A Great Experience in Transylvania

Saturday, Aug. 28, 2009--Sighisoara

I was up at 7:00 for breakfast. Then I was off to the train station at 7:45. It took about 30 minutes to walk the 3 km (1.8 miles). That still gave me 45 minutes for buying my ticket and waiting for the train.

There were plenty of seats on the train, since Brasov is a big tourist town and many seats were vacated just before I got onto the train. At first, I was in a group of 4 people seated together--two facing two. That seating arrangement is uncomfortable, because there is not enough room for feet and legs. The feet end up battling for floor space. One of the ladies and I both moved so that we had more room elsewhere without someone sitting facing us.

I have started reading my last book. I brought 15 with me when I left home. The bad thing is that I still have 6 weeks of travel!! I'm hoping that Morocco or Venezuela will have some inexpensive used book stores that will have some quality literature in English. That's hoping for a LOT!!

I got a fantastic room in a historic building in the Old Town of Sighisoara. It has been completely remodeled and is quite luxurious. Outside, it is bright orange with pots of flowers. Inside the walls is a terrace that is covered by grapevines. My room is fresh and bright--new beds, new light fixtures, new TV (with lots of English channels), new bath fixtures, etc. The man and his wife who own it met me at the station. I got the room including breakfast for only $6 more per night than where I stayed in Brasov where the room was old, the TV was local only, and the bath had to be shared.

There was a British couple at my guest house whom I had seen yesterday in Bran and Rasnov. We started visiting, and I learned that they have been planning to take a year off work and do an around-the-world trip in a couple of years. She is a teacher, and he is studying to be one. We talked a long time, because they had many questions. As the day passed, I ran into them two more times, and both times they had thought of more questions. I gave them my e-mail address and encouraged them to write as more questions developed.

Sighisoara is one of the main stops on the tourist train through Transylvania. It has a very atmospheric old town on top of a hill. Unfortunately, right now the cobblestone streets in the area are being rebuilt, so it has lost some of its atmosphere temporarily due to that. And it also suffers from a problem that many cities in Romania share--allowing cars to park where they should be banned. It's not nice to see an old square surrounded by wonderful old buildings and every available vacant space of the square filled with parked autos!

Sighisoara is famous because Vlad Tepes (Count Dracula) lived there at least until the age of 4. The home where he lived is now a popular restaurant. I went into the downstairs area where they have a pastry shop. Of course it was a long time ago and the home was much different back when he lived there. But that bit of history is the main reason Sighisoara is on the tourist route. It it weren't for Vlad, it would not part of the Dracula Trail and would get far fewer tourists. It's old town is not a big area and can easily be explored in less than half a day. Brasov (where I was before here) and Sibiu (where I will be soon) are much bigger towns with much more to see and do.

I visited three museums. None of them were really worth it. The Torture Museum was really just a small room with some photos on the wall and about 5 exhibits of "equipment" used for torture. I can't believe they get away with charging people to enter it. At least the History Museum was in the town tower and gave some nice views across the city and had some exhibits that gave an idea of the history of the city.

A fast-food restaurant was open on a street where I was walking to return to the train station to check on schedules for tomorrow. I bought a schnitzel sandwich which was so delicious. It had two pieces of fried pork in crispy batter, tomatoes, cumcumbers, mayonnaise, mustard, and lettuce on a big bun. Then I got a cinnamon roll at a nearby bakery for dessert.

Much of the late afternoon, I returned to my room and watched part of the funeral service for Senator Ted Kennedy. Then in the evening, I went back out to see the old town with its atmospheric lighting. I wanted to get a snack while out. I had eaten the sandwich around 15:30, so I was hungry for something small. But all the fast food restaurants and small grocery shops were already closed. I returned to the room and ate one of the granola bars I carry in my bag for special situations like this.

Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009--Sighisoara to Medias and Blajel/Basna

At the suggestion of Clemens, the Dutch man who shared my compartment on the train from Moldova last week, I decided to go to Blajel for the rest of the day and the evening. It proved to be one of the best decisions I could have made. It turned into one of the truly special days that becomes a highlight of my travels. Too much of what I have done lately has been to see tourist sights along the tourist trails. My experiences are always better when I get away to "local" areas where there are few, if any, tourists. That's what happened today.

I got up early for my breakfast which was very nice--a plate of 3s (3 slices of ham, 3 slices of tomato, 3 slices of cucumber, 3 slices of cheese--along with a boiled egg, bread, jam, honey, and coffee. Then I was in a rush to get down from Old Town to the station. With the cobblestone streets being rebuilt, I had to carry my bag much of the way down to "flat town." Still, I got to the station with 20 minutes to spare and bought my ticket.

The train was an OLD one. I'm sure it was used for many years during communism and has continued since then as a local train that people only take when they have to do so. Not many people were on it, especially since it was Sunday morning. One surprise was an old woman I had seen several times yesterday. She had gone around town asking for money and often got it because of her appearance. I do not think she actually dressed the part; I think it is her real look--the look of a witch. She has a big, crooked nose. She is stooped. She wears a dark scarf over her head, carries a cane, and wears an old native-style dress. I got photos of her that I can show when I am home. On the train, she did not have a ticket. I was surprised that she was traveling and not working the tourists in Sighisoara again.

My ticket was only to Medias, a rail junction. From there, I needed to make my way to Blajel. But Medias itself was a pleasant surprise. First, they were having their annual festival, and there were booths set up in the streets selling items. Almost all these booths were manned by Roma people. Unfortunately, it was still too early in the morning for there to be any crowds. And the food booths were just starting to get their charcoal fires going. Three of the booths were selling kurtoskalacs, a special pastry that is cylindrical and thin, cooked around a wooden form, and then coated with nuts or sugar. I had seen in Bran. There, the lines were too long for me to get one. Here, the stalls were not ready to make fresh ones yet.

Another surprise in Medias, however, was that it has one of the famous fortress churches of Romania. They are unique to here--churches that have fortress walls around their compounds to keep them secure from attack--and have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The one in Medias is not one of the famous ones, but it was my first chance to see one since they tend to be in smaller, out-of-the-way towns.

After exploring Medias, I started out of town toward Blajel, my real destination which is off the Lonely Planet route and which I understood to be about 5 km away and not to be available by bus (both of which proved to be untrue). After walking along the highway uphill for 3 km, however, I saw a sign showing it was still 6 km away. I started trying to thumb a ride, and the fourth car (and the one that was in the poorest condition and seemed to have the least successful owner) stopped and picked me up. It was a couple. When we got to Blajel, I tried to give them money for gasoline when I got out of the car (since my guidebook had said that people who pick up riders usually expect them to pay what the cost of the bus would be for the same travel), and they refused it. It's nice that there are good people in the world who do favors without expecting anything in return.

Clemens had told me that Blajel seemed to be a typical Romanian village. He had stopped there at a campground operated by fellow Netherlanders when driving through in his hippie van. He had told me the campground had rooms to rent, too. I entered a bar where I was let out of the car to ask directions to the campground. I thought I recalled Clemens telling me it was in the country north of town. A man with a beard halfway down his belly and a well-worn felt hat and traditional farmer's clothes sat at a table drinking a beer. I asked about the campground, but it was obvious he did not understand or had been drinking too long. What a character, though. Wish I could have gotten his photo.

I started walking northward and about 2 blocks later asked a woman. She had me turn around and follow her. The campground proved to be just beside the bar I had entered. We had just passed it when I was let out of the car. What a surprise.

The owners of the Doua Lumi campground were away, but some of their guests told me they would be back within an hour. I set my bags inside their office and took out my novel. I sat in a chair outside in the sunshine and read. I could hear roosters and chickens. Everything around us seemed to be farms. Near me, I could see the campground pool (which probably had COLD water), a couple of camping vans, a tent, and a couple sitting outside an apartment that is part of the building complex.

When the owners returned, they took me upstairs to a huge room with pine paneling and plain wooden floors. It had four beds in it and a seating area with two chairs and a table. The price for one person was less than 10 Euros (less than $14)per night. They told me that for another 3 Euros ($4.50) I could have breakfast which would consist of many local products and which they guaranteed guests to keep them full until dinner, so I took that, too.

Then I was off to explore Blajel. It's a small village filled with farm houses and three churches. And today just happened to be a special day. A wedding was taking place. In an ideal world, I would have found myself invited; unfortunately, this is not an ideal world. But it was still nice. I saw the musicians playing outside the hall and took a photo. Then as I went to explore the town, I found the church where the wedding was to be held. It had a line of old Romanian women sitting outside waiting for the procession. I walked up to the church to look inside, and it was filled with people waiting for the procession and the ceremony. There were ribbons on the pews. The chandeliers were lighted. And it was a beautiful church inside with the typical Romanian black walls with paintings on them.

I continued wandering through the town taking photos of farm houses. When I came to the edge of town, I turned around. I got back near the church just in time for the procession to be coming toward me. I took photos and watched along with everyone else. (I learned later that an employee at the campground knows the couple, so I will make some copies of my photos and send them to her after I get home to surprise the bridge and groom.)

All the old women in town were not at the church. There were old women dressed in local costume everywhere I went in town. There were also many men driving horse carts around. It makes it a very quaint place to visit.

