Mountains, castles & Vlad Dracul

Brasov main square at sunrise

My hostel, in front of the Black Church

View of Brasov from the White Tower

Since we're running a few countries behind, this post (Transylvania!) will be mostly in pictures. More photos can  be found in the Picasa album (look on the right-hand sinde of this page...although I'll also try to add a link to the album in this post!). The first 3 photos are from the beautiful city of Brasov, where I stayed for 2 days.  Lots of walking, sunshine and beautiful buildings.  Since it was the weekend, families were out on the pedestrianised main street & square in force, with the children entertained (and their parents bankrupted) by many balloon-animal-making clowns.

Rasnov Fortress, after a hilly forest walk

While in Brasov, I took a day trip to Rasnov Fortress (Rasnov, City of Roses, is aiming to be Romania's top tourist destination!) and Bran Castle.  The 3 Erasmus girls who were also staying in the hostel went on to see Peles Castle but one castle a day is enough for me!  I loved Bran, with it's winding staircases, little rooms decorated with furniture from seemingly every period, and interesting history. Too long to explain here, but suffice to say that the castle was given to Regina Maria, Romania's first queen, as a present for her hard work in uniting the country.  She was originally from Kent but really embraced Romania as her country after her marriage!  It didn't all go smoothly though....

Bran Castle - lots of info about vampire myths, Bram Stoker, and many other things!

Bran Castle

Bran Castle decor

As I left Brasov, I headed up into the mountains to the fabulous Palamari Cultural Center, where I checked out their many traditional craft-making workshops (and made my own traditional Easter egg with wax & dye), beautiful wooden Maramures church, and totally delicious food.  A huge thank you to Manuela for opening the center just for me (it wasn't exactly tourist season!).

The view at Palamari

Spot the unprofessional egg...

Just one part of my amazing 3-course meal

Wooden church at Palamari

Wooden church interior - icontastic!

Next I travelled to Sighisoara, a small town with a medieval citadel (now protected by UNESCO).  It was kind of strange to walk around the (very empty) citadel at night, especially since it's the birthplace of Vlad Dracul!
The next day I took the bus to Targu Mures to meet Vanda, someone I used to work with at Au Pair in America.  She gave me a great walking tour of the (small) city, which is almost as Hungarian as it is Romanian - everything is bilingual, strange!  We also had a lovely lunch where I finally got a chance to try ciorba, a sour soup (although I didn't choose the version with added intestines!) and a warming glass of palinca (plum brandy).
The next morning I enjoyed a fantastic coffee and cake in the citadel - much less creepy in daylight - after working up an appetite climbing the tower and admiring it's "days of the week = gods = metals" clock.  I think you have to see that one for yourself to understand it.

Dracula's birthplace!

Sighisoara - looking up at the citadel

Main square inside the citadel

Palace of Culture, Targu Mures

Timisoara Opera House

I concluded my time in Romania with a long bus journey and a short stay in Timisoara, a city which was at the heart of the 1989 revolution.  The guy working at my hostel told me that the city was built on a swamp originally, but as a solution to the constant flooding they started using the water to make beer - and it was soon nice & dry!  Also, Timisoara was the first European city to have electric streetlights.  Imagine what I could've found out about the place if I'd been there for more than 6 hours (during 4 of which, I was asleep  ;-)  ).

Timisoara beer and my midnight meal

Mysterious Moldova

After a slightly odd train journey from Odessa (firstly, the train started from a platform OUTSIDE the station....then, all but one passenger got off at the first stop...finally, we travelled through Transnistria which seemed to consist of large concrete buildings and mysterious fires...) - I arrived in Chisinau late in the evening.  I successfully located the bus towards downtown, but when I arrived at the street where my hostel was located, I found it was guarded by a fierce-looking dog.  Having circumnavigated this hazard, I then learned that Moldovan street numbering bears no resemblance to street numbering systems I've encountered before.  Finally I asked a Russian bloke for assistance.  This became a tour of all local apartment buildings and at least one apartment (people in Chisinau don't lock their doors - eat your heart out, Michael Moore).  My new companion surpassed all my expectations by delivering me to the door of the hostel...eventually.

