Two and a half months gone and i am now in asia having crossed the Ural mountains on the 28 hour train from Moscow to Yekaterinburg. Im going to the monument that marks the border between the two continents tonight before my train leaves on the two day trip to Irkutsk and lake Baikal. I spoke to some guys in the hostel here doing a similar trip to me and we couldnt work out where the legend of the trans siberian came from as its so boring not like the Vodka train i had been led to expect. Its mainly families and dads going home from the army. The guy i shared a cabin with was pretty cool we had a few beers and he spoke a bit of english but there is only so far sign language and podcasts can take you.
Russia is really starting to grow on me as St Petersburg really was a non event in the end with most days consisiting of either the warm irish bar or the sofa for the football. I made it to the hermitage after standing in a queue in the rain for an hour and a half which was pretty amazing much like the louvre but on a smaller scale. Other than this a short walk round the centre of town took in the church of spilled blood which was pretty cool but it has got to the stage now and i hate to say it but youve seen one church you have seen them all. I also saw the peter and paul fortress which has a political prison which held many of the famous names of the various russian uprisings as well as the cathedral where many of the royal family where buried. Compared to the reviews i have heard about st petersburg i have no idea why everybody raves about it. Its ok at best nothing compared to what was to come in Moscow.
The Soul Kitchen hostel was pretty nice and i met some canadians there who i bumped into again in moscow. We had one night out in St Petersburg with Iliya and various other russians with loose associations to the hostel. We left at about 11pm after the Germany v Australia match. Iliya said if you dont come with us you will never find the bar and it was true as he also could not find it. Maybe an hour walking round and round before behind an anonymous door we found the bar. It was pretty nice but largely quiet so rounds of jagermeister was called for to fix the atmosphere. We ended up following some other people to another bar which again took ages to find despite the constant daylight as it just doesnt get dark. This one was completely dead and after having a russian stress his love for jenson button for what seemed like hours i left to get some sleep before the train to moscow.
I arrived in moscow pretty much as it was getting dark and straight away had to experience the metro. Im pretty sure this has to be the best metro in the world with huge stations of glittering marble and chandeliers as well as being easy to navigate and having a reliable service. I dont know why but this was the beginning of a major liking for moscow. The hostel turned out to be right in the posh area and a perfect base for exploring. The first two days involved major stress in aquiring a japan rail pass as i found the place on the edge of town but they didnt take cards and my withdrawl limit was 1/4 of what i needed per day. Everywhere you find this, russia is modern in some respects but back in the dark ages for everything else. In the end i had to use my emergency currency card and i have no idea how much this cost me in fees but i have the pass which is all that matters.
I also had to register my visa which i completely forgot to do in St Petersburg. Russia ends up being quite expensive with all the little burocratic things invites, visas, registration. It really is a pain. But Moscow itself was really great although more for the atmosphere than any sightseeing. The guidebook describes it as imposing and forbidding but i found it really enjoyable. Knowing cyrillic and a few words helps massively as i had a completely different excperience to some guys i met from leeds who hated it so much. There really is not alot to do apart from Red Square which has the Kremlin, St Basils Cathedral and Lenins Mausoleum. The kremlin is pretty cool and consists of a massive red wall surrounding five cathedrals with the actual government building a bit of a side show. St Basils is worth the trip alone and really is mesmeric as you first get a glimpse then see it get closer and more and more colourful. Lenins mausoleum take it or leave it really, it was a pain to get in as you cant take cameras, phones or anything else and the queue is pretty long for something that looks like a wax work.
The final night in moscow everyone in my dorm went on one mad night out as they were going to japan the next day and i was starting the trans siberian. Starting off with 9% vodka red bull from a several cans and then being bought a constant stream of huge shots by russians in the club means i cant really describe anything else as i have no clue as to what happened apart from a good time was had by all!! Cant wait for the rest of Russia now
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Monday, 14 June 2010
Into the north
The dreaded has actually happened and im ill. A severe case of man flu is all i need with the trans siberian five days away. Stupidly i had left Kiev in t shirt and shorts as for the fourth day in a row it was over 30 degrees. I think more in hope than anything else i believed St Petersburg to be at least similar. Arriving i was severely disappointed it was like winter, dark sky, heavy clouds and torrents of rain. Perfect for walking round for hours on end. To be honest though St Petersburg really isnt that amazing a few things were ok like the hermitage museum which is like a mini louvre but apart from that i dont see what the fuss is about.
The whole of ukraine was baking hot perfect for seeing the amazing sights it has to offer but not quite so good for long journeys. Sevastopol to Lviv - 25 hours and officially my longest journey so far. Unfortunately the only tickets remaining were for 3rd class, essentially a vodka fuelled 50 person free for all. I had pretty much the worst bed right at the top in the corridor, no where to sit upright, nowhere to put my stuff and about three people to climb over everytime i needed to get up. The ipod and pot noodles were rationed as essentials to stave off madness. Unlike most other trains the ones in eastern europe only have two windows per carriage that open and at points it is unbearably hot which is why lots of people sit unabashedly half naked.
