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…
Friday, Sep 28: Cluj - Sibiu
In the morning we headed out to Sibiu (180km south), which is this year's cultural capital of Europe. We arrived around 14:00 and started to look for a hotel.
Sibiu was worse than Cluj in terms of finding a place to stay. We entered a Ramada hotel and they were booked too, of course, but they were kind enough to make a gazillion phone calls and ultimately they found us a place out of town a kilometer south of Rasinari (which itself is 15km south of Sibiu).
We spent the afternoon until the evening walking around the old center of Sibiu. When I say “old”, I mean old! Some houses were from as far back as the 14th century. The whole area was pretty large and was quite spacious and very nice. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that it was probably the nicest city area I’ve seen in Romania. Before leaving we headed up a clock tower and got some nice 360 degrees views of the city.
We then headed to the Pension, called “Mirani”, which was a little hard to find as it was located in a c pitch dark area. It was just built and run by a couple who used to live in Torrence, CA for a while (60miles south of LA). They were really nice people. The place was very nice and spacious.
Sibiu was worse than Cluj in terms of finding a place to stay. We entered a Ramada hotel and they were booked too, of course, but they were kind enough to make a gazillion phone calls and ultimately they found us a place out of town a kilometer south of Rasinari (which itself is 15km south of Sibiu).
We spent the afternoon until the evening walking around the old center of Sibiu. When I say “old”, I mean old! Some houses were from as far back as the 14th century. The whole area was pretty large and was quite spacious and very nice. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that it was probably the nicest city area I’ve seen in Romania. Before leaving we headed up a clock tower and got some nice 360 degrees views of the city.
We then headed to the Pension, called “Mirani”, which was a little hard to find as it was located in a c pitch dark area. It was just built and run by a couple who used to live in Torrence, CA for a while (60miles south of LA). They were really nice people. The place was very nice and spacious.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Thursday, Sep 27: Cluj
We spent the entire day walking around the city center. The place is quite interesting as it has some impressive buildings. The city also looks much cleaner and better maintained than Bucharest and some other parts in Romania. Apparently, this used to be Hungarian some before 1918. In fact, all previously Hungarian areas were well maintained and very clean. Maybe I should check out Hungary next...
In the evening I headed out to a club called "After 8", which was pretty good.
In the evening I headed out to a club called "After 8", which was pretty good.
Wednesday, 26 Sep: Sighetu Marmatiei - Cluj
Heading northwest some 11km we arrived at a place called Sapanta that hosts the "happy cemetery", which is a cemetery where the gravestones writings are with rhymes. While it is called the happy cemetery I could find nothing happy about it. There was a large organized group of Israelis there. Nothing particular about this detail really...
We proceeded west about 105km on road 19 to Satu Mare, which is a bigger city. Still, we just passed through and continued to south another 17km all the way to Cluj.
Cluj is a big city and for the first time it was quite difficult to find a place to stay. It seemed all hotels were fully booked. Fortunately for us, a central hotel had a cancellation (the dude got stuck on the road or something). The owners of this hotel as we found out later was an older Israeli couple originally from Romania...
Bad Restaurant experience: In the evening we went to a food joint (I would not dare call it a restaurant). Mom ordered soup and dad a burger. Mom's soup was a little on the cold side and she asked that it be warmed up, and it was. Dad's burger was as cold as the Potomac river in the winter.. When he pointed that out the waitress, she took it and never brought it or a replacement back. Finally, we were billed for it. When talking to the waitress about it, she had the nerve to claim that he ate half, while he only had a (bad) bite. Next, she claimed it sat on the table for 10 minutes. Ultimately, the item was removed.
We proceeded west about 105km on road 19 to Satu Mare, which is a bigger city. Still, we just passed through and continued to south another 17km all the way to Cluj.
Cluj is a big city and for the first time it was quite difficult to find a place to stay. It seemed all hotels were fully booked. Fortunately for us, a central hotel had a cancellation (the dude got stuck on the road or something). The owners of this hotel as we found out later was an older Israeli couple originally from Romania...
