Diversions

Mummified Hand of a Saint and Hot Baths in Budapest!

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Phil

With one last day in Budapest, Brooke and I hit a couple of remaining “can’t misses” that were still on our list. One of those was a visit to the nearby St. Stephen’s Basilica. The Roman Catholic church is a prominent feature of the Budapest skyline and just around the corner from our hotel. It’s true, we’ve seen a bunch of churches so far throughout Europe. It’s almost hard not to; they are often the most stunning, old buildings in town and encourage visitors to swing by for free. Each of these cathedrals really has been worth checking out so far. In other words, we’re pacing ourselves with visits and we’re not nauseatingly tired of them yet.  St. Stephen’s stood out because it has one of the larger, more gilded domed interiors we’ve seen. The nave and transepts (oh, that’s right) are loaded with statues, paintings and lots of natural light. The church offered more of a tranquil, relaxing vibe than some of the darker Russian Orthodox complexes. We decided to spend a few forint on a 302 step climb up spiral staircases to the outside walkway that circles the dome. Our reward for the walk up? One of the best views of the city from what has to be the highest points on the Pest side. We walked a narrow platform around the edge of the dome which is actually much higher than the church itself; the dome is empty inside with the actual roof of the church peeking out a bit below. It was the perfect place to break out the camera and just enjoy this magnificent moment. And, yeah, we took the elevator back down.

Brooke and Phil On top of Budapest!

St. Stephen's Right Hand.All of that was really fantastic, but that’s not what made our visit to St. Stephen’s remarkable. Yesterday, if you had asked us about the strangest thing we’ve seen on the trip, it would have to be the enshrined, dead body of Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi. But after today, I think we have a strong contender to take that title: the mummified right hand of St. Stephen. Stephen, who died over a thousand years ago in 1038, was the first king of Hungary and, as you might imagine, kind of a big deal around Budapest. So, clearly, what better way to honor him than to display his hand in a ridiculously ornate, jewel encrusted carrying case located in a chapel that’s part of the basilica. To make things more interesting, you have to pay a church worker a couple of bucks to turn on the light in the case so that visitors can get a better look. Yup, that’s a shriveled, decomposing old hand and it is a prized possession of Hungary. We’re told that this kind of thing (finger of a nun, toe of a priest) can be found from time to time in European churches. Wow.

Many people told us that a trip to Hungary is not complete without a visit to the famous hot baths fueled by local hot springs. Since we’re not ones to argue with the masses, we made an evening trip out to the Szechenyi Baths. A quick metro ride on Europe’s older underground Subway system got us out there quickly. It was easy to follow the small crowd to the sprawling complex. These particular baths have been popular with locals and tourists for about a hundred years. The collection of yellow buildings at Szechenyi is, not surprisingly, just as lovely as anything else in Budapest. The main outdoor heated pool was closed, but there was a perfect spot waiting for us at one of the inside pools. Sitting around the edge of the shallow pool with water around a hot 102 degrees Fahrenheit, I found the time in the water relaxing, inspiring, reflective and fun. We had a similar experience in Rotorua, New Zealand. I’m not so sure about the supposed healing powers of the water, but nothing beats a good soak. We ended the night with a dinner at a local pub for British & American ex-pats and one, final lovely and romantic walk along the Danube and down the Chain Bridge. Just…perfect.

The Royal Palace on the “Buda” side at night. Man, I can’t believe my camera captured this. What a photogenic city!

So, as we pack our bags and snag some of the fine toiletries from the hotel bathroom, we put beautiful Budapest in our rear view mirror. Our whirlwind tour of Europe continues! We can place thumbtacks on our imaginary map of locales we’ve visited since early September: Denmark, sundry day-stops at four Baltic capitals, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and now Hungary. Where does the biggest adventure yet go from here? Our next stops include Croatia (Dubrovnik and Zagreb), Germany (Munich) and ten days in Scotland and England. Since it’s worked quite well for us so far, we’re traveling with only a loose outline and general idea of what we might want to do. Plan or not plan, our gut and experience tell us that it’s probably going to be pretty great. We welcome and encourage any suggestions, input or comments on what we should do in these place! Let us know! For now, we’re going to hop on a six hour train ride leaving beautiful Budapest behind and heading down to Croatia. New passport stamps await.

-Phil

Some of the amazing detail inside of Saint Stephen’s. We found these two statues particularly stunning.

Our farewell photos from Budapest!

The top of the dome at St. Stephen’s that we walked around! Look closely and you can see the walkway!