The train wasnt in truth that bad and lviv really was worth it. As i have said to people here if Lviv was anywhere in western europe it would easily be the most visited attraction. As it was there were a few tourists but essentially authentic. The city itself has hundreds of amazing churches which on a sunday were all packed to overflowing. Most days were just spent wandering around enjoying the weather and cafe culture but before my night train to kiev i got to go shooting with the guy from the hostel. Five different soviet era weapons with five bullets for each. They ranged from the rubbish pistol, to an ak-47, a sniper rifle that nearly took my shoulder off and a semi-automatic shotgun with solid slug. In most countries the ammunition and guns are all banned but you can shoot here with no training. I love eastern europe.
From Lviv to Kiev it is only 8 hours so on board the train sleep and your there. The hostel i was staying was very highly rated and i can see why. The polish owner cooked amazing food, it was a great location and was packed. As soon as i arrived i received a full day tour of the city from this ukrainian guy who was staying there. I think we did pretty much everthing including the cave monastery with the mumified monks. This is the number one thing to do but a minutes worth of cadavers is really a highlight for me. The rest of the time i spent looking through the flea markets. Its amazing what you can find. The stuff you were looking at in the museum you can buy out in the street. I have so far managed to get a Heroes of Stalingrad Medal and one from Sevastopol as well. The australians and i at the hostel also found out the secret to ukrainian drinking as well as there low life expectancy. Pig fat. All shots are quickly followed by a slice of fat that suprisingly tastes amazing as well as leaving no traces of a hangover. Somehow i dont think this will take off in the UK.
Anyway train to moscow leaves in two hours so have to get my stuff ready.
The whole of ukraine was baking hot perfect for seeing the amazing sights it has to offer but not quite so good for long journeys. Sevastopol to Lviv - 25 hours and officially my longest journey so far. Unfortunately the only tickets remaining were for 3rd class, essentially a vodka fuelled 50 person free for all. I had pretty much the worst bed right at the top in the corridor, no where to sit upright, nowhere to put my stuff and about three people to climb over everytime i needed to get up. The ipod and pot noodles were rationed as essentials to stave off madness. Unlike most other trains the ones in eastern europe only have two windows per carriage that open and at points it is unbearably hot which is why lots of people sit unabashedly half naked.
The train wasnt in truth that bad and lviv really was worth it. As i have said to people here if Lviv was anywhere in western europe it would easily be the most visited attraction. As it was there were a few tourists but essentially authentic. The city itself has hundreds of amazing churches which on a sunday were all packed to overflowing. Most days were just spent wandering around enjoying the weather and cafe culture but before my night train to kiev i got to go shooting with the guy from the hostel. Five different soviet era weapons with five bullets for each. They ranged from the rubbish pistol, to an ak-47, a sniper rifle that nearly took my shoulder off and a semi-automatic shotgun with solid slug. In most countries the ammunition and guns are all banned but you can shoot here with no training. I love eastern europe.
From Lviv to Kiev it is only 8 hours so on board the train sleep and your there. The hostel i was staying was very highly rated and i can see why. The polish owner cooked amazing food, it was a great location and was packed. As soon as i arrived i received a full day tour of the city from this ukrainian guy who was staying there. I think we did pretty much everthing including the cave monastery with the mumified monks. This is the number one thing to do but a minutes worth of cadavers is really a highlight for me. The rest of the time i spent looking through the flea markets. Its amazing what you can find. The stuff you were looking at in the museum you can buy out in the street. I have so far managed to get a Heroes of Stalingrad Medal and one from Sevastopol as well. The australians and i at the hostel also found out the secret to ukrainian drinking as well as there low life expectancy. Pig fat. All shots are quickly followed by a slice of fat that suprisingly tastes amazing as well as leaving no traces of a hangover. Somehow i dont think this will take off in the UK.
Anyway train to moscow leaves in two hours so have to get my stuff ready.
Saturday, 5 June 2010
A monkey on my back
Absolutely shattered after getting off a direct 25 hour night train to Lvov. Honestly it was one of the worst things i have done not only because in third class you are in close confines in a hot carriage with 49 other people but unlike hopefully the trans siberian there is nothing to do apart from listen to my ipod and no one to talk to. Hey ho thats what you get for coming to places like this.
After chisinau i had taken the 4 hour bus to Odessa the party capital of Ukraine on the black sea. I arrived at the time i hate most 2.30 in the morning. Its too early too stay up and not pay for a night in a hostel but too late to make good use of a bed. Anyway i found the hostel after collecting about 20 helpers on the way from the station and after waking Luba the manager up crashed until midday. The last couple of weeks haven't been that great weather wise but when i woke up it was already 33 degrees. A stroll around was all i could muster after an attempt to send some post home. Take 1 ended with me trying out the classic english tactic of speaking english louder, take 2 i tried in my incredibly limited russian no good. Take 3 i walked back to the hostel and got Luba to write it down in Ukranian. Literally nobody speaks even a word of english here its a nightmare and to make it worse everything is written in cyrillic but all the maps are in english, impossible to compare.
