2022 Sep 9-30
Marce’s Dad
David had been interested in the Central European capitals for a long time –
those which had been behind the “Iron Curtain” for decades. We thought about
how to put together a trip for his birthday which would give him and Luz an
opportunity to see something of the region and to gain insight into some of the
cities. The trip was “ambitious” in the sense of seeking to cover a lot of
ground in a relatively short time, however it went well. Having identified the
cities highest in interest, and discounting those which are currently out of
the question, we “joined the dots” with intermediate destinations which would
be of interest, and ended up with a loop from Prague back to Prague, visiting the
capital cities of Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia, as well as
a variety of other cities, towns, villages, and the countryside between them.
The trip was earlier than David’s birthday, to be able to make it during Autumn
rather than in winter.
The final
route:
Overall
insights:
This was a
different trip from our own style of travel, and also different for David and
Luz. We did a lot of “A to B” travel rather than more leisurely wandering from
village to village. It proved quite demanding, with lengthy sections of travel just
to get from one point to another; this was not too much of a challenge in some
cases, where highways permitted rapid transit, although it was tough to pass so
many places which would no doubt be worth a day or more to explore. In some
cases, for example in much of what we saw of Bulgaria, travel was a lot slower
and more demanding, and we still had to pass by places of interest. We will no
doubt return to spend more time in the region, however in terms of achieving
the goals of the trip it worked well, with time spent in key destinations,
interspersed with simple “A to B” travel with stops to provide breaks and
explore as opportunity arose.
The
heritage of the long period during which these countries were under the influence
(control) of the Soviet Union is apparent, to various degrees. The Czech
Republic and Hungary have developed commercial and social opportunities to the
point that the Soviet period is more or less invisible, Poland has made
progress in this sense, Romania still shows evidence of movement away from its
Soviet past, and Bulgaria has made least progress. This is a gross generalisation
of course, and there’s a big difference between the appearance of Sofia and the
reality of the rural areas in Bulgaria, however it’s not hard to find decaying
buildings as well as major restoration everywhere we went, particularly in Romania
and Bulgaria. It’s evident that membership of the European Union has been
helpful in this process.
Getting
there and back
We flew via
Frankfurt, introducing David and Luz to the joys of Frankfurt airport; on our outbound
route we were diverted to Amsterdam for bad weather, however made it to FRA
only a couple of hours later than planned. We had an overnight stop in Frankfurt,
and stayed close to the airport. We had planned to head into town for the
evening, however the late arrival
reduced the time available and to our amazement when we were leaving for the ‘bus
we met Lucho and Janeth, just arriving at the same hotel, and so simply stayed
there for dinner and enjoyed their company and conversation. The following day’s
flight to Prague was uneventful.
The return
trip was also uneventful, although the flight reminded us of how exhausting it
now is to travel long haul, wearing facemasks throughout.
Getting
around
We hired an
estate car for the trip; we were fortunate to be upgraded to a Mercedes C-class
Combi, which was a diesel hybrid. This proved comfortable, capable, quiet, and
astonishingly frugal – fuel consumption was 5.0 L/100 km, giving a range of
1500 km, or up to four countries between filling up.
We used
trams in a few cities, which it’s good to see continue to be the main means of
transport. Finding out how to obtain tickets was amusing…
Prague
Our time in the Czech Republic was
mainly in Prague – on our way to Warsaw and on our way back from Budapest via
Bratislava we saw nothing of the country other than what can be seen from the
highway. Prague itself is beautiful, and the weather was a mix however we had one
sunny day which gave the opportunity to
enjoy the views from Buda and to walk the streets in comfort. We were joined by
Luz’s nephew Andrés from Berlin on our return and it was good to explore the
town with him. The iconic Castle, Charles Bridge, and Main Plaza with its clock
were all visited, along with the old Jewish Cemetery and synagogues, as well as
simply wandering the town and riverside. We visited the National Gallery, the Mucha
exhibition at Obnecní Dum, Prague Market, and also the excellent Contemporary
Art Gallery – DOX.
Wrocław
We stopped here on the
way to Warsaw, enjoying the old town and sampling pirogies at Pub Beatka.
