Snippets from Greece and Bulgaria

Maybe I've been on the road too long (almost four months), but I am slowly but surely losing my mind, as my thoughts become more and more dissociated.  This is evidenced by the following non sequiturs occupying my cerebral space today as I rest at our apartment after a day roaming around Athens.  

It took a really, REALLY long time to buy our bus tickets to Istanbul today.  After two hours of futile online research on the location of the ticket office, followed by about three hours meandering around, inquiring in different travel agencies as to who sold the tickets, being pointed in some general direction, then being pointed in another, and finally ending up at the dilapidated Larissa train station, where the only functioning office (in the midst of the transportation worker strike) was the one selling our tickets!  Hopefully conditions in Greece and Turkey will be safe on Saturday night, when we embark on our longest bus ride yet: a real doozy at 14 to 16 hours.  

Tomorrow I am planning to eat a large Greek ring-shaped Nutella-filled pastry for breakfast and a Greek frappe (who knew the delicious beverage was invented here?), followed by a snack of a spinach and cheese hand pie.  In the evening I will finish off my packed-with-flavor fresh seasonal Greek apricots.  And I need to get some of that Greek yogurt to mix with Greek honey.  I also need to eat souvlaki (a kind of Greek burrito) at some point.

I have got to get a moped or motorcycle when we get back to Canada.  The motorcycle ride to the beach the other day was utterly exhilarating.  Can't wait to see how much we save on gas.  Should research rain covers and protective shells...

What if Greece was spelled "Grease"?  How hilarious would that be!  I'm obsessed with the idea.  

I wish I could read the Greek alphabet and speak Greek....

At what point should I convert my only pair of jeans into cutoffs?

I can't believe we still have our original tube of sunscreen that has accompanied us since we left Canada!   Guess that is evidence that this hasn't been a very "vacation-y" trip so far.  After all, we have just begun to hit the hot weather :)

OK, I will stop now and show you some of our favorite photos of Greece and Bulgaria.  



Here we demonstrate our jubilation at surviving the smelly, sketchy overnight train ride from Belgrade, Serbia to Sofia, Bulgaria.




Our Sofia walking tour guide tells us about this unpopular 20th century Bulgarian leader who gave up his post, but was still mutilated to death three days later by some individuals who thought he was still in power.  Perhaps Twitter would have come in handy in this situation?

This guide provided a really informative, sarcastic two-hour stroll around Sofia in which he informed us that procrastination is the national sport of Bulgaria.  Great ambassador for the free walking tour movement!



The "idiot lion" in front of the Bulgarian parliament building is not so named because of the bird excrement on his face.  Take a closer look at how he is walking.



Saint Sofia, the image of modern Bulgaria.  "A bit sexy for a saint", stated one of our Irish walking tour companions- you be the judge.



 This is a sixth century Catholic church that forms a quadrangle with a mosque, a synagogue, and a Bulgarian Orthodox church.



This future metro stop is the site of one of many of Sofia's excavations of Roman ruins.  



Quite possibly my favorite sculpture ever.  Sofia, Bulgaria.



Changing of the guard, Sofia.



A springtime ritual, with the red and white representing the combination of male and female to produce new life each year.  Hundreds are hung on trees throughout Bulgaria.



We think this charmingly decorated restaurant out-hipsters even some of our favorite Portland, Oregon establishments.



This area in front of the Sofia train station looks like it was supposed to be made into a water park or swimming pool, but was instead converted into a waste area of sorts, filled with suspicious-looking items and liquids.



A romantic (?) street scene in Sofia, Bulgaria.



A taco menu in Cyrillic!!!  Never thought I'd see the day.



One of the many bumbling, adorable trolley cars in the Balkans.  Sofia, Bulgaria.



The condition of the average sidewalk in Sofia.



One of many dilapidated buildings in Sofia.  Granted, most are quite a bit more functional.



Chandelier in the largest Sephardic synagogue in Europe.  Bulgaria has a long history of religious tolerance.  The majority of the population is Bulgarian Orthodox, with Jews, Muslims and Catholics comprising sizable minorities.  The country welcomed Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition, and according to our tour guide, "never got around to sending" 500,000 Jews to extermination and labor camps during World War II.