Categories: At Night, Churches, City Visits, Diversions, Eastern Europe, Europe, Exploring, Hungary, Relaxing, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Budapest’s Memento Park

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Brooke

Budapest continues to impress.  As we mentioned before, we wish we could spend more time here, realizing we cannot possible see and do everything on our list.  During our last full day with our friends, Gina and Tom, we managed to balance seeing some interesting sights with spending quality time together.  It was a really great day!

We began our morning by heading to Memento Park, the new home to communist-era statues which formerly filled the streets and city center of Budapest.  When the iron curtain fell, so did the many of the monuments which had been erected by the former dictatorship.  Great debate ensued among the people of the city about whether they should destroy these reminders of their terrorized history, or if they should use them as memorials of an important piece of their past.  They decided on the latter and created Memento Park.  Originally, we thought this would be a sort of “statue graveyard” for these communist era relics.  On the contrary, great thought and consideration was put into the design and organization of this museum.  I call it a museum, because that is a much more accurate term than park for this collection of sculptures.  Our tour guide led us between the statues, discussing their historic significance and their importance in perpetuating communist ideology.  Along with the standard statues of Lenin and Marx are the bronzed boots of Joseph Stalin.  His mammoth likeness was actually torn down by the people during the 1956 revolution against the Soviets.  Stalin’s statue was cut at the knees and torn into bits by the people.  All that remained on the pedestal were his boots, and although the revolution failed, the rest of his body was never replaced.  One statue we found particularly captivating was that of the “Liberating Soviet Soldier.” It stood atop a 7 meter high platform on a hill which overlooks the city.  Its mammoth size is intimidating, especially imagining it in its original environment.  This was also knocked down in the 1956 revolution, but unlike Stalin, this statue was quickly replaced with an exact replica in 1958.  After all, the city could not be left without the protection of this Soviet soldier!

The guided tour fascinated each of us and we left with a much greater understanding of Hungarian history and the nuances of life under a communist regime.  The museum also had an indoor photography exhibit chronicling the rise, reign and fall of communism throughout Eastern Europe.  This part of the museum featured training tapes of the secret police.  More than 100 training and feature films were produced between 1958 and 1988 which trained secret police in state defense methods.  In 2004, these tapes were edited into short documentaries showing the methods used to spy on “traitors”, and their recruitment methods.  I was particularly surprised to learn how many agents of the secret police were forced or blackmailed into service.  I could have easily sat and watched these films all day.  They offer insight into a part of history which was historically a great mystery.

When we finished with the museum, we headed back toward the city center. (The museum sits in the outskirts of the city to discourage lingering hostile sentiment and any temptation to vandalize the statues.)  While we searched for a certain Thai restaurant for lunch, we discovered Great Market, Budapest’s largest market selling all kinds of gourmet foods from meat to paprika to honey and everything in between.  They also had a huge selection of palinka, the potent drink we sampled earlier in the week.  No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t convince Gina to invest in a bottle.  We didn’t even know this market existed before accidentally discovering it.  We window-shopped the wares for a while before heading down the Vaci u., the pedestrian shopping street which leads the way back to our hotel.  As with all big cities, wading through the cheap touristy souvenirs to find something of value is challenging.  We came up mostly empty handed, though there is a pottery shop I may head back to tomorrow.

Since it is our last night in Budapest together, we decided to get a delicious and traditional dinner at a nice restaurant.  Our hotel concierge recommended Rezkakas, a fine dining Hungarian restaurant not far from or hotel.  The combination of hearty food, Hungarian wine and wonderful friends made for a perfect evening.  Gina and Phil both started with a small bowl of goulash.  After all, what’s a trip to Hungary without goulash?  We discovered that contrary to the heavy, noodle-centric stew some of us are used to, goulash more closely resembles a beef vegetable soup and is suitable as an appetizer.  The entrees did not disappoint and we even had room for a little dessert!  After dinner we headed back to the hotel where we shared drinks, laughs and plans for our next international adventure together.  We are so pleased that Gina and Tom were able to come to Budapest, and we all agree we could not have chosen a better city for traveling together.

Now, Phil and I are back to being a twosome again, but not for long.  After one more day in Budapest and another day of travel, we will meet up with our friend, Jack, in Dubrovnik, Croatia.  We are looking forward to seeing him and hearing about the adventures he’s been having in Turkey.  Until then, we spend will spend our last day in Budapest doing nothing.  Or everything.  Whatever we want!

–Brooke

All that remains of Stalin’s statue–his boots.

Gina and Tom with Krtek, the European answer to Mickey Mouse.

Statue of liberating Soviet soldier shaking hands with a Hungarian man . Locals say the  Hungarian is using two hands so he doesn’t get his watch stolen.