Bad Restaurant experience: In the evening we went to a food joint (I would not dare call it a restaurant). Mom ordered soup and dad a burger. Mom's soup was a little on the cold side and she asked that it be warmed up, and it was. Dad's burger was as cold as the Potomac river in the winter.. When he pointed that out the waitress, she took it and never brought it or a replacement back. Finally, we were billed for it. When talking to the waitress about it, she had the nerve to claim that he ate half, while he only had a (bad) bite. Next, she claimed it sat on the table for 10 minutes. Ultimately, the item was removed.
Tuesday, 25 Sep: Vatra Dornei - Sighetu Marmatiei
We started the day with a walk around Vatra Dornei, which was quite nice. We then headed northwest on road 18 about 160km to Sighetu Marmatiei. The drive was very nice with some beautiful views. Sighetu Marmatiei is yet another one of them little towns and we didn't do much there especially as we arrived in the evening.
Monday, 24 Sep: Iasi - Vatra Dornei
We left Iasi and headed west on road 28A for about 75km and north on E85 for 300km up to Falticeni, which is where my grandfather's on my mom's side was born and lived until he was 1919 when he was 18.. The house was still there, though renovated much later in the 50's...
Next, we continued up north another 25km and passed through a tiny little town (of which there are many in Romania) by the name of Suceava. From there we headed west to Vatra Dornei some 115km passing through another little town called Gura Humorului and a couple of km further we visited a monastery called Voronet. The driver from Voronet to Vatra Dornei was very pretty and we had a bit of a picnic stop shortly after Voronet, where we had among other things one of, my now famous, salads The last segment of the drive (about 30km) was a bit difficult due to serious road construction. In fact, it appears the entire country road system is under construction.
A few words about Vatra Dronei - It is a resort town similar in that respect to Sinaia. My dad spent two years working there early on ('59-'61) and had loads of fun.
Next, we continued up north another 25km and passed through a tiny little town (of which there are many in Romania) by the name of Suceava. From there we headed west to Vatra Dornei some 115km passing through another little town called Gura Humorului and a couple of km further we visited a monastery called Voronet. The driver from Voronet to Vatra Dornei was very pretty and we had a bit of a picnic stop shortly after Voronet, where we had among other things one of, my now famous, salads The last segment of the drive (about 30km) was a bit difficult due to serious road construction. In fact, it appears the entire country road system is under construction.
A few words about Vatra Dronei - It is a resort town similar in that respect to Sinaia. My dad spent two years working there early on ('59-'61) and had loads of fun.
Sunday, 23 Sep: Iasi
We went to the Jewish cemetery to see visit my dad's mom tomb, who has been there for a long time. This was the least maintained most horrendous cemetery I had ever been too. It was literally impossible to see many of the grave stones, and it took the four of us a couple of hours to finally find my grandmother's gravestone (and that's given the fact that my parents knew where to look...). Ultimately, mom spotted the place..
We got to see my great grandfather's gravestone as well.
After the cemetery we headed to a place region called St. Sava, which is where my dad lived from the age of 11 to 24. Three houses were constructed in the mid 40's by my grandfather and a two of is partners, and each took one. They were all still there and occupied by one family (two sisters + 1 husband + 1 child) that bought and joint all three over the time (each house is pretty darn small). The interesting thing was that my dad knows them as he recalled when the sisters parents bought one house and remembered them since they were very little.
After the house thing, we went to the airport to drop Talmon, whose part in the trip has come to an end. The three of us then proceeded to the cultural palace and then walked around Stephen the Great str, which was closed for cars and had heaps of people.
We got to see my great grandfather's gravestone as well.
After the cemetery we headed to a place region called St. Sava, which is where my dad lived from the age of 11 to 24. Three houses were constructed in the mid 40's by my grandfather and a two of is partners, and each took one. They were all still there and occupied by one family (two sisters + 1 husband + 1 child) that bought and joint all three over the time (each house is pretty darn small). The interesting thing was that my dad knows them as he recalled when the sisters parents bought one house and remembered them since they were very little.