The owners of the campground told me about another village nearby named Bazna which also has a fortified church. They suggested that it would be a good walk to there--about 7 km (4 mi) one-way. So off I went. Fortunately, the church grounds were open, so I explored that and then went through the village.

Just as I was leaving to return to Blajel, three people sitting at the only intersection in town asked me to take their photo. All of a sudden, other friends showed up and wanted their photos taken, too. These were Roma people. They were nice and being very friendly, so I was happy to take their photos and even asked for their address so I could send them copies. It's not often that I get photos of local people, since I am hesitant to direct my camea toward them. Two of the guys in this group were interesting, because they had slash marks on their arms. I've noticed since that other Roma men have these. One of the men spoke some Spanish and some German, so I could follow what he was trying to tell me and ask me. Eventually, I was ready to leave and excused myself. One reason I felt it was time was that the conversation had turned to the topic of low pay in Romania. These were the first Roma people who had spoken to me who had not tried to beg me for money. Therefore, I did not want our time together spoiled by it turning into another begging session. Fortunately, they smiled, said goodbye, and let me go on my way without requesting anything other than copies of the photos.

The owners of the campground had told me they give a welcome drink to their guests when they arrive. Because it is usually local wine, they suggested I have it after my sightseeing around the area. When I got back to the campground around 16:30 and started reading again in the courtyard, they brought me a half of a carafe of local white wine. I drank the wine and relaxed. Then the lady of the house showed up with a surprise for me. I had mentioned to her that I had missed the kurtoskalacs both in Bran and in Medias. They had been in Medias during the afternoon, and she had bought one. She brought me a slice, then she served slices to others in the campground. It was very tasty and good.

I eventually started visiting with a couple from Holland who had been there in the campground for two weeks. They were probably in their early 40s. He does training of emergency services employees. She hires people to work in homes operated for juvinile deliquents. They were both pleasant, nice people who want to come to America for a visit. Therefore, we talked about how they might do it, where they might go, etc.

The owners of the campground had told me a nice restaurant was just down the road, so I headed for Carisma. I ordered a dish they had recommended--ham and bean soup in a bread bowl. The bread was freshly baked and warm with a crispy, thick crust. It was cylindrical with the top sliced off and the inside scooped out. The soup was homemade and delicious, and the top, which was placed back over it, was chewy and great for eating with it. A side salad of red onions came with it, and I ordered a beer to drink. As I ate the soup, I included mushy bread that had softened inside. It was very delicious and good.

It began raining around 20:30. Fortunately, I was back in my room and reading. The day had been one of my better ones (and one which has the longest entry in my journal). Thanks, Clemens, for recommending Blajel to me. You proved yourself as a good travel advisor. In fact, since talking with Clemens and being here in Blajel where I have gone off the tourist track, I've been thinking it might be nice to travel more this way. I might even like having an old van of some kind to drive so I could stay at more campgrounds and go wherever I want to explore more the local life than the tourist scene.

Monday, Aug. 31, 2009--Blajel to Sibiu

There were still some clouds this morning, but the rain stopped around midnight last night. I slept fine, but I used my earplugs because of some traffic on the road and the realization that the roosters would be up earlier this morning than I would want to be.

The breakfast proved to be as nice as advertised. There was a marbled ham that was locally produced along with local cheese, local jam, tasty slices of local tomatoes, and a local thick sauce made with peppers, garlic, and other ingredients. I also had a soft-boiled egg, bread, butter, coffee, and orange juice.

I went to the bus stop to try to get a bus at 8:30 that would take me all the way from Blajel to Sibiu. However, the bus that came was not going that far. I waited, thinking there might be another bus following. The owner of the campground saw me and came out to ask what happened. Then he said he would come to take me to Medias in 5 minutes, but to leave if a bus for Sibiu came. When he arrived, another bus showed up. But it was not going to Sibiu either. Therefore, he took me and two other men at the stop into Medias. I tried to get a train I expected to leave about 9:20, but I was told the next train would be at 12:55! I rushed to the bus station. The first company I checked would not have a bus until 12:30! Fortunately, there was another company, and they had a bus scheduled at 9:15.

The Sibiu bus was packed. I had to stand all the way, moving further and further back in the bus as more and more standees came inside. Fortunately, the trip was only about 1 1/4 hours long.

My room was not available at the hotel yet, so I left my luggage and headed out to explore Sibiu. It is the nicest of the Transylvania towns I have visited so far with a much larger Old Town and much better preserved Old Town than any of the others.

I stared with a tour of the Biserica Evanghelica Church where two organists were rehearsing on two different organs so that there was a stereo sound effect. After seeing the church, I went to the top of its tower for wonderful views out over the city. I met Mustafa, a young man from Istanbul here for a training course who has the day off and was seeing the city himself. I wandered up and down the streets just admiring the well-restored architecture of the city.

It's now mid-afternoon. I will return to my hotel and move my bags into my room. Later, I'll probably go walk around the walls of the old city. The museums are closed today, so I am saving them for tomorrow.

Transylvania Fortresses and Castles

Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009--Train from Chisinau to Bucharest (Continued)

The lady who owns the apartment I rented came at 15:20. I gave her the keys and left for the train station.

What luck! I was in a compartment with two fantastic men. Nicholai, 41 years old, is Moldovan, but lives in Romania where he makes dentures. Clemens, 50 years old, comes from Holland. He used to work in marketing for Unilever, but he is now an independent marketing consultant. He has taken several months off work to travel around Europe in a Volkswagon bus. He's as close to being the same as me as any man I have ever met!

Clemens and I talked and talked and talked in English after boarding and while traveling. We have so many common interests and it was fascinating to hear him tell about his travels for the past few months. We both worried about Nicholai who obviously did not speak English well enough to join the conversation. But I figured he understood some and asked him. He did, but his response showed that his speaking English is very limited. When he said that he spoke French, Clemens started speaking to him in French, and he came alive, too. From then, the trip was one story after another from each of us. Nicholai had a bottle of homemade palinka (a vodka-like drink made from year-old wine--the same as the cha cha we were drinking in Georgia last year on my trip). He opened it, and we passed it and talked. I shared my cheese, salami, olives, bagel chips, and cookies, although neither of them wanted anything but a couple of slices of cheese and a couple of cookies. Nicholai also pulled out a box of candies from Moldova--small chocolate-coated bars of minced peanuts.

Clemens and I talked about him making a trip through the western part of the U.S. and down through Mexico and Central America. I told him I would help him plan a route. If he makes it, he will stop for a visit in San Antonio.

Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009--Train and Brasov

The border crossing for the train took a long time last night. Part of the reason is that they had to change all the wheels on the train. Moldova was a part of the USSR, and they established a different size of gauge for their tracts so that enemies (such as Germany) could not roll their trains across the border and keep coming. But that creates a lot of hassle for international trains that have not been modernized to be able to handle both gauges. And our train was definitely not modern. It had well-worn Soviet sleeping cars.

The train from Chisinau arrived in Bucharest on time. I had bought a ticket to continue to Brasov, but I had left 1 1/2 hours just in case we were late. I could have taken an earlier one. Oh, well. While waiting, I watched people. One group came by wearing HerbalLife t-shirts. I guess that is still being sold. Wasn't it discredited and restricted in the U.S. due to safety reasons?

When I arrived in Brasov, there was a man at the station who offered me a room for $27 per night including breakfast. I had made a hotel reservation a couple of weeks ago. But when I wrote back (TWICE) trying to change the dates after having to adjust my travel schedule, I never got a response from them. Therefore, I took him up on his offer and just didn't worry about the hotel. The room is okay. The bath is nice. It will be fine for two nights.

Brasov is a big city with a very old city center. The center is well restored and is very popular with tourists and locals alike. There are pedestrianized streets with sidewalk cafes down the centers of them. I wandered and explored at first. Then I returned to my room and bathed and shaved to go out.

The Black Church has an organ concert three times per week at 18:00. It costs 4 lei to get into the church during the daytime to see it. The concert only costs 5 lei (about $1.65 U.S.), so I waited to see the church until I was there for the concert. The pews have backs that shift. Therefore, we all sat facing the organ in the rear of the church. It was a huge one. And I was very impressed with the crowd. I would say that 2/3 of the seats in the church were filled with people who came to hear the 30-minute concert.

A tour group from Germany was at the concert and sitting in 2-3 rows in front of me. I watched them and thought about how miserable I would be in such a group. They were all in their 60s and 70s. I'm sure they are slow to get in our out anywhere the group goes. And there are all types of people I would hate being around for an extended time. One example: When they announced that people should shut off their mobile phones for the concert, a man in front of me performed the process to do so which causes the phone to play 3-4 notes to indicate the turn-off was effective. A woman in front of him immediately turned around without thinking about what he was doing and shushed him. She looked like she would be ready to keep everyone in line all the time while smiling as if she was the sweetest person on earth!

After two weeks of looking, I finally found a barber shop with a man cutting men's hair. I stepped in and waited for him to finish with a young man who happened to speak English and helped me explain what I wanted before I left. The barber was extra careful with both the young man and with me. It's nice to have shorter hair again. The back (which I was not able to trim when I trimmed the front and sides a few weeks ago) was driving me crazy.

I tried to eat at a neighborhood restaurant near my room on the way home. Unfortunately, the lady had already closed her kitchen at 20:30. Rather than go into town, I just went to the room and ate some leftovers there.

