Очистить поиск
Bulgaria & Romania 2019
ОбзорКалендарьФотографии
  • Darren and JanetBulgaria & Romania 2019Darren and Janet
    "Electricity Man", symbol of hydro electric power, providing 70% of Romania power
    Cozia Monastery, on the banks of the Olt River2Curtea de Arges CathedralCurtea de Arges Cathedral, interior1Closed due to bear action in the area...Poienari Citadel, 1480 steps away

    Vlad's real castle... just up that hill

    9 июня 2019 г., Румыния ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We headed south today, down the Olt River Valley Road, stopping at Cozia Monastery on the way. Being Sunday morning the church and grounds were very popular, especially as it's also a pilgrimage site for Romanians as Mircea the Elder (Vlad Tepes' grandfather) is buried there. Vlad and Mircea were both leaders of the Wallachia Region, although Vlad is now more connected to neighbouring Transylvania via the Dracula stories.

    We were also scheduled to visit Vlad the Impaler's real castle (Poienari Citadel), which can only be accessed up 1480 steps through the forest, but it's currently closed due to recent bear attacks. So we just viewed it from below...

    We then drove along the southern section of the Transfagarasan Road (not the famous bit) to Vidraru Dam, before heading to Curtea de Arges, the former capital of Wallachia, and visited the cathedral where the last 4 kings of Romania are buried (the last King of Romania, Michael I abdicated in 1947 when the communists took control, and died in 2017)

    After a walk around town we had a farewell dinner with Gabriel before our tour ends tomorrow.    Читать далее

    Посмотреть перевод
  • Darren and JanetBulgaria & Romania 2019Darren and Janet
    Park bench with city logo, Cismigiu Garden
    A pair of abandoned partly constructed Communist era buildingsHolocaust Memorial5Picnic lunch, Cismigiu GardenCaru cu Bere restaurant, interiorAbandoned theatre

    Back to Bucharest

    10 июня 2019 г., Румыния ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    It's the final day of our Romania tour, so we departed Curtea de Arges at 9am in order to arrive in Bucharest around lunch and avoid the afternoon traffic.

    Gabriel dropped us at our hotel in the city centre, and we went for a walk in search of lunch and caches. We found the former at a lunch bar packed with locals, so we figured it must be good. We took ours to the park and enjoyed it amongst the pigeons and a team of gardeners sprucing up the park ready for summer.

    The caching took us to the Holocaust Memorial, commemorating the lives of Romanian Jews who died in the Holocaust, and acknowledges Romania's role.

    There are numerous abandoned buildings across town, the two most striking occupy an entire city block and were under construction when Communism ceased, and haven't been touched since 1989.

    Dinner was at the oldest beer house in Bucharest, Caru cu Bere, which has at least 100 tables and was booked out later in the evening (Romanians generally eat tea from 8pm, so we could have a table for 1 hour). It has a striking wood and stained glass interior and is popular with tourists and locals alike... the Communist style service fell somewhere between amusing and offensive - perhaps that's part of it's attraction!    Читать далее

    Посмотреть перевод
  • Darren and JanetBulgaria & Romania 2019Darren and Janet
    Street art
    2There's a house under there somewhereXenofon Street, a shadow of it's former glory2Trams stop in the middle lane, passengers cross a traffic lane to alight, and the cars stop for themPiata UniriiProposed Academy of Art and Literature (abandoned 1989), new apartment building on the left

    Bucharest backstreets

    11 июня 2019 г., Румыния ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We spent the day walking the backstreets in the south of the city, discovering more great street art, parks, palaces, churches and abandoned buildings. And finding caches of course (including a First to Find on a newly published cache).

    We had a coffee break in a cafe opposite what was to be the Academy of Art and Literature, which was under construction before it was abandoned in 1989. New apartments now adjoin it on both sides.

    We also visited Xenofon Street, a narrow street of steps that was one of the most visited streets in Bucharest because of the painted waterfall cascading from top to bottom. It is now in such a state of decay that it is barely recognisable - we were there in search of a cache, but we chatted to an American tourist who made a special trip across town to see it! She was so disappointed! You can see what it used to look like at https://www.trover.com/d/1EMhz-strada-xenofon-b…    Читать далее

    Посмотреть перевод
  • Darren and JanetBulgaria & Romania 2019Darren and Janet
    1Big British Bucharest Quiz
    View from the Fireman's Tower, suburban high rise in the background1Puzzle cache that required solving to get to the log bookFireman's TowerOne of the new apartment blocksHaving a break in a small park

    Big British Bucharest Quiz

    12 июня 2019 г., Румыния ⋅ 🌫 30 °C

    Our last full day in Romania was the hottest of the whole trip, with 32 degrees forecast.

    We left the hotel about 9am for a walk to the east of the city. We bought some apricots from a street seller and continued through the backstreets until we reached the Fireman's Tower. Originally designed as a fire lookout tower and water storage, it was never used for the latter because there were no pumps in the country strong enough to pump the water up, so it was used as lookout tower until the buildings around it got taller and blocked the view.

    We had tea in the old town, before attending the Big British Bucharest Quiz Night, Europe's largest quiz night, held every fortnight. It's held over 2 floors in an old town bar, with big screen and cameras used to relay the action upstairs. There were 37 tables competing (200 attendees). As I'd emailed the quiz master to register our attendance, he gave us a goodie basket of Romanian souvenirs and included a number of Australian questions... which thankfully we got correct! We were a table of 3, with Marina, the host's girlfriend... and we finished 10th overall !☺    Читать далее

    Посмотреть перевод
    Окончание поездки
    14 июня 2019 г.