The next morning, I enjoyed my free breakfast and waved good-bye to the only other guest.  Armed with a map of the city, I tried to decide what to do.  In most cities this wouldn't be a challenge, but Chisinau isn't really laid out for visitors - the sights are subtle and spread around the city in various areas.  Luckily I managed to plan to meet Anastasia (ex-girlfriend of a Kiev contact) for lunch so I set out to our planned meeting point, the cathedral.  I have to say that this is the smallest cathedral I've ever seen, but it is set in a lovely park which seems very popular with local families.

Lunch at La Placinte included: chicken soup (served with sour cream and a hot pepper); placinte (a stuffed bread - mine was with soft cheese and herbs); and local wine (like Kiev, it felt strange to be drinking alcohol in what is effectively a fast food restaurant!). The food was delicious and the company was equally good - Anastasia filled me in on the local architecture (even the new buildings are suspiciously Communist - giant and blocky), and also the recent political history (apparently Moldova set a world record for the longest time without a president - their previous one quit after protests about election irregularities, and the new one had just been appointed 2 years later!).

After lunch I set out on the bus to Cricova, to visit a famous winery.  It was a lovely ride throught the countryside (vines vines everywhere!) and I felt well looked after with the bus conductor periodically updating me - in Russian - on the bus route. Finally we arrived at a narrow lane where I was told to walk down to the winery.  When I arrived, the reception was closed and the security guard indicated that I should wait...and wait...and wait.  About 20 minutes later a woman finally arrived and informed me that the winery is ONLY accessible via a tour...and it was my bad luck that there were no more English tours booked that day.  She told me to wait another 45 minutes to join a German tour, which would cost MDL 350 (about £20) without any actual wine being tasted!.  I expressed my disappointment and returned to the bus stop - ah well, at least I had a nice tour of the countryside, and I was happy to find that I could buy the wine for the bargain price of MDL 35 at "More Pivo" (pivo = beer) across the road from the hostel.

I spent a jolly evening drinking my wine (a sparkling red, very tasty) with the hostel staff - at some point, a random person delivered some snacks and promptly disappeared! - and talking Moldovan culture.

Green Hills - thanks for the free samples!

The next day I wandered thourgh the market and along the main shopping street, Stefan cel Mare.  Mostly gold & jewellery shops but a few "gems" for me - see below!  Also I got a chance to experience the unique Moldovan queueing system when I tried to exchange money at the bank.  Apparently in Moldova it's OK to just tell someone you're behind them in the queue - then you are free to wander off, sit down, run some errands or whatever.  Suddenly you return to your spot, just in time for your turn.  Too bad for the elderly lady who was "behind" me that I speak neither Russian nor Romanian - she had a small panic attack when she thought I didn't understand her, when she returned to her spot behind me.  Of course, I knew what was going on but had no words to reassure her!

Meat, cakes & bread

Moldovan special candies & sweets

Before I knew it, it was time to head back to the hostel and collect my bag.  I was planning to go to the historical museum, but when we called to check the hours we found that it was closed (on a Friday?!).  So, I took my time enjoying coffee and my Chisinau torte.  Then I hauled my pack down to the main road, with the plan that I would catch the marshrutka to the bus station.  Too bad for me that it was rush hour - the marshrutka drivers were really NOT interested in taking on a passenger with such large luggage, and kept driving past!  Finally I stood in front of one  ;-)  The bus driver was none to happy with me - lots of grumbling - but the other passengers were lovely and helped me to a seat, then moved my pack so it was next to me.  I made a new Moldovan friend, Eugene, who turned out to be a godsend when the marshrutka pulled up at the bus station with a scant 5 minutes to spare until the departure to Brasov - he got the bus to wait and helped me to get my ticket, and was just so nice!!