Friday, Aug. 28, 2009--Rasnov and Bran

After a nice breakfast of an omelette with two kinds of chopped meat in it (ham and salami), fresh sliced tomatoes, bread, jam, and tea, I headed for the bus station. I caught a bus to Rasnov--a Saxon town just south of Brasov. The main reason for going there is to see the fortress on top of the mountain with the town below. I climbed the many steps up through the forest until I was there. It was quite interesting--well restored and having a museum that gave information about it through the history of time.

From there, I caught another bus to go to Bran further south. Bran is famous for its Bran Castle which is better known as the "Dracula Castle." There really is no certainty that Count Dracula ever had a connection to the castle, but the town is keeping up the story and packs in the tourists because of it. I have to admit that going there was a disappointment. The town is rather nice, but it is unpleasant to be there because of the large number of tourists. To get to the castle, they force the guests to go through a nightmare of a bazaar filled with tacky souvenirs. My guidebook had said that the outside view of the castle was great but that the tour through the inside was forgettable. That's due to the inside being remodeled in the 1920s as the summer home for Queen Mary. Therefore, the only people who might get a lot from the tour would be those who liked Queen Mary and wanted to see how she lived. Because of the long and slow-moving lines for tickets, the sound of thunder and lighning nearby, and all the things mentioned above, I just decided to leave without touring the castle. I enjoyed seeing it from the outside. My guess is that it is like Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany--best seen from a distance.

Back in Brasov, I could hear music. I followed the sound to the giant stage that has been set up in the central square of the town for its music festival which will be held next week. A young woman was rehearsing on the stage and testing the sound settings to get them the way she wanted for her performance next week. She had a nice voice and sang some really pretty songs with a bit of a Turkish (or maybe Roma-type) sounds. I asked a young man who spoke English if he knew her name. But he had no idea who she is.

Returning to Romania

Monday, Aug. 24, 2009--Chisinau (Continued)

Well, the new building was indeed a mall with a creative name considering its location here in the country of Moldova--MallDova! I was really only interested in whether there was a supermarket, but I wandered all the floors just to see what else was there. They have a Debenhams, the British supermarket chain that is expanding across Europe, but it was a small store with no departments other than clothing. I did find a large supermarket downstairs, so I purchased some salami, cheese-flavored potato chips, olives, bread, water, beer, and cookies. I ate dinner back at the apartment and had leftovers for another day.

I finished reading Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart. It's a satire about life in Russia and the former USSR republics following the fall of communism. It's funny somewhat in the style of the writings of Dave Barry. I gave it 3 stars out of 4.

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009--Chisinau

My breathing went from stuffy to clear and back to stuffy during the night. My eyes are watery, too. I wish I had some allergy tablets to take. Instead, I am hoping that when I return to Romania I will be leaving behind whatever is causing this problem.

I stayed inside the apartment all morning. I read from a new book. I did laundry and put it on the line to dry. I ate a little breakfast using the butter and jam I bought a few days ago and the bread from last night.

After stopping at the cyber cafe, I wanted to find a cafeteria for lunch. I went by two of them. Both were so crowded that it would have created a problem for a "slow" client who had to point and motion rather than just tell them what and how much. Therefore, I returned to the apartment and had some of the leftovers from last night.

I watched TV in the afternoon--a made-for-TV movie that was on the only English-language channel that has anything other than sports or music videos. Then I returned to the supermarket where I got some pickled herring, water, chips, cookies, and baked bagel chips. This should give me enough food to eat at the apartment the rest of the time I am here and enough for me to prepare food to take on the train tomorrow night.

The big news here is that Madonna is performing in Bucharest. Last night, the news had a story about a woman whose apartment balcony overlooks the grounds where the concert is being held and the fact that she is planning a party with her friends to watch the concert from her balcony with her. Tonight, the TV station hellicopter was following the cars as she arrived and was transported to her hotel. From what I could see, I don't think she is staying at the same hotel where I stayed!!

Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009--Chisinau and on the Train

I had an interesting dream last night that I was in a shop looking at old picture post cards. I picked up a folded poster among them which had lots of thumbtack holes in one corner where it had been hung over and over again. On the back was a message which explained why it was in with the old postcards. The surprise was that it had been written to ME many years ago by a friend. I read the message. The shop owner commented that most people wouldn't take the time to read such a long message, since there was nothing humorous in it. I explained that I was the person to whom the post had been sent.

I also had a nightmare this morning. I dreamed that the wheels on my suitcase had given out. I'm so glad it wasn't true--YET! But there's no assurance they will last the rest of the trip. It was about this time last year that I had to start carrying my bag due to worn-out wheels. The soft padding they use to cover the wheels today is so thin compared to that just a couple of years or so ago. To save money, they quit using roller-skate wheels, and the new, thin, cheap wheels just will not hold up to rugged traveling. My suitcase looks great, except I know that the wheels may not have long to last.

I need to return to the apartment now and prepare my lunch and the food for my trip. I will leave there at 15:30 for the train station. I will take the overnight train to Bucharest, arriving there at 6:45. Then I will take a train from there to Brasov at 8:30 and arriving at 11:38. Therefore, it will be a long night and morning of travel. I'll then have 6 days to see Transylvania before returning to Bucharest and taking my flight out to Copenhagen on Sept. 3.

Sluggish in Moldova

Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009--Chisinau (Continued)

After I left the cyber cafe, I went to the apartment with plans to go back out for dinner. But while I was there, I started feeling sluggish and felt some drainage into my throat. I stayed in and ate a granola bar from my suitcase rather than going out to eat. By the time I went to bed, it was obvious that my throat was getting sore.

Monday, Aug. 24, 2009--Chisinau

I slept okay during the night, but it got more and more difficult to do so. My throat became very sore. At the beginning of the night, I could breathe through both nostrils. By the morning, both were stuffy. My guess is that this is a case of allergies rather than a cold. I sneezed many times yesterday and several times the day before.

I took my time at the apartment this morning. Eventually, my sore throat disappeared and my breathing eased. I felt tired, though. So I went out exploring at a slower pace than normal. I went north of my apartment into a suburban area with new buildings. Things are happening here, but some of the new buildings have had construction stop on them for quite a while from the looks of the sites. Others are going up and looking nice. I'm not sure who would invest here and why.

I found a sauna I had been told was near the office of the man who rented me the apartment, but it is not open. They are doing remodeling during the summer months. That's too bad. It might have been nice to spend some time in a hot sauna while relaxing today.

One of the parks here has an interesting feature--free wi-fi along a walkway lined with benches. There are electrical outlets behind the benches for those who want to save their batteries and plug their computers into them. Almost every bench was full of people with computers in their laps. San Antonio has been wondering how to get people to enter Hemisfair Park who are downtown either for business or attending conferences. This might be a way to do it.

I stopped at another cafeteria-style restaurant for my lunch. I picked out a salad that looked good. I could see mushrooms, strands of carrots, mayonnaise, and some green spice. Then I selected a boneless chicken breast. I got a roll and a glass of juice (like the juice from a fruit cocktail can). It seemed a bit expensive compared to the other day. I discovered why when I took a bite of the salad. It had chicken in it, too! So I had two main courses for my lunch. The salad also had lots of garlic which I have been tasting all afternoon.

I'm thirsty and tired, so I will stop somewhere to buy a cola and take it to the apartment where I will drink and read for the rest of the afternoon. In the late afternoon, I will go to explore a building I saw yesterday that looks like a mall on the edge of town just a few blocks behind my hotel.

Exploring Chisinau

Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009--Chisinau (Continued)

I went exploring the downtown area when I left the cyber cafe. There is a huge market just behind where there, so I went through it watching all the people doing their weekend shopping. While walking through, I saw a restaurant with lots of business and decided to eat. It was a cafeteria-style place, so I grabbed a tray and went through pointing to what I wanted--mashed potatoes, meat balls in a pot roast-style sauce, and bread. It was so good. There is a different style of food here from the Balkan countries where I have been. Here, I would guess it is Russian-influenced.

Both the Internet and food are cheaper here than in the countries where I have been lately. That's partially due, I guess to this being Europe's poorest country (it's Mississippi) according to the guidebook. They say that 1/3 of the economy comes from money being sent to families from relatives living and working outside the country.

Unfortunately, TV is worse here than where I have been lately. Nothing is in English except for one movie channel and one sports channel. Everything else is dubbed into either the local language or Russian (which almost everyone here speaks, since Moldova was part of the USSR).

When I returned to the apartment and couldn't find anything on TV, I tried to read. That didn't work, because I kept trying to fall asleep after little sleep during last night. I forced myself to stay awake, however. I knew if I let myself fall asleep at 17:30, I would not be able to sleep through the night.

I had bought some supplies for breakfast and put them in the refrigerator. I decided that rather than going back out I would eat part of them for dinner, too. I had a loaf of bread that was filled and covered with lots of seeds. I sliced it, spread it with butter, and ate it with strawberry preserves. Ummmm! I also bought two bottles of wine--a cheaper one (less than $2) from an unknown winery and one from the famous Cricova winery ($3). I opened the cheaper bottle and drank about half of it while watching the news and trying to figure out what it was about even through I could not understand the language.

Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009--Chisinau

When I finally went to bed at 22:00 last night, I slept well and did not get up until 9:00 this morning. I was still dragging some, however, since the lack of sleep from the night before made my body feel like it had passed several time zones.

I decided to wander the back streets to the north where I am living. Just as I turned the corner, there was a beautiful blue chuch with golden onion domes and the most beautiful singing coming from it. I went to the courtyard and just stood there listening for several minutes. Eventually, I headed for the area around the university which is also where several of the museums are located.

I saw two of the museums--The Museum of Fine Arts and the Archaeological and Historical Museum. Both were interesting. The former had too many ikons for my interest. But there were some good European period paintings. I was surprised to notice how handsome Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria was as a young man; I don't think I had ever seen a portrait of him before. In the Archaeological and Historical Museum, they were having the grand opening of a diorama from World War II. It was fascinating. It went from a curved painting in the background to a 3-D ground area with trenches, weapons, soldiers, etc., on the ground in the foreground.

I stopped on the street and bought the local snack food--a big round, flat piece of stuffed fried bread. I bought the one the lady recommended. It was stuffed with cooked onions. One had meat, another had cheese, and the fourth had some other ingredient. People wander the streets eating them all the time here. It was tasty.

Moldova is one of those countries that is split by languages. Over the years, it has gone back and forth between Russia and Romania while seldom being independent. Even today, it has a bread-away province called Transdniestr which has developed its own army, police, currency, etc., and has elected its own president. Why? About 45%of the population of that province are ethnic Russians and only 14% of them are Moldovians (with most of the others being Ukrainians and Romanians).

Out of Romania (Temporarily) and into Moldova

Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009--Mamaia and Constanta (Continued)

While at the cyber cafe, I arranged a reservation for a hotel in Brasov for 2 nights. I sent inquiries related to places in Sighisoara and Sibiu. Hope to have everything planned for the nights I will be in Romania after returning from Moldova.

The afternoon was spent on the beaches in Mamaia. It's the major beach resort just north of Constanta and is, according to my guidebook, where all the "beautiful people" go. Well, they looked like normal people to me. But there were many of them. Mamaia has a very nice sandy beach that is several kilometers (miles) long. There were rows of people the whole distance. I spent about 3 hours walking--down and then back up the beach again--and watching people. If I were going to the beach to swim or sunbathe, I would choose Mamaia over Constanta. But it still is nothing compared to nearby Varna in Bulgaria. I guess Constanta/Mamaia are popular due to the fact that it is the only area in Romania for going to the beach and is also a desitnation for people from Moldova (landlocked), Ukraine, and Russia.

Ate dinner at a Turkish restaurant near my room. I had an early dinner and then watched TV.

Friday, Aug. 21, 2009--Constanta to Iasi

Since my train would not depart for Iasi until 13:30, I spent the morning at the cyber cafe working on my reservations. I now have them for everywhere except Sighisoara. I'm thinking I may just show up there and see what I can find if I don't hear from the places I have written.

The granddaughter of the man and woman whose room I am renting was there this morning. She speaks English. The grandfather, who usually stays around the house while the grandmother goes to the station to find lodgers, was gone fishing, so she came to be present to assist any of the lodgers. She and I sat and visited for a long time. She is a law student in Bucharest. The grandmother gave us both a big helping of rice pudding topped with cinnamon to eat while she was gone and we were visiting.

The station platform was full of people waiting for the train to Iasi. One thing I noticed, however, is that they all seemed to be Romanians. I have not been seeing foreign tourists here the way I did in the other Balkan countries. I wonder if it is because the prices are so much higher here. Even the hostels in Romania often charge 15-18 Euros ($21-26) for a bed in a dormitory room with 6-8 beds! Who knows, though. Maybe they are all in Transylvania and I will find them there when I return from Moldova.

My reservation was for Car #1 on the train, and there wasn't one when it arrived. Many of us were waiting. But the engine disconnected and disappeared. Soon it was back with Car #1. Every seat was fills, and it was a tight fit with the seats positioned facing each other in groupings of 4. I was beside an elderly woman. Across from me were a young woman and a middle-aged man (whose family was on the other side of the aisle). The man's young son entertained us all, however. He was so cute. And people started getting off the train at various stops. Although it was a 9-hour trip for me and the young woman who spoke English and was also going to Iasi, only the first 3 hours were crowded. Another interesting thing was that it was a double-decker train. When I tried to put my suitcase up on the rack overhead, it would not fit, since the ceiling was low. I had to put the bag under the seat. Thank goodness there was room for it there. Some other tourists had theirs in the aisles.

On the way to Iasi, I made a discovery. Although I had asked for a train ticket from Bucharest to Sibiu on the day that I return from Moldova, the lady printed a ticket from Bucharest to Brasov. I had intended to go Sibiu-Sighisoara-Brasov so that I would be closer to Bucharest for my last night before catching my flight to Copenhagen. Sibiu is twice as far away. The young lady on the train went to the ticket counter with me and explained the problem in hopes that they could switch my ticket. But the lady said there are NO trains going from Bucharest to Sibiu. Quickly thinking, I decided I should just keep the Brasov ticket. But that means that I now would have to contact my two hotels in Brasov and Sibiu and ask them to change the dates for my reservations! What a hassle.

To handle all of that, I had to stay on the train all the way to Iasi Central Station. My international train, would leave, however, from another terminal. It was 22:30. I bought a snitzel sandwich--a large bun with an even larger piece of pork meat fried in batter and topped with cabbage and mayonnaise--and at it at the Central Station. Then I walked the 2 km to the other station. It was a straight route that I could see on the map and was well lighted.

The other station, where we had stopped going through, was much smaller, though. Fortunately, there was a small waiting room, so I got out my novel and began to read while waiting the 4 hours until the train to Chisinau would arrive from Bucharest.

Saturday, Aug. 22--On the Train and in Chisinau

I was the only passenger waiting for the train at the small station in Iasi. Several homeless people had wandered into the waiting room and fallen asleep on the chairs. At first, a policeman came and made them leave, but he didn't return after midnight.

By the time I needed to head to the platform to wait for the train, it was a dark and lonely station. I could not see any employees anywhere. Two of the homeless people pointed me further down the platform. There, I encountered a group of men in uniform coming out of a building. They were the immigration and customs staff for Romania, and one of them spoke English. They made sure I got in the right car and the right bed.

I felt sorry for the two people in my compartment--a young woman going to spend the weekend with her boyfriend and a young man going to spend the weekend with his girl friend. They were awakened as a part of the process of getting my luggage into the compartment, making my bed, etc. Of course, they would have been awakened anyway to show their passports and answer the customs questions, but it would have been a much shorter intrusion.

I slept well, but it was hindered by the fact that we had to get up for Moldovan customs and immigration. It was reminiscent of the old communist days; Moldova was a part of the USSR! They asked lots of questions--where I was going, why, where I was staying, who arranged my lodging, etc. Then they made everyone open their bags for physical inspection. My sleeping, however, was also hindered by the lack of time. The train trip was from 3:30 to 9:00. And with the interruptions, that gave me really only a handfull of hours to sleep.

I got up a little early so I could see some of the countryside. It has rolling hills and is quite pretty. We passed some wonderful looking vineyards just a short distance from town. Moldova is especially known for their wines and the fact that the wineries have kilometers of underground storage facilities for the wine. Unfortunately, the biggest winery (Cricova) has a reputation for having expensive tours while giving the attitude that they wished they had only your money and not you! I may try to visit Cojusna one day.

The man who arranged my apartment for me was supposed to meet me at the station. I was told to come to the front entrance. Several people approached me, but they were all taxi drivers hoping to make some money. Radu was not there. I waited until 9:30, but by then I was worrying. Fortunately, I had a phone number, but I didn't have any money or a phone. I asked several people whether they spoke English, and none did. I spoke to a Finnish man who suggested that I go inside to the international ticket office. When I got there, though, the woman was processing multiple tickets for a woman. I returned outside and there was a young man who spoke English and made the call. I should have waited, because Radu told him he was on his way and would be there in 1 minute. Sure enough, he was.

My apartment has the look of an old Soviet apartment. It's nice enough, but it has flowered wallpaper, inexpensive rugs on the floors and over the furniture, inexpensive closets along the walls, etc. But it is a big apartment with a living room, bedroom, dining room, kitchen, entrance hall, bath, and toilet. It's all mine for the next four days. It also has a telepone and cable TV. It's a very central location on the main street in town with one of the major hotels (currently being remodeled) just across the street.

Constanta

Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009--Constanta

I found an internet cafe in the suburban area, but it was filled with mosquitoes. They were buzzing around me the whole time I was there. How horrible!! There is another place downtown which I will try next time.

My room is fine. It has a good bed and a nice pillow. And I finally found CNN after using the menu to reprogram the TV. There are no mosquitoes in the room. It's because they have good screens on the window and because they use fabric and beads to cover the door to the outside during the daytime and close that door when it gets close to dusk.

I wandered the beaches here in Constanta today. They are not very nice. There is no way that Constanta can compete with Varna which is just down the coast in Bulgaria. Neither the town nor the beaches can. Varna is like a luxury resort compared to here. The Constanta beaches are either rather muddy (at at least packed sand) or pieces of shell. My sandals were covered with powder from shell fragments after my walk. Not many people were on the beaches either. I guess that most go north of here to Mamaia which is supposed to be the better place to visit for this area.