Categories: City Visits, Destinations, Diversions, Eastern Europe, Eating, Exploring, Friends, Hungary, Museums, Surprises, Tours, Uncategorized, Unusual Experiences | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Budapest with Friends!

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Brooke

Of all the legs of our trip, this is the one we have had planned furthest in advance.  Five full days in beautiful Budapest, Hungary.  Because our friends and travel partners, Gina and Tom, were meeting us here, we planned an arrival date and hotel long before anything else.  We have been looking forward to this for a long time and so far it is exceeding all our expectations.

We knew this city would be a successful stop when we found ourselves with a list a mile long of things to see and do.  From castles to communist history, there is something here to please everyone.  In order to better know the city and its layout, we began the day with a hop-on/hop-off bus tour.  These have proven to be a great way to get an overview when first visiting a city, and this one did not disappoint.  It includes three different rides, one on a river boat tour, and is good for two days.  Today we cruised through the Pest section of town, admiring the architecture reminiscent of Paris.  Wide boulevards lined with trees and buildings dating back to the 1880’s make Budapest immediately more visually stunning than any city we’ve been to in a while.  While we haven’t toured any of these places yet, we drove past the Parliament Building, the Royal Palace, the Opera House, Hero’s Square, and Budapest’s famed baths.  We crossed the Danube over to Buda, the side of the city situated among beautiful rolling hills.  Here we stopped at the Citadel for a drink and amazing views.  Even on a cloudy day, the sweeping landscape down the river and over the city was spectacular.  Tourists were clamoring to take pictures, and Tom even proposed that this may be the best city view he has ever seen.  It really is pretty impressive.  The other Eastern European cities we’ve visited are not even in the same league with Budapest.  A comparison isn’t even fair.

Anticipating the impending rain, we jumped off the bus, headed for lunch, and did what we do best:  enjoyed time with some of our closest friends.  It is amazing how different it is to spend time as a group of four people for the entire day after being so long with just the two of us.  We feel so lucky that Gina and Tom were willing to leave their son at home (which wasn’t the original plan) and come join us on our trip.  They both have such a wonderful energy and spirit that being with them makes us feel like we are on vacation.  A vacation from our travels.  I know that sounds a bit strange, but its true.  To top it off, due to Tom’s bazillion hotel points and endless generosity, we are staying at Le Meridien, one of the nicest hotels in Budapest and certainly some of the best accommodations we will see on this trip.

As the night grew, so did the rain with the addition of lightning.  Beautiful weather is forecast for the rest of our time here, so we spent the evening catching up with our friends and planning the next few days in order to maximize our time here.  We all agree it is a pretty good problem when there is so much we wish to do and not enough time.  We’d much rather it be that way than the other way around!  A late lunch meant we weren’t terribly hungry, so we paid a visit to the local casino.  We all found it a bit strange that the table minimum is 500 HUF.  It sounds like so much, and losing 500 or 1000 HUF feels so painful, but in reality it is only $2.25 and $4.50 respectively.  That’s actually pretty cheap blackjack by most casino standards, which is why we were surprised when the drink Phil ordered (a White Russian) cost him 3100 HUF.  I’ll let you do the math yourself.  It’s ridiculous!  In fact, I think that drink brought bad mojo to the table because my luck immediately turned bad afterward.  Always gluttons for punishment, we played for a bit longer.  After chatting up some very friendly dealers and being creeped out by one overly friendly Danish guy, our hunger got the best of us and we called it quits to head to dinner.

Because we are planning a delicious Hungarian dinner for Thursday night, we settled for a cute Italian restaurant with a beautiful view of the Basilica of St. Stephen. We’ve been doing our best to eat the local cuisine in each city recently, so it felt good to dine at an Italian joint. They served up some tasty cocktails and homemade pasta that made us all happily full.  Tomorrow we plan to take a tour of Parliament and then visit the Memento Sculpture Park–the resting place of communist era statues.  In addition, we hope to make a visit to the thermal baths which we believe will be perfect after a long  day of sightseeing.  As we reflect on our day and the rest of our time yet to come in Budapest, Phil and I keep saying to one another, “I’m so glad we’re here with Gina and Tom.”  We love having these experiences, and they are made so much sweeter when shared with friends.

–Brooke

We arrived at the exact same time into the Budapest train station, making for a very happy, but old-timey reunion of friends!

Gina tries the local fruit brandy, palinka. It was worse than the rakia from Bulgaria and could probably fuel a 747 airplane.

A view of the Royal Palace across the river in Buda.

Our wonderful friends, Gina and Tom.