Too soon, I was jolting over the hills and through the valleys of Moldova on my way to Romania.


General impresssions of Moldova were not great at the beginning.  Chisinau is not obviously beautiful - both the buildings and the people seem grey and bland.  But over the 2 days that I was there, it quickly grew on me - the people are warm & friendly, and you see the sweetest scenes of family life in the many forested parks in the center.  One of my favourite moments was a grandpa and a small boy who were slowly stalking pigeons outside the cathedral.  The look of joy on their faces when the flock took off was such a pleasure  =)

It seems like a highly religious country (if the shrines are any kind of clue) and life is simple.  The owner of the hostel said that her 2 children live in America but they miss their friends and the life in Chisinau.  It was great to hear this as it seems like a country that is still fairly immune to the material excesses of many countries.  I'm glad I had a chance to visit, even if it was very brief.

Out and a-boot in Southern Italy

Staying in a lovely hostel called Giovanni's Home. And it actually is his home! And he cooks a mean pasta!

Painted walls at Herculaneum

This leg of the trip seems to be all about the ruins. First visit was to Herculaneum, Pompeii's less famous sister. It was buried in the same eruption but in mud rather than ash, so a crazy amount of stuff was preserved intact such as wood and other organic what-nots. Pompeii was grander and bigger and had the advantage of a well-preserved 'house of ill repute', with appropriate frescoes. In both of these towns it's amazing what's been preserved, such as paint on the walls, intricate mosaics and serving areas for snack kiosks (these are not toilets in the picture).

Preserved buildings at Herculaneum

After Rome Naples had a bit of an edgier feel. The architecture is partly the reason. It's like a modern old town. Lots of narrow streets, shadowed by tall ominous buildings, as no-one could build outside the town walls for ages. Certainly atmospheric and I've now become expert at dodging vespas.

Fresco on wall at Herculaneum

Pompeii, snack bar

Giovanni constructed a walking tour of Naples for us taking in his favourite sites. The archaeological museum was good and hosted the best (naugthtiest) items and art recovered from Pompeii in the 'Secret Room'. A bit tongue in cheek really, as when they were first discovered it was feared they would corrupt the young, so only older more sober individuals were allowed to see them! Turn away now if you're easily offended.

Pan getting to know a goat!

From the 'Secret Room'

Among the usual bevy of amazing churches was the intriguing Chapel of San Severo. The Prince of San Severo was reputed to be an alchemist and freemason. He designed the interior decoration, incorporating masonic symbology,  and supposedly formulated the paint used in the frescoes so that even now they look freshly painted. He also commissioned some unusual sculptures, including the 'Veiled Christ', which looks unbelievably delicate and life-like. Unfortunately, there were no photos allowed so I'll see if I can find some ones on the web.


After some extremely tasty pizza, it was off to Bari to get the ferry to Patras, in Greece and a 15 hour journey to look forward to.

Dogs in antiquity did this too

Goodbye Kiev, hello Moldova!

Oh my, so much has happened since my last post that the blog simply can't contain it!

Here are some highlights (and plugs for two wonderful guides!):

• Appearing live on Ukrainian breakfast TV
• Acting as the "meet & greet" for the exhibitors at Study.UA's big education expo - including a fabulous tour of Kiev with Eugenia Lamkina
• Participating in the VERY successful exhibition - over 8000 visitors.  About 15 of them won a chance to study abroad & were sooooo happy!
• Saying good-bye to all my new friends in Kiev  =(
• A brilliant tour of Odessa with Olga at Odessa Walks, preceded by breakfast at Sophie's Cafe and followed by at late lunch at Kompot, both delicious & recommended by Olga.  Odessa is beautiful, especially in the sunshine!
• Two days in Chisinau, including lunch with Anastasia (friend of a friend of a girlfriend of a cousin of a spouse of a friend!) - more on Chisinau soon, it deserves it's own blog post....

