Overnight to Transylvania

June 10, 2014

We took a sleeper train from Budapest to Sighisoara, Romania. The train wasn't bad. The hardest part was getting our luggage stored up above the hall by our cabin. It didn't fit under the seat like in India. So you have to climb up to the top bunk and pass the luggage into the space above the hall. We were 6 women from our group in our cabin. Some others shared a cabin with strangers. It was nice because you can lock the cabin during the night. We left at about 7:30 pm. Once we were settled, a few of us went down to the cafe car and had some wine together. We stayed there till about midnight. We wanted to wait for the passport check (two of them - one for leaving Hungary and one for entering Romania.). While we were there the others made up the beds. The train has a nice bathroom, so we were able to brush our teeth and use the toilet. 

We got into Sighisoara in the morning.  We took taxis to our hotel and expected to leave our bags because it was too early to check-in. But the rooms were ready, so we were able to freshen up.  We also went to the ATM to get Romanian money. Then two vans came at 9:30 to take us around the Transylvania countryside. 

The guide was excellent and explained all kinds of things. Transylvania has 3 main ethnic groups: the Romanians, the Roma, and Germans.  The Germans are Evangelical Lutherans.  They built many churches in Transylvania. The first one we saw was near a fortress, which was on a steep hill. The church was at the bottom of the hill. If they were attacked, the women and children would go to the fortress. The crops and large animals (cows, pigs, horses, sheep) were also kept in the fortress because you  wouldn't have time to move them when you're attacked. The men would stay in the church to defend the city.  The church has holes near the top for guns and the arches have space between them and the walls to pour down hot oil, etc

In World War II, the Romanian Germans fought on the side of Hitler. When the Russians liberated Romania, they were angry at the ethnic Germans. Many were sent to work camps and did not survive. Now, many are emigrating from Romania, especially to Germany. The churches we saw are mostly In ruins and have tiny congregations. A priest comes about once a month because there aren't enough people.

This evening we had dinner at the restaurant Casa Vlad Dracul. They have the room where Vlad was born. You have to pay extra to see it. We were going to, but it was closed. I guess Vlad was getting ready to go out. It was 9pm, but still light here. 

Last day in Budapest

June 9, 2014

Just a very quick note: I need to get dressed, pack and get down to breakfast. Our guide is taking us on a walking tour of Budapest at 9:00. I need to check out and leave my bag in the bag room before then. At 6:15 pm we take a taxi to the train station and take the overnight train to Sighisouara, Romania. We will arrive there too early to check in to our new hotel, so we'll leave our bags in the bag room there and go off to see things inSighisouara. This means I will not have internet access for about the next day and a half.  

Not all perfect

June 8, 2014

I've still got another day here and this country is beginning to get to me. There definitely is the communist legacy.  There are two hop-on hop-off bus companies. I didn't really choose, but I wouldn't have known which one to choose anyway. I ended up on the Giraffe one. The other Big Bus looks identical to the one I took in London, so I wonder if they're the same company.  There are two people working on the bus: one driver and one guide.  The guide doesn't really talk. There's a recording in 20 languages with headphones. You select the language. When you're coming to a stop, the guide interrupts the recording to tell you which stop is coming up. The guide just tells you the name and number. She doesn't tell you anything about the stop. Yesterday, I got on a bus and rhe guide was an older woman (my age!).  She yelled at people if they stood up or tried to go out the front door instead of the back. She didn't talk to anyone in a nice way and when I tried to ask her which stop to get off for my hotel, all she would say is, this is stop number __.  I tried two different times to ask her. Finally I got off at a stop which turned out to be one too soon, but I found my way back to my hotel. That guide really reminded of the way people would describe the Soviet women on Aeroflot and places like that. Later, I took another bus with a young girl who was much nicer. She pointed out that I had an old map and my numbers were wrong. She gave me a new map. However, since then I've always had young girls who are very sweet, but I think they should volunteer more information. Today I got off at the Market Square stop. Don't you think it would have been a good idea for the guide to tell us that the market is closed on Sunday?  It turned out okay because ther is a lovely street that runs into it and I walked down there and even got lunch (mozzarella and cheese baguette). This time I am following Gavin's example on journals. I never read his journal but he kept one when we were in India. He said his journal was totally filled with what he ate each day. He said that Jews only care about what they have to eat. I think my other Jewish friends would contradict him and say that it's 20 something guys - of any culture - who are preoccupied with food.  And Gavin ate twice as much as anyone else and he's still a thin guy.  

