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Romania and Istanbul

September - October 2023
Back to Romania for 2 weeks, then 5 days in Istanbul Read more
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  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 1

    Off again

    September 29, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Flinders to Melbourne.
    We have 7 hours to fill in so we book a room at Essendon Fields Hyatt, room was on special 😉.

    Steve went for a massage to start his holiday and I watched a Netflix movie. 🎥

    Then tea at restaurant downstairs before last shower for 36 hours.

    Shuttle bus to International airport, check straight in as we are business class!! Then an hour and half in Marhaba Lounge before boarding Business Class.    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 2

    From Malaysia to Turkey

    September 30, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Slept fairly well, certainly more comfortably than in economy.

    7 1/2 flight getting into Kuala Lumpur airport at 5.30am local time.
    Found a coffee and cuppa tea then waited to board at 8.50am.
    The airport is smaller than we thought.

    Flew 10 1/2 hours to Istanbul, again in business class and soo good to be able to sleep. Turkish Airlines much better than Malaysian. The chef actually took your meal order and your seat/pod more modern, maybe a bit bigger. Watched a couple of movies.

    Into Istanbul for 4 1/2 hours, we waited in the business lounge and had good Turkish snacks. They love their handmade lemonade with mint...and so do we.

    Then back on plane for 1 1/2 hours. I was knackered by then and apparently slept the whole way not woken for a meal even. When they announced we were descending I thought we were staying going up, I was very confused for a tick.

    Got through customs easily, baggage arrived with us thank goodness.
    I had already booked a ride into Bucharest so met Stefan and he drove us to our hotel. He was a lovely bloke.
    Into the Moxy Bucharest Old Town hotel at around 10pm.
    A full on rave was just starting and we both wondered what we'd stumbled into. For some reason, the room I booked wasn't available so they put us in another one, which was thankfully away from the super- doofing music.

    Shower and fell into bed.    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    12
    Day 3

    Exploring Old Town

    October 1, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We slept 12 hours! Woke at 10am, both of us, so we went out and found brunch.

    We walked around all the streets exploring.
    We found a park, very much in need of a good water, and sat under a tree for some shade. There's a major bushfire happening at home so Steve was chatting to local fire brigade and Dan about what to save or not should the fire come down over our hill.

     It's 30 degreesC here today. The driver last night said it is an unusually long summer, it should be over by now and cooling down.

    Had a drink at a traditional food tavern but didn't need food. I might come back for tea sometime.

    Got back to Moxy and Steve decided he was bored so found himself a massage. Best he's ever had he said.
    While he was doing that I went downstairs for a cuppa and asked reception if there was a difference in price in the different room they put us in. She said we had to move into the queen room I originally booked. Still not sure what the issue was. Don't know what would've happened if I hadn't asked. It was 4.30 pm at this stage. So I packed us both up, moved rooms before Steve got back.

    Queen room is bigger anyway, but would've been right above the noise last night so turned out well, actually.

    Had a rest then went out and found tea. Neither of us felt like a heavy traditional meal so went Vietnamese instead!    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    111
    Day 4

    Moxy Bucharest Old Town hotel

    October 2, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    This is our funky hotel complete with funky staff.
    The reception is actually a full-on bar. Around the bar is your breakfast doings, a minimart with snacks and drinks. You can buy a coffee or tea there. I bought some sandwiches for lunch today as I didn't want a heavy lunch.
    Very central in Old Town and pretty good. All I need. Oh, except a kettle 😞 which I knew so I brought my own 😀    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 4

    We part ways

    October 2, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Today we part and do our own thing.
    Steve got up at 4.30 to catch a 7.40 am plane to Timosaura in Romania to go on a 10 day hunt up north. It's the same place he hunted when we were here before Covid but going longer for different animals.

    I'd booked him a taxi yesterday, we had it paid for and we got all the details of the driver and the car but..... he got "kidnapped" as he called it by a scamming taxi driver. He said this bloke met him and the boot of the car was up already. It wasn't until they were nearly at the airport and the driver started to haggle about and insist on payment that Steve realised he was in the wrong car! The driver wouldn't take card and insisted on American dollars. Steve only had a $50 Australian note on him so that's what the driver got!!
    Apparently the domestic check-in etc was a "shitshow" but he got to Timosaura ok.

