Posted 3:19 PM by MelanieandSteve
ROMANIA, 4 - 8 Sept (being written 17 Sept).

OUT OF EUROPEAN UNION, INTO ROMANIA: The 14th century Romanian old town of Sighisoara offered friendly locals and fun fellow travellers. Our accomodations were to die for (or stay longer for). The old town was precious. And the magic of Transylvania was alluring.

SIGHISOARA, TRANSYLVANIA: This was the birth Place of Vlad Tepes, aka, "the Impailor," aka, "Count Dracula." There is now a nice restaurant in Vlad's old birth home. We stopped in but didn't eat. Dracula's father was a member of the German Order of the Dragons (Draculs). This title sounded a lot like the Romanian word for Devil. Dracula, or son of Dracul, meant "son of the Devil" or "son of the Dragon" depending on who you asked. Count Dracula, the Impailor, gained notoriety as a defender of Romania through horrific means of torture of his enemies. He impailed them on stakes, live. Later, Bram Stoker based his novels on this infamous historical figure. But it hardly seemed like there could be an evil element in this friendly little town (except in the spooky hilltop cemetary.) There were Horse drawn carts hauling loads, out door fruit and veggie markets, cows lingering along the river banks, and there was a style and a mellow to this place to be remembered.

IN THE NICK OF TOUR TIME: We arrived by train and checked into our hostel to learn that the last tour of the week was leaving in an hour. We rushed to catch it. Johanna, a 17 year old high school student, showed us the cemetary, Dracula's birth home, the churches, the crypt where a stash of skeletons was discovered only 3 years ago, and much more.

CAPITAL PERSPECTIVE: Johanna told us how in the days of old, Romania used to practice the Death Penalty. We asked her if they still do. She gasped a surprised laugh at the question as if it was an unheard of thought and said they are no longer in the middle ages and they no longer practice the death penalty. When we informed her the the U.S. still does, she had trouble believing this.

PEOPLE: The Romanians we met were friendly. Those who spoke English were quite interested in good conversation including politics and thoughts. Many people were very poor, and children tended to beg for money. We spent some time with our young hostel owners. One explained that several Romanians she had met refused to accept job offers or governmental help, preferring to fall back on the "I'm just a poor Romanian" excuse. She has found this frustrating in hiring for the hostel. The Romanian workers we saw, however, tended to work to excess, i.e., through the night at one job only to start work in the morning at another job.

THE PIG ROAST: The hostel owner was in town, and he was up for a good meal. Everyone pitched in and he put a pig on the spit, and everyone had a good old bar-BQ time.

READING IN THE CEMETARY: Afterall, we were in Transylvania. We couldn't pass through here without reading "Dracula." We, along with 7 other friends, hiked high on the hill to the cemetary overlooking the city and sat among the tomb stones at twilight to read the story aloud. To add to the ambiance, when Character John Harker wrote of the wolves howling in the night, many dogs in the valley below us were barking and howling. Likewize, when Mr. Harker wrote about the rooster crowing in the morning, we heard a cockadoodledoo in the valley below. The atmosphere was unbeatable. Enough so that our story listening friends decided to join us again the next day for more.

HILLSIDE VIEW: The next day, we continued reading Dracula high on a hill at Villa Franca, a viewpoint across from the old town that Melanie had discovered and fallen in love with. The whole group of 9 took the long hike up the hill, found a grassy knoll, sat around leaning against trees, and continued the story. This group was beginning to gel.

WE KNEW THAT IT WAS MORE THAN A BUNCH: 8 Friends. Three Canadians, one of whom could speak Romanian, another Croatian. Two English, one could speak Spanish, the other French. Two Americans, one could speak some Spanish, some German, and a few words in Russian (turned out the few words in Russian helped most), and a Fin. With this language spread, we knew there was no where we couldn't go. The personalities worked out as well, so we decided to stick together. Jen, Julia, Corbett, Johnny, Johanni, Seb, and the two of us just couldn't bare to say goodbye, so we said Goodbye Sighosuara, but hello beach lands, and travelled together as a 'fellowship'.

THE BEACH: We all hopped on a train to Bucharest and then a train to the coast. Mangalia, the city on the sea, a quiet touristy town awaited. Seb, the Romaninan Born Canadian sweet talked the train ticket taker into a cash only deal of less than half the ticket price. It didn't end there. At the hotel on the beach, Seb worked some more magic and got us a room for cheaper than a hostel - though we two had to sleep on the floor.