Then I took the bus to the Buda Castle. Everyone was lining up to buy a ticket for the funicular,   I had to ask someone in line if the funicular goes to the castle. I got an affirmative answer to that but no one could answer anything else - like do you take the funicular up and then walk down. We could see people walking down a path to the bottom of the funicular. In the end, everyone bought a one-way ticket. When we got to the top, I walked around a little but was getting really hot. I bought a coke and asked the girl how to get down the hill. She said she didn't know!  I asked several people, but everyone was in the same boat as me. Finally, I saw people walking down a path and followed them. Does it occur to them to put up some signs. And the signs need to be in other languages. No one but the Hungarians can understand Hungarian, which they call Magyar BTW. It's not related to any other common languages so you can't guess at meanings. It's a Finno-Ugric  language. 

I've changed hotels. I left the Medosz, which I loved, to come to the Cotton House to join my G Adventures group. I only had to walk 5 blocks from one hotel to the other. The girl at the desk - who is very helpful - says that our guide is Bulgarian. I've got a list of the people's names and met two of the other women when I was checking in. We are 12 in the group - 3 or 4 guys and the rest women. We meet in the lobby at 7 and then we'll go to dinner. 

Here are a few photos from today. 

Energy efficiency and sight seeing in Budapest

June 7, 2014I'm always amazed at how other countries do so much more to conserve energy. In both India and London, the lights wouldn't come on in the hotel room unless you put your key in a little slot on the wall --meaning that you couldn't leave the lights on when you  weren't in the room. Here, in Budapest, you can leave the lights on, but last night when I arrived, I opened the window to see the view. Later, it was hot so I left the window open. It still stayed pretty hot and it was very noisy in the square below late into the night. I still kept the window open because I thought it would be unbearably hot with it closed. Today I noticed a sign that says if the window is open heat or AC will turn off. So I shut the window and now it's perfectly comfortable in here.

They have the same tour buses here as in London.  And, as in London, you also get a river cruise with  it.  So now I have sailed on the Danube.
Some photos:

Today's lunch: really good salad and paprika chicken (famous Hungarian dish)

First day in Budapest

June 7, 2014

I really need to make some German friends. They are great travelers. I'm pretty sure I remember that when we were at Yosemite someone who worked in the park told Susan that the most useful language for her was German. In London and in Budapest, everywhere I go, people are speaking German. Signs in this hotel are in Hungarian, Russian and German. Some signs are in English. Breakfasts seem catered to the Germans. The buffet always has cold cuts and cheese. Maybe Hungarians and Brits eat those things for breakfast, too. I know it's definitely not a French breakfast. (I should say I also heard a lot of French in London.) This morning there was even broccoli on the buffet and I saw people eating it. There is also always a cappuccino machine for the coffee. That was true in Morocco, too. Here, I had to choose the first button because I could tell that said coffee - couldn't figure out what the other buttons said. 

Budapest is an hour later than London and MUCH warmer. The temperature will be the same as in Alexandria today. My room looks out over a square so I have a lovely view (the photo is in yesterday's post), but incredibly noisy late at night. 

Here's a phot of the square in front of my hotel. You can see the tall Hotel Medosz behind it. 