By the time i had got back to the hostel some Kazakhs had arrived and were already into there second bottle of vodka. After much persuading lol they agreed to go out after the Klitschko fight at midnight. After a couple of bars we all headed out to Arcadia beach where there are lots of clubs on the sea front. We were there till about 5am before going back to the hostel to continue the party. Im not entirely sure but i think i went to bed at around 8am as the sun was already quite warm.
Not surprisingly the rest of the day for me was a complete write off although despite having drunk maybe half of what the others had i was by far the worst. By around 4pm i managed a walk to the beach before the second night out began. The kazakhs sergei, sergei, oleg and andrei were already at the vodka and had cooked pimini for everyone which was amazing. Another english guy josh also arrived and we went out for a second time this time just around the local Odessa bars. It was another late one, the thing about drinking till the next day you wake up more drunk than when you went to bed, its a bit of a shock to the system.
The beach was again the best option and despite the port nearby i took a swim in the clean but absolutely freezing black sea. That night i took the 12 hour night train to Sevastopol in the Crimea. Ukraine really isn't the best place for rushing around or trying to squeeze in an extra place or two as everything is a night train or a full day from everywhere else. Sevastopol is the home of the Russian fleet and is covered in ornamental parks and statues. Again everything was in Cyrillic but by now i have managed to work out not how to speak it but at least to read it. I was at the hostel with Chris (ozzie) and Adam (kiwi) who were a good laugh with the national rivalry banter. We headed out on a day trip to Object 221 which took 15 years to build and was due to be the command center for the black sea fleet. Unfortunately the USSR collapsed a year after it was finished and it was never used. The place is well off the beaten track and consists of four story building inside a mountain with ramps you could drive a truck up. It was pitch black inside so we had to use head torches to explore. This was followed by the submarine base in balaklava. Until 1996 Sevastopol was a closed city and balaklava was completely off limits. All this ex soviet stuff once the most secret places on earth you can now just wander round.
The Crimea is at the cross roads of many civilizations so we visited Bakchasaray which used to be the old Tatar capital when they ruled the area. The city has a completely intact Tatar palace which was well worth a vist as well as a cave monastery in an nearby cliff and a cave city right on the summit of an escarpment that we had to hike up to. Despite being well out of the way the crimea was well worth a trip although for the entire 25 hour train journey to lvov i was cussing the unplanned detour.
After chisinau i had taken the 4 hour bus to Odessa the party capital of Ukraine on the black sea. I arrived at the time i hate most 2.30 in the morning. Its too early too stay up and not pay for a night in a hostel but too late to make good use of a bed. Anyway i found the hostel after collecting about 20 helpers on the way from the station and after waking Luba the manager up crashed until midday. The last couple of weeks haven't been that great weather wise but when i woke up it was already 33 degrees. A stroll around was all i could muster after an attempt to send some post home. Take 1 ended with me trying out the classic english tactic of speaking english louder, take 2 i tried in my incredibly limited russian no good. Take 3 i walked back to the hostel and got Luba to write it down in Ukranian. Literally nobody speaks even a word of english here its a nightmare and to make it worse everything is written in cyrillic but all the maps are in english, impossible to compare.
By the time i had got back to the hostel some Kazakhs had arrived and were already into there second bottle of vodka. After much persuading lol they agreed to go out after the Klitschko fight at midnight. After a couple of bars we all headed out to Arcadia beach where there are lots of clubs on the sea front. We were there till about 5am before going back to the hostel to continue the party. Im not entirely sure but i think i went to bed at around 8am as the sun was already quite warm.
Not surprisingly the rest of the day for me was a complete write off although despite having drunk maybe half of what the others had i was by far the worst. By around 4pm i managed a walk to the beach before the second night out began. The kazakhs sergei, sergei, oleg and andrei were already at the vodka and had cooked pimini for everyone which was amazing. Another english guy josh also arrived and we went out for a second time this time just around the local Odessa bars. It was another late one, the thing about drinking till the next day you wake up more drunk than when you went to bed, its a bit of a shock to the system.
The beach was again the best option and despite the port nearby i took a swim in the clean but absolutely freezing black sea. That night i took the 12 hour night train to Sevastopol in the Crimea. Ukraine really isn't the best place for rushing around or trying to squeeze in an extra place or two as everything is a night train or a full day from everywhere else. Sevastopol is the home of the Russian fleet and is covered in ornamental parks and statues. Again everything was in Cyrillic but by now i have managed to work out not how to speak it but at least to read it. I was at the hostel with Chris (ozzie) and Adam (kiwi) who were a good laugh with the national rivalry banter. We headed out on a day trip to Object 221 which took 15 years to build and was due to be the command center for the black sea fleet. Unfortunately the USSR collapsed a year after it was finished and it was never used. The place is well off the beaten track and consists of four story building inside a mountain with ramps you could drive a truck up. It was pitch black inside so we had to use head torches to explore. This was followed by the submarine base in balaklava. Until 1996 Sevastopol was a closed city and balaklava was completely off limits. All this ex soviet stuff once the most secret places on earth you can now just wander round.