Warsaw
We stayed at a place on
Nowy Świat which proved very convenient to the old town, top which we could
walk in 15 minutes or so. The reconstruction of this area, completely destroyed
in World War II recreates a beautiful city centre, with restaurants and cafés,
along with a lot of souvenir shops. The Royal Palace and Warsaw Museum were
interesting and well worth the visit. We wandered the old town, finding something
of note on every corner.
We breakfasted at the
iconic Bristol Café both mornings, which was a great start to the day, and
dined one evening, for convenience, at Tokyo Sushi where we were looked after
by Maria from Medellín (something about globalisation in this), and also at Enoteca
Warszawska which proved excellent.
Auschwitz
On our way to Krakow we
went to Auschwitz, arriving in grey rain, and spent three hours there. It’s
difficult to talk about the experience of this crime against humanity, draining
the soul with the enormity of what happened, and reflecting on how it was
possible and how to prevent repetition, although sadly subsequent history in
Cambodia and Rwanda, to name only two, show that this hope remains fragile. We
noted, as Alan had when visiting Belsen years ago, that no birds can be heard
there…
Krakow
We arrived
in Krakow in ouring rain, which continued into the following morning, however
adequately clad and “umbrellad” we headed out to explore this beautiful city,
the old capital of Poland. We walked the streets, spent time in Wawel Cathedral and the
Castle, visited the Old Town Square and the market, and found an excellent hat
shop - Szapo Hats – where we acquired suitable headgear.
Orawka,
Vlkolínec, and Tarcal
On
our way to the Tokaj region of Hungary we stopped at St John’s church in Orawka,
which we had had no awareness of prior to seeing it at the roadside. The lady
looking after it, despite limited common language, showed us around and on our
departure kindly gave us guidebooks to the region in Spanish.
Vlkolínec is a UNESCO world heritage site in
Northern Slovakia and which remains a traditional rural village, in which the
museums display implements, instruments (the curator showed us how to play the fujara),
and a variety of items from the region. We wandered around the village enjoying
the quiet setting, and also had a pleasant and unhurried lunch.
We stayed
that night in Tarcal, enjoying an outstanding wine-tasting (including a sample
of the high-octane brandy made at the winery where we stayed the night.
Sighișoara
Our
next day’s travel took us across the Romanian border, where despite Romania’s
being in the EU it’s not in the Schengen Area so we had to go through
Immigration and Customs formalities; the officials were friendly and it was a
trouble-free process. We then continued to Carei, and visited Karolyi Castle
before continuing to Sighișoara.
Sighișoara proved to be an interesting city;
we stayed inside the old city walls, and walked the cobbled streets, enjoying
the exhibitions in the Blacksmith Tower and in the Clock Tower, and coffee,
lunch, and dinner in a variety of places offering local food in warm
surroundings.
Brașov
This was an intermediate stop on our way to Bucharest (București); we found an
excellent café - Tâmplārie - with friendly people who
helped us sort out how to pay for parking, and then explored the old Town
Square and the Black Church, with further stops at a bakery and again at Tâmplārie
before continuing our journey. Brașov was a great stop – interesting
history, friendly people, and a positive ambiance.
Bran Castle
This is the place which has been identified as inspiring Bram Stoker in writing
“Dracula”. Stoker never visited Romania, and the connection is tenuous, however
the castle is widely described as “Dracula’s Castle”. It’s worth noting that
although this connection is noted, at the castle itself there is no claim of
its being any more than what it is, the historical home of the Saxons who built
it, then a variety of others, and finally Marie of Romania, her daughter
Ileana, and after the period of the communist regime, Dominic von Habsburg, son
of Ileana. The castle is largely devoted to Marie and Ileana and both are
fascinating ladies whose history is for from ordinary.
Bucharest
Parking proved a challenge however we
finally found a spot, settled into our
accommodation, and then explored the city. The tree-lined avenue leading to the
Parliament Palace is attractive, and it’s apparently a requirement for
there to be a wedding dress shop every 20 metres. We found some good places for
coffee, lunch, and dinner, and walked extensively in the centre of the old town.
Specifics included Biserica Parohiei Rāzvan, Mānāstirea
Stavropoleos, Goldsmiths’ Church, the Interior Ministry, and the Atheneum. The
layout of the city is reminiscent of Vienna, with circles around the centre and
radial roads in all directions.