Categories: At Night, Casino, City Visits, Destinations, Diversions, Eastern Europe, Friends, Hungary, Tours, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Goodbye Belgrade

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Brooke

Sadly, our time in Belgrade has come to a close.  Tomorrow morning we board a north-bound train for Budapest, Hungry and leave Serbia behind.  Today was filled mainly with strolling through the city, taking in some last sights, and reflecting on our time in this region of the world. Though we enjoyed previous Eastern European cities, we think that Belgrade is a city we would eagerly visit again.  In fact, we believe this would make a wonderful destination with a group of friends, and we are sure our crew could have an amazing time spending a week here together.

After having a delicious coffee at one of the numerous street cafes this morning, we found ourselves walking toward the riverfront.  We spotted an old building which looked as though some event was happening inside.  Upon closer inspection, we discovered it was an art museum.  Kind of.  This grand building originally housed the Belgrade Shareholder’s Society.  It hasn’t exactly been preserved, but enough detailed remnants of its architecture remain which makes imagining its original beauty fairly easy.  Currently, “Good Life” a modern art exhibition is featured within the myriad of rooms.  The entrance fee was nominal, so we walked through the exhibits, realizing for the umpteenth time that we are not fans of this type of existential modern art.  I try to appreciate what lies before me, but I find I’m often left scratching my head and saying, “Huh?” Like the photographs of gold fillings which the artist bought at an online auction.  Or the room with paper pigs hanging from the ceiling.  This was way over my head.  It didn’t take long for us to give each other the high sign and head for the door.

The sign confused us at first–it is way too similar to the “No Smoking” signs we are used to.

We continued wandering and refocused on one of our priorities for the day–finding the perfect souvenir for our time in Belgrade.  We walked among stands which sell the traditional wares feeling completely uninspired.  It is important for us to find souvenirs that closely link with our experience in a city.  We want mementos, not just chatchkis to place on a shelf.  So, we thought about what would really speak to our time here.  As strange as it sounds, we settled on an ash tray!  We don’t smoke, nor do any of our friends, but smoking is everywhere here.  The first thing you get at a restaurant is not water or a menu or even a “hello”, it’s an ashtray.  Businesses don’t just have “No Smoking” signs, they also have “Smoking” signs which we found quite confusing early on.  In fact, cafes often sell cigarettes to their patrons who alternate eating their croissant with a puff of their cigarette.  For all of these reasons, an ashtray seemed like the perfect memento.

Laughing at our purchase we continued walking.  One aspect of Belgrade which has consistently entertained us is the amount of crazy small and ridiculously old cars which still cruise the streets.  I didn’t even know they still made the Yugo, but they are everywhere here!  And they are tiny.  We realize that Europeans drive small cars, especially when compared to Americans, but these are some of the smallest we’ve seen.  And really, it is the age that keeps surprising us.  Some of these must be 30 years old.  How they are not rusted out and falling apart is completely beyond us.  Phil thought these relics would be a great subject for a photo journalism project.

I’m not sure Phil would even fit in this thing!

After saying our farewells to Belgrade, it was time to head back to the apartment for the moment we have been waiting for since we arrived:  Sunday Football on ESPN America.  When we learned we would be able to watch live American professional football, we were ecstatic.  Although ESPN does not broadcast NFL games on Sundays in the U.S., they must have some agreement with Fox to show games abroad.  Our excitement in anticipation of watching football and eating a home cooked meal has been brimming all week.  After the requisite 2 hours of pre-game coverage, we watched the San Francisco 49ers embarrass the New York Jets by beating them 34-0.  At half-time of the game we went to the grocery store to be met with great disappointment–it was closed.  Closed?  It was only 8:15 pm, but we did not dismay.  We walked to another grocery down the street and it had closed at 3pm today!  Sometimes we forget that we aren’t in New York and stores close early, especially on Sundays.  Somewhat disappointed, we settled for a couple of sandwiches.  Seeing the score of the game when we arrived home immediately soothed our sadness.  We are now watching one of the late games–the Saints vs. the Packers, and if we can stay up until 2:30am, we can even catch the Sunday night game.

Late night football is likely not in the cards for me since we will be leaving for the train station at 6am.  We have been so surprised by Belgrade and would encourage travelers to include this as a “must” during any trip to Eastern Europe.  Tomorrow we head to Budapest, Hungary, the leg of the trip I have been most looking forward to because we will be meeting up with two of our closest friends, Gina and Tom.  We haven’t seen a familiar face (besides one another) in about 2 months and the thought of being with close friends is almost overwhelming.  I can’t wait!

–Brooke

A snafu with our tram ticket was cause for great concern. Ever since seeing the ticket checkers in Sofia, Phil is terrified of them!

When inflation was at its worst, Serbia had bills with a 50 billion dinar denomination! It is a Guinness World Record.

