Ottomans, belies the amazing frescoes covering every room of the interior.

The highlight of our stay in Veliko Tarnovo, however (besides getting to spend time with David and meeting Nadege), was our nearby Bulgarian mehana (tavern) where we ate dinner each night. Things didn’t start well the first night when the owner came to take our orders.  David asked the owner if he spoke English to which the man responded by throwing the menu on the ground, telling us this was Bulgaria (in Bulgarian, of course, but the meaning was clear), and pointing to the exit. We apologized, didn't leave, and after a few minutes were able to sheepishly put in our orders. Luckily, the simple, fresh food here was delicious and cheap, and we stayed for several hours (and several rounds of beer). We’re sure this contributed to the owner’s gradually warming up to us as the night wore on. We had clearly enjoyed the food, were having a good time, and were communicating with the few Bulgarian words we knew and through hand gestures and pointing. By the end of the night, the owner was pouring us tastes of his homemade pear brandy (60 percent alcohol) and showing us the details of his moonshine operation - including the huge plastic bin full of fermenting pears. The food was so good, (and the experience so odd and fun), that we decided to return for dinner on our second night. Once again, the food was delicious (we had fresh roasted pepper, tomato, cucumber, and feta salad each night), and our host continued to warm to us, bringing us his private stash of homemade pickled hot peppers and sneaking in a few English words. After dinner Patrick asked for a glass of his pear brandy, which so flattered the man that at the end of the night he gave Patrick an entire bottle of it!

Click on the photo below for our Veliko Tarnovo photo album.

Bucharest: No Expectations (September 2-September 4, 2011)

To say that we came to Bucharest with no expectations is an understatement. In fact, after the poor reports we’d heard from other travelers and the less-than-glowing recommendation from our guidebook (the section on Bucharest uses the phrases “stray dogs,” “rip-off taxis,” and “grey housing blocks” to describe the city), we almost skipped coming here at all. In the end, though, we decided to see for ourselves about Romania’s capital.

At the heart of central Bucharest is what remains of the city’s old city center – a few square blocks of cobblestone streets and historic buildings. Thanks to some EU grants, this area is undergoing major renovations. Some buildings have already been returned to their former glory (though, sadly, most of these are now occupied by Irish-style pubs, Italian restaurants, and nightclubs) but many remain vacant and dilapidated. Most of the old city, however, was torn down under dictator Nicolae Ceausescu to make way for a boulevard (Bulevardul Unirii) of huge concrete apartment buildings and the Palace of Parliament, which at 12 stories and 1,100 rooms is the world’s second largest administrative building (after the Pentagon). North of the old town, the former Royal Palace sits across the street from the former home of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. It was from the balcony of this building that Ceausescu gave his never-finished last speech on December 21, 1989 as he tried to suppress revolution. As the crowd turned on him and violence broke out, he fled but was quickly captured. Ceausescu and his wife were executed, after a brief trial, on Christmas day of that year.

As we walked around town we found that, despite all the concrete, the city seemed warm and vibrant. Near the university, we found a farmer’s market and several blocks of book vendors selling everything from textbooks, to old communist propaganda books, to antique German military pins. In Cismigiu Park we watched at least half a dozen wedding parties take photographs and a group of very talented teenagers play a game that appeared to be a mix of soccer and tennis. We stopped for lunch at a tiny diner for one of the tastiest and friendliest meals we ate in Romania. In the end, while the city lived up to our expectations in some ways (there’s no denying the concrete apartment blocks and stray dogs), it mostly exceeded our expectations and we were really glad we stopped here before moving on to Bulgaria.

Click on the photo below for our Bucharest photo album.

Transylvania (August 26-September 2, 2011)

After twelve days of living the city life in Budapest, we were ready for a change of pace and headed directly to the central Romanian region of Transylvania. Admittedly, we knew little about the area before our arrival – other than its associations with Dracula and vampires. We arrived not sure what to expect, but half-imagined we would find an area of foreboding mountains, stormy skies, and gothic castles (but we knew better). What we did find was a region, bounded on two sides by the Carpathian Mountains, that was sprinkled with cities and villages of Saxon origin set amidst a pretty landscape of mountains and rolling hills, and where, yes, there are also a few Gothic castles. We also found a region where ugly reminders of the recent past are common, where poverty abounds, and where the growing pains of the developing tourism industry were sometimes obvious.