Sofia
Our next stop was to be Sofia, we headed south and crossed into Bulgaria
at the main border crossing, with hundreds of trucks lined up for what is presumably
a laborious process. Cars are permitted to pass via a separate line and the
crossing was not time-consuming. SHortley after entering Bulgaria we headed off
the highway to visit the Rock-hewn churches of Ivanovo, set in a canyon among
beautiful wooded hills. This, along with Vlkolínec, was one of the few places
on the trip in which we were away from urban areas or highways and it was,
literally, a breath of fresh air. The church which is open for visits is high in
the canyon wall, originally accessible only via ladders, however now accessible
via a good path, with rock steps leading down after the church itself.
We then returned to the highway, experiencing Bulgarian roads, which are
slow going – one passes hundreds of towns and villages with speed limits of 40
or 50 km//h, which is reasonable enough to protect the inhabitants, obviously,
however it does take a while to cover any distance.
Sofia itself proved
attractive – we were fortunate to be there for Independence Day, seeing celebratory
speeches and music in the street. We stayed in the Hotel Balkan, shared with
the President’s Palace, and found it easy to get to the Nevsky
Cathedral, the St Sophia church, with an excellent exhibition of the history of
the church, and the Russian Church; there were several stalls selling flea
market items and artisan weaving, and we acquired some items. The National
Gallery and the Palace National Art Gallery were unfortunately closed, however
the Sofia City Art Gallery was open and we found the exhibition well worth
visiting. In the morning, after watching the changing of the palace guard, we
left to head back into Romania, this time into the west of the country.
Timișoara
We crossed
the Balkan Mountains, stopping at the village of Barzia where a small shop was
open selling traditional clothing and bought a textile belt and a sheepskin
hat. The border formalities were efficient and we continued into Romania, heading
for an overnight stop at Baile Herculane, chosen to break the long journey to Timișoara.
This town, a ribbon of homes and hotels in a narrow valley exists owing to the
hot springs, enjoyed since Roman times, and allegedly by Hercules, of whom
there are several statues. Much of the town is under renovation, and is a mix
of 19th century architecture and communist era concrete hotels. It was really
enjoyable to relax in the hot pool at our BnB on this overnight stop.
On our
arrival at Timișoara we initially visited the Revolution Memorial Museum, since
access to our BnB would not be until later. This proved interesting, and
recalls the revolution which overthrew the Ceaușescu Regime, and which started in
this city. We then found a place to park and walked into the centre, enjoying a
coffee in Union Square while waiting for the keys to our BnB. The centre of the
city has several large plazas, linked with wide pedestrian streets, and lined
with cafés and restaurants. We enjoyed the Art Museum, with an Oskar Szuhanek
exhibition and explored the cathedrals, of several denominations. There was a
night market with live music in one plaza (looking onto which was our BnB) and
a much more significant concert and market in another, with wine-tasting booths
in both. The city proved to be attractive, lively, and a positive surprise.
Budapest
Our next
destination meant crossing into Hungary, successfully finding a detour via
minor roads to avoid a traffic jam on the highway, and arriving in Budapest
mid-afternoon. We went first to the National Gallery, since it was raining
heavily, and enjoyed dinner overlooking the river and parliament building. The
famous chain bridge was closed for maintenance so we took trams more than we
had expected, however this itself proved enjoyable, and we were able to take
the funicular to reach Buda Hill one day. We had intended to visit the main
synagogue, however it was closed for Rosh Hashana. We visited the amazing Central Market,
walked the old town in both Pest and Buda, exploring the Fisherman’s Bastion
and the castle walls.
Bratislava
Our next
destination was Prague, however we arranged the travel day to have time in
Bratislava on the way. We walked the old town and visited the cathedral, walking
the walls and ascending to the castle. We then continued to Prague, where we
spent the last 3 days before heading home (see above for details).
Statistics
We visited
6 countries in 20 days, and spent 2 more days flying to and from Prague.
We covered 4169 km in 16 days, so 260 km/day which is far
more than our usual 170 km/day, although similar to our average in Canada this
year. We had planned 253 km/day so were more or less as expected, however.
Hugs
Alan and Marce
Photos may be used for non-commercial purposes with creedit to alanymarce@gmail.com