I bought supplies for dinner in my room tonight--a can of tuna in curried mayonnaise, brown bread, cake balls rolled in coconut, etc. I still had half a bottle of the wine I opened last night. It made a relaxing dinner while I watched TV.

When I got back to the room, I washed clothes--several shirts and my shorts. There is a clothesline outside, so I hung the clothes and left them. The guidebook mentioned that it is not easy to find places to do laundry in Romania.

There were guests in the other room. They were all on the patio visiting with the owners of the house in the evening. I stayed in my room watching the news. But the cigarette smoke from out there kept wafting through my window. Yuck!

I only have two books remaining after I finish the one I am reading now. I'll be in Copenhagen in just 2 weeks, so I should be fine until then. But I will be in Morocco for 10 days and Venezuela for 3 weeks before returning home in mid-October. I'll need to find some more books!

Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009--Constanta

There was no water this morning. When I awoke, the large family was coming and going in their preparations for leaving for the day. After they left around 9:00, I went to the bathroom and the pipes were dry! I brushed my teeth using bottled water and skipped bathing and shaving.

In town, I saw a pastry shop with long lines near the market. I went to look, and their pastries did look great. But dealing with the lines would be a problem, since I do not speak the language and do not know what I would like to buy. I left and returned a couple of hours later. There were no lines. But within the 30 seconds it took me to look through the windows to see what they had, another 8 people had lined up! How frustrating. A few minutes later, after standing across the street watching, I returned and bought 3 pastries for later.

It was windy today. A high pressure system is covering Europe and bringing wind and heat to the continent. It is moving our way with the heat spell expected over the weekend.

My guidebook recommended the local Archeological Museum. I went there in the afternoon. It is amazing how many things have been found in this local area dating back to 1500 BC and earlier! And many of them are ceramic and glass items that easily could have broken over the years. In addition, there were gold items, sculptures, etc.

I returned to the restaurant where I was two days ago for a salad-filled sandwich with extra picante sauce. Ummm!

In the evening, I watched the movie Man Maid. I had never heard of it, but it had many of the actors who I've seen in other films made by Christopher Guest. It also seemed to be a bit like his films.

Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009--Constanta

Someone next door had a party last night. They were drinking, singing, etc. I used my earplugs and went to bed. When I check about taking them out, it was 3:00 and the party was still going. That's a problem with resorts where people are on vacation and feel they can stay up all night.

I realized this morning that I needed to adjust my schedule. I probably should not have come to Constanta. But I wasn't aware of it at the time, since it is the train schedules that messed me up. I had to stay here longer and to plan to stay in Chisinau longer than I expected due to the fact that the train to Chisinau runs only 3 days per week. I read my guidebook and decided to cut my plans for visiting Iasi and Maramures. I can leave those for a future time when I visit the Ukraine and southern Poland which are countries I want to explore someday. Instead, I will head to Transylvania when I return from Chisinau in Moldova next week. I've spent much of this morning doing research for rooms to stay in the cities I will visit when I get to Transylvania.

Moving through Romania

Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009--Bucharest

The mosquitoes were bothering me again last night. Gabby told me it is because of the lake in the park that is just a block away. Fortunately, the bites are small and do not seem to be itching.

There is a museum here that is quite nice called the Museum of the Peasant. The guidebook said it would be good, and I really liked it. It concentrates of the works created by normal people--what might be called naive art. Inside are costumes, ikons, weavings, pottery, carvings, a whole church, a whole house, etc. It is really a special place.

Beyond the museum is the Bucharest version of the Arc de Triomphe. Then beyond that is Herastrau Park. I continued walking that way and exploring. There were many people at the park. It is a larger version of the park that is near my hotel. People were enjoying the flower gardens, boating on the lake, etc. What I especially liked is that a band was playing pop music from a bandstand beside the lake.

From the far north, I then needed to be in the far south to explore "Ceausescu" Bucharest. One of the things he had been doing just before being deposed as the communist leader was rebuilding a huge section of town south of the center. A new parliament building, the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon, with a balcony where he planned to make his appearances was constructed, but so were many buildings to house government agencies, apartments, shops, etc. Included was the construction of a street he planned to rival the Champs Elysee in Paris called B-dul Unirii. I did not like the parliament building, but I found the other buildings not to be so bad. In time, if they don't crumble or if they do not look bad due to neglect, they may give the appearance of a grand avenue of buildings. They were constructed to hide the churches and show only the accomplishments of communism. Just behind them can be found wonderful old buildings, however, such as the Antim Monastery. The whole project, however, reminded me of the clearing and reconstruction of old neighborhoods in Beijing I observed last year. Much character is lost when a neighborhood disappears or is rebuilt to be "better" than before. Already, this new construction has dirty and abandoned storefronts, grafitti, crumbling and cracked sidewalks, buildings that are being altered with the addition of enclosed balconies, etc., that detract from its appearance.

Monday, Aug. 17, 2009--Bucharest to Constanta

I have two months remaining before I will be back in San Antonio. I have now been traveling for about 3 1/3 months.

I was so glad to leave Bucharest because of the mosquitoes. Last night, I slept completely covered through the entire night even though the room was a bit warm. I hope that Constanta doesn't have them. This is the first place since I began my travels in May that I have faced a problem with mosquitoes!

Checking out of the hotel was a bit strange. I still owed them 1 Euro as a balance, because I only had a 2 Euro coin and they did not have change. I now have local currency and could have paid them 4.25 lei (with 1 Euro equalling 4.21 lei at their exchange rate), but they did not want the local currency. They went to great trouble to get someone to go out and find change so they could take my coin and give me a 1 Euro coin in return. My guess is it happened because hotels have notoriously bad exhchange rates and 1 Euro is worth more to them when they go to the bank than 4.25 lei. But the different would not be great enough for all that trouble!!

Unfortunately, my train was a "local" one. It didn't really stop everywhere, but it was not an express or rapid train. That means it took 4 hours rather than 2 1/2 hours to make the trip to Constanta. It wasn't bad, though. The time passed fine. I was in a compartment with a family returning home to a town near Contanta. It was a full train, however, with people sitting in the aisle outside the compartment. Most people, like me, were heading to Contanta as a part of a vacation. What worried me most about the extended time for the trip was that I would be arriving with no reservation and needing to find a room.

As my guidebook said, there were people at the station hoping to rent their rooms. The first woman I met wanted way too much, and she looked like she would not be a good hostess with a face that showed what looked like a grim personality. A man wanted to take me to a place for 50 lei, but he was a taxi driver; I just didn't want to deal with paying him and for a room. I went wandering on my own, but unlike the other places I have been there are no signs for rooms for rent on houses. No one I asked could help me. Therefore, I returned to the station where I met a perky gray-haired lady. She quoted 60 lei--$20 U.S. and probably 10 lei more than I should have paid. I went with her and it was fine, so I have taken it. It is a room in the home of her and her husband. They are pensionists with her being 64 and him being 74. The room has a good bed and a large TV with cable. I share their bathroom with them. They have another room for rent for a couple. I'm hoping they won't rent it, because it could become noisy and crowded if she fills it, too.

Southern Romania is flat and not very attractive. It's quite rural with many people traveling in horse-drawn carts on rutted roads. There are big grain elevators. We passed several rivers as we neared the coast. The train whistle had an interesting sound like a donkey--haw eeee hawwwww! Constanta itself, is not very attractive either. Varna in Bulgaria is a much better destination for tourists going to the Black Sea.

My first stop after getting settled in my room was at the agency that sells international train tickets. My guidebook had said there were two trains per day from here to Chisinau in Moldova. Unfortunately, there are now none. I learned I can take a train from here to Iasi. From there, I could get a round-trip ticket to Chisinau on the train going from Bucharest to there. It was complicated further by the Bucharest-Chisinau train traveling only 3 days a week. Anyway, we worked it out. I will stay here until Friday. I will go to Chisinau for 4 days--going Friday night, arriving Saturday morning, and leaving Tuesday afternoon. Now I must deal with planning where to stay, especially is Iasi, since the train from Chisinau will arrive there near midnight on Tuesday.

By then, the day was gone. I stopped at a kebob place and got a wonderful one stuffed with lots of meat but also with lots of salad and dressings. I felt as if I had eaten a salad and a meal. Then I stopped at a supermarket and bought a bottle of Romanian merlot produced by Zestrea Murfatar, a company recommended by my guidebook. I returned to my room and watched Titanic again on HBO. Unfortunately, neither BBC nor CNN (nor any other English news) is on cable here!

Money Problem Solved

Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009--Bucharest

There are mosquitoes here! I was surprised. I found a fresh blood spot on my sheets this morning. Then I saw bites on one shoulder and a live mosquito on the wall. I killed that one and will be careful tonight about shutting windows before dusk. I didn't hear them last night because I was wearing my earplugs.

It was surprising to find today is a holiday here--St. Mary's Day. It had not been mentioned among the holidays in my guidebook. But all the museums were closed. That meant I had to change my plans a bit. I wandered and took photos of the wonderful buildings I had seen yesterday. I wandered through some other parts of town. Then I went to the park in the afternoon and read through my book.