London to Budapest

June 6, 2014. I guess I was really tired. I slept till 8. So I just had breakfast in the hotel, packed and waited in the lobby for the shuttle. Now I see the advantage of the Heathrow Express over the shuttle. The shuttle takes forever. I was the first one picked up. Then we drove through tons of traffic in London to pick up others at 3 different hotels. I still think I prefer it, though for the convenience. But it might be a good idea to take a taxi to Paddingtin Station (not far) and then get the Heathrow Express from there. Apparently British Airways is having baggage issues. Something to do with tech issues. We were delayed while they got our luggage on the plane. But you have to give them credit for refreshments. Air Icelandic took me across the Atlantic on 2 long flights and didn't give me a bit to eat. BA takes me on a short 2.5 hour flight and we get sandwiches and "complimentary drinks from the bar."  I had red wine. The two young guys next to me had vodka and coke. Then they each had a beer. One lady asked for tea and the flight attendant said, "Tea! That's not exciting!"

Budapest Airport is small and easy. There are only 3 baggage carousels and there were no other flights coming when ours did. I got my bag right away. Then I went to the ATM right away. A lady from New Zealand couldn't get her card to work in the machine, but I got money with no problems.  On the floor of hoe airport is an orange line that says Airport Shuttle. You just follow it. Then I bought a ticket and waited about 10 minutes. The van came and I got to my hotel in about 40 minutes. This time I was the second to be dropped off. The hotel seems fine. Tomorrow I'll start visiting Budapest. 

A full day in London

June 5, 2014

In my only real sightseeing day in London, I feel like I accomplished a lot. but first, I have some VERY EXCITING non-travel news that I think I can tell now. When I was waiting at the gate at Dulles, Oumar and Lisa called me and said they had something to tell me. They were getting married the next day. They had planned this for a while but intended to surprise everyone and tell us after the fact. They had to call and tell me the day before because I was traveling. I had known they were leaving on a cruise this Saturday, but I had no idea it would be a honeymoon. So, they were married on Wednesday at the San Francisco courthouse. They had a photographer, so we will get photos, but I don't have them yet. I am VERY, VERY happy. 

Now, for travel news. Today I had breakfast at my hotel (no big thrill - self-serve similar to US). Then I walked over to Marble Arch and took the BigBus tour. It's one of those hop-on buses where you buy a ticket for a day and can ride as much as you want. I rode on top. It was pretty cold and I noticed I was the only one without a jacket. I did have long sleeves and a scarf. I saw lots of things from the bus and heard interesting stories from the tour guide. I got off at Tower Of London and took a tour of the tower. They also keep the Crown Jewels there so I went to look at those too.  Afterwards, I took a cruise on a boat on the Thames (it's included in the BigBus fare). I saw the London Eye. Then I got off the boat at Westminister Abby. I was taking my time, not feeling there was any reason to hurry. It turned out that Westminister Abby closes at 3:30. I was the last person they let in. They have audio tours that you can take around. You have to tell it where you are and then you hear a description. It's well-done, but not nearly as good as the audio tour at Alcatraz.  Then I walked over to Buckingham Palace and arrived just in time for the changing of the guard. Then I rode the bus back to Marble Arch and walked back to my hotel. I had dinner at an Indian restaurant. Yesterday I had fish and chips, so I've eaten the two  foods that I wanted to have in London. Neither was anything special. I really like London and definitely want to come back. I didn't get to see Saint Paul's Cathedral or the British Museum. And next time I'd like to take a trip to see Stonehenge and Bath. They have day trips that go there. 

Tomorrow I fly to Hungary. My flight leaves at 2:45. I'm having the shuttle pick me up. The Heathrow Express was nice, but then you still have to take the underground (carrying luggage up and down several flights of stairs) and walk a ways. The shuttle is easier and doesn't cost any more. I contacted the Medosz Hotel in Budapest and they said I can get an airport shuttle there. Now I just need to organize my stuff.  Some photos:

1 & 2 Tower of London   3 London Eye.  4 Twinings Tea. 5 London phone booths. They still have them! I don't know why since everyone walks down the street talking on their cells just like in the US