All told, we spent about a week here. We explored the castles, old towns, and fortified churches (mostly built by Saxons, who were invited by the Hungarians to settle the region), shared the road with horse-drawn carts, dodged sheep and cow herds, encountered Roma (Gypsy) encampments, and tried to outrun the busloads of vampire seekers and Dracula references.

The Dracula references were strongest in our first destination, Sighisoara, birthplace of Vlad III, (aka Vlad the Impaler; aka Dracula), the former ruler of Wallachia (a region of Romania to the south). Known for impaling his enemies on a sharp pole, he was the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the town does its best to capitalize on this connection – there is no shortage of plastic vampire teeth and black capes, and his birthplace (now a restaurant) provided the backdrop for numerous photo ops. Despite the hokey souvenirs, the hilltop old town is lovely and though the region is full of fortified churches (built by Saxons to protect against Ottoman invasions), Sighisoara was one of the few fortified towns and was, therefore, different from other Transylvanian towns that we visited.

We spent one night in the city of Brasov, where we picked up our rental car, and then headed south high into the mountains to visit the relatively modern Peles Castle, constructed in the late 1800’s as a summer home for the Romanian royal family. Next, we visited Bran Castle, which is known as “Dracula’s Castle,” though Vlad himself never lived there. Bran was supposedly the inspiration for the castle described in Bram Stoker’s novel (though some say he likely knew nothing of its existence), and it certainly looked the part. Originally built in 1378 to defend against the Ottomans, by the 1920s it had become a residence of the Romanian Royal Family. After a period of uncertain ownership (it had been seized by the communist government in 1948), the castle was awarded to a Habsburg heir who has turned the castle into a museum (devoted to the period of royal residence circa 1935 and dedicated to his grandmother) making it a bizarre (though still beautiful) place to visit.

We then spent a night in the town of Sibiu and discovered its beautifully refurbished old town. From there we headed through a web of small Transylvanian villages over the next two days. In this, we entered a world where it sometimes seemed that time had stopped. We got friendly waves from the elderly Romanians sitting along the road to sell fruit, vegetables, or honey, or to simply watch the traffic go by, and enthusiastic “hellos” from children playing along the road (or in one case a middle finger!). We stopped for cattle and sheep crossings, and rolled up our windows as one or two of Romania’s infamous stray dogs got a little too close. We also stopped at a number of fortified churches. They were all different (some were UNESCO world heritage sites, some were crumbling; some had entrance fees and managers, others required you to find the old man in the village who held the key), but all fascinating, and vampire-teeth free, and made us happy to have journeyed off the beaten path.

Click the photo below for our Transylvania photo album.

Budapest (August 15-August 26, 2011)

We liked Budapest so much that we quickly extended our stay here from six nights to eleven. Part of this was due to the perfect sunny weather during our stay, and part was due to the little studio apartment that we rented and made ourselves at home in. Mostly though, Budapest itself deserves the credit. There is something quirky and eclectic about the city, with its Magyar pride, Turkish-influenced thermal baths, never-used Habsburg palace, dilapidated Jewish Quarter, and lingering Communist influence. We never got tired of exploring some new aspect of the city.

Originally two cities, Buda (on the hilly west bank of the Danube) and Pest (on the relatively flat east bank of the Danube) were only united in 1873. The area was first settled by Celts and Romans before the Magyars emigrated from central Asia and called present-day Hungary home (interestingly, Hungarian is not related to the languages of any neighboring countries, but to Estonian and Finnish). Buda is home to one of the city’s most iconic sites: Castle Hill. Overlooking the Danube, Castle Hill (Varhegy) is divided in two parts, the Royal Palace (built, but never used, by the Habsburgs, and now home to two major museums), and a beautiful old town whose “Fisherman’s Bastion” provides an unbeatable view of Pest.

Also on the Buda side of the city, we visited Gellert Hill which provides the foundation for the Citadella, a fortress built by the Habsburgs to quell Hungarian insurrection, and the Liberty Monument, raised in 1947 to commemorate Soviet soldiers who died liberating Hungary. It is one of the few remaining Soviet monuments in the city, though the dedication has now been changed to honor all those who died for Hungary’s independence (the original Cyrillic inscription and several Soviet soldier statues have been removed). Further afield, we ventured into the Buda Hills for a long walk that included a stop at Szemlo-hegy, one of two huge cave systems here (if our tour had been in English we could tell you more about it).

