This is the last and final entry for the blog, as I consider my traveling concluded upon arrival to Israel!
Not much has been going on today. I met up David (my distant relative) and checked out where he works. I then got myself some sort of grill thing and headed back home to pack. Left at 17:00 towards the airport and took off at 20:50. Arrived in Israel at around 22:30 local time. I had two bags: One a massive 25kg bag and the other a smaller one, which was probably around 8kg or so I'd say.
Driving to parents' place ("home") was interesting as I got to see some new buildings along the way, and a whole bunch of new stuff that has been done in the last year and a half that I've been gone.
This is it!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Thursday, 4 Oct - Monday, 8 Oct: Bucharest
Thursday, 4 Oct: The bulk of the day was spent doing nothing. My parents were getting ready to leave back to Israel. I took care of their packing (it’s like Tetris – quite a bit of fun). They took off at 17:00 to the airport. I met up with Catalin (we met during my Fagarasi hiking and hiked one day together) at 18:00 to discuss a possible hike in the Bucegi mountains. There’s a 2509m peak there which peaked my interest…
Friday, 5: Oct: I went to hang out at Bucharest Mall to see a movie or something. However, upon arrival I realized I wasn’t feeling to well, so I tucked my tail between my legs and headed back home for a good nap… (On the way I bought a topographic map of Bucegi mountains for tomorrow’s possible hike.) In the evening I met up with some David guy who is some very distant relative of mine that happens to be in Bucharest although he is in fact Israeli. He had an extra ticket for a Muse rock concert for the next day, and since it seemed I wasn’t feeling too well for the hike, I figured I’d go with him and postpone the hike by one day.
Saturday, 6 Oct: Like yesterday, I went to a mall again in the hopes of catching a movie, and like yesterday, upon arrival I just headed back for a nap. My cold is acting up and my nose is running like the Niagara falls. At 18:45 I met David at Aviatorilor and we headed a few hundred meters to some stadium next to the “Arcul de Triumf” (a rather popular construct in Europe…). The concert was fine, and I’m sure would have been far more enjoyable had I actually known the band. I left at 22:00 (before the end) so as to get sufficient amount of sleep in order to leave on the hike the next day. Going with Catalin was no longer an option as he planned on leaving today. I figured I’d just go alone – no big deal.
Sunday, 7 Oct: I woke up a little after 7:00 and realized I was feeling way to crappy for a hike. So unfortunately I went back to bed and aborted the hike. Later the day I stopped by, again, Bucharest Mall and finally got to watch some movies. A “double feature” to be precise… Nothing was going on in the evening. I was feeling a little better and was contemplating to salvage my hike, but there was not enough time left now, and the weather has been getting worse. In fact, it’s been pretty bad since Saturday – the original departure day.
Monday, 8 Oct: I called Catalin to hear about how his hike went. It turns out he ended up not going due to bad weather. I suppose it was not meant to happen one way or another… Today was another day at the mall (this Bucharest segment has become more of a mall tour – but the weather is just too bad to walk outside especially in light of my cold ), and an important one. For the first time I was caught doing a double feature :( It was a bit embarrassing but had no consequences. I was simply made to leave. Nothing to spectacular during the evening other than a bit of a walk.
Friday, 5: Oct: I went to hang out at Bucharest Mall to see a movie or something. However, upon arrival I realized I wasn’t feeling to well, so I tucked my tail between my legs and headed back home for a good nap… (On the way I bought a topographic map of Bucegi mountains for tomorrow’s possible hike.) In the evening I met up with some David guy who is some very distant relative of mine that happens to be in Bucharest although he is in fact Israeli. He had an extra ticket for a Muse rock concert for the next day, and since it seemed I wasn’t feeling too well for the hike, I figured I’d go with him and postpone the hike by one day.
