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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024
  • Darren and Janet

Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024

A 39-day adventure by Darren and Janet Read more
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  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024Darren and Janet
    Monument to the Founding Fathers of the European Union, Herastrau Park
    Walking to dinner, Herastrau ParkSunset, Lake HerastrauDining alfresco, Lake Herascau1Plate filling schnitzel, spicy sausage and pickled vegetablesWalk home from dinner1Marina's first cache find

    SCO to RO

    May 31, 2024 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Early morning wake-up for our flight to Romania. We left the hotel at 6am with a breakfast bag in hand and walked to catch the airport bus.

    We flew to Bucharest via Amsterdam, arriving at 5.20pm.

    Marina arranged an Uber to collect us, and we arrived at her apartment around 6.30pm.

    It's a warm evening and the outdoor dining scene is popular in Bucharest, so we walked to dinner around 8.30pm.

    The restaurant was crowded with families and groups enjoying the balmy evening, and we had a relaxed dinner, then walked back to her apartment via a couple of caches... which included Marina's first find!    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024Darren and Janet
    3Carol 1 statue (foreground), "The Potato" (background), Revolution Square
    2Having a go at table soccer1That's how you decorate a bus shelter to advertise a TV show!Romanian Athenaeum, concert hall1Ursus beer 2.5 litre tabletop dispenserLake Floreasca, on the way to the cityAll food in the bakery is sold by the kiloAlfresco dinner last nightCEC Bank building

    Children's Day

    June 1, 2024 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We woke up to a warm day for the first day of summer, with 33 degrees forecast. It's also International Children's Day and a public holiday in Romania.

    We walked into the city centre, where many of the streets were closed and were filled with cafe tables, children's games and activities. Of course we stopped on the way for morning tea, lunch and caches.

    After having ice creams in the park, we caught an Uber back to Marina's and had dinner in, before watching the UEFA Champions League final on TV.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024Darren and Janet
    3First papanasi
    Piața America Latină (Latin America Place), statues of past South American leaders... not sure why!Casa Ceausescu, front viewResplendent in booties, ready for the tourCasa Ceausescu, courtyard garden

    Casa Ceausescu

    June 2, 2024 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Today we toured Casa Ceausescu, also known as the Spring Palace, which was the Bucharest residence of the leader of the Communist Party. It was most notably the home of Nicolae Ceausescu and his family from 1965 until he was overthrown in 1989, so is generally referred to as the Ceausescu House.

    In a country where most residents had no electricity or running water, it was an opulent house, with an indoor swimming pool, cinema room, sauna, hair salon and a golden bathroom - the rumour at the time was that the bathroom was solid gold, and while it is gold in colour, the guide told us is all gold plating and contains next to no actual gold (no photos are permitted inside, so we can't share any of the gaudy details)

    Late lunch was at an outdoor terrace restaurant, and our first serving of papanasi, the national dessert.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024Darren and Janet
    1Cărturești Carusel bookstoreStreet art, Old TownEntrance to the Old Town10 kilometre marker, the point from which all distances to Bucharest are measuredDistances to other centres, 0 kilometre marker1Trams traverse around the city centreUnderground crossing at major intersections in the city centre53

    Bucharest Old Town

    June 3, 2024 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    We caught the underground Metro to the city this morning for a walk around the cobbled, car free streets of the Old Town, a mix of restaurants, nightclubs, ancient churches and historic buildings. And a decent number of caches.

    The weather was fine and hot again, so the walk was leisurely and the refreshment stops numerous. After a few hours walking and lunch al fresco, we caught the underground in the late afternoon back to Marina's, for a quiet night in.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024Darren and Janet
    1Walking track along the top of the dam walk, Văcărești Nature Park
    1Concrete dam built by the Communist PartyConcrete dam, wetlands, apartment blocks in the distanceEntry to Văcărești Nature ParkDambovita River, south of the city

    Park'n'Shop

    June 4, 2024 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We caught the underground again today, this time south of the city to Vacaresti Nature Park, which is a wetlands surrounding Lake Văcărești.

    The area was part of a large swampy area on the outskirts of Bucharest that was drained by the Communist Party and apartment blocks built at one end. President Ceaușescu wanted to build a reservoir which was supposed to be filled from Mihăilești Lake, 22 kilometres away, and a concrete dam was built to surround Lake Văcărești.