Though we really liked old town Buda, we spent most of our time in Pest – our apartment was here, as are many of the city’s sights. Central Pest’s skyline features two prominent domed buildings: St Stephen’s Basilica (Szent Istvan Bazilika) and Parliament. The buildings are the tallest in the city, by law, at 96 meters, symbolizing the year (896) of Hungary’s unification. The Basilica is named in honor of the country’s first Christian ruler (and patron saint), and houses the relic of his withered right hand (deemed a miracle after his body was exhumed 500 years after his death and his right arm was found to be mummified). Parliament, which was across the street from our apartment, boasts 690 rooms and has its own slightly less creepy St. Stephen memorabilia on display: his crown (the Holy Crown of Hungary).

In Pest we also visited the House of Terror, a fascinating and sad museum devoted to the Nazi and Soviet occupations of Hungary, and spent a day at the City Park’s enormous Szechenyi Baths (it has 3 outdoor and 15 indoor thermally-heated pools), a cultural remnant of the Ottoman occupation. We also made a visit to Memento Park - the graveyard for all the Soviet statues not destroyed after the fall of communism in 1989. At night we enjoyed visiting the so-called “ruin bars” – nothing highlights the quirky side of Budapest quite like them. The bars pop up in old apartment buildings in the city’s Jewish quarter filling the courtyards, parlors, and bedrooms of these abandoned buildings with bright and strange artwork, neon signs, foozeball and lots of young people. Our latest night at the ruin bars started innocently enough, but developed into a pub crawl of sorts whose cast of characters included two ready-to-party Swedes, two curious Australians, a local drunk known as George from Wales, and one random, drunken Hungarian who could barely speak English (but joined us all for some reason).

We also happened to be in town on August 20^th, the Hungarian national day and found that from first thing in the morning until late at night, Hungarians celebrate their nation’s birthday with gusto. We followed the crowds to a military flag-raising ceremony at Parliament, Danube boat race and air show, a street fair at which we sampled some Hungarian birthday cake (something like apricot cheesecake), a mass (after which St. Stephen’s right hand was paraded around town to much fanfare, including Hungarian president Pal Schmitt), and then finally back to the Danube for the most spectacular fireworks show either of us may have ever seen. August 20^th exemplified what we loved about the city – its vibrancy and eccentricity – and it will remain one of our fondest memories of our stay in this fabulous city.

Click on the photo below for our Budapest photo album.

Bratislava (August 14-August 15, 2011)

Just 65 kilometers from Vienna and more or less en route to Budapest, we couldn't resist a stopover in Bratislava. The city is split by the River Danube, and the compact but pretty old town sits on the north shore of the river surrounded in all directions by communist-era construction. This dichotomy makes for an interesting contrast that we both found fascinating, and we would have liked to spend more time here and in Slovakia (but had to get to Budapest where we had rented an apartment for the following day).

Bratislava served as the official capital of the Hungarian empire for about 250 years during the 16^th to 18^th centuries, and the old town is full of baroque palaces, copper-roofed towers, sidewalk cafes, and cobbled streets. The boxy Bratislava Castle, perched on a small hill just west of the old town, served as the royal seat during this period. Sadly, the castle burned down in 1811 and was not reconstructed until the 1950’s. St. Martin’s Cathedral also played an important role – eleven of the monarchy’s kings and queens were coronated here during this period.

The newer communist-era construction around town is quite a contrast to the quaint old town, including lots of concrete block apartment buildings to the south of the Danube that we viewed only from afar. Closer to the old town, Novy Most (New Bridge) dominates all views of the Danube. Certainly not the most eye-pleasing structure (it is known as “the UFO”), it is also a sad reminder of the city’s recent history. After the city’s Jewish population was decimated during the war, communist authorities tore down a significant portion of the old town, including most of the Jewish quarter and a historic synagogue, in the late 1960’s in order to build this bridge. Slavin, meanwhile, stands higher up in the hills above the old city. This monument for the Soviet soldiers who died during the Soviet liberation of Bratislava in 1945 is surrounded by the graves of 6,845 Soviet soldiers (the only military cemetery in the city).

Click on the photo below for our Bratislava photo album.