--BEACH NIGHT: We headed straight for the beach, snacks in hand, to hang out during the evening. At 2:00 am, Steve and two other guys took a mid night swim in the Black Sea.

--BEACH DAY: In the mornining, we all hung out in the perfect beachy climate, playing hacky sack and sunbathing. Hated to go. But Bulgaria was calling.

--ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION: We had a lunch at the nearby cafe and started our long walk to the bus station. On the way, we passed a horse drawn cart. Steve had the ingenious idea to ask for a ride and we all pitched in a very reasonable cash offering, piled onto the flat bed cart, and headed off on our hay ride to the bus station. The mini bus was leaving just as we arrived - we jumped off the cart, onto the bus, and before we knew it, we were at the Romanian/Bulgarian Border.

NEXT TIME, 8 is Enough, and Bulgarian Beaches

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: cousin Laura R.

Posted 8:56 AM by MelanieandSteve
BUDAPEST, 28 Aug to 3 Sept (Posting written 15 Sept)

TWO CITIES IN ONE, TWO MILLION THINGS TO DO IN ONE WEEK: It's the conjunction of Buda and Pest, two cities separated by a river, linked by a beautiful chain bridge. Budapest is large and sprawling, packed with fun, and dappled with amazing views and architecture. We stayed longer than we expected. We made our hostel a home, we even entertained in it, and more than that, Budapest entertained us.

LOVE PARADE, WE LOVE GOOD TIMING ONCE AGAIN: Without planning it, we arrived on the Saturday of Love Parade. It's modeled after the huge annual Love Parade in Berlin. The parade ended about as we got off the train, but the party at the end left nothing to be desired. The streets were crazy, crowded, covered in parade after-effects (trash), but the Hero Square was lit up, dotted with music floats, and packed like sardines with partying people. At some floats, girls in g-strings and guys in loin cloths danced toppless with painted breasts. (Mel had to laugh the next day when newcomer Maurine asked her if it was appropriate for girls to wear tank tops in this country.) lasers flashed designs on the surrounding monuments, and after hours of techno beat, the fireworks started. Welcome to Budapest!

SZECHENY, A WHIRL IN THE POOLS AND BATHS: While the Hungarians didn't appreciate being occupied by the Ottomans, many appreciate what the Turks left behind - Traditional Turkish baths. We spent the day at Szecheny baths, heated by natural 60 deg Celsius springs, but kept at 38 Deg and under. Some baths were cold. Some were like a hot tub. Indoor and outdoor, there were saunas, a whirl pool which whipped us around and round, and even a pool with chess boards, usually occupied by senior men who think they own the place (and probably do.) The best part was the ancient feel. The buildings were domed and decorated with statues and fountains and there were enough options for bathing experimentation to keep us occupied for hours (and then we chose to fall asleep in the sun for a bit as well.)

CITY PARK, PRACTICALLY THE CITY: The City Park was almost as big as the city center itself. We strolled through it and came across live music, open air markets, lakes, and even dried up summer ice rinks. Another stroke of timing, we ventured by the sports bar/beer garden in the middle of the park just as the Hungarian team won Waterpolo in the olympics. The Crowd went wild and we stopped in for some of the happy Hungarian atmosphere.

FREE EATS, TRADITIONAL TOO: The hostel served a free Goulash Feast on Tuesdays. We were all over it, and the cook wouldn't take no for an answer when Melanie said she didn't want to eat meat. The cook prepared a dish special for Melanie. The whole hostel supped together and then sat down for the closing ceremonies of the Olympics - complete with Hungarian Commentary.

F 911, WHO'S WATCHING?: We finally found a theater showing Fahrenheit 911 and along with friend Maurine headed for the show. Perhaps this shouldn't have come as a surprise but it did - there were more Hungarians in the audience watching subtitles than there were English or Americans. Melanie found herself feeling very aware and a little embarrassed of the impression they were getting of America. She wished other countries didn't have to see the movie, but wished that every American would watch it - especially before the elections. Steve felt that this movie was very clear demonstrating shortcomings of 'W'. He wondered if there's something being shown in America to counter M. Moore's information?