Another beautiful Orthodox church.  I'm obsessed.



Leaving one of the best hostels of our travels so far.  The place attracts amazing travelers and offers a free generous breakfast and light dinner, free guidebooks on loan and a detailed introduction to Sofia.  Now that is hospitality :)



Part of a wedding procession on the day we left Sofia.  We probably saw eight weddings that day.



Our first glimpse of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.



Our Athens host categorizes this Piraeus-area beach as "okay".  Can you tell we are glad to finally be able to swim in the ocean?  After all, it has been a year since we did so in Oaxaca, Mexico.



The water was warm and wonderful, demonstrating Athens' proximity to the tropics.  Those ancient Greeks had it all!  



The next day, it was time to make the journey up to the Acropolis.  Here is the Theater of Dionysus, constructed around the 3rd century BC.  Unforgettable.  I have earphones in, trying to listen to an audio guide, but realized it was based on a different path up to the Acropolis.  Oh, well.  I borrowed Harold's hat and wore SPF 70 to protect my Pacific Northwest face from all those photons.



Made it to the top and beat the tour groups to the Parthenon!  I was so proud of us for leaving the house before 8am, a super-early start for us these days :)



Temple of Athena Nike: my favorite structure on the Acropolis.



Ascending the marble staircase to the Acropolis, in the tradition of those who attended the yearly festival of Athens in ancient times.



Behold, the Acropolis.  Ta-da!







Ancient graffiti.  If only it could all look this good.






Back down the hill at the Temple of Olympian Zeus, one of our favorite ruins in Athens.



Breaking for lunch with a meat and pita plate and one of our new favorite beers.



We started to explore the ancient Agora, where everyday life took place, but we got overwhelmed and will go back tomorrow.  

 

 

View of the Acropolis from the ancient Agora.

As usual, I am finishing a post at 2:30am.  I have to get better about that :)  Wherever you are, have a wonderful day/night and thank you for your attention!

Enjoying some afternoon downtime here in Sofia, Bulgaria, I was browsing our recent photos and discovered some must-shares from the past month or so.  Over the next few weeks, I will be formulating some (hopefully) coherent posts on the European destinations I have not yet covered, as I prepare my mind to switch gears on July 1, when we initiate the Asian portion of our trip!

One of the most unique churches we have visited on this trip is the Kostnice "Bone Church" in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic.  Built in the 1300s over a popular medieval burial ground by a semi-blind priest, it contains the bones of over 40,000 people, formed into chandeliers, pyramids and other structures.  Though macabre-sounding, we considered it a really lovely and peaceful place.

This spider statue was one of many interesting public works of art in Bilbao, Spain, located outside the Guggenheim Museum.

Here we are in front of part of the red-light district in Amsterdam.  There is a soccer team behind us.  People of all ages were out for a stroll in the area.

Eating one of our great culinary discoveries of central/eastern Europe: motanec, a bread coiled around a wooden pole and then roasted over open coals.  Crusty with sugar, almonds and vanilla on the outside, and soft on the inside, it is simply amazing.  In Prague, Czech Republic.

This is the stunning medieval St. Charles Bridge in Prague.  The weather was chilly and drizzly while we were there a couple of weeks ago, a prelude to the current floods.

While in Budapest, Hungary, we experienced a bit of "austerity fatigue" and decided to splurge on one of the area's famous Turkish baths.  We selected the Szechenyi thermal baths, consisting of over 20 pools of different temperatures, housed in a huge, gorgeous building.

It was a bit bright out, hence the squinting.  The water in the largest (outdoor) pool was the perfect temperature for an extended soak.  By the end of our four-hour stay, all of our backpacking aches and pains had left us.  Ahhh.

The next day in Budapest, we continued to live large by splurging on a drink at the New York Cafe, the self-proclaimed "most beautiful cafe in the world".  It was pretty spectacular, with live piano music and art-museum worthy interior decorations.  However, I don't think forking over $7 for a coffee is an experience we will repeat on this trip!  