The book was Brethren: Raised by Wolves Vol. 1 by W. A. Hoffman. It is a story about bucaneers in the 1600s, and I was surprised at how much it kept my attention and I found it enjoyable. I gave it 4 stars out of 4.

Romania will be expensive compared to where I have been lately. For some reason their currency has risen even against the Euro. That means it has risen even more against the dollar, since the dollar as been dropping in value.

Gabby called and invited me to his apartment. I am there now where I have been on the computer to check my e-mail to see if there was word from the Credit Union. I had been afraid to check all day knowing that if the problem wasn't solved it would not be until Monday or later. But there was an e-mail from them apologizing and explaining. They had a country hold on all transactions in Romania since it is a known place for fraudulent transactions and they have few customers who go there. They have made it where I can now use my cards. RELIEF!!!!

I will be traveling on Monday. Since I couldn't see museums today, I probably won't take the time to go to a cyber cafe tomorrow. Instead, I will wait until late Monday or Tuesday to update again.

Troubles, Troubles!

Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009--Varna (Cont.)

After shopping for snacks and spending the rest of my money, I stopped at the hotel and picked up my luggage I had left. It was still 5 hours before the train would depart, so I went to a park near the station and read in my current book.

They turned on the lights and opened the doors to the train car at 21:00. I was there and entered. I found my compartment and determined which was my bed. I stored my suitcase on the floor and my backpack in the overhead area near my top bunk. It was difficult getting into that top bunk since it was so high and there was no ladder. In this case, India has a better designed product than these cars which were Russian, I think.

A problem developed when a Russian couple arrived and seemed to think they were supposed to have the whole compartment. The attendant took our tickets and went to see her superior. Since I was the first one there and the couple didn't need all four beds, I decided I would stay no matter what.

The attendant came back and a Russian lady in the next-door compartment who spoke English translated to me. Apparently, 8 tickets had been sold for the 4 beds. The Russian couple had paid for all 4 beds to have the compartment for themselves. And 4 others of us had been sold tickets, too. I had only seen one other person who seemed to try to come to the compartment; it was a young blond man. The Russian woman, as he approached, said, "Nyet, nyet, nyet!" She was blocking the doorway and very upset.

I pushed myself into the compartment and jumped up into the bed that my ticket showed I had reserved. The woman became very upset and obviously did not want to compromise. She even tried to remove my suitcase where where I had stored it. She was surprised, I guess, when she found that it was chained and locked to the heater and could not be moved! Thank goodness I do that naturally anytime I am taking a night train. And thank goodness I was on the train car before she and her husband arrived. She was being a real B***h (with a capital B).

While keeping to my bed and thinking about it all, I figured out what had to be the problem, and it was confirmed when the conductor came to match tickets to the computer print-out. I had noticed that the couple had a handwritten paper ticket. The blond guy and I had computer-generated tickets. The only way the computer could have allowed the beds to each be sold twice was if the handwritten ticket for all four beds had never been processed in the computer. Sure enough, the couple's reservation, made at a Russian travel agency, had not been placed in the computer! For that reason, the conductor let me stay in the bed I had claimed even though the woman was throwing a really hissy fit. Unfortunately, I do not know what happened to the blond or to the other two who had tickets. The conductor did not place one of them in there, although he should have. He caved in and let the couple stay there only with me. Since the couple is going all the way to Moscow--two nights and two days--there will probably be more of these occurrences all along the way since their reservation is not in the computer. What a mess.

Friday, Aug. 14, 2009--Bucharest

I didn't sleep much on the train. It wasn't comfortable being where I obviously wasn't wanted. The Russian woman never settled down. She was obviously bothered until I left the car this morning when I am sure she probably blocked the door to make sure that no one else could enter. Also the border check took a long time and broke into the normal sleeping hours.

We finally arrived in Bucharest at 6:30--about 25 minutes later than scheduled. It was so nice to get out of the train and away from the Russians. In trying to avoid placing my foot on the woman's bed as I came down from mine, I twisted my waist which has remained a bit sore all day.

As I waited to get off the train at the station, the female attendant signed and put her hand over her heart while looking at me. She did this at least twice. I'm sure she was exasperated and trying to apologize for the situation with the Russians. I just smiled and thanked her.

There was a pleasant surprise when I arrived. Romania uses the Roman alphabet!! I did not know that and had assumed that I would have to continue trying to translate from the Cyrillic alphabet the way I have been doing in Macedonia and Bulgaria. Hurray for not having to worry about that!

The Roma people live here. Many are on the streets begging. I saw some domed tents along the railroad tracks that looked like patchwork. I imagine they were housing for some of the local Roma people (commonly called gypsies).

My guidebook warns about packs of stray dogs here in town. Well, there were some at the train station. It was too early to try to go to my hotel and check in, so I sat at the station and read for a while. I also ate some brown bread and cheese that I had in my bag. I kept hearing barking and looked that direction. Dogs were chasing the trains and barking at them. I'll need to watch out for them. I would hate to be bitten while here.

I thought that my problems with the Russian people should be the end of my troubles, but they were only the beginning. When I finally did leave the station to go to my hotel, I watched for an ATM and tried to use my card. I got a notice saying that my request was refused by my bank. I tried at another bank. Then I tried getting a lower amount of money in case the amount I wanted was over the limit allowed. But I kept getting the same message saying that my bank had denied the request. It was between midnight and 1:00 in Texas, so I hoped that it might just be the time that the credit union closes down their operations to update the records for the previous day. Just to see what would happen, I tried paying the hotel with my other card (the one I use for charge purchases vs. the one I use for withdrawing cash). They got the same message for that card. So, it had to either be what I suspected, or they were denying service because they thought this happening in Romania would be someone trying to illegally get into my account. However, I had told the bank I would be in Romania before leaving for my travels.

I got a phone call at the hotel from Gabby, a heart specialist here who has communicated with me. He had the morning off and asked if he could come pick me up and walk me around the center of town. By the time he arrived, I had bathed, shaved, and dressed. We went out walking. Soon, we passed an ATM, so I tried again. I got the same message. He loaned me his phone to call the number on the back of my card. The person there suggested that I go inside the bank and try to make a withdrawal. He also gave me a 24-hour emergency number for contacting my credit union. I called the emergency number first, and it did not go to my credit union and went to someplace that is open only 12 hours per day. We went inside the bank and waited and waited. Then the lady there, having seen my passport tried to process a payment. Again, it was refused by my bank! By that time of the day, I knew it could not be the hours they update accounts.

Gabby took me walking for about 2 more hours, then it was 14:00--6:00 in Texas. So I did three things. I paid the hotel for my first night with some Euros I had on me. Then I went to a nearby bank and exchanged $100 for money to allow me to eat and be on the Internet. I went to an Internet cafe nearby and wrote an e-mail to the credit card office of the credit union in which I explained the problem, gave them a new list of the countries I will be visiting for the rest of my trip, gave them a list of the last 7-8 cash withdrawals I have made (bank names, city location, and approximate amount in dollars), and asked them to reactivate my accounts so I can use the Visa cards this weekend. I hope they get the message and act on it. I don't know that I can trust them to be that fast due to how long it took them to deal with a problem I had with them in June when they did something specifically against my written instructions related to one of these accounts. I put an urgent message in the title of the e-mail, so I hope it will be cleared before the weekend.

It's mid afternoon now, and I am tired, since I didn't get much sleep last night and I have had such a stressful day. I will go to my room and relax for a while.

Last Day in Varna/Off to Romania Tonight

Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009--Varna

I took advantage of having the room until noon to stay there most of the morning. I read some, organized my luggage, watched the news on CNN (none of the cable companies providing TV to the hotels where I have stayed here in Bulgaria have had BBC; they've all had CNN), etc. I checked out at 11:00 and left my luggage with a caretaker in the lobby.

I stopped at a nearby place to have a gyro-style sandwich with shaved chicken. It was better than most that I have had, because the lady put chile sauce on it and also yogurt. Thinking about it just makes me hungry for another one!!

My map was marked for the places where I wanted to go--museums, ruins, beaches, parks, etc.--so I headed off to the nearest one. I've spent the day wandering while occasionally stopping to rest and watch people. Varna is a very nice city. I can see why people enjoy coming here for their vacations. It would be more enjoyable if I were here with someone rather than by myself, however.

My train leaves for Bucharest at 22:00 tonight. That's still about 5 hours away. I will go back to the beach to watch people for a while. Then I will eat again. Before picking up my luggage at 20:00, I will stop at a supermarket and spend the rest of my change on things I can take on the trip with me, since my Bulgarian currency may not be convertible in Romania (and because I won't have enough left to be worth the cost of converting it).

I will arrive in Bucharest tomorrow and have a confirmed reservation at the Hotel Carpati for 3 nights.

Last Days in Bulgaria

Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009--Veliko Tarnovo (Continued)

Late in the evening, I went with the three Frenchmen staying here to see the Light and Sound Show. It takes place at the fortress. There is a good (and free) viewing point from just near where we are staying. Rosa rounded us up and got us out the door. It was an impressive show--better than most such shows which I usually find boring. There were white, red, and blue lights on the fortress walls and on the entire church-topped hill that is inside the fortress. There were also green laser lights and flashing white strobe lights as a part of the show.

Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009--Veliko Tarnovo to Varna

It was cooler and cloudy this morning. At first, I was afraid that rain might be on the way. Rainy weather is not what one wants when heading to a beach resort!

