Romania - Bucharest and Translyvania

The plane ride from London to Orlando is 9 hours and 10 minutes. The movie selection on BA was less than stellar. I watched Duplicity with Clive Owen and Julia Roberts and was pretty disappointed. My PSP that I only play on long plane rides just died right as my tennis player I was building up was starting to get good. So I figured I'd follow up my slightly sexy Germany post with probably the least sexy vacation I've ever taken.....Romania.

My good friend and former colleague (or should I say current comrade in unemployment?) Keyon and I went out one night back in April. After quite a bit of drinking I agreed to go to Romania with him. I woke up the next day and realized I'd committed to going to Romania when I still hadn't been to Spain, Germany, or Prague all of which were near the top of my list. I initially backed out until I realized if I didn't go with him, I'd probably never go. But Keyon is a good friend and seemed to be a trusty tour guide. After all he was married to a Romanian girl for 5 years, had been there 8 times, and could speak enough of the language to get us out of trouble when we inevitably would. What the hell.

My week in Romania was filled with ups and downs. It was the only vacation I can remember where I both wanted it to end sooner and then the next day seriously considered changing my flight to stay longer.

Fun facts about Romania:

• They used to have a stray dog problem and decided to shoot them all to solve it.
• In 1989 the Romanian Revolution took place when they overthrew and executed their leader Nicolae Ceausescu.
  
• You can buy a 3 liter of beer
  
• Dracula's castle - which in my opinion is their #1 tourist attraction- is closed on Monday. Why would they ever close it? Its probably the main reason most people go to Romania! It is still impressive from the outside and fun to say you're in Translyvania
  

• If a girl is dressed like a prostitute and is very interested in you as soon as you walk in a bar, leave before her pimp tries to intimidate you into paying for their 15 person bar tab. Actually run.

• The opening village scenes from Borat were shot in Romania.
  
• If you were wondering were you can see a good Kenny G concert - Try Romania

• If someone tries to convince you to take a bite out of a raw onion covered in salt followed by a shot of mystery liquor and top it off by biting into rubbery disgusting pig skin, say NO. Stick to Salt, Tequila, Lime.
  
• Do however eat as much Bear and Papanasi as you can! The bear was tender and fantastic and a Papanasi is essentially a fried donut with the hole sitting on top covered in sour cream and blackberry sauce. Its amazing.

• Romanian money is plastic, waterproof and completely impossible to rip in half.
• Never pass up the chance to go to a barbecue, even if they can't exactly explain what part of the pig you're about to eat. Its going to be good.

• Also never drive by the road side moonshine stand without stopping. Its really strong and you can buy home made beef jerkey to take away the sting. Or cheese made in tree bark which I still don't understand.

• Ciorba (pronounced Chorba) Soup is delicious, this traditional Romanian spirit called Tuica is not -

• If you get caught sneaking around the grounds of a castle after its closed, they let you off pretty easily.

I'd like to try and get a few good portraits of the locals wherever I travel. Here are portraits of two fisherman Keyon spoke to that I like -


If you haven't stopped reading already to go buy your ticket to Romania, here are a few other pics that I thought were worthwhile. Thanks for a good trip Keyon.

First Stop Bratwurst

I forgot to mention in my last post that I actually am starting my trip with 6 nights in Germany. I've spent the last few days in Berlin and Frankfurt and made a little day trip to Potsdam. In case you don't know, Germany is dope. Its not going to be relaxing or overly beautiful when you visit but the place is so full of history you can't turn a corner without seeing something else amazing.

I came to visit my friend Stephanie who moved to Berlin a few months ago and always hooks me up with free places to stay wherever we find ourself around the world. This trip is no different as she is currently doing a project for DesignHotels.com and got us two nights in the amazing Roomers Hotel in Frankfurt. As you can see from the smile on my face in the pic below, it was a fantastic time.

I also got to drive on the Autobahn for the first time and took our little Volkswagen EOS as fast as it would let me. Unfortunately it had an electronic cut off at 220kmh, but that's 136.7mph and I'll take it. I forgot that driving in the far left lane is strictly for passing and one time even though I was driving about 180, a black Porsche came up behind me so fast I can't describe it. I got over and he blew past me off into the distance. I was jealous. Here's a pic I took while driving 220, that's safe right?

Potsdam was a definite highlight of my trip. Park Sanssouci (which means "without cares") is where you'll find the summer palace of Frederick the Great. It is the German equivalent of Versailles in France. Imagine Central Park with 5 palaces in it. I took about 650 pictures during my week in Germany and its really hard to pic just a few to show you but here is a good one I took of the New Palace (Neues Palais).

But one of the main reasons I really enjoyed my time in Germany was the amazing amount of art in Berlin. One of the highlights of the trip was going to Kunsthaus Tacheles. This building once was one of the largest department stores in Europe but was bombed heavily during the war. Most of it was torn down or destroyed but whats left now houses something extraordinary. It is now a self organized collective of artists. Stephanie and I went after dinner and arrived about 11pm on a Monday. The place was jumping. We only intended to stay for a drink or two and ended up staying till 5am. This place could not exist in the US. If it does please tell me where! Essentially artists took over the building and set up their studios there. In the evenings there are about 6 "bars" that serve drinks and play music. There was also a famous Colombian band playing the night we were there. I'll try to post some photos to give you an idea but it probably won't do it justice: The guy in the green shirt is explaining to Stephanie how David Hasselhoff was responsible for bringing down the Berlin Wall! He is also the Berlin Ambassador for CouchSurfing.com and I met a girl named Satya from Portland who is staying with him and said her room is a Hasselhoff shrine. I've emailed her and am awaiting a pic which I'll be sure to post if she sends to me. The pinkish pic is a lounge area on the top floor of the gallery where apparently smoking weed is legal. The next pic is the view from this lounge.



Another highlight would be the sausage. I must have tried at least five different kinds of Bratwurst. Currywurst is probably the most popular and delicious:


Berlin is very inexpensive to live in compared to other European cities and because of this artists flock here. I found this yellow polka dotted rain coat sitting on the ledge of a photo gallery and Steph and I were inspired.


I wish I could write more because Berlin deserves it but I've got a flight to catch! Off to Orlando to see my family for a week before heading off to Guatemala. Did I mention I've been drinking champagne in the BA Lounge at Gatwick while writing this? Gotta love Platinum Frequent Flyer Status. ;o)