The Crimea is at the cross roads of many civilizations so we visited Bakchasaray which used to be the old Tatar capital when they ruled the area. The city has a completely intact Tatar palace which was well worth a vist as well as a cave monastery in an nearby cliff and a cave city right on the summit of an escarpment that we had to hike up to. Despite being well out of the way the crimea was well worth a trip although for the entire 25 hour train journey to lvov i was cussing the unplanned detour.
Friday, 28 May 2010
The land europe forgot
After having alot more time on my hands than i had expected i had the week in bulgaria. This was all well and good but to get from bulgaria to my next destination moldova means a 25 hour train journey. So leaving the hostel at 8am to walk to the station i caught the train to Ruse where i bought my onward ticket to Bucharest then the sleeper train to Chisinau. At ruse i met Kieron an australian who was also heading to bucharest so we got the train together which passed the first three hours. We arrived in Bucharest at 6.30 and my train i had been told left at 8.40, this became 9.30 which is depressing when there is nothing to do without ending up with more worthless banknotes.
The train eventually left and i had a compartment to myself but despite this i failed miserably in getting any sleep. I woke up at 3am and was awake until we arrived in chisinau at 10.30. The ride was painfully slow and also crossing the border. The people in the compartment next to mine were montenegrin and for some reason they werent let in and were told to get off. The kids were crying and the mom but eventually they left. In 2007 moldova dropped there visa requirements for EU nationals and those from the US and canada although Australians and Kiwis still require an invite and visa.
Arriving in chisinau i was picked up from the station and taken to the hostel about 20min walk outside the centre. It is right next to a mall originally called mall dova which is the nicest i think i have ever been in. Despite moldova being the poorest country in europe there is plenty of money knocking about, i think mainly through drug and people trafficking.
The rest of the day i spent looking around the parks and museums which were pretty good and the 30 degree weather also helped. Yesterday i headed out to a monastary called Orheiul vechi which after eventually finding the bus was pretty amazing. Its situated on a ridge between two valleys and had a church dug down into the rock as well as caves where the monks used to and still do live.
Today i headed to Transdiniestr a country that nobody recognises. When moldova formed Transdiniestr decided to stay communist and declared independance which due to their political status went unrecognised. I had been told i would probably have to bribe my way in but fortunately it didnt come to that although there were lots of forms to fill in. The first job was to get some local transdiniestr currency as this is the only valid one to use. Im pretty sure i got scammed but nobody before i went knew the exchange rate. I first visited Bendery which had one thing to see a tank in the memorial park before heading to Tiraspol the capital. Tiraspol was nice with big leafy boulevards and communist style buildings that are well preserved. I wandered around for a couple of hours went to the cognac factory and visited the various statues of lenin before heading back. The weather was 34 degrees today and the thunder has just started. Am planning to go to ukraine in a couple of hours but ill see what the weather is like.
The train eventually left and i had a compartment to myself but despite this i failed miserably in getting any sleep. I woke up at 3am and was awake until we arrived in chisinau at 10.30. The ride was painfully slow and also crossing the border. The people in the compartment next to mine were montenegrin and for some reason they werent let in and were told to get off. The kids were crying and the mom but eventually they left. In 2007 moldova dropped there visa requirements for EU nationals and those from the US and canada although Australians and Kiwis still require an invite and visa.
Arriving in chisinau i was picked up from the station and taken to the hostel about 20min walk outside the centre. It is right next to a mall originally called mall dova which is the nicest i think i have ever been in. Despite moldova being the poorest country in europe there is plenty of money knocking about, i think mainly through drug and people trafficking.
The rest of the day i spent looking around the parks and museums which were pretty good and the 30 degree weather also helped. Yesterday i headed out to a monastary called Orheiul vechi which after eventually finding the bus was pretty amazing. Its situated on a ridge between two valleys and had a church dug down into the rock as well as caves where the monks used to and still do live.
Today i headed to Transdiniestr a country that nobody recognises. When moldova formed Transdiniestr decided to stay communist and declared independance which due to their political status went unrecognised. I had been told i would probably have to bribe my way in but fortunately it didnt come to that although there were lots of forms to fill in. The first job was to get some local transdiniestr currency as this is the only valid one to use. Im pretty sure i got scammed but nobody before i went knew the exchange rate. I first visited Bendery which had one thing to see a tank in the memorial park before heading to Tiraspol the capital. Tiraspol was nice with big leafy boulevards and communist style buildings that are well preserved. I wandered around for a couple of hours went to the cognac factory and visited the various statues of lenin before heading back. The weather was 34 degrees today and the thunder has just started. Am planning to go to ukraine in a couple of hours but ill see what the weather is like.
Monday, 24 May 2010
Bulgaria
After Bucharest Danielle, Ray and myself headed to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria. Getting the tickets took forever as the woman kept saying we needed a sleeping compartment which luckily the night before we had been warned about. After 10 minutes she realised it wasnt working so sold us the correct tickets. Its a shame but there are so many people trying to scam whether its for 1 euro or whatever its just annoying.