Saturday, 6 Oct: Like yesterday, I went to a mall again in the hopes of catching a movie, and like yesterday, upon arrival I just headed back for a nap. My cold is acting up and my nose is running like the Niagara falls. At 18:45 I met David at Aviatorilor and we headed a few hundred meters to some stadium next to the “Arcul de Triumf” (a rather popular construct in Europe…). The concert was fine, and I’m sure would have been far more enjoyable had I actually known the band. I left at 22:00 (before the end) so as to get sufficient amount of sleep in order to leave on the hike the next day. Going with Catalin was no longer an option as he planned on leaving today. I figured I’d just go alone – no big deal.
Sunday, 7 Oct: I woke up a little after 7:00 and realized I was feeling way to crappy for a hike. So unfortunately I went back to bed and aborted the hike. Later the day I stopped by, again, Bucharest Mall and finally got to watch some movies. A “double feature” to be precise… Nothing was going on in the evening. I was feeling a little better and was contemplating to salvage my hike, but there was not enough time left now, and the weather has been getting worse. In fact, it’s been pretty bad since Saturday – the original departure day.
Monday, 8 Oct: I called Catalin to hear about how his hike went. It turns out he ended up not going due to bad weather. I suppose it was not meant to happen one way or another… Today was another day at the mall (this Bucharest segment has become more of a mall tour – but the weather is just too bad to walk outside especially in light of my cold ), and an important one. For the first time I was caught doing a double feature :( It was a bit embarrassing but had no consequences. I was simply made to leave. Nothing to spectacular during the evening other than a bit of a walk.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Wednesday, 3 Oct: Craivoa - Bucharest
We spent a little time in the morning hanging out the center of town in Craiova. After that we headed northeast 125km to Pitesti. Before Pitesti (33km) we stopped at a place called Scornicesti, which is the birthplace of Ceaucescu and where he spent his first few years of childhood until apparently running away from home. It's a small 2-room house..
From Pitesti we got on one of the two real highways in the country and headed to Bucharest. The drive was brilliant. The road was great with few cars and effectively no speed limit (a sign of a truly advanced country). So we cruised at 150kph mostly, which was a refreshing change.
Our luck as far as lodging has come to an end. We were not able to find a place in Bucharest and so we headed out of town with no luck still. Ultimately, we tucked out tails between our lags and went to Miron and Liana’s..
We brought a couple of Pizza’s and at the Pizza place we witnessed a group of Israelis do what Israelis do best – namely, they embarrassed the shit out of me with their vulgar behavior so much as I wanted to burry myself (or better yet - them).
From Pitesti we got on one of the two real highways in the country and headed to Bucharest. The drive was brilliant. The road was great with few cars and effectively no speed limit (a sign of a truly advanced country). So we cruised at 150kph mostly, which was a refreshing change.
Our luck as far as lodging has come to an end. We were not able to find a place in Bucharest and so we headed out of town with no luck still. Ultimately, we tucked out tails between our lags and went to Miron and Liana’s..
We brought a couple of Pizza’s and at the Pizza place we witnessed a group of Israelis do what Israelis do best – namely, they embarrassed the shit out of me with their vulgar behavior so much as I wanted to burry myself (or better yet - them).
Tuesday, 2 Oct: Curtea de Arges - Craiova
I was feeling a little better and we decided to leave town and get some mileage. The first goal was to get to Targu Jiu some 160km west, where there are stone sculptures of some famous Romanian guy. To get there we had to pass through a town called Ramnicu Valcea, which is only 30km west. However, the road wsa “broken” as the sign said, and we had to go southeast for 30km up to Rascov (near Pitesti – bigger city), and then head back up northwest for another 40km.
Anyway, we continued on westbound to Targu Jiu and stopped along the way at a monastery called “Horezu”. This was the real deal for once. Unlike previous monasteries, this one had the nuns and monks and their leaving quarters and the whole shpiel. What we always saw up to now was just the central prayer building/church/whatever.
An important point is that a few km before the monastery, we stopped at a joint called “Pensiune Evrica”, which the best soup I’ve had up to that point! The bread, however, was really bad and there was a starving dog there, who benefited greatly as I fed him about 10 slices or so.