Most recently, I experienced an epic 12-hour bus journey overnight from Chisinau to Brasov, Romania.  Nothing worked on this bus (DVD player broke 10 minutes in, there were no reading lights, no air circulation, etc) so the most exciting part was the border crossing, which went kinda like this:

1. Arrive at some toilets (there are none on the bus).  Pay 2 lei to pee in a hole in the ground. Get back on the bus.
2. Drive 100m and arrive at Moldovan border.  Immigration slowly collects passports, studying each one in detail, and takes them away in a big stack.
3. We are compelled to disembark from the bus, collect our luggage, and have each & every item checked by customs/security.  Return slowly to bus, reload luggage, board bus.
4. Driver slowly identifies each of us to return our passports.
5. Drive 10m, stop at Duty Free.  A few people take a looooonnnng time to make purchases.
6. Drive 100m, arrive at Romanian border.  Again, disembark, unload luggage, and tote it into hall for checking.  While waiting for someone to attend to this task, marvel at thorough check of our bus (including engine).
7. Hilarious mimed conversation with customs regarding the possible presence of "pistoles" in my backpack.  Return to bus, reload luggage, board bus.
8. Drive 20m, stop at toilets.  Well, 2 hours have passed and someone needs to pee again.

Kiev tour

The locks in Odessa, City of Love

Cricova, THE Moldovan wine

Best restaurant in Kiev!

OK, I'll finish with a few photos and then I'm off to Silent Disco, Romanian style!

Awesome mosaic made of painted eggs - Kiev

Odessa Opera House

A selection of beds, & Lviv's underground world

Ah, wonderful Lviv (city of coffee & chocolate) and western Ukraine.  It's worthy of a book, not a blog post - so my goal here is to give you a teaser, an inspiration to visit this amazing city & region.

I impressed my Ukrainian friends by booking my train tickets online (it's new!) and had a good night out in Kiev while I awaited my overnight journey (thanks, Genia! and nice to meet your friends and also Pedro!).
Train journey was comfortable but uneventful - I think the elderly lady in the bunk below me was quite astonished to be sharing a kupe (compartment) with an English lass!

Arrived in Lviv just after the sun came up, but luckily the hostel was having a quiet weekend so they had invited me to check in as soon as I arrived in town.  Anton & his friend Andrew welcomed me warmly (with delicious coffee & cheese toasties) and I moved into a big empty room...where I would remain the only hosteller for the duration of my stay.  Not to say that the room was always empty, but more on that later...

We said good-bye to some departing guests from Poland, and while Andrew (a guide) was filling my head with suggested itineraries & sights to see, two new guests appeared - Sammi & Asami, from China & Japan respectively, who have been working in Dnipropetrovska and had spent 17 hours on a train to visit Lviv for just 1.5 days.  This was perfect for me as the girls had a long list of things to see & do, so I just tagged along as their Cyrillic sign interpretor.  See the photo album for the MANY things we did in just one day!  The highlight was climbing the 65 m tower in the town hall to admire the amazing view of Lviv's UNESCO-protected town square, and zillions of churches!  And also, entering the Armenian church just as the Sunday congregation began singing...too beautiful to describe in words.

private dining room, Ukrainian style
- with Sammi & Asami

We learned the advantage of travelling in the off-season when we had a private dining room in the restaurant we chose for dinner.  Rolled chicken (cannot be described in any other way) and a delicious egg & cheese torpedo plus a bottle of Georgian wine between us - a great way to finish the day.

Of course, the day wasn't remotely finished as we returned to the hostel to find a brace of singer-songwriters jamming in our kitchen - apparently we had landed in the heart of folk/rock music for Lviv and the wider world - fabulous!