The direct train of course was cancelled so the trip involved getting first to Ruse on the border and then Gorna something which is about 10km from Veliko. We had picked up another passenger on the way a Korean girl who we had met the night before. Nomads hostel was right on the side of a gorge with the most amazing view of the old town and the massive monument. We had the hostel to ourselves and the owners by the sounds of hit hadnt seen anyone for a while. That night Ray and I aquainted ourselves with the local nightlife which due to the fact it was exam season was hardly busy. Eventually we found spider club which was maybe half full. Beer 2 lev (1 pound) and shots 1 lev. Around four in the morning we decided to call it a night and stumbled our way back to the hostel. As you can imagine the next day didnt begin until the afternoon. On advice from the hostel as most of the UNESCO sites were very inaccessible Danielle and i hiked up the surrounding hills to Albamassi a preserved town. I think we were probably the only ones there and managed to find somewhere open for lunch. It is really wierd to sit in a three story restaurant that is completely empty, by now i was hoping most things would have picked up but its still dead. We even had time to try out the local delicacies pigs ears and feet. We had assumed it was in a stew or something but instead some gristly bits of fat were placed in front of us and we nearly puked after one bite. Later we found out that it is only mezes or drinking food as the restaurant owner had come to the hostel to make sure we were ok as we hadnt eaten all of it.
Ray and I had heard from a couple of people that Rila monastery was well worth visiting as its the best preserved and you are also able to stay there. I had been planning to go to Plovdiv but the monastery would be completely different experience. So at 6am Ray and i started our 8 hour 4 bus journey to Rila. The place is really hard to get to but fortunately our connection was minutes away each time so it wasnt a massive hastle. Arriving at the monastery it was packed with tourists nothing like i had been lead to believe. After about 10 minutes we had seen everything to be seen including the amazing church. Despite being built for 400 monks we saw maybe 5 in the day we were there. Despite it being a bit of a let down we still decided to stay the night. At 9pm they lock up so you have to make sure your in the compound and when they did it was completely quiet and also freezing cold. Just in the backgound of the monastery were some really high snow capped mountains.
There really wasnt a lot to do and we both realised we werent the people that the experience was designed for. So waking up the next day i faced either a 8 hour trip to plovdiv or a 12 hour bus ride to varna. I really needed to have a few days in one place so opted for varna. Ray and i split at sofia and I eventually arrived tired at the hostel around 9 and the receptionist was just heading out to watch the champions league final. Him and his canadian friend reece and his girlfriend had run the hostel last year and advised me to change hostel the next day as it had gone downhill. Varna hostel was pretty scummy and in the daytime looked even worse. The building was practically falling apart and was really grubby so after spending a couple of hours seeing the sights all 4 of them i swapped hostels to Yo Ho hostel. I went from being the only one to a hostel that was pretty much full.
Today unbenknownst to me was cyrillic day where bulgarians celebrate inventing the alphabet (despite it being invented in macedonia)so there was a parade of all the schools down the main street. The entire town i think turned out and was alot busier than i had been led to believe. The parade was followed by the start of the tall ships race from varna to istanbul, so all the spectators headed down to the harbour to sit in the amazing sunshine and watch all the old sail ships start off. I think it was probably the first time in a week i have seen the sun.
Due to the unexpected holiday i didnt manage to get any of the jobs done that i had wanted to do before i go to moldova tomorrow. 25 hours on a train arriving in Chisinau at 10am on wednesday looking forward to it.
The direct train of course was cancelled so the trip involved getting first to Ruse on the border and then Gorna something which is about 10km from Veliko. We had picked up another passenger on the way a Korean girl who we had met the night before. Nomads hostel was right on the side of a gorge with the most amazing view of the old town and the massive monument. We had the hostel to ourselves and the owners by the sounds of hit hadnt seen anyone for a while. That night Ray and I aquainted ourselves with the local nightlife which due to the fact it was exam season was hardly busy. Eventually we found spider club which was maybe half full. Beer 2 lev (1 pound) and shots 1 lev. Around four in the morning we decided to call it a night and stumbled our way back to the hostel. As you can imagine the next day didnt begin until the afternoon. On advice from the hostel as most of the UNESCO sites were very inaccessible Danielle and i hiked up the surrounding hills to Albamassi a preserved town. I think we were probably the only ones there and managed to find somewhere open for lunch. It is really wierd to sit in a three story restaurant that is completely empty, by now i was hoping most things would have picked up but its still dead. We even had time to try out the local delicacies pigs ears and feet. We had assumed it was in a stew or something but instead some gristly bits of fat were placed in front of us and we nearly puked after one bite. Later we found out that it is only mezes or drinking food as the restaurant owner had come to the hostel to make sure we were ok as we hadnt eaten all of it.