MARGARET ISLAND: Right in the middle of the Danube, between Buda and Pest, was Mel's little gettaway - a huge park and island with a fountain in the middle, a rubber running track around the island, a small zoo, and miles of paths. The best part was crossing the bridge to get to Margaret Island. Mel thought this had the very best view of Budapeste. All at once she could see both the Castle and the Parliament, two huge architectural beauties.

CASTLE HILL: We spent a day roaming high on Castle Hill with the castle, the churches, and some of the oldest buildings in town. We roamed right from the sunny morning into the rainy afternoon and made our way quick down the hill in Buda and over the Chain bridge into Peste.

CRAZY IN CONCRETE: We thought we'd run straight home, but got distracted from our chilliness when we saw David Malone (or something like that), the escape artist, encased in concrete with only his head exposed - sweating under TV cameras and hovering helicopters. Once the concrete set, he was to be thrown into the Danube at his peril. We decided to stay and watch when Pizza Hut came around offering free drinks. The Pizza, however, they wouldn't share. The TV crew just ate it in front of us. We weren't patient enough to stay for the end, but we did learn that David survived.

WE ALL LIVE IN A ...: At Crazy Dzungle restaurant with about ten friend, Mel and a couple others sung Karaoke of "We all Live in a Yellow Submarine" since we were staying at "Yellow Submarine Hostel." Mel even got a free Yellow Sub T-shirt a few days later since we were there so long.

SIGHTS ON WHEELS: We jumped on a bicycle tour and so attached history and detail to the glorious buildings and sites of Budapest including the Castle, Parliament, Hero Square, St. Stephen Basilica, the Chain bridge over the Danube, and the two cities in one. We had a great guide, and biking with the wind in our hair was all fun.

MAINLAND EUROPE'S LARGEST PARLIAMENT: The Parliament building was glorious and huge and similar in style to England's (which is Europe's largest Parliament.) We love learning about governments. This was our fifth parliament tour. It was interesting to learn of the changes they've made in their system of representation to comply with European Union requirements.

HOUSE OF TERROR MUSEUM: This museum was a little like others we've seen on Nazi and Soviet occupation in the Eastern Block, but this one was the most dramatic. Everyone said it was the best museum in Budapest. We appreciated the literature they provided, but Melanie could have done without the beat music and flashing lights - it felt a little like an amusement park and she hated to see people's terror become too amusing. Steve felt it was presented better than any other terror museum we've seen.

HOSTEL HOME AND LOTS OF FUN WITH FRIENDS: Our hostel was a dorm room, but our 'penthouse suite' felt like a little apartment. We went out every day with roommies. Did bike tours, movies, museums and walks with Maurine. Stayed up til 5 am playing games with Guy and Nick. With roommies Helene and Sara we Hosted late nights with the guys across the hall. We had so much fun, and so little sleep in our week in Budapest - we had to leave to take a rest.

'METRO MAID' MADE IT BIG: To get to the train on our way out of town, we had to take the metro. There was no ticket seller at the metro. We took the risk and jumped on hoping we could pay on it or maybe afterward - - Pay afterwards we did, many times over. The ticket collector stopped us when we got off. When we didn't have tickets, he demanded a big fine on the spot. When we didn't have it, he called the police. Meanwhile, time was ticking and our international train was leaving in fifteen minutes. We finally caughed up some of our rainy day American money. Later we learned, several people had similar problems. We figure Budapest has purposely made ticketing difficult since they make more money on fining desparate tourists than on charging them rightfully.

FORGET LAST IMPRESSIONS, NEVER FORGET THE GOOD TIMES: But, try as they might, they couldn't embitter us to Budapeste. We still loved the sweet city despite the foul aftertaste we got from the underground. Sometimes you DO get a second chance to make a last impression. When we hopped into our cozy overnight sleeper train, we only looked back on the good.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MEL AND STEVE NEXT?: HINTS: There's a famous guy that lived here. There's a chocolate cereal named after him and there's a character like him who loves wonderful numbers. He always leaves his mark in twos, and he lives for the night life. If you mess with his heart, you've got a lot at stake. Next time, we "Vant - to - tell - you - more. "

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS TO: Georgina D., Elspeth G., Sharon P.,
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: to Bob and Jean.