Sitting in front of Kalemegdan Citadel in Belgrade, Serbia.
For photos go to http://picasaweb.google.com/mpadraicmurphy
Hello, Hello, Hello,
I hope everyone is enjoying the rest of their summer because it is pretty much officially not summer in Moscow any longer. Yes that is right, I have officially declared summer to be over prior to the end of August, how sad is that? The three glorious months of the Moscow’s summer have been replaced with the all too short autumn. I am expecting full blown winter by the first week of November.
The weather change was especially noticeable for me as I’ve been on vacation in Southeastern Europe for the past few weeks.
Sibiu (Romania). Biserica Evanghelica (and house with creepy eyelid windows) as seen from the Turmul Sfatului clock tower.
When I left Moscow it was hot and humid and when I returned most of the outdoor cafés and beer tents were shut down and the temperature had dropped by 20 degrees or so. It was definitely one of those what the heck happened while I was on vacation and why did I decide to where shorts for the flight home moments.
My recent vacation was excellent, excellent and extremely warm. I flew into Belgrade and spent about a week eating, drinking and sightseeing with my friend Marko and his family. His mom was fantastic and pretty much force fed me a months worth of food in a week. But, Serbian food is excellent (lots of meats and cheese and good breads), so I shouldn’t complain. Once we were done gorging at home we’d take to the Belgrade streets to see the sights.
My favorite sight in Belgrade was the Kalemegdan Citadel located where the Danube and the Sava rivers meet.
A beer and journal writing break in Sibiu, Romania.
The ground this fortress occupies has been inhabited since the 2nd century and has been occupied by the Celts, Romans, Huns, Avars, Slavs, Byzantines, Ottomans, Nazi’s and Serbs. There are fantastic views of city and the rivers and it’s an especially great place to visit at sunset.
The real beauty of Belgrade, however, isn’t the sights (of which there are many). The real beauty of the city is the café culture. All through the city people lounge about at the never ending supply of cafés sipping coffee, water and beer. As you stroll about you’d think that no one is working because the cafés are always packed. The reality is that people are working, socializing and relaxing in the cafés. From my time in Belgrade the basic operating system seems to be that people take care of their business, whatever business that may be, at the cafés. We spent our time in Belgrade seeing sights, stopping at cafés, seeing more sights, meeting more people in cafés and so on.
Resting near the Carolingian Palace in Senia, Romania.
It was a great relaxing way to kick off the vacation.
From Belgrade I trained it into Romania and spent time in Transylvania (Sibiu and Brasov and the surrounding areas). Transylvania has a very different feel than other places I went on the trip. It was settled by Saxons, imported by the Hapsburgs so there is a very Germanic feel to the place. I went to Romania because I’ve dreamed of visiting Transylvania ever since I was a little kid and saw my first Dracula film. Dracula, being not real and all, really isn’t that much of big deal in Transylvania or Romania as a whole. The real guy, Vlad Tepes, is actually a hero for fighting off the Turks while King of Walachia (not Transylvania).
The fortress at Veliko Turnova (Bulgaria) during the evening light show.
He was born in Transylvania though, and I saw the house…now a restaurant. Regardless of the lack of horror, Transylvania was still pretty amazing. Lots of mountains, rivers and small idyllic villages that seem to have been plopped right out of the 17th or 18th century.
From Romania I trained my way down to Bulgaria, which is an amazing country. I spent four days in Veliko Tarnova. I had meant to stay three by a severe hangover caused by too much homemade Rakiya (vodka made from plums) and a night dancing Chownga (gypsy music mixed with techno) prevented me from catching my bus. Veliko is a fantastic city though and the extra day gave me the opportunity to cure my hangover by swimming in a clear refreshing river. Veliko was the capitol of Bulgaria’s Czars in the 10th and 11th century.
Fun with the panoramic settings on m camera while in Budapest (Hungary). Buda is on the left hand side of the picture and Pest is on the right. The chain bridge can be seen as well.
It has an old feel to it and overlooks some amazing scenery. Bulgaria as a whole had a great feel, it felt like the place where Turkey, Greece and Russia meet �" which is a pretty cool.
From Bulgaria I zipped my way, via plane, to Budapest where I spent my last four days. In Budapest I swam in the natural mineral waters of Pest’s baths, walked through the old fortified streets of Buda’s castle hill and spent and an entire day doing nothing but exploring the hustle and bustle of Pest. Budapest is actually two cities (well three technically) Buda on the west bank of the Danube and Pest on the East bank of the Danube. Both cities, though merged now, have a very different feel to them as you explore. My hostel was located atop one of the cities major hills, Gellert Hill, in a Citadel built near the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I had an amazing view of all of downtown Buda and Pest.
From Budapest I fly back to Moscow after 19 days on the road. I’m posting pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/mpadraicmurphy as always. I’ll be posting them slowly so you’ll have to check now and again to catch’em all. For anyone who might want all the gory details of my trip on a day by day basis it will be posted on my face book page as well as at travbuddy.com. My travbuddy user name is mpmurph133, I’m easy to find.
So now I’m back in Moscow and in good spirits. This weekend was the 860th anniversary of Moscow, and you know what “they” say �" there’s no birthday like your 860th! The streets were packed with people celebrating and public concerts. I wandered around a bit enjoying the music and taking in the festivities. The authorities banned the sale of liquor in the center of the city so things seemed to be calm and safe. This week I’ll be getting back into work mode and will hopefully doing some work in the regions.
Just before I left on vacation I actually was able to take two work trips up to St. Petersburg. Being that summers over in Russia I’m glad I got to get up there while the days were still long and the city still had its summer glow about it. I’ve posted some St. Pete pics too…it’s a fairly amazing and beautiful city, though a bit more upkeep could really bring out the potential of the place.
Well that’s about all that is going on these days. Just wanted to say hello to all and I hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day weekend. Have a beer brat and some cheese curds on my behalf.
Cheers,
Mike
Photos located at http://picasaweb.google.com/mpadraicmurphy