Thanks for checking our blog, and have a wonderful day :)

I am uber sad to be leaving Belgrade, Serbia, tomorrow night and so I will drown my sorrows in a Serbian Jelen Grejpfruit beer (only 2 % alcohol, so not sure how effective that'll be) while I share my favorite photos of this unique place, which is in the "top faves" category of the trip (along with Split, Croatia and Bratislava, Slovakia).  Like the host who welcomed us to this fine city, you, too, may be bewildered as to its high status amidst world-class destinations such as Paris, Rome and London.  

While my words fail to completely encapsulate its appeal, I will give the top five reasons Harold and I have been able to formulate as to our affection towards Beograd, the White City (formerly known as such for being an immaculate jewel of a city on the Danube).  

1)  The people and their hospitality.  These are honest, dedicated, fun-loving, reasonable folk that like to work hard and party hard.  There is, for the most part, a welcoming attitude towards tourists and a humility regarding Serbia and its potential to attract visitors. 

2)  It is affordable.  Having recently visited many areas where this wasn't the case, we have really enjoyed our ability to eat out a bit, have drinks in the evenings, stay in downtown accommodation, and hop on the trains without breaking our budget.

3)  The "up and coming" vibe.  To call Belgrade "shabby-chic" is a bit too simplistic.  To call it a "party city" is too reductive.  Its tourism industry is still developing, and the city has not been "polished up" for tourists, which is a fundamental part of its charm.

4)  The interesting history.  Serbia has technically only been a country since 2006, before which it was Serbia and Montenegro, after passing through a stint as a part of the former Yugoslavia.  The region has been through quite a few conflicts over the years, which has resulted in a true melting pot of a culture with Austro-Hungarian, Turkish, French, Russian and Greek influences.

5)  Our personal feelings of peace and relaxation while staying in this city, which has somehow refreshed and revived our spirits as we proceed with our travels.

Favorite words learned in Serbian and Croatian, languages which, according to locals, are so similar they can be mutually understood by speakers of either:  

borovnica = blueberry
mlijeko= milk
jelen= deer
hvala= thank you
zelim= I would like
kava= coffee
molim= please, you're welcome
pivo= beer
zdravo= hello
sestra= sister, cousin

And with that, my friends, I present some photos:

Bridge to New Belgrade by night.  Belgrade lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers.

Harold chats with our host, Bojan, great company and an excellent guide :)

On a main commercial street, between two buildings.

My very own collection?  Why, thank you.

One of the many charming street scenes that characterize Belgrade.

The military headquarters, bombed by NATO troops in 2000.

A Serbian Orthodox church under construction.

The lovely interior.

Copper manhole covers.

Another Serbian Orthodox church.

The same ticket booth sold movie tickets and cultural event tickets; the sales lady insisted we had requested to see "Hangover 3" instead of the children's traditional dance show, and there was no way of correcting this message that was lost in translation, so we left....

An important government building that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim recently visited.

Near the government buildings.

Fountain in Skadarlija, Belgrade's Bohemian quarter, the former stomping ground of many of Serbia's thinkers and artists.

More Skadarlija, the most relaxing area of town.

Another street scene.

"Mexican" food has made it to Serbia!

Streets, streets, where the life is.

Garden leading to the old fortress.

The Kalemegdan Fortress, in existence since Celtic times, was rebuilt most recently by the Turks in the 1800s and houses a bunch of old tanks and a military museum.

Here they are.

Old cannon.

Along the fortress wall.

 View from the fortress.

Strolling back from the fortress, viewing the building in perpetual construction (going on 20 years!).  Harold says it looks like it's time to knock it down and start over...

Street art.

This area, known as Stari Grad, was built by the Habsburgs in the 1800s.

A building with no roof!

Another angle.

Danube waterfront.  The barges serve as bars, clubs and restaurants, and locals regularly rent "party boats" for weddings and other events.

This one is in some disrepair.

The trains are quite sluggish, but scenic in these parts.

Item in the monarchy exhibit at the history museum.  Sorry, I can't remember the name of the dynasty, or the specific purpose of this fine piece, and there was not a lengthy description available...

The crown of the last king of Serbia, in the early 1900s.

One of our regular eating spots.  Gargantuan cevapi meat sandwiches for $3!

I don't think they make these anymore...

And we end with a bulldog.  That is Harold, the Dog Whisperer, petting him.  Time for bed!