After the house thing, we went to the airport to drop Talmon, whose part in the trip has come to an end. The three of us then proceeded to the cultural palace and then walked around Stephen the Great str, which was closed for cars and had heaps of people.
Saturday, 22 Sep: Iasi
Didn't do too much today. Got laundry done (really important!), walked around town and saw the following:
1. Copou - a park where a bunch of Romanian folks have statues. Among them, Eminescu, who is the best Romanian poet and who apparently wrote all of his stuff next to some tree over there in that park.
2. The university where dad studied (right next to Copou)
3. Downtown
4. Ulius mall (where we got all our food...)
1. Copou - a park where a bunch of Romanian folks have statues. Among them, Eminescu, who is the best Romanian poet and who apparently wrote all of his stuff next to some tree over there in that park.
2. The university where dad studied (right next to Copou)
3. Downtown
4. Ulius mall (where we got all our food...)
Friday, Sep 21: Piatra Neamt - Iasi
Left in the morning to Iasi (via Roman some 150km east), which is were dad is from. Iasi is the second largest city in Romania after Bucharest. We stayed at a hotel called T23, which is a rather bizarre name, yet with the exception of the bad bed springs (an unfortunate recurring theme in Romania), the hotel was quite good.
Today was Yom Kippur Eve and parents (while completely not religious) wanted to go to "Kol Nidrei" prayer. Since the thing takes about 5 minutes, Talmon and I didn't care. However, they were wrong about the time (not taking into account that we are not in Israel) and to make a long story (that involves a synagogue being renovated, going to another synagogue to early, prayer being late) short we arrived at the synagogue at 17:55 and stayed there for nearly 2 hours... At least the Rabi was amusing...
Before the synagogue saga we got to see where my dad was born and grew up until he was 11.
Today was Yom Kippur Eve and parents (while completely not religious) wanted to go to "Kol Nidrei" prayer. Since the thing takes about 5 minutes, Talmon and I didn't care. However, they were wrong about the time (not taking into account that we are not in Israel) and to make a long story (that involves a synagogue being renovated, going to another synagogue to early, prayer being late) short we arrived at the synagogue at 17:55 and stayed there for nearly 2 hours... At least the Rabi was amusing...
Before the synagogue saga we got to see where my dad was born and grew up until he was 11.
Thursday, 20 Sep: Brasov - Piatra Neamt
In the morning we visited the "Black Church" in Brasov, which is called that way because it was burned some long time ago. The church was far more impressive on the outside than on the inside. It was built back in 1383, a few years before I was born.
We left Brasov and proceeded to lake St. Ana (100km north) , which was quite nice, and then proceeded to Tusnad (5km). We had lunch in Tusnad at a place called Iris, which served the best chicken goulash to date. We continued to Lacul Rosu ("red lake") some 90km north and 15 km east. That was the first place where I saw a hollow "Cozonac" (a type of cake), which was really good except that it had way to sugar and they didn't sell insulin along with it...
We proceeded to Cheile Bicazului (15km north/east), which is a very narrow road with some steep rocks that were very impressive.
Finally, we arrived in the evening at Piatra Neamt (60km north/east). We had dinner at some pub called Tequila, which like all places in Romania was completely smoky. Talmon and I stayed to get some work done... After that we headed to some other joint that had Romanian Karaoke - hurray!
We left Brasov and proceeded to lake St. Ana (100km north) , which was quite nice, and then proceeded to Tusnad (5km). We had lunch in Tusnad at a place called Iris, which served the best chicken goulash to date. We continued to Lacul Rosu ("red lake") some 90km north and 15 km east. That was the first place where I saw a hollow "Cozonac" (a type of cake), which was really good except that it had way to sugar and they didn't sell insulin along with it...
We proceeded to Cheile Bicazului (15km north/east), which is a very narrow road with some steep rocks that were very impressive.
Finally, we arrived in the evening at Piatra Neamt (60km north/east). We had dinner at some pub called Tequila, which like all places in Romania was completely smoky. Talmon and I stayed to get some work done... After that we headed to some other joint that had Romanian Karaoke - hurray!