We arrived in Targu Jiu around 17:00. Checked out the whole sculptures stuff, which was by no means magnificent… The museum itself had already closed, so maybe we missed all the good stuff…
Finally, we continued to Craiova (80km south). It was already dark and the drive was not easy as Romanian roads are one lane in each direction, have no shoulders, and are not of the highest quality. In this particular instance I had suicidal folks also walk at the edge of the road and drive their bicycles. In all cases they had no lights and were wearing camouflage so as to make avoiding running them down nearly impossible.
In Craiova we yet again ran into difficulty finding a place. We were lucky once more as someone who had made a reservation failed to show up and we got their room. The hotel was extremely well located at the very center of the city. Its restaurant had the first or second best soup (ciorba) I’ve had in Romania, with the other being the one I had for lunch. I suppose I should designate today as “soup day”.
Anyway, we continued on westbound to Targu Jiu and stopped along the way at a monastery called “Horezu”. This was the real deal for once. Unlike previous monasteries, this one had the nuns and monks and their leaving quarters and the whole shpiel. What we always saw up to now was just the central prayer building/church/whatever.
An important point is that a few km before the monastery, we stopped at a joint called “Pensiune Evrica”, which the best soup I’ve had up to that point! The bread, however, was really bad and there was a starving dog there, who benefited greatly as I fed him about 10 slices or so.
We arrived in Targu Jiu around 17:00. Checked out the whole sculptures stuff, which was by no means magnificent… The museum itself had already closed, so maybe we missed all the good stuff…
Finally, we continued to Craiova (80km south). It was already dark and the drive was not easy as Romanian roads are one lane in each direction, have no shoulders, and are not of the highest quality. In this particular instance I had suicidal folks also walk at the edge of the road and drive their bicycles. In all cases they had no lights and were wearing camouflage so as to make avoiding running them down nearly impossible.
In Craiova we yet again ran into difficulty finding a place. We were lucky once more as someone who had made a reservation failed to show up and we got their room. The hotel was extremely well located at the very center of the city. Its restaurant had the first or second best soup (ciorba) I’ve had in Romania, with the other being the one I had for lunch. I suppose I should designate today as “soup day”.
Monday, 1 Oct: Curtea de Arges
I Woke up and realized I was not getting any better. While the fever was gone, my stomachaches weren’t, and my visits to the most important chamber of the house were ever more frequent. Therefore, we decided to pay a visit to the local hospital.
I suppose one does not fully experience a "developing" country without visiting the ER (I do suspect that much like Thailand my health situation was food driven).
The ER experience was interesting and quite different from the Thai one. The Romanian hospital looked much older and in worse condition than its Thai counterpart (yes, that is possible). The place was pretty empty and when we saw a doctor walking down the hall and asked him where to go – he told us to join him and he ended up checking me out. Unlike the Thai situation, there was actually a doc around and he knew what he was doing. Ultimately, I got a two large injections with some stuff (I’m not sure what exactly) and some prescriptions. The most surprising and unique thing about the whole experience was when we asked how much to pay. The doctor just waved away and said we needed to pay nothing! I call upon the US healthcare system to learn from the Romanians!
After this we had lunch at a Serbian restaurant, though I could not detect anything different about their food. Afterwards we checked out the Arges monastery, which concluded the day.
I suppose one does not fully experience a "developing" country without visiting the ER (I do suspect that much like Thailand my health situation was food driven).
The ER experience was interesting and quite different from the Thai one. The Romanian hospital looked much older and in worse condition than its Thai counterpart (yes, that is possible). The place was pretty empty and when we saw a doctor walking down the hall and asked him where to go – he told us to join him and he ended up checking me out. Unlike the Thai situation, there was actually a doc around and he knew what he was doing. Ultimately, I got a two large injections with some stuff (I’m not sure what exactly) and some prescriptions. The most surprising and unique thing about the whole experience was when we asked how much to pay. The doctor just waved away and said we needed to pay nothing! I call upon the US healthcare system to learn from the Romanians!