A final beer at ? Cafe. After arguments over its name, people now just refer to it as Question Mark Cafe.

Categories: Bars, City Visits, Diversions, Eastern Europe, Friends, Landmarks, Museums, Serbia, Uncategorized, Unusual Experiences | Tags: , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Belgrade, Serbia–A Wonderful Surprise!

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Brooke

When planning our trip, we did not know exactly which cities we’d be visiting.  We had our flights and a basic plan, but we did not map out specifics in order to allow ourselves flexibility.  If you had asked us before we started whether or not we would visit Serbia, our answer would have been, “You never know, but probably not.”  Now, here we are, thrilled to be in the heart of Serbia: Belgrade.

Belgrade has a lot to offer, so we decided to start our day at the Nicola Tesla Museum.  Going into this, Phil knew a lot more about Tesla than I did.  In fact, if you had asked me who Tesla was, I might have made vague reference to a crappy band who covered the song “Signs.”  As it turns out, Nicola Tesla’s inventions changed the course of human history and we all use his technology daily.  In case you are like me and don’t know who he is, Tesla is best known for inventing the alternating current (AC) electrical system.  You may have heard of the Tesla Coil, his most well known invention which is integral to the AC system.  Nicola Tesla was born in Serbia, and here in Belgrade they have a museum dedicated to celebrating his work and his contributions to human history.

The Tesla Museum was a fun, interactive and incredibly informative experience.  We were given a tour by a young woman who just graduated with a degree in electrical engineering.  Her passion and knowledge for the topic shone through in her presentation of the material. The one floor museum situated in a beautiful old 19th century home was as much about Tesla as it was about his inventions. We learned that Tesla was a legitimate genius level inventor who could never be accused of thinking small. His inventions ranged from Hydroelectricity to a theorhetical global communications array that was never completed. Especially cool was the interactive exhibits like the giant Tesla Coil and a reproduction of the world’s first remote control toy boat that was showcased in Central Park in the early 1900’s. What really helped make the museum, or any museum for that matter, is that the guides were certified experts on the subject matter and sincerely passionate about all things Tesla. After our visit, our head was swimming with fascinating facts and information about Tesla. It is truly a sensational museum!

The light bulbs are being lit by the magnetic field created around the Tesla coil. Phil’s body is the conductor. Don’t get too close or you’ll get a shock!

After the Tesla Museum, we slowly wandered through the city toward the Belgrade Fortress.  Our eyes were filled with wonder at seeing bombed out buildings, still in crumbling ruins, adjacent to beautiful, historic structures.  The NATO bombings of Serbia, which took place over the course of almost 3 months in 1999, have left evidence almost everywhere you look in Belgrade.  At the same time, this city already feels more forward thinking, cosmopolitan and progressive than either Bucharest or Sofia.  We were expecting a sort of sadness…or at least the feeling that they were still trying to get back on their feet.  Not only are they standing on their own two legs, Belgrade is thriving.  There are cafes, corner stores and markets everywhere.  The streets are bustling with people and the nightlife here draws visitors from all over Europe.  There is a pulse and vitality that we haven’t felt in other Eastern European cities.  However, wages are still quite low and the younger population is dwindling as they leave to find jobs in other countries which are unavailable here.  The city seems to be growing, but it is not happening at a fast enough pace for to meet the demand of people in need of jobs.

We continued to walk along Knez Mihailova, a pedestrian only street which leads toward the fortress.  We happened upon a robotics exhibition and also discovered that Serbians love their popcorn like Romanians love their pretzels.  Finally, we made it to Kalamegdan Park, a huge park created on a plateau in front of the Belgrade Fortress.  Filled with people, the park is the best place to watch the sunset at the spot where the Danube and Sava Rivers converge.  It also houses several public art pieces, including a series of photographs of depicting gorgeous landscapes from each state in America.  We got a little misty at both the photograph of the Roebling Suspension Bridge in Cincinnati, Ohio and the view of the city from New York’s Central Park.  As we gazed out over the river, talking about all things past, present and future, we realized we are missing some small things about America.  This was punctuated by our discovery of several Buckeye Trees.  The characteristic seeds lay all over the ground, and I picked them up, dreaming of home and just wishing they were made of chocolate and peanut butter (a popular treat for Ohioans).

We finally found the fortress at the top of the park.  Originally built in the 1st Century A.D., it (of course) has been destroyed several times over the years.  This is somewhat surprising because the location is the highest spot around and one could easily see the advancing enemy coming in by river.  The current fortress has been turned largely into parkland, but also houses the Military Museum, an Entomology Museum and an Observatory.  Hunger spoke louder than our desire to see these exhibits, so we plan to head back there tomorrow.  As we strolled back through the park toward the tram, we realized that we have had yet another day of perfect weather.  With the exception of Brasov, Romania, Eastern Europe has been a meteorological utopia.