Wednesday, 19 Sep: Sinaia – Busteni – Brasov
First thing we went to Busteni (8 km north of Sinaia). There we took a cable cart up a mountain (2200m) to see a two interesting rocks called "babele" ("old ladies"), which have been nicely formed over the years. From there we took another cable cart to the other side of the mountain (1600m) to see a cave (Pestera Ialomicioara).
Around 15:30 we were done. We had lunch and continued to Brasov (40km north). The center was quite nice and we had the usual evening walk.
Around 15:30 we were done. We had lunch and continued to Brasov (40km north). The center was quite nice and we had the usual evening walk.
Tuesday, 18 Sep: Sinaia
I got a haircut first thing in the morning, then we went to Peles Castle, which belongs to the King (yeap, these folks actually have a king). We couldn’t go in as it was closed, but the construct seemed rather impressive from the outside. We didn’t do much for the rest of the day.
Monday, 17 Sep: Bucharest – Sinaia
We finally left Bucharest, not without incident though. We were supposed to rent this car and when the guy showed up with it, it turned out the contract had no insurance. So we canceled at the very last moment, which left us car-less and with loads of nerves on behalf of some family members. But, fortunately, the situation was resolved within the hour and we got a bigger and better car!
We left the hotel around 13:30, and by the time we left Bucharest it was about 15:00 or 16:00. I was trying to find a ticket to Israel, which delayed our departure. We arrived in the evening to Sinaia, which is a resort town some 110km north of Bucharest, where my dad spent a few month back in the day (as will become evident later on – my dad traveled quite a bit in the country in his youth). We stayed at a B&B place that actually had no breakfast included. It was very clean with the exception of the host who was seriously stinking. Thank god I can hold my breath for 3 minutes and 22 seconds..
In the evening Talmon and I went out but the place was completely dead.
We left the hotel around 13:30, and by the time we left Bucharest it was about 15:00 or 16:00. I was trying to find a ticket to Israel, which delayed our departure. We arrived in the evening to Sinaia, which is a resort town some 110km north of Bucharest, where my dad spent a few month back in the day (as will become evident later on – my dad traveled quite a bit in the country in his youth). We stayed at a B&B place that actually had no breakfast included. It was very clean with the exception of the host who was seriously stinking. Thank god I can hold my breath for 3 minutes and 22 seconds..
In the evening Talmon and I went out but the place was completely dead.
Tuesday, 11 Sep – Sunday, 16 Sep: Bucharest
As I may or may not have mentioned, the main purpose of the Romanian section of this trip is to have a family reunion and get to see where my parents came from/grew up/etc. We (Mom, Dad, Brother) spent several days in Bucharest with the intent of mostly visiting those places that are mom related (given that she’s from Bucharest). So here goes:
Tuesday, 11 Sep: After my arrival to Bucharest we caught up a bit and in the evening went for dinner (which was ok but not more than that) at a place called "Carul Cu Bere", which is some famous joint that’s been around since the 19th century.
Wednesday, 12 Sep: We did two things today. First, we went to a Filantropia Cemetery, which is the "noble" Jewish cemetery, i.e. a place where the rich and famous are buried. We met many of my relatives there among them all of my mom’s grandparents who passed away years before anyone imagined that the wonder called Daniel would come to be…
Next, we went to Strada Lunei 5 to see the house where my mother was born, grew up, and pretty much spent her entire life until she got married and went to Israel. It was under renovation, which allowed us to go in freely and examine the place. It was quite impressive indeed due its size and central location.
Thursday, 13 Sep: The vast part of the day was consumed with a 4-hour lunch at my Mom’s first grade teacher’s house. They have been in touch since that first grade…
We arrived there separately, parents with one cab and Talmon and I with another as we needed to get laundry done. The reason I’m mentioning this is because our cab ride was rather eventful. Specifically, due to the local bad driving and disregard to the law some guy bumped into the cab, where I was sitted (back left). What was most amusing was the set of swearing the cab driver came up with quite instinctively (involving ancestors, various genitalia, mouths and so on and so forth). Thanks to Tudor, I managed to understand everything. No doubt Romanian is a very delightful language..