Ray and I had heard from a couple of people that Rila monastery was well worth visiting as its the best preserved and you are also able to stay there. I had been planning to go to Plovdiv but the monastery would be completely different experience. So at 6am Ray and i started our 8 hour 4 bus journey to Rila. The place is really hard to get to but fortunately our connection was minutes away each time so it wasnt a massive hastle. Arriving at the monastery it was packed with tourists nothing like i had been lead to believe. After about 10 minutes we had seen everything to be seen including the amazing church. Despite being built for 400 monks we saw maybe 5 in the day we were there. Despite it being a bit of a let down we still decided to stay the night. At 9pm they lock up so you have to make sure your in the compound and when they did it was completely quiet and also freezing cold. Just in the backgound of the monastery were some really high snow capped mountains.
There really wasnt a lot to do and we both realised we werent the people that the experience was designed for. So waking up the next day i faced either a 8 hour trip to plovdiv or a 12 hour bus ride to varna. I really needed to have a few days in one place so opted for varna. Ray and i split at sofia and I eventually arrived tired at the hostel around 9 and the receptionist was just heading out to watch the champions league final. Him and his canadian friend reece and his girlfriend had run the hostel last year and advised me to change hostel the next day as it had gone downhill. Varna hostel was pretty scummy and in the daytime looked even worse. The building was practically falling apart and was really grubby so after spending a couple of hours seeing the sights all 4 of them i swapped hostels to Yo Ho hostel. I went from being the only one to a hostel that was pretty much full.
Today unbenknownst to me was cyrillic day where bulgarians celebrate inventing the alphabet (despite it being invented in macedonia)so there was a parade of all the schools down the main street. The entire town i think turned out and was alot busier than i had been led to believe. The parade was followed by the start of the tall ships race from varna to istanbul, so all the spectators headed down to the harbour to sit in the amazing sunshine and watch all the old sail ships start off. I think it was probably the first time in a week i have seen the sun.
Due to the unexpected holiday i didnt manage to get any of the jobs done that i had wanted to do before i go to moldova tomorrow. 25 hours on a train arriving in Chisinau at 10am on wednesday looking forward to it.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
The trouble with transylvania
After i had finished the last blog the heavans opened and the rain that had been threatening all day arrived. This pretty much wrote off the rest of the day apart from a trip to the best restaurant in town. The food which essentially consisted of smoked meat and cheese wrapped in smoked meat served with smoked sausage was not the best when still suffering from last night. Early night ready for the next town in the whistelstop tour of romania.
Next day up at 6 to get the train to Sighisoara which famously featured on micheal palins eastern europe as the birth place of Dracula otherwise known as Vlad Tepes (vlad the impaler). The town itself was really nice with a citadel right in the middle. The weather had picked up and it was a pleasant walk around for a couple of hours. The hostel was still empty when i got back so had a few drinks with the hostel owner and his english mate who lived in the town. It seems that the last two years but especially this year most hostels are on the point of closing as very few travellers compared to previous years are moving throught the area. As i have found most hostels are either full or empty. The couple of drinks turned into a session and took care of the nothing to do for the evening.
When is was planning the trip most places you would be like i can spend two days or something but when you get there often an afternoon is more than enough. So again i moved on to Brasov this time which is the main hub for seeing things in transylvania. I walked to the hostel which took an hour and a half as the map in the guide book was so inaccurate. Blatantly not 2km. But despite its location kismet dao hostel was pretty much full. I headed out to see Brasovs one or two attractions the sign, the main park and the two watchtowers that overlook the centre and the biggest cathedral in eastern europe that dominates the town. The food has been pretty good so far and again in brasov the local specialities place has soup for 50p and gulash for 2 quid. Its gonna be a struggle coming back to pay 15 quid for an everage meal.
Next day after what seemed like my first lie in in god knows how long i went to Draculas castle in Bran. Not knowing what to expect the initial drive up to it with the transylcania hill on each side was quite cool and the sight of it on the hill was also pretty good but thats where it ended. The bus dropped me off in the middle of some souvenir market full of people hawking tat and the castles tiny hallways were packed with tour groups. Absolute nightmare. I spent maybe thirty minuted before i had had enough. Everything about the place is pretty rubbish as Vlad tepes never even lived there and the only connection it has is that Bram Stoker drove past and thought it looked spooky. The whole money machine is based purely on the loosest connections. Transylvanian foke lore doesnt even mention vampires its all a new creation. Disappointed i went back to Brasov for my last game of football for a while. Again the atmosphere was pretty cool as everyone was having a party on the last day of the season. This time the though the people letting off flares got dragged out by the police much to everyones chagrin. At the hostel i had met Roy and Danielle who were heading to Bulgaria to Veliko Tarnovo so we headed there after a night in Bucharest. By the time we had got to Bucharest everything was pretty much closed so saw the palace which is now only the second biggest building in the world before getting back to the safety of the hostel away from the prowling dogs.