It had been such a lovely day, and we were excited to experience our first real Serbian meal.  After a recommendation from our Air B ‘n B host, we went to Orasac.  Our stomachs growled on the short walk to the restaurant, so we were psyched when we spotted the sign.  The man who greeted us warned that they were busy and it might take a while for the food.  We decided to stick it out since we were already there and didn’t really have a back-up plan.  In retrospect, we should have left when we had the chance.  Annoyed that we didn’t speak Serbian, the waiter was brash and rude.  We ordered “light domestic draft”, which is how the beer was described on the menu.  No brand.  No other option.  We think it was Lav, but we aren’t completely sure.  After being told the first 3 items we asked for were unavailable with a brusque “Ney,” we hastily ordered our meals.  Willing to overlook the bad service, dirty tablecloth and crumbs at the bottom of our beer glasses, we finally drew the line.  Phil cut into his chicken skewers and they were completely uncooked on the inside.  Bright pink.  Raw.  After the experience we had thus far, we decided it wasn’t worth it to try to explain or argue.  Instead we just showed it to the waiter and asked for the check.  The message was clear and we soon left unsatisfied.  We’ve had some really amazing meals in the last week, so I suppose we were due for a stinker.

Dinner aside, today was really wonderful.  We have such a positive impression of Belgrade and we are excited to explore it further tomorrow.  We are planning to explore the Military Museum, plus partake in a bike tour which sounds awesome.  We’ll let you know how it goes!

–Brooke

Wishing these Buckeyes were the sweet treats I love so much!

The fortress offers beautiful views of the Danube and the entire city of Belgrade.

 

Categories: City Visits, Diversions, Eastern Europe, Europe, Exploring, Homesick, Landmarks, Museums, Serbia, Surprises, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rila Mountains and Monastery

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Brooke

What a view!Having lived in New York City for the past six years, we are somewhat starved for nature.  Yes, we try to chip away at our hunger by taking short trips outside the city or visiting my family’s cabin in the Great North Woods.  We have slowly been working our appetite back to fulfillment, but years of living in the “Concrete Jungle” leaves a lot of work to be done.  After our journey today, we feel satisfied.  The warm contentment that comes only after an amazing day surrounded by lush green forests rests solidly within our souls and we are happy.

Today, we visited the Rila Monastery which sits nestled in the Rila Mountains, the highest range in the Balkans. Bulgaria is filled with monasteries, and this one is easily the most beloved and visited by tourists.  Hostel Mostel, the hostel where we are staying, arranges daily trips for this two-and-a-half hour journey outside of Sofia.  Accompanied by our driver, Ivan, and a French traveler, we set out into the Bulgarian countryside.  As we began to wind our way up into the mountains, the warm air sweeping through the car cooled and the surrounding forests grew thick with foliage.  Feeling confident with the sharp turns, Ivan sped around bends that were starting to make me a bit queasy.  And then, out of nowhere, the monastery appeared before us.  Grateful to be there, we slowed to take in the sights.  Driving past the monastery, Ivan pointed out places to eat lunch and other points of interest, but then kept driving. We were momentarily confused, he explained that he was first going to take us to a small cave just three kilometers up the road.

The minute we climbed out of the car, the beauty overwhelmed me.  Images of my family’s home in Canada flooded my brain and immediate happiness ensued.  Ivan told us it would be a 15 minute hike to the cave.  It was balmy–65 degrees, sunny with a lovely and light breeze.   The perfect day for a hike.  I only wish I knew this was going to be part of the trip–I wore my sandals, which worked but would not have been my first choice.  Before spotting the cave entrance, we came upon an old church.  In broken English, Ivan explained that this was used hundreds of years ago by monks (we later discovered this was the original location of the monastery).

That's a backdrop that would make Olan Mills droolAfter wandering around, he led us into the cave.  Now, we have had two “cave experiences” on this trip–Waitomo Caves in New Zealand which was amazing, and Heavenly Cave in Vietnam which was underwhelming.  Those trips bare little comparison to this one.  Upon entering, Ivan told us a monk lived alone for 12 years in this cave, filling his time with prayer and religious study.  We had to double over to enter the cave which was pitch black inside.  Probably 15 feet long, 7 feet wide with maybe an 8 foot ceiling at its highest point, this was a cramped space.  Ivan lit 3 small candles to provide some light for us to see the ledge where the monk probably slept. The tiny space made it impossible to imagine living there for so long.  Ivan motioned us to a ladder in the corner which led toward daylight.  He began climbing to exit through the top of the cave and indicated we were to follow.  As I watched him squeeze through the hole at the top, my self-consciousness made me question whether or not my round hips would fit through.  I slowly started up and twisted myself into one awkward position after another until I was able to emerge on the other side.  We all made it safely through, which is an especially good thing–apparently legend has it that only those without sin can fit through the exit.  Glad we made it, though I’m not so sure the legend holds true.