    The plans were abandoned when communism fell in 1989 and the area was neglected. Due to the area being unused for such long time, plant-life and wildlife flourished and the biodiversity is now considered to be comparable to that of a small river delta. There are now a number of bird hides and walking trails in the park.

    After lunch at a nearby cafe we caught the underground back to the north of the city, stopping at the shopping mall for some supplies and afternoon tea, before walking back to Marina's.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024Darren and Janet
    5Palace of the Parliament
    21Ceaușescu's marble staircase... and a matching one the other side for his wifeThese doors slide back into the walks to make the 150m long hall look even more impressiveThe heaviest chandelier in the building, 5 tons - is cleaned by climbing inside from above1Clearly they got tired of answering the same questions!Antim Monastery, moved in the 1980's to save it from demolition to build the palace3Snack time

    The People's House

    June 5, 2024 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Today we did a guided tour of the Palace of the Parliament (aka House of the Republic aka The People's House), the seat of the Romanian Parliament. It is on Unity Boulevard, originally named Triumph of Socialism Boulevard.

    It was ordered built by Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and built by displacing 50,000 citizens and demolishing their homes in the 1980's (no compensation was offered).

    It is the heaviest building in the world, containing 1,100 rooms, 10 stories above ground, and 8 below, including a nuclear bunker under Ceausescu's former office. If you visited one room every thirty seconds it would take you 9 hours to visit them all.

    After our visit we walked into Unity Plaza for lunch, then home on the underground. The underground system is efficient and reliable - and cheap, a single journey to anywhere on the network is $1.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024Darren and Janet
    1Our magnificent loco to Constanța
    2Gara du Nord Station, Bucharest1Hunchiar Mosque (1868), Constanța, the first reinforced concrete building in Romania.2Constanța Old TownQuiet on the beaches today5Now that's a dessert!! Our last papanași, worth the 1 hour wait to be made freshFormer town hall, now Archaeological Museum, Constanța2The main square of Constanța Old Town, Piața Ovidiu1Bucharest tram

    Train to the seaside

    June 6, 2024 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    An early start for everyone today. Marina is travelling to Belgium to play in a corporate touch rugby tournament, and we're catching the train to Constanța, on the Black Sea Coast.

    After a pleasant 2.5 hour journey, we arrived in Constanța at 1pm and walked to the centre of town via a number of caches.

    Constanța is Romania's oldest continuously inhabited city (founded 300BC), and the largest port on the Black Sea, and our hotel is in the centre of the Old Town.

    In the afternoon, we were having a lovely walk around the old town when a summer thunderstorm struck. We took shelter in a building entrance and stayed there for an hour until the rain stopped.

    After a change of clothes at our hotel we had dinner in one of the many alfresco eateries in the main plaza, followed by our farewell papanași.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024Darren and Janet
    Riding the telegondola, vacant streets below
    1Constanța casinoRoman ruins in front of St Peter and Paul Cathedral, Constanța1Abandoned waterslideMamaia promenade, telegondola above4Telegondola going over the apartment blocks and hotelsLunch outside Constanța stationReplacement engine arrives1Street scene, outside Gara de Nord Station, Bucharest2Gara de Nord Railway Station

    The Casino and the Telegondola

    June 7, 2024 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We continued our walk around the Old Town this morning, finishing at the Constanța Casino, on the waterfront.

    Completed in 1910, the casino was bombed in both world wars (because of its proximity to the harbour), then transformed into a cultural house, restaurant and tourist office before finally being abandoned in 1990. Since 2019 it has been undergoing restoration, due to open again later this year.

    Mamaia is a summer beach resort destination, with only a handful of permanent residents staying there over winter.

    Mamaia lies on a strip of land 8 km long and only 300 m wide, between the Black Sea and Lake Siutghiol. As it is very early in the season, most attractions and restaurants were closed... but some look like they have been closed for many years, so it would be interesting to see the town at the height of summer.

    We caught the telegondola back to the southern end of Mamaia, then an Uber to the train station.

    Our train back to Bucharest departed on time, but we stopped with an engine problem about 10 minutes down the track. The engine was unhooked and a replacement arrived about an hour later and we were on our way again.