    So I did a 🚲 tour of Bucharest today. I'd booked a half day bicycle tour of the city through AirBnB Experience. They do experiences as well as accommodation. It worked well.

    So I met the guide according to directions. A couple from Liverpool and another couple from Israel joined us. Took 4 hours but we stopped a lot and talked a lot about Bucharest and Romanian history. We rode on bike paths and bike roads and footpaths and parks so it was pretty easy and safe. It was a great way to see more than you would on a walking tour.

    Then home for a sandwich and a rest.
    Tea around the corner so I didn't have far to walk home in the dark. There are lots of places to eat close by.    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 4

    Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania (1918-1989)

    October 2, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The last Communist leader of Romania met his end on Christmas Day, 1989. The national mood was rebellious that December, and Ceausescu tried to soothe the populace with a public (yet carefully controlled) speech on Dec. 21. The crowd booed him. Ceausescu's uncomprehending look at being heckled helped bolster the rebellion against him.

    The next day, Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, escaped Bucharest by helicopter minutes ahead of an angry mob. The respite was temporary; the couple was taken into custody by the army, given a show trial (one and a half hours only according to my 🚲 guide), and sentenced to death for genocide and corruption. Though there was nominally a 10-day period to contest the ruling, the execution commenced immediately: The Ceausescus hands were tied and they were forced against a wall, where a firing squad riddled them with bullets.

    Apparently the wife was more hated as she was even more cruel than Nicolae and the guide told us more horrible stuff was done to her body than his.
    Elena Ceaușescu was celebrated by state propaganda under her husband’s regime as a world-famous chemistry researcher, despite having no credible qualifications. The researchers say some of her work is still being cited and accessed, even though she was barely literate in science and unable to recognise basic formulas taught to first-year chemistry students.    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 5

    Black Sea tour with Alina and Gabriel

    October 3, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today I have a tour with a local guide Alina and driver, Gabriel. Alina speaks very good English, Gabriel can only say "thankyou very much". We drive a modern comfortable Skoda.

    We leave at 8am and drive through agricultural land for 2 1/2 hours to the city of Constanta and the Black Sea at Mamaia Beach.
    It looks like most of the harvest has been done and there's heaps of tractors out ploughing today.

    I have a wade in the Black Sea and collect a few shells.
    We then go to the Old City where I have spare time on my own to explore. I have about 2 hours so have a look about.
    I have lunch at a burger place and they have an Australian Burger on the menu! The young waiter tries to talk to me about coming to Australia to work but we have to talk via Google Translator, his English is very poor and my Romanian is zilch. Nice chat.

    Both museums are shut on Tuesdays.
    I climb the minaret at the mosque and get a great view but have jelly legs for a while so I'm glad I did that last!

    We all get back in the car and drive 2 1/2 hours back. We drove at an average of 135 km/hr, sometimes getting up to 170! So, if we drove at our usual speed it would've taken longer.... obviously.

    Along the way Alina told me a lot of the history which I'll talk about later.

    Basically the Greeks discovered the Black Sea first and named the sea Black as it wasn't as clear as their seas. Then the Romans came, the Ottomans, the Monarchy, the Communists.

    It was a good day and a good local guide company. They don't usually do tours on a Tuesday but because it's the shoulder season she decided she'd do it for me.    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 6

    Big hike exploring museums and galleries

    October 4, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Visiting museums and art galleries today.
    I want to see the outdoor Village Museum which is 6 km away so I decide to walk it, I have all day.
    On the way up I pop into an art and object gallery, it was an old palace I think. Every room is guarded or guided by a person, volunteer probably. They take their Jon very seriously, they firmly pointed the way through the many rooms which is great, you don't get lost but ai felt I had to complete the circuit before they would let me out!! These generation of people grew up under communism and I felt it!

    I also wanted to go to the Peasant Museum, as they call it. It's one man's attempt back in the 30's to preserve the old things. I think it's now state controlled. It is being renovated. The rooms are all done but the exhibits haven't been put back up due to lack of staff and funds...just like everywhere else in the museum sector. So there wasn't as much to see as reviews stated but still enough.
    Google maps takes me through parks that have statues and monuments.
    I have a nice lunch on the way.
    Just before the village museum is the Arch of Triumph.
    Walk around the villages and old houses, mills, wine crushers, etc.
    Then straight back home with a slight detour when I got lost.