I am having trouble deciding where to stay in Bucharest. I keep getting conflicting information about places when I check websites that have reviews. I have completed an online reservation form for one place that priced higher than my usual budget, but seems nice and centrally located. Will see if I get a response from them.

I was glad to leave Rosa's today. I found her to be quite smothering. Also, the food was too much the same from meal to meal. I have had pork steak for 4 meals, now. Fortunately, I was able to maintain control of what I did and when, although she often tried to guide me. The Frenchmen used a term to describe her that is one that Arne would have used, saying she is "special."

The bus trip to Varna took about 3 1/2 hours. My assigned seat was next to a young boy whose parents were across the aisle from us. He was so excited about going on vacation to the beach. Since the bus left the bus company office in downtown Velika Tarnovo, I was hoping it would take us to the downtown office of the company in Varna. It didn't, though. It took us to the bus station which is 2 km from town. If I had been alone, I would have walked into town. But the three Frenchmen were with me. They wanted to take a taxi. I agreed to accompany them, but I told them that the guidebook reported foreign tourists having trouble with the taxi drivers over-charging and mentioned that we must make sure that he uses the meter. Well, we loaded and the driver took off. I looked at the meter and it wasn't on. I brought it to the attention of the Frenchman in the front seat who was in charge of the trip, and he asked the driver to turn it on. The driver, of course, acted surprised. Anyway, the trip came to $3 using the meter. There is no telling what the driver would have asked us to pay if I had not looked after the situation. That's why I try to avoid taxis!!!

The hotel where I am staying is okay. It is rated as a 1-star facility, but it has cable TV, a/c, private bath. The walls are plain, however. It reminds me of many of the business-class hotels where I stay in India and pay about $12 per night. Here, however, I am paying $35. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't know that all three of the French guys are staying here for a total of $40 per night. It's frustrating to be a single traveler sometimes.

After checking into the hotel, I went immediately to the office for making reservations for international trains. I asked about the times for the train from here to Bucharest and learned that it leaves at 22:00 and gets into Bucharest at 6:00 except for Saturdays (and maybe one other day she mentioned which I didn't notice because it had nothing to do with my planning). I had intended to stay here for two nights, but I really don't need 2 1/2 days here. Therefore, I decided to take the train tomorrow night, since she said there were still two places available on it. Besides, the cost of the train trip with sleeper car is cheaper than another night at the hotel where I am staying! That will give me 20 days for visiting Romania and Moldova. My current plan had called for 17 days there, so I will review my guidebook to see about adding a couple of other stops along the route.

From the reservation office, I headed off to see the Black Sea for the first time up close. (I've flown over it several times and seen it from the air.) It is a beautiful blue that trends toward aquamarine in the shallow areas at the beach. It's quite pretty. It's a sandy beach--a coarse, beige sand rather than a powdery one.

I was surprised, however, that the beaches were not more crowded. This should be the height of the tourist season, and I was expecting crowds like I had found in Saranda in Albania and on Lake Ohrid in Macedonia. Instead, there was plenty of room on the beaches for people. Of course, there are beach resorts all up and down the coast from here, so that spreads the people out more. But I would have thought that Varna, being one of the two big cities on the Black Sea here would have bigger crowds. Another interesting thing is that women out-numbered men on the beach 3-1. That was around 16:00. Going topless seems to be quite normal for women at the beach here.

Varna is a nice city. It has lots of new modern development around the edges. And the center of the city has had lots of restoration. There are parks and a tree-lined promenade just next to the beach which give a nice look to that area. In addition to being a beach resort, there are old Roman ruins, museums, etc. Tomorrow, while waiting for my departure time on the train, I will explore the parts of the city I have not yet seen.

I had some leftover items in my bag to eat, so I bought some cheese to go with them and a beer and ate in my room tonight. I also bought some more of the special Bulgarian chocolate cake balls dipped in chocolate that I have been eating. These were flavored with cinnamon. Ummmm! Tomorrow, I will spend the rest of my Bulgarian currency on food and seeing the sights.

I went back out around 20:00 to walk among the crowds. Everyone was strolling on the pedestrian streets. Now that I have been at the cyber cafe, I will return to the room.

Relaxing in Veliko Tarnovo

Monday, Aug. 10, 2009--Veliko Tarnovo (Cont.)

My plans have been to go from here to Varna, a seaside resort on the Black Sea for a couple of days. That part of the trip has worried me, however, because it is the height of the tourist season and I know finding a room will be difficult. I was lucky in Saranda in Albania when I finally found a room, and I knew it. My plan was to go to Varna early so that I could search for a room and have time to leave it for Ruse, my next city, if I could find nothing. I had been told by my landlady that buses for Varna leave from a central hotel and that I could buy my ticket from there. I went there this afternoon to check on times and to buy a ticket. To my surprise, although there are many buses each day, there is a wide gap in departures in the morning hours--4:00 for one departure with the next one at 11:15. Well, going at 4:00 is earlier than I want to get up. And the 11:15 bus will not arrive in Varna until the middle of the afternoon when I am afraid I would be more difficult to find a room and also more difficult to get out of town if nothing can be found.

I returned to the tourist office to ask information about buses leaving from the bus station. They said they had no information about the times of buses. Eventually, one of them said she thought the first bus for Varna would leave the station around 10:00. That would be a bit better, but my arrival in Varna would not be until early afternoon. (It's at least a 3 hour trip by bus.) Therefore, I had to start considering whether to skip Varna and head into Bulgaria where I could try visiting a Black Sea resort there as an alternative. While there, I asked about cyber cafes, and they told me that the only one available here in town is across the street. When I asked about there not being local ones where kids play online games, etc., the woman working there told me that Internet connections are cheap here in Bulgaria, that most people have their own computers, and that it is only the tourists who use the cyber cafes. I have always told people that the richer the country, the fewer cyber cafes available, but I am surprised from what I have observed that most people in Bulgaria would be able to afford computers and Internet connections.

I went to the cyber cafe, then I explored the city while thinking about whether to try to go to Varna or not. Veliko Tarnovo is a pretty city. It has a dramatic setting on a curve around a valley. It is a university town, although the students are gone at present due to it being the summer. Tourists seem to come here for the setting, to see the museums and the local fortress, and to make day-trip excursions to smaller scenic/historical towns. The younger tourists (read: backpackers) seem to like it here, as they do to many places, because it is a party town with lots of activity in the many bars and clubs. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for people like Rosa, my landlady who rents rooms to all types. She has the older types and some professionals who probably return to the room by 21:00-22:00 for a good night of sleep. Then she has to be up to let in the younger crowd which returns from the clubs between 3:00 and 4:00. In addition to all of that, she has to be available all day long to show rooms to anyone who is arriving in town. When does she get a good sleep?

While wandering, I saw three young men with backpacks on the edge of town looking at their guidebook. I figured they were just arriving and asked if I could help them, knowing that I had already developed at least an orientation for the main streets and the locations of the main sites in town. They were Frenchmen and said they were going to a specific hotel and showed me it's location on the map. I told them to follow the street they were on and that it would curve around and take them directly to there. Then I told them about the place I had seen in the morning and gave them the card for it, since it probably would be a good bargain for 3 people and the room had 3 beds. I was walking the same way, and as we walked, I remembered that Rosa had a room with 3 beds, so I told them that my place also had a room if they wanted to see it. We were only half a block away, so they went with me. I went into my room and left them with Rosa. Later, she told me that they took the room.

Rosa served me my dinner at 19:30, and she and her husband came to sit with me. They opened a bottle of Bulgarian red sparkling wine. We toasted and then they drank while I ate and drank. She had made me a pork steak dish smothered with cooked onions. She served sliced tomatoes (REALLY tasty) and toast on the side. She also put out some Bulgarian dried beef which the two of them ate with their wine and then insisted that I eat with the rest of my wine after I finished my plate of food. It was way too much food, but it was good. I had some small cakes in my bag left from yesterday, so I ate them before bedtime as a dessert.

Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009--Veliko Tarnovo

Breakfast was huge, too. Rosa cooked more of the pork steak, scrambling it with eggs and serving it with more sliced tomatoes. She made her special herbal tea to go with it. It was delicious, although the pork was a bit salty.

Rosa knew I planned to go to Varna, and without my having told her of my possible change in plans and concern about finding a room, she told me she would call a place in Varna and get me a room starting tomorrow. She telephoned the place and made the arrangements. Therefore, I have a room reserved there. It's in a lower-cost hotel that is along the lines of where I would usually stay. It's a bit more than what I have paid elsewhere lately, but it is in the major seaside resort at the height of the season. Her doing that solved my problem related to the timing of the buses. Therefore, I returned to the center of town and bought a ticket for the bus at 11:15 tomorrow.

While in the area of the cyber cafe, I got online to read my mail. I had an e-mail from a Bulgarian woman who lives in the U.S. and is upset with what I have written about her country. As those of you reading this know, I write this blog for friends and family to know where I am and what I am doing during the 5-6 months I am traveling each year. Most people do not know it exists, and I do not write it for a broad audience or for people to "learn" about the countries more than they can learn from my experiences and reactions. In otherwords, I don't write it to be a travel guide. Anyway, she felt I should not be traveling in the country if I didn't want to spend $100-150 per day and paying for guides, rental cars, etc.--a complete lack of understanding of my style of travel and purposes for traveling--and she rebutted in detail many points that I had addressed in the blog. What I found especially interesting was that there was also an e-mail from my friend Jack saying that my entries about Bulgaria had convinced him that he and Drew should plan a trip to Bulgaria. Now that is two people who are guaranteed to spend MORE than $100-150 per day if they come here!!!