    We caught the underground back to Marina's for a quiet night in, packing bags ready for our flight tomorrow.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024Darren and Janet
    1Dwarf garden, Mirabell Gardens, Salzburg
    2Leaving BucharestGerman countryside from the trainMirabell Gardens, SalzburgSchloss Mirabell courtyard3View of Hohensalzburg Fortress from our hotel room

    Transit to Austria

    June 8, 2024 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Today was mostly a day of travel, departing Bucharest around midday for Munich.

    After a long wait for our luggage we caught the train into the city centre (45 minutes), and transferred to our train to Salzburg with minutes to spare.

    We arrived in Salzburg at 5pm, checked into our hotel and went for a walk.

    We started at Mirabell Gardens and Schloss Mirabell, scene of some classic moments in The Sound of Music. It's also home to the Zwergerlgarten, 28 dwarfs carved in marble in 1695... and would you believe, "the oldest dwarf garden in Europe" (I'm surprised there's more than one!)

    Again our walk was cut short by an afternoon thunderstorm, so we took shelter in a restaurant and enjoyed a schnitzel and spätzle (egg noodles) for dinner.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024Darren and Janet
    Salzach River and Old Town, view from fortress
    Mirabell Gardens, view up to fortressMozart's birth house2Mozart's family kitchen2Funicular up to the fortressThe huge buildings of Residenzplatz1Salzburg Old TownGrey skies over Residenzplatz1St Peter's CemeterySalzach River, running high and fast

    Mozart's Houses... and a fortress

    June 9, 2024 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We were up and about early today, starting our walk where we left off yesterday, in Mirabell Gardens. First stop out the other end of the park was the first Mozart house of the day, the one where he lived as a child. After a short tour of the house, we had strudel and coffee in the outdoor cafe next door and watched the world go by.

    Crossing the fast flowing Salzach River via one of the many pedestrian bridges, we made our way into the picturesque streets of the old town. As it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed, but the cobbled streets were busy with tourists and locals alike.

    Our second Mozart house was the one where he was born, and another self guided tour.

    Lunch was at a hole in the wall Balkan Grill - we were reading about the cult status of the grill, hidden away in a back alley, and noticed a queue had already started forming, so of course we joined it!

    After lunch we caught the funicular up the hill to Hohensalzburg Fortress, the 11th century fortress overlooking the city. At 250m long and 150m wide it's one of the largest and best preserved medieval castles in Europe.

    We meandered back the our hotel via the riverfront path, and had tea at the same restaurant as last night. As we were eating, the rain came down, luckily for the first time of the day!    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024Darren and Janet
    1View from Untersberg today
    Base station Untersberg... it's not looking good!2View from Untersberg today1Old style signage indicates the wares for sale, Old Town, SalzburgOld style signage indicates the wares for sale, Old Town, Salzburg3Old style signage indicates the wares for sale, Old Town, Salzburg1Collegiate Church interior, Old Town, Salzburg5Salzburg train stationLowenbrau Brewery Beer Garden3Now that looks fun! Mini cars for hire in Munich streets

    View of the clouds

    June 10, 2024 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Our plan for the final day in Salzburg is riding the cable car to the top of Untersberg. If only the weather was in on the plan!

    We caught the local bus to the base station, arriving just before 10am . The cable car ascends 1,320m in 8 minutes, and on a clear day, the top has 360 degree views for many kilometres. Low cloud today meant we had zero view ☹️

    We had a coffee, then caught the next ride down, and back on the local bus, getting off near the Old Town. In drizzly rain, we discovered some streets and squares we hadn't seen yesterday, has some pretzels for lunch, then made our way to the train station.

    We booked the fast, comfortable train to Munich, but it turned out to be neither. It was so crowded there were people standing for the entire 2.5 hour journey. Oliver got a seat and I went for a walk to see if other carriages were any better. They were all the same, so I sat in the corridor between carriages for most of the trip, with 2 other people.

    Our hotel in Munich is near the train station, so we dropped our bags and went for a walk. Dinner was traditional German fare at the Lowenbrau Brewery Beer Garden.

    We're flying home tomorrow, with a short transfer in Singapore, then overnight in Melbourne before a domestic flight home on Thursday.    Read more

    Trip end
    June 13, 2024
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