Email to Family:
"I am sitting in a terrible dump of a resort on the Black Sea called Varna (supposed to be the best in Bulgaria, but at least the beer is good). As usual they are tearing up everything or it's totally falling apart. The modern part looked great, so I am disappointed in the old part. I was beginning to think Bulgaria was more advanced than Romania.
The drive this morning from Bucharest was interesting. There are no street signs or house numbers in Romania or Bulgaria (very rare), and the Garmin can't keep up in the city so it takes some time to get out of town. The drive to the border was okay, but the border was crazy. Roads all over the place, but no signs, finally got across a big bridge across the Danube (first sight of the Danube since Budapest).
Anyway, first I had to pay the bridge tax on the Romanian side, then drive all over the place to find the crossing. There were trucks by the 100's lined up on both sides of the border and in huge parking lots (really just in big dirt fields). Of course the bridge is under repair although it is so old, flimsy, and narrow I can't see why. It is very very high and very long and there are lines trucks stuck on it, so it was a little hairy and shaky. Also, only one-way due to everlasting construction. They use red and green table tennis bats in Romania and Bulgaria for the many many one-way roads to indicate who can go (usually, sometimes just a guy waving his arms, or nothing, people just make up the rules).
Eventually, I got across and to the passport check on Bulgarian side. Was I ever glad to see my favourite OMV gas station with coffee, pastry, WIFI, etc. The drive was great, a nice paved 2-lane highway with very few trucks and even very few cars, so smooth sailing and nice countryside. Oh yes, back to the Danube, my god, industrial with huge coal or nuclear power plants. The river is treated like a garbage dump.
So catch up on Romania. I loved Romania, very interesting country, and would stay another week at least if I didn't have so much more to do. It is a road trip after all, and an overview.
So Transylvania is the most interesting because of the German people who lived there for 800 years and then left in 1990 (500,000 Germans or Saxons as they are called left). They were the ones responsible for any prosperity there. There are 250 villages left empty, with gorgeous fortified churches, and lots of houses and farms. The Romanian government took ownership of everything. Romanians and gypsies have been moved in. Still, there are great larger towns there like Sighisoara my favourite. The hotel was owned by a Canadian-Romanian family --- great people. I had fun looking around the cemetery and standing around after church to listen to the Saxon dialect (no Mennonite names, no plautdeetch), except for the name Reimer and some people were saying things like gundach (good day).
I have also been looking into the Jewish history here in the Balkans. Mostly of course, all dead, but there are synagogues that are museums and give tours and history.
Bucharest was not a great city, all falling down, and museums a mess, mostly closed for renovations. The collections are marvellous and they only show a small amount, but not much English explanation. The art museum is amazing (although the Brukenthal in Sibiu is more interesting). The history museum has an incredible gold horde, and the peasant museum is amazing. The most amazing thing in Bucharest is the Palace of Parliament, the largest office building in the world, and very gorgeous built in the 1980's by the infamous Ceausecu. All marble, they say all the resources of Romania are in that building. I did a tour and the guide was great, provided a lot of extra information.
I found one good restaurant and ate there 3 times --- Romanian live music every night --- free and fantastic, and good Romanian food and of course good wine. Not a word of English, but we managed.
I don't know what I'll find in Bulgaria --- not keen on monasteries, but I'll check out Plovdiv --- it has a Roman amphitheatre.
So there's the Balkan Update. Love to all you guys. Bev"
May 30-31, Day 2-3, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
My hotel was also pretty good, short walk to town.
June 1-3, Days 4-6, Sofia, Bulgaria
Sofia is not very exciting and I never found a great cafe street. However, renting an apartment "Brown Cottage" through booking.com was great. A new experience and met the most wonderful couple Poli and Svetlin. Very convenient to the Mall of Sofia, lovely shops for food, local bar under the vines, German restaurant "Werner" on the corner. Short walk into the centre. Downsides of an apartment -- have to arrange to meet hosts when arriving and leaving. I did this by means of email as I am not comfortable with the phone yet (overcame that in Nix yesterday). It was very modern and even had a washing machine and dishwasher.
City maps provided/available are not good and I lost the good one I had bought somewhere earlier. No stores in Sofia with decent maps (bought another but no help). I have resorted to using my Samsung Maps feature --- it has more on it and searches are easier.
Poli and Svetlin took me to the mall the first night to find an Apple store and exchange. There was an iCorner and a very nice young guy fixed my "virus" (bad me watching PFTV and accidentally opening something). Then they took me for a beer and snacks. Svetlin speaks good English and is a chatter (both are) so we easily and quickly became great friends.
The archeology museum in the middle of the city is fantastic, excellent exhibits, and very good interpretation. Thanks to Philip Kendrick from the Algeria tour, I recognized a lot of things --- measurement table, stele, etc. Never did find the other museums --- nothing is labelled and the maps are hopeless. I did see the changing of the guard (right outside the Arch. Museum, and a big noisy protest against the banks.
I did find a L'Occitane by first googling and then searching --- what a surprise amongst the ordinary shops. There are a few luxury shops like Gucci, but mostly the usual down market local shops.
Interesting, a gypsy guy helped me park and find the apartment, hoping for money, but didn't hang around for it. Poli explained later. There are guys with horses and wagons in the city, they seem to have a business carting away any junk from renovations. I assume these are gypsies too, but hard to tell. One really needs a local guide in these countries.
Random Tips for Driving in Bulgaria:
- most things are the same as for Romania. Roads are better and not so many horses and wagons on the roads. Lots of construction
- Border crossing - easy but for the confusing roads (see above). You pay a vignette at the border instead of tolls on the roads. It's very cheap and they generally take euros
- FX - best to have cash in small bills. I usually try to have euros, and some currency of the country I am leaving and the country I am going into. At each border there are exchange booths, so it's easy to exchange a few euros and change your previous country currency right there, rather than try to find something open upon arrival. I was exchanging euros but am hoarding those now, so I am getting cash out of ATMs
- decent maps are scarce of non-existent. The best option is to buy at the gas station, but these maps are in local language, and not great maps for tourists, topography, etc. (same all over the Balkans. The locals seldom know of much less where things are
- OMV, my favourite gas station is in Bulgaria (and Serbia)
- navigating - my routine is to program the directions to the hotel on the Samsung phone Maps app while on WIFI (at hotel or OMV station). The Samsung seems to have more on it. I do the same with Google maps on my computer. In the car, I plug in the Garmin and program to the city I am going to. It won't program to the hotel until I am right in the city AND the hotel is in the list of Hotels
- safety - every where is safe and the car is safe. Don't leave anything in the car. Don't leave money on the table but rather hand directly to the waiter
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