After sampling some delicious spring water, we descended the slope so we could continue on to the monastery.  Phil and I found ourselves walking slowly, taking deep breaths of the crisp clean air, and wishing there were a hammock for us to spend more time soaking in the environment.  Eventually we forced ourselves back into the car, but not without lamenting the fact that beauty like this can’t really be captured in words or photos (as much as we like to try).  It can only be experienced.

We ventured back toward the Rila Monastery.  Built in the 10th century, these grounds hold a special place of importance in the hearts of Bulgarians.  The monastery, which has been threatened by destruction from the Ottoman Empire as well as a disastrous fire, prioritizes the preservation of Bulgarian culture.  It has been rebuilt and maintained as needed throughout the years and now attracts thousands of visitors. The architecture is striking, but we were most impressed with the paintings which cover the walls of the church entrance.  Meant to teach the lessons of the Bible, these sometimes cartoonish depictions are quite entertaining.  We particularly love the facial expressions and the ways the devil tries to tempt people into doing evil deeds.  Both entertaining and educational.  What more could a person want?

After wandering the grounds for a bit, we took some time to soak in just a little more nature before we got back in the car to head to Sofia.  One of the things I found so amazing about the journey back was that in the span of twenty minutes we saw a monk checking a cell phone, a family of pigs running out of the woods into the road, a BMW speeding around a tight turn, and a farmer driving his horse-drawn cart.  This constant juxtaposition of old and new continues to emerge during our visit to Eastern Europe, and that is what makes this such a great place to be at this moment in history.

As if to punctuate the thoughts I was already having, our driver stopped by a privately owned museum (of sorts) on our way back into Sofia.  Really, it was one man’s collection of antiques that he had on display for visitors who gave a small donation.  Old cars and motorbikes caught our attention first, but it was the bust of Stalin and the wall of old TVs and radios that had us enamored.  Our French friend was fascinated by the WWII era bombs which were on display.  A cross between a museum and a junkyard, visiting this collection was the perfect end to what can only be described as a perfect day.

–Brooke

Paintings on the outside of the church designed to teach parishioners to stay away from the devil!

Phil climbing through the afore mentioned caves!

Categories: Bulgaria, City Visits, Destinations, Diversions, Eastern Europe, Hiking, Hotels, Landmarks, Uncategorized, Unusual Experiences | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Beautiful Vitosha…or Not

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Brooke

Upon arrival in Sofia, our friendly hostel workers gave us a map with suggestions of things to do.  Top on the list:  enjoy Vitosha Natural Park.  Similarly, when we went on our walking tour of Sofia, one of the first things the guide said to us is that Vitosha is not to be missed–having a mountain peak that reaches 2290 meters just 30 minutes outside of the city makes Sofia unique to other Eastern European capitals.  So we figured, this is a must do.  A can’t miss.  Today was the day we would hike Vitosha.

In our research, we discovered that Vitosha is a very popular weekend destination for both visitors and locals.  There is actually a chair lift that takes guests part of the way to the top.  There, ambitious visitors can hike to the top, or less adventurous types can connect to another chairlift which takes them to the peak.  There is also a gondola that leaves from a separate town at the base and takes people all the way to the peak without any switching.  We were so excited for all of these options–this way we could ride up and hike down (I know, we’re taking the easy way).  Sadly, we learned that the chairlifts and gondola only run Friday to Sunday.  Our stay in Sofia is Monday-Wednesday, so chairlifts are not an option for us.  Damn.

Okay, we are young.  We are healthy.  We climbed Mt. Fuji, for god’s sake!  We can hike up to the top, right?  Of course.  We set out on Tram #5 to the end of the line where “it’s very clear” how to hike up the mountain.  When we arrived at our stop, we exited the train and were surrounded by a run-down park with stray dogs (of course), some locals hanging around, and a rickety set of steps which led further into the woods.  After stopping for directions in a hotel whose stairs tried to permanently injure Phil, we trekked up the steps to begin our journey.  These led to a set of paths up the mountain.  Awesome.  We were there.  Except, there were at least 4 different paths.  Time for a map.  What?  No maps in English, only Cyrillic, an alphabet we can’t read.  Okay, that wasn’t going to stop us.  Nobody really speaks English, but everyone we spoke to pointed up, smiled and said, “Vitosha”.  So, we looked at each path and decided to follow the one that actually had another person on it.