After lunch, Talmon and I needed a breather and so we split from parents and went to some Mall to hang out.
Friday, 14 Sep: We visited Ceausescu’s grand parliament building, which is very famous as it is the second largest building in the world (the Pentagon is #1), and the third most voluminous (Cape Canaveral rocket assembly building is #1, and I forget which is #2). 50% was constructed during Ceausescu’s time, and another 40% after his demise, 10% has not been finished. 700 architects were supposedly involved. It is a true testament to what dictatorship can achieve. It is fairly impressive, yet rather poorly maintained.
We also went to see where my dad used to live when he moved to Bucharest (Taben road). The building was still there.
In the evening we went (with my dad’s friends – Miron and Liana) to a restaurant called "cocosatul", which was quite good and had excellent kebabs. Talmon couldn’t come due to some prior engagement…
Saturday, 15 Sep: We yet again did the "lunch at friends" thing. This time at Miron and Liana’s. The former used to be my dad’s boss some 100 years ago. Unlike the previous lunch, the food here was better and the lunch shorter.
Next, we went to a "Cismigiu Park", which is a nice park in the center of Bucharest. In the evening we all split.
Sunday, 16 Sep: Didn't do much today. Bro and I went to the largest mall to hang out (had a really good pasta thing there), and parents went off to some concert (not guns n’ roses…). We all had dinner in the evening.
Tuesday, 11 Sep: After my arrival to Bucharest we caught up a bit and in the evening went for dinner (which was ok but not more than that) at a place called "Carul Cu Bere", which is some famous joint that’s been around since the 19th century.
Wednesday, 12 Sep: We did two things today. First, we went to a Filantropia Cemetery, which is the "noble" Jewish cemetery, i.e. a place where the rich and famous are buried. We met many of my relatives there among them all of my mom’s grandparents who passed away years before anyone imagined that the wonder called Daniel would come to be…
Next, we went to Strada Lunei 5 to see the house where my mother was born, grew up, and pretty much spent her entire life until she got married and went to Israel. It was under renovation, which allowed us to go in freely and examine the place. It was quite impressive indeed due its size and central location.
Thursday, 13 Sep: The vast part of the day was consumed with a 4-hour lunch at my Mom’s first grade teacher’s house. They have been in touch since that first grade…
We arrived there separately, parents with one cab and Talmon and I with another as we needed to get laundry done. The reason I’m mentioning this is because our cab ride was rather eventful. Specifically, due to the local bad driving and disregard to the law some guy bumped into the cab, where I was sitted (back left). What was most amusing was the set of swearing the cab driver came up with quite instinctively (involving ancestors, various genitalia, mouths and so on and so forth). Thanks to Tudor, I managed to understand everything. No doubt Romanian is a very delightful language..
After lunch, Talmon and I needed a breather and so we split from parents and went to some Mall to hang out.
Friday, 14 Sep: We visited Ceausescu’s grand parliament building, which is very famous as it is the second largest building in the world (the Pentagon is #1), and the third most voluminous (Cape Canaveral rocket assembly building is #1, and I forget which is #2). 50% was constructed during Ceausescu’s time, and another 40% after his demise, 10% has not been finished. 700 architects were supposedly involved. It is a true testament to what dictatorship can achieve. It is fairly impressive, yet rather poorly maintained.
We also went to see where my dad used to live when he moved to Bucharest (Taben road). The building was still there.
In the evening we went (with my dad’s friends – Miron and Liana) to a restaurant called "cocosatul", which was quite good and had excellent kebabs. Talmon couldn’t come due to some prior engagement…
Saturday, 15 Sep: We yet again did the "lunch at friends" thing. This time at Miron and Liana’s. The former used to be my dad’s boss some 100 years ago. Unlike the previous lunch, the food here was better and the lunch shorter.
Next, we went to a "Cismigiu Park", which is a nice park in the center of Bucharest. In the evening we all split.
Sunday, 16 Sep: Didn't do much today. Bro and I went to the largest mall to hang out (had a really good pasta thing there), and parents went off to some concert (not guns n’ roses…). We all had dinner in the evening.
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