Next day up at 6 to get the train to Sighisoara which famously featured on micheal palins eastern europe as the birth place of Dracula otherwise known as Vlad Tepes (vlad the impaler). The town itself was really nice with a citadel right in the middle. The weather had picked up and it was a pleasant walk around for a couple of hours. The hostel was still empty when i got back so had a few drinks with the hostel owner and his english mate who lived in the town. It seems that the last two years but especially this year most hostels are on the point of closing as very few travellers compared to previous years are moving throught the area. As i have found most hostels are either full or empty. The couple of drinks turned into a session and took care of the nothing to do for the evening.
When is was planning the trip most places you would be like i can spend two days or something but when you get there often an afternoon is more than enough. So again i moved on to Brasov this time which is the main hub for seeing things in transylvania. I walked to the hostel which took an hour and a half as the map in the guide book was so inaccurate. Blatantly not 2km. But despite its location kismet dao hostel was pretty much full. I headed out to see Brasovs one or two attractions the sign, the main park and the two watchtowers that overlook the centre and the biggest cathedral in eastern europe that dominates the town. The food has been pretty good so far and again in brasov the local specialities place has soup for 50p and gulash for 2 quid. Its gonna be a struggle coming back to pay 15 quid for an everage meal.
Next day after what seemed like my first lie in in god knows how long i went to Draculas castle in Bran. Not knowing what to expect the initial drive up to it with the transylcania hill on each side was quite cool and the sight of it on the hill was also pretty good but thats where it ended. The bus dropped me off in the middle of some souvenir market full of people hawking tat and the castles tiny hallways were packed with tour groups. Absolute nightmare. I spent maybe thirty minuted before i had had enough. Everything about the place is pretty rubbish as Vlad tepes never even lived there and the only connection it has is that Bram Stoker drove past and thought it looked spooky. The whole money machine is based purely on the loosest connections. Transylvanian foke lore doesnt even mention vampires its all a new creation. Disappointed i went back to Brasov for my last game of football for a while. Again the atmosphere was pretty cool as everyone was having a party on the last day of the season. This time the though the people letting off flares got dragged out by the police much to everyones chagrin. At the hostel i had met Roy and Danielle who were heading to Bulgaria to Veliko Tarnovo so we headed there after a night in Bucharest. By the time we had got to Bucharest everything was pretty much closed so saw the palace which is now only the second biggest building in the world before getting back to the safety of the hostel away from the prowling dogs.
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Serbia to Sibiu
After what seems like ages i have finally found somewhere with internet that does not take minutes to load one photo so i have uploaded a load more. Realised i hadnt done this since montenegro ages ago.
After the last blog i headed back to serbia and to belgrade. The hostel was really nice but empty. The first night was not much of an issue as i got in at midnight after a hour bus journey. The second day i went to see some of belgrades few sights and experience the city. All day every day the cafes, bars, parks etc are full of people of all ages. I have no idea what they all do for a living, under communism everybody owned there own house so alot probably only have to work part time, how good would that be. The sights took all of a few hours so i headed to the partizan stadium to pick up some tickets. The south end where all the ultras sit was sold out but there was this guy offering them for double the price 12 euros. So i bought the ticket off him as the only real reason for going was for the atmosphere. One of the groundsmen i think heard me speaking and offered me a tour of the ground which was good. Back at the hostel and still nobody else apart from the really cool people who were running it. The main reason to go to belgrade is for the night life but i still havent mastered going out clubbing on my own so i went to the cinema. 2 quid for clash of the titans in 3D. The film wasnt great but first film in 3d so suitably impressed with the experience. Back at the hostel there were two english guys micheal and elliott from oswestry as well as some canadians. They were planning to head off the next day but once they heard about the football they wanted to go as well. The next day the weather was amazing so just went out for coffee and to do some odd jobs like burning photos onto a disc and washing. The hostel had a really good atmosphere so we never ended up going out just drinking rakija and watching films.
The football Partizan Belgrade vs. Red Star Belgrade kicked off at 6.30 in the evening so we headed out for the pre game atmosphere and walked to the stadium. Everyone speaking about the game said it was likely to marred in violence as the title race was so close and effectively whoever won would be champions. The entire route to the stadium was lined with riot police in all the gear and we were wondering what was going to happen. The stadium was packed and everyone just finds a seat to stand on as no one goes to there actual seat with the ticket. First come first serve. The atmosphere was amazing full on chanting for the entire match and as soon as it got dark out came the flares and fire crackers. I took a few videos which you should be able to view. After the game it all kind of petered out and there was none of the expected clashes although the red star fans did set fire to the stadium as they left.
The next day i headed up to novi sad where they hold the exit festival and chilled out in the beautiful town square before heading up to the fortress. There were three things in the guide book to do but the vojvodian museum looked really good so i headed there. The first section was on ancient times and all in serbian but the second half was about the revolution and communism. I was the only one in the museum which seems to be a recurring theme. Also the security cameras were not working which is why i got part followed/guided tour. Turns out the communism part of the museum had been closed down last year as "it is not the way they want to portray the new serbia." There was not a great deal to do so the following day micheal (a different micheal) went to subotica on a recomendation. There was nothing there either and three hours later back to novi sad.