The next day I set out to explore the huge & amazing Lychakiv Cemetery.  Again, see the album for photos - frankly I couldn't hope to capture the scale and detail of this place, but I have done my best.  I particularly loved the organic designs on many of the headstones, and the inclusion of photos or reliefs - in one case, a larger-than-life-sized statue of a very fit man, perhaps he was overcome by his own vanity?  The Ukrainian and Polish war memorials were sobering, especially as they are side-by-side, reminding one of how closely connected this region is to Poland.

Lviv = lion.  He's everywhere!

Then it was on to the Beer Museum, which actually contained a lot of interesting information about the history of beer worldwide & in Lviv - as well as some tasty samples, of course!

The next day I thought I'd have an adventure across the Carpathian Mountains.  At Anton's recommendation, I took a 4.5 hour train ride to Mukacheve.  That might not sound too appealing but it was one of the loveliest train routes I've ever been on- passing through isolated mountain villages where people still travel by horse & sled,  with the sun shining brightly on the clean white snow....

Mukacheve itself was a good challenge, as it's near a lot of borders and the language is some kind of Hungarian/Ukrainian hybrid.  No matter, I had a great time toodling around on the marshrutka buses while I tried to find my way to the zamok (castle) - finally made it!

Bogrash - much more delicious
than the name implies

I then found my way back into town, where I visited the rynok (market) - a lovely woman insisted that I try all her pickled vegetables, and kept placing tasty samples on the back of my hand.  I came away with a big bag of pickled carrots for a bargain price.

I enjoyed my stroll around this pedestrianised town where I recognised the influences from Hungary (paprika featured prominently in the rynok & the kafe), Slovakia (a classic wooden church built with no nails!), and Romania (really crazy wedding dress shops  ;-)  ).  It was a beautiful sunny day and a great place to spend it!  Also it was nice to get off the "tourist track" and have to work hard to communicate with local people & find my way.

I returned to the hostel at about 22.30, just in time to catch the end of a small concert from a Belarusian folk singer (which took place next to my bed!!!).  His name is Alexei Nezhevets. You can check out his music here!

On my final day in Lviv, I met up with an old colleague, Oksana (who actually lives in Kiev but was in Lviv for an event).  We went to the Gasova Lampa (Gas Lamp) restaurant, which has a funny entrance & exit system involving a spiral staircase and traffic lights.....here's a little history on the place.

Taras Shevchenko

 I walked around for a while taking photos of the many, many statues that are dotted all over the city.  One of my favourites was a a giant man with a book, with a book market neatly tucked in his shadow!

Tsukernia kafe - the selection!

Then I took myself out for cake & "Wiener coffee" at an absolutely delicious kafe which definitely showed the Austro-Hungarian influences in this city!

Oksana and I went to the Opera House for an operetta - THE thing to do in Lviv, it was packed!  It was much more "cute" and accessible than the (few) operas that I've seen- particularly when they made a special change in honour of International Women's Day, by replacing the usual chorus line with a dance by all the male stars of the show!

Welcome to the Opera House kafe

After the show we went to the kafe/restaurant of the Opera House - a great story in itself.  When the Opera House was built, it was constructed over the old river.  From a building perspective, obviously a bad idea, and before long it began to sink.  Apparently the architect was so devestated that he commited suicide.

Luckily for us, it stopped sinking and now the cafe sits on the underground river.  They've taken advantage of the history by making an underwater theme and deliberately crooked walls.  There is also a sneaky secret passage between the restaurant and the main opera house.


Finally (& a bit sadly), it was time to catch my overnight train to Kiev.  I had a lucky surprise to find that I was all alone in my kupe - I am definitely crediting this to my online ticket purchase, as I had the opportunity to choose my own bed while seeing all that were available - but I didn't imagine that the kupe which was empty 2 weeks ago would still be empty when we actually travelled!

I end this blog post with another massive recommendation for Lviv & western Ukraine.  Finally, a chance to learn some Ukrainian (most of Kiev speaks Russian as their primary language) and to enjoy some truly delicious coffee, cake and company!  And by the time you get there, you might be able to explore Anton's amazing cave.....