While at the cyber cafe, I began investigating places to stay in Bucharest, my first stop in Romania where I will be either Friday or Saturday. It is obvious that it will be a more expensive place to visit than where I have been since leaving Thessaloniki. Tonight, I will read my guidebook from there for its recommendations for places to stay to see if anything is there that would be better than what I have found with my online searches.

Although, as I have written here, there are many things to do in this city, I have actually enjoyed just relaxing here. I am a bit burned out on seeing Old Towns, fortresses, museums, etc. I have done lots of reading and relaxing in my room. Today, after being out about 3 hours in the morning, I returned to the room for 3 hours. Now I am back out for about 3 hours. Then I will head back, have dinner, and call it a night.

I'm glad I have specific travel plans for tomorrow. And I am especially glad that they don't involve having to find a place to stay once I arrive in Varna or having to get up for that 4:00 bus!

Meeting Friends Unexpectedly

Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009--Plovdiv to Tryavna

It took 45 minutes of fast walking to get to the bus station this morning. I had plenty of time having gotten up at 6:20 and the bus not leaving until 8:00. However, it is 2.5-3 km (1.5-2 miles), and I wasn't sure how long it would take. I left the room at 6:45 and got there at 7:30. There was no problem getting a ticket for Veliko Tarnovo on the 8:00 bus.

But then I didn't go to Veliko Tarnovo. I had already decided that I probably wouldn't stay there for the night due to the office that books private accommodation being closed on Sundays. I was planning to arrive there and then go to a nearby town for the rest of the day. I had been worried about the fact that the bus station where I would arrive is about 5 km (3 mi) from VK. And the train station, the only way to Tryavna from VK is another 3 km (2 mi) out a different direction. As I read my guidebook on the bus, it said that the only buses to Tryavna were through Gabrovo. Then when I looked at my map, I realized that my bus would probably be stopping in Gabrovo. So I decided to get off the bus in Gabrovo and take a bus from there to Tryavna. It was a good decision. I only had to wait 1 hour for my bus connection. It would have taken at least 2 1/2 hours to go into VT, transfer to the train station, and take a train back out, and that is IF the train schedule coordinated perfectly without my having to wait a few hours. The bus driver was surprised when I got off and requested my luggage, because he knew my ticket was to VT.

As I waited my hour at the Gabrovo station, my mind was wandering. One thing I did was to inspect the wheels on my suitcase. I have been worried about them throughout the trip, since the wheels on the bag I used last year wore out on me about this time during my trip causing me to have to start carrying it everywhere. So far, these wheels seem okay. When I was in India, I had some concern when I felt a drag indicating that one of the wheels was catching and not rolling. When I inspected the wheel, I was further concerned to find that it had some rough edges to it. I've tried to be careful--to carry the bag over bad areas, to choose the smoothest surfaces possible for the routes I am traveling, etc. So far, so good. I really cannot tell how much wheel (in terms of soft padding) still exists. I'm hoping I can make it through the rest of the trip without a problem. There has been do catching or dragging since that incident in India. But these cobblestones in Europe must be bad on the wheels.

One thing I have always disliked about Eastern Europe is the use of toilet attendants and the related requirement to pay to use the toilets. It is a holdover from the communist days. Back then, they had to find a job for everyone to do. Each toilet got assigned an attendant to justify their receiving payment from the government. I have avoided these toilets so far, even if it meant I had to go back across town to my room before the end of the day. If it is like it used to be in communist days, you even have to buy toilet paper from the attendant--a couple of sheets at a time. And if there is no attendant on duty, there is no toilet; they close them down rather than let people enter and use them for free!! Welcome to any of the old communist countries still not comprehending how to go western!!

Tryavna was a nice surprise when I arrived. My guidebook had made it sound nice, but there is more to it than I had even imagined. I think it must be my second favorite (after Koprivshtitsa) place I have visited in Bulgaria. It has a very large old town with wonderful houses, churches, bridges, clock tower, etc. And it is full of tourists wandering through this area stopping at the museums, seeing the old buildings, having drinks at the cafes, etc.

I got a private room just at the beginning of the Old Town. It's a little over-priced at $22 when compared to what I have paid elsewhere, especially considering that the bath is in the hallway. But it is clean and new, has a wonderful bed, has cable TV, and there are no other people here meaning that the bath is a private one for me.

I immediately went exploring. Toward the end of the Old Town, suddenly I recognized someone. It was Sean and Louise, the two Australians who are teaching in London. I yelled at them and we visited only briefly since they were down for a day trip and had only one hour remaining before they had to return to V.T. This is the third time we have come together on this trip. How nice it is to meet someone familiar when traveling, however.

At their recommendation, I went to the Woodcarving Museum. Tryavna is the woodcarving capital of Bulgaria. The museum was nice, but so was the work of the many artisans working in their small studios throughout Old Town. I just wandered the streets back and forth enjoying the atmosphere and watching the people.

Before going back to my room of the evening, I stopped at the supermarket and bought some supplies for eating in the room.

Monday, Aug. 10, 2009--Tryavna to Veliko Tarnovo

I had checked yesterday on the schedule. The best train to V.T. would leave at 9:30 letting me get up and leisurely clean up and leave. When I got to the station at 9:10, there was already a crowd waiting for the train and a long line for tickets. Since the train is the main transport to the big city, I'm sure that all the scheduled departures are busy. There was no problem getting a seat on the train, however.

There was a problem knowing when to get off the train. There are frequent stations, and some of them are in areas with big buildings. Hardly any of the stations have obvious signs naming them. Knowing this and that the Veliko Tarnovo station is a bit rural, I was worried that one of these suburban-looking stations might be it. Fortunately, as I was looking out the door to see if a station might be it, a man came in. I asked him, and he told me it would be later and that he would be getting off there, too.

Getting a room was not as easy as I expected here in Veliko Tarnovo. First, although the guidebook said there would be some there, no one was at the train station offering private rooms. I caught the bus into town along with everyone else who got off at the station and went to the tourist office. No one was outside the bus stop or the tourist office offering rooms. Inside the office, they told me that they do not keep lists of housing. Instead, they offer only paid brochures advertising hotels. Then they couldn't even suggest a direction for me to walk where I would see the signs that are on houses that offer rooms. (I got the impression it was more of a Chamber of Commerce operations to benefit businesses than it is a tourist information office.) Anyway, I started walking one direction and looking for signs. As I paused to study my map, a man approached me and asked if I was looking for a room. He said that he had friends who rent rooms around the corner and took me there. Well, the room was very nice--clean, big, balcony, TV, private bath, a/c, etc. But it was also more expensive than I knew I should have to pay. I took their card and said I would return if I didn't find anything else.

Then the man who took me there, understanding that I was on a budget, asked if I would consider staying at his house while apologizing for its condition. I went with him to look at it. It was cheap enough, but I did not want to live in the conditions of the place--messy with things stacked around and a bath and toilet that were not really clean or nice. Therefore, I headed off again on my own looking for signs.

I found one place, but no one answered the doorbell. A man next door told me about Rosa's around the corner. I went there, and Rosa was out front thinking that I was leaving town and suggesting that I consider her place next time. When I told her I needed a room, she took me inside and started showing me business cards and letters from other Americans who have stayed with her. She told me she was the first to offer rooms to tourists in a home and that she is famous and listed in the French, Australian, and Swiss guidebooks. She said her guests are kings in her house. Her price, too, was a little high (almost as high as the first place where I looked), but she said that she would serve both breakfast and dinner. Since I have not eaten as well as I should have lately, I decided to stay there to try having some real meals. The cost is $29 per night, and I have paid her for two nights.

That may have been a mistake, because Rosa is a bit possessive. She goes overboard being the hostess. She immediately made me a lunch--omelette, toast, fresh tomatoes, dried ham (with a strong garlic taste which I had already smelled on Rosa's breath), and herbal (fresh herbs) tea. It was all delicious. But she continued. I saw photos of her trip to western Europe when she was in her 20s. I saw photos from visits of previous guests. She suggested taking me on a circular bus trip to introduce me to the city. Then she suggested taking a taxi to see some monasteries and a church tomorrow. Today, I managed to avoid all this by closing my door and reading. But when I came out to come to the internet cafe, she was ready to do the bus trip. I told her that I needed to make contact with my family and friends and that I was tired and didn't want to do more than that. I have saved tomorrow for exploring the city, so that will be my excuse to avoid the taxi trip.

I finished reading a book today--The Lay of the Land by Richard Ford. Although it was on many Top 10 lists the year it came out and was a finalist for the New York Times Book Review Book of the Year, I was disappointed in it. It is humorous somewhat in the way that Dave Barry writes, but I have never been a fan of his style of humor. And I just could not identify with the main character or any of the others in the book. It was an interesting story, but nothing grabbed me about it. I gave it 2 1/2 stars out of 4.