So, here’s the thing:  it was quiet.  I mean, we didn’t see a single other hiker anywhere.  And, we didn’t have a map.  Though the trails were clearly laid out paths, they weren’t marked so we couldn’t be sure we were headed in the right direction, and more importantly, getting back down the same way might be tricky.  And then there are the bears.  In my reading before arrival in Bulgaria, I read that one of the wonderful things about this country is that its forests are still filled with natural elements like bears, lynxes and rare birds which other European countries are losing.  Rare birds–awesome.  Lynxes–uh, okay.  Bears–no way!  I’ve heard enough horror stories and been warned enough times about these dangerous creatures that I am really scared of bears.  What are the odds we would run into one on this hike?  I don’t honestly know–we weren’t exactly going into this exactly “well-researched”.

Phil’s delicious breakfast to prepare him for our unexpected day. Affordable, too, at only $1.20!

If there had been lots of other hikers around, I would have been fine.  If we would have had a map, I would have been okay.  If there were park rangers hanging about, I’d have felt confident.  But we had none of these things, and pretty soon the random noises in the forest started to freak me out.  So, I bailed.  I told Phil that I really wasn’t comfortable doing this.  For all the reasons I’ve already mentioned, I said I thought we should turn around and try something different.  I felt kind of bad, but being the wonderful partner he is, Phil agreed instantly and understood my concerns.  Great.  Now, for plan B.

Coming up with a plan B required we find a little help either from friendly locals or from the internet.  We spotted a hostel and figured they would be able and willing to help us on our journey.  We climbed the stairs, found the receptionist and asked our usual first question, “Do you speak English?”  She replied, “Deutsch.”  Hmmm, we don’t speak German.  We don’t really know any German at all (except for “Sprechen sie Deutsch?” and we already had an answer for that).  We were really wishing we had our German-speaking friend Drew to help us out at this moment.  Luckily, she was nice enough to give us their WiFi password and let us sit on their steps and do a little research.  After quite a bit of looking, we discovered there is a bus that takes people to the top of Vitosha!  Awesome.  All we had to do was go back into Sofia, catch the bus and the rest was a breeze.

Of course, things are never easy.  We finally worked our way to the spot where the bus terminal was supposed to be only to find it wasn’t a bus terminal at all.  It looked like it maybe used to be a bus terminal, but at this point it was just some bus stops and a turnaround that didn’t look to be in use any longer.  When we asked the proprietor of a nearby pizza stand, he was able to point us in the right direction.  After a little hunting (and asking for a little more help), we were able to find bus #64 heading to Vitosha.  Awesome.  This is the bus 3 different people (plus our online research) told us would take us to the top.  We were on our way now.  Nothing could stop us.  But, just to be sure, when we got on the bus we asked the driver, “Vitosha?”  He looked puzzled and shook his head.  I tried again, but this time I also traced the shape of a mountain in the air with my finger and he said, “Da.”  Great, two tickets please.

At this point, all we had to do was get off once we got to the top.  We started picking up passengers and slowly climbing through the neighborhoods at the base of the forest.  We didn’t really look like we were headed into the forest, more just an outer neighborhood of Sofia, but we figured as long as we were heading uphill, we were good to go.  We passed some movie studios and a monastery.  Soon thereafter, we definitely felt a shift in momentum as the bus started heading downhill.  He was picking up speed by the second and it seemed forever until the next stop.  At that point, we knew.  Almost immediately we knew we weren’t going to make it.  We would not see the top of Vitosha.  Defeated and weary, we rode the bus back down to the last stop, got out in a neighborhood we did not recognize, and ate the lunch we had packed for our hike.  It was over.  It’s important to know when to call it quits.  This was it for us.  It was only 4pm, the day was not completely lost, but we were not going to spend any more time trying to reach the top of the elusive Vitosha.

The rest of the afternoon shaped up nicely with a few drinks to help ease our frustration, lots of productive planning and a lovely dinner of traditional Bulgarian food at Divaka.  We felt a little better when we overheard a girl who is staying at our hostel tell someone on the phone that she, too, tried to get to the top of Vitosha today but after hours of walking, gave up.  That’s something, I guess. As you can see, sometimes the attempt at a destination makes for a pretty good story alone. Besides, we win more than we lose, so days like these don’t really bother us when we have a comfortable bed, a delicious meal and an exciting tomorrow planned.

-Brooke

Categories: Bulgaria, City Visits, Destinations, Diversions, Eastern Europe, Eating, Hiking, Reflections, Safety, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 12 Comments

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