After this we had lunch at a Serbian restaurant, though I could not detect anything different about their food. Afterwards we checked out the Arges monastery, which concluded the day.
Sunday, 30 Sep: Lake Balea - Curtea de Arges
My health situation continued to be feverous and we decided to leave Balea and head to Curtea de Arges, which is a small town located about 70km south. On the way (still part of the Transfagarasan), we passed through a large dam called Vidraru from where it is possible to Bungee jump!The height is 166m. I suppose all those NZ Nevis jumpers (134m) should stop walking around as like Spanish peacocks...
Upon arrival around midday, we found a place to stay, which was easier than finding a restaurant. Apparently, people prefer drinking to eating in this town.
Nothing too spectacular happened for the rest of the day. There’s a famous monastery about 500m from the hotel but I was in no condition for it (although I could have used some divine intervention).
One general comment about all those cases where I’ve had some dead hours to spend. I typically watch the National Geographic channel, which is really interesting and is also the only watchable channel around.
Upon arrival around midday, we found a place to stay, which was easier than finding a restaurant. Apparently, people prefer drinking to eating in this town.
Nothing too spectacular happened for the rest of the day. There’s a famous monastery about 500m from the hotel but I was in no condition for it (although I could have used some divine intervention).
One general comment about all those cases where I’ve had some dead hours to spend. I typically watch the National Geographic channel, which is really interesting and is also the only watchable channel around.
Saturday, 29 Sep: Sibiu - Lake Balea
First a few words about the night. I woke up quite a few times feeling like I had some fever, but I didn’t have a thermometer handy, so I’m not sure if I did have it or not, although I suspect that I did.
In the morning we got to see in daylight the place where we lodged, and it was quite lovely indeed, as it was pretty much in the middle of nowhere (explaining the pitch darkness of the night before).
Anyway, we headed out and first went south 17km to Paltinis, which is at 1400m or so and the views on the way were quite nice. From there we headed back to Sibiu (32km) and proceeded eastbound towards Fagaras on E81 for 45km until we hit the Transfagarasan road, which is the road that crosses the Fagarasi mountains that I hiked three weeks before. Heading north on the Transfagarasan for another 30km we arrived at Lake Balea.
Lake Balea is at 2044m, and I spent two nights there when I hiked through (although not in the hotel but rather with the Salvamont – i.e. rescue service, as it was cheaper and nicer for me..). It was nice being back to this place so shortly after having been there.
We got the last spot at the hotel. The place is very nice with some beautiful lake and surrounding mountain views. The hotel is situated right on the shore, literally touching the water. The view from the room was beautiful. We had the worst lunch there, however. It was both expensive and disgusting (a lethal combination)…
By the evening I started feeling worse and my fever had already gone up to 37.9, which is quite high for me, and I was worried my ear were going to melt…
In the morning we got to see in daylight the place where we lodged, and it was quite lovely indeed, as it was pretty much in the middle of nowhere (explaining the pitch darkness of the night before).
Anyway, we headed out and first went south 17km to Paltinis, which is at 1400m or so and the views on the way were quite nice. From there we headed back to Sibiu (32km) and proceeded eastbound towards Fagaras on E81 for 45km until we hit the Transfagarasan road, which is the road that crosses the Fagarasi mountains that I hiked three weeks before. Heading north on the Transfagarasan for another 30km we arrived at Lake Balea.
Lake Balea is at 2044m, and I spent two nights there when I hiked through (although not in the hotel but rather with the Salvamont – i.e. rescue service, as it was cheaper and nicer for me..). It was nice being back to this place so shortly after having been there.
We got the last spot at the hotel. The place is very nice with some beautiful lake and surrounding mountain views. The hotel is situated right on the shore, literally touching the water. The view from the room was beautiful. We had the worst lunch there, however. It was both expensive and disgusting (a lethal combination)…
By the evening I started feeling worse and my fever had already gone up to 37.9, which is quite high for me, and I was worried my ear were going to melt…
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