The following day i took the train to Timisoara in Romania remembering to put the clock forward another hour. I met and english guy who was travelling with his mom on the train and we walked the 20 mins into the centre. The only place was a hotel that wanted 40 euros so i walked back to the station and then attempted to find the hostel i had heard about. Arriving anywhere at 11pm in the pitch black was not great especially in Romania which looks really sketchy. After finding the hostel which turned out to be one room in a hotel i went to grab some food in the student quarter. The town is the most popular place to study and the street was packed with bars, clubs and food. Despite being shattered i hung around for a bit before tiredness got the better of me. Everything starts happening at like 1am as in spain which i am only just getting used to.
A brief morning was enough in timisoara even though it was stunning as there were only a few squares and monuments to the anti ceaucescu revolution which had started there. Caught the train to Sibiu in transylvania where i am now and again got in at 11pm. I again met the english pair so we went out for food then clubbing till 4.30am. This morning i was absolutely wrecked so despite planning to head on this afternoon i am spending the whole day to recuperate. The weather isnt great but it all adds to the atmosphere. Sibiu was european capital of culture a few years ago so its all been done up. Not at all like i expected transylvania but i think some of the other towns have preserved better so sigisoara tomorrow where Dracula was born.
After the last blog i headed back to serbia and to belgrade. The hostel was really nice but empty. The first night was not much of an issue as i got in at midnight after a hour bus journey. The second day i went to see some of belgrades few sights and experience the city. All day every day the cafes, bars, parks etc are full of people of all ages. I have no idea what they all do for a living, under communism everybody owned there own house so alot probably only have to work part time, how good would that be. The sights took all of a few hours so i headed to the partizan stadium to pick up some tickets. The south end where all the ultras sit was sold out but there was this guy offering them for double the price 12 euros. So i bought the ticket off him as the only real reason for going was for the atmosphere. One of the groundsmen i think heard me speaking and offered me a tour of the ground which was good. Back at the hostel and still nobody else apart from the really cool people who were running it. The main reason to go to belgrade is for the night life but i still havent mastered going out clubbing on my own so i went to the cinema. 2 quid for clash of the titans in 3D. The film wasnt great but first film in 3d so suitably impressed with the experience. Back at the hostel there were two english guys micheal and elliott from oswestry as well as some canadians. They were planning to head off the next day but once they heard about the football they wanted to go as well. The next day the weather was amazing so just went out for coffee and to do some odd jobs like burning photos onto a disc and washing. The hostel had a really good atmosphere so we never ended up going out just drinking rakija and watching films.
The football Partizan Belgrade vs. Red Star Belgrade kicked off at 6.30 in the evening so we headed out for the pre game atmosphere and walked to the stadium. Everyone speaking about the game said it was likely to marred in violence as the title race was so close and effectively whoever won would be champions. The entire route to the stadium was lined with riot police in all the gear and we were wondering what was going to happen. The stadium was packed and everyone just finds a seat to stand on as no one goes to there actual seat with the ticket. First come first serve. The atmosphere was amazing full on chanting for the entire match and as soon as it got dark out came the flares and fire crackers. I took a few videos which you should be able to view. After the game it all kind of petered out and there was none of the expected clashes although the red star fans did set fire to the stadium as they left.
The next day i headed up to novi sad where they hold the exit festival and chilled out in the beautiful town square before heading up to the fortress. There were three things in the guide book to do but the vojvodian museum looked really good so i headed there. The first section was on ancient times and all in serbian but the second half was about the revolution and communism. I was the only one in the museum which seems to be a recurring theme. Also the security cameras were not working which is why i got part followed/guided tour. Turns out the communism part of the museum had been closed down last year as "it is not the way they want to portray the new serbia." There was not a great deal to do so the following day micheal (a different micheal) went to subotica on a recomendation. There was nothing there either and three hours later back to novi sad.
The following day i took the train to Timisoara in Romania remembering to put the clock forward another hour. I met and english guy who was travelling with his mom on the train and we walked the 20 mins into the centre. The only place was a hotel that wanted 40 euros so i walked back to the station and then attempted to find the hostel i had heard about. Arriving anywhere at 11pm in the pitch black was not great especially in Romania which looks really sketchy. After finding the hostel which turned out to be one room in a hotel i went to grab some food in the student quarter. The town is the most popular place to study and the street was packed with bars, clubs and food. Despite being shattered i hung around for a bit before tiredness got the better of me. Everything starts happening at like 1am as in spain which i am only just getting used to.
A brief morning was enough in timisoara even though it was stunning as there were only a few squares and monuments to the anti ceaucescu revolution which had started there. Caught the train to Sibiu in transylvania where i am now and again got in at 11pm. I again met the english pair so we went out for food then clubbing till 4.30am. This morning i was absolutely wrecked so despite planning to head on this afternoon i am spending the whole day to recuperate. The weather isnt great but it all adds to the atmosphere. Sibiu was european capital of culture a few years ago so its all been done up. Not at all like i expected transylvania but i think some of the other towns have preserved better so sigisoara tomorrow where Dracula was born.
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