    Strava app told me I did 25 K and my feet feel like it!    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 6

    Notes I've taken

    October 4, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Volakia used to be Romania, is now the area around Bucharest.
    As you travel south to Constanta the region becomes Dobrogea.

    Dobrogea region. 2 arms of Danube with an island area or peninsula in between. Wineries, hilly. Wind turbines, nuclear plant 2 of 5 plants working. Built by communists, not all finished. No other nuclear plants in Romania.

    Solar, coal, hydro. Talking about exporting energy to Turkey. They don't need as much energy as before because lots of the communist factories have closed down.

    A lot of infrastructure building now.

    In Bucharest still a lot of Turkish influence in architecture etc. Public transport....bus, tram, trolley car, subway trains. Regional trains

    Agriculture - grow wheat, corn, sunflower.

    The following is translated from QRCodes on signs on palace walls at Constanta.

    KING CAROL I OF ROMANIA
    1866-1914
    Carol I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, of german origin, ruler of Romania between 1866-1881, was crowned king in 1881.
    He was the longest-reigning monarch in the history of Romania, for 48 years. He was one of the sustainers of the return of Dobrogea to the motherland, along with Mihail Kogalniceanu, desideratum which has been achieved in 1878.
    After the War of Independence (1877-1878), he has contributed, together with the Government, to create a modern state, raising it to the level of Western Europe.

    QUEEN ELISABETH OF ROMANIA
    1869-1914
    Elizabeth - born Pauline Ottilie Luise Elisabeth zu Wied, has, also, german origin. Considered patron of the arts, founder of some charitable institutions, herself being a poet, essayist and writer, she was widely known by her literary name of Carmen Sylva.
    Elizabeth wrote over one thousand poems, ninety short stories collected in four anthology volumes, thirty dramatic works and four novels. Art and literature lover and creative, she was a good connoisseur and interpreter of music - vocal, piano and organ.
    At her request, a royal pavilion will be built in 1909, close to the end of north pier, nicknamed by the people of Constanta "Queen's Nest".

    ROYAL FAMILY
    1869 is the year when Prince Carol married Elizabeth, who became the first Queen of Romania in 1881, after our country was recognized as a kingdom by both the Sublime Porte and the Central Powers.
    Both Carol I and Elizabeth had one ideal: the modernization of Romania. "All for the country, nothing for me" was the motto of King Carol I, which has been endorsed by the entire Royal Family.
    Since he had no descendants, Carol I designates as successor to the throne his nephew, Ferdinand, married to Maria, whose son, Carol, would later become King of Romania.    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    11
    Day 7

    Up to Cluj-napoca, Transylvania

    October 5, 2023 in Romania ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    Early morning flight with local airline Tarom to Cluj-napoca, the capital of Transylvania.
    Basically the same flight as Steve the other morning but to a different city.
    My experience was much different than Steve's. I got in with the correct car driver, and everything was calm and quiet at the airport. Maybe it was Monday Mayhem for Steve.

    I got into Hotel Transylvania (of course) very early, before 9 am even, so dropped my bags and explored Old Town and beyond, again making my feet hurt. Not good walking shoes today, the toe is even scuffed out of it!

    I can tell I'm back in Transylvania as the buildings are colourful and ornate. They have a different style.

    Walked past the usual stuff, churches. Big university. There's lots of renovating and street works here too. No such thing as OH&S though. The cafe tables, with patrons, are still right in the middle of construction works. A big backhoe working a metre away from a coffee drinker.

    Found a market with stalls- some are the usual you see anywhere but most were handmade by locals

    Had a lovely traditional soup for lunch then went back and checked in.
    My roomS are huge! It's an apartment really. Booking.com asked me if I wanted to upgrade my room for a small fee, I thought why not? Wowsers!

    You walk into a sitting room complete with full dining table and chairs, heaps of cushy armchairs, big bathroom with deep bath (yippee), then a huge bedroom, again with big armchairs, furniture and king bed. Plus a bath robe monogrammed with Hotel Transylvania.    Read more

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