Yesterday, Erika and I drove from Budapest, Hungary to Kraków, Poland. Between the two metropoleis, lies the country of Slovakia, formerly joined with the Czech Republic as Czechoslovakia, but later splitting into two separate republics. Admittedly, we knew little about Slovakia, but since we were driving through it, we did some research. LonelyPlanet has this to say…
My last post was written when we first arrived in Bucharest, when my enchantment with Romania was brand spanking new. Since then, my enchantment has deepened quite a bit. Thomas, too, is quite smitten with this country. Someday, perhaps, we will move here. I have read and researched about the history and social structure of…
Erika and I opted to avoid the highways as we headed out of Bucharest and, instead take a leisurely drive through Transylvania toward the smaller towns of Brașov (brash-ov) , a Saxon settlement, and Sighișoara (sig-i-shor-a), birthplace of Vlad the Impaler. Looking at the map, highways would certainly have been the faster route, but we wanted…
One day, Erika and I made the long walk across town to visit Bellu Cemetery. Located in southern Bucharest, it is a massive cemetery that houses many famous Romanians, such as writers, musicians, poets, generals, and politicians. It was gorgeous. In Your Pocket, Essential City Guides, describes it this way: Founded in the 1850s, this is…
We arrived in Bucharest on Thursday afternoon, and as the bus entered the city I could feel, deep down at my core, that this city was completely, perfectly ‘me’. So much so that by the time we got to the apartment we are renting I had said to Tom several times that I wanted to…
The last five days we have been in Bulgaria, first in Sofia (the capital of the country) and now in a smaller city called Ruse (Rus-ah). After our long stretch in Greece (a little over 2 weeks), being in a new country feels strange. In Greece we had finally started to use some basic Greek…
I realized today I have not posted a travel update in a week! For those following our trip, my apologies for not writing more regularly. Truth is, we are soaking up so much experience each day that at the end of the day my energy is sapped and I decide to put off writing until…
Greek soldiers marching.
Update: It turns out that what I observed was the Greek changing of the guard as happens at other governmental buildings. Soldiers, dressed in classic uniforms change station and some are positioned at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
As I was wandering around Athens yesterday, I noticed a strong military presence down one of the streets. There were riot control buses and many heavily armed personnel. Curious, I wandered down the street to see what was up. One of the major thoroughfares was entirely cordoned off. Considering the recent economic crises in Greece, I wondered if it was a protest of some sort, but it ended up to be a Greek military procession of cadets, I think, marching from their barracks to the Greek Parliament building.
Though an ardent pacifist, I couldn’t help but be moved by the scene and the pride of these young men. Plus, the outfits are amazing!
Olympos is a small village on the Greek island of Karpathos described by some as a “living museum.” One of the evidences for this is often given is that “the women still wear traditional clothing.” Another is “the remoteness of the village has kept its traditions intact.” Enticed by these descriptions, Erika and I had been…
Today marks the start of week four of our trip. We are still on Karpathos, where we have been since Sept. 25. We fly from Karpathos to Athens on Oct. 4th, and after a few days in Athens we plan to head north into either Bulgaria or Macedonia. Although there was a stormy two day…
