Djoing what Djohnny Said

We put off until the last day the trip to Johnny & Terry's chi-chi restaurant, Cafe Pierrot, located in the Castle District and the home of the famous goose liver trilogy. How we got there is another story.

Both Nicole and I have traveled to Castle Hill all by ourselves independently and neither of us remembered any problems. Today, we decided to either walk Chain Bridge or take a trolley, whichever came first. Nicole still had a 3 day pass but I needed to buy a ticket. We decided to walk the bridge, then took the funicular up the mountain. Somehow, we turned left instead of right, walked down a hill, talking merrily, and ended up back at the funicular. The funicular cost 1000 forints; no problem--I thought I had a 10,000 bill.  But no, I had a 1000 so we counted all our change and rode it back up the hill.  Then we were out of money, with no transportation pass, no water, no food. We finally found an ATM and made our way to the restaurant (courtyard above). The place is delightful. The trilogy consists of grilled goose liver which was excellent, a pate which was magnificent, and a souffle that looked like creme brulee which was one of the most unusual and delicious dishes I ever had.

After that, we made our way to Ruszwum for their world famous cream pastry, also a Johnny recommendation, They were out of that but promised me the cream puff used the same cream.  It was great. Nicole got sour cherry strudel which was also great and was real strudel instead ground poppyseed cake.

Then we packed; got a quick dinner on Liszt Square and are preparing for a 7 a.m. taxi and a 14 hour trip (Nicole) and a 19 hour trip (me).

So bye to Budapest--still one of my favorite cities despite the fact it's overrun with Americans. Really. Tonight at dinner, it seemed everyone was speaking American; didn't hear any British.

Until next time...end o'blog.

No pictures, not much to report

Well, there is this liver and chicken necks.

The wifi never worked on my computer so I had to connect through the main connection. I switched it to wifi
for all Nicole's friends who came over last night to my party and by party I mean, they all came over and read their email on their fancy-dancy phones.

At any rate, two days ago, we went to Szechenyi thermal baths all day and got caught in the rain. The next day was shopping day at the Central Market. I soon tired of that but it seems Nicole needed to buy a lifetime supply of new purses. Today, we walked around Gellert Hill--some people actually walked up the hill but I wasn't feeling it and have done that before--I'll just look at the pictures when I get home.

In other news, bad luck for this group in the thievery department. First, my pick-purse incident; now, a train incident. Two of the people rented a couchette for a 17 hour ride to Milan. At a stop, someone broke into it and stole the guy's backpack from underneath his feet. He lost a lot of journals and other personal things but I don't believe passports and money were in there. There are 6 theater people left here--most are leaving tomorrow. And Nicole and I are winding down too. Leaving on the 2nd. This apartment and location has been great and remains the best place I ever rented (at least so far).

I was here before in 2005; in 8 years time, what seems to have changed is that the young people seem to have taken all the jobs, speak English, and are determined to make Budapest a major tourist destination. In 2005, I was refused service on more than one occasion because I didn't speak the language. Some of the older (as in my age) workers were downright rude. I didn't see any of that this time--everyone is nice; everyone speaks a little English, it's a different atmosphere. Same feeling as in Romania but I didn't expect to find it here. I've always liked Eastern Europe and it's nice to see the modernization but at least in Budapest, I feel they're doing a good job of maintaining some old world charm.

Hello, Lady

Apparently, all male servers have been taught it's polite to say things to old American ladies like "Hello, Lady," "Here you are, Lady. Enjoy your meal," "Have a nice night, lady." The female servers do not say that.

Now I feel really bad about those nasty things I said about the Hop On, Hop Off people. They are my new best friends. Since there's 2 people working every corner with most people ignoring them, they are bored and will answer any question you ask. I've come to rely on them for directions. Today, the actors had a tour of the National Theater but I didn't want to try to meet up with them (especially since they were walking and it's very far)  so I didn't go with them but I did go to the real Contemporary Art Museum right by that theater. I had to take Tram 2 which everyone on tripadvisor advises people to take because it runs along the Danube offering a beautiful view.  But since I didn't know where to catch it, I asked a Hoppy person who told me  Tram 2 is not as exciting as those tripadvisor people say.  Most people riding it are going to work, not gazing at the Danube.

At any rate, I got to Millenium park which is beautiful--has a great view of the Buda Hills, the theater (see picture) and the Contemporary Art Museum. I thought I was looking at the museum but to make sure, I asked a young man who was wearing a "I heart USA" t-shirt with an American flag on it.  Turns out, he didn't speak much English. But, he answered me because I kept saying "art, art" and pointed to the building.

The museum has decent reviews online--their small collection has the usual Warhol, Ono, Picasso--but it was the exhibits that made the trip worth the effort. One floor was devoted to an exhibit called The Naked Man (who wouldn't pay extra for that?). It was an examination of the role of men in art, cultural stereotypes of maleness, etc. Very tasteful and representing different time periods and artists.

The bottom floor was a photography collection called This Must Be the Place by Pieter Hugo. Never heard of him but when I researched him later, I found out he's getting really famous. He's from South Africa but photographs in different African countries. He does mostly large format photography. He's terrific and very young (born 1976)..

So all of that for $10.  After I toured the museum, I ran right into Nicole & gang who had driven to the museum so I got a ride back. They got a tour of the theater including under the stage--it's a moving stage; state of the art technically. Very impressive.  I don't even remember hearing about Millenium Park the last time I was here but it's on my recommendation list now.

And...a picture of the theater where Trapdoor performed last night. Very nice space. They had good attendance, especially considering the performance was added at the last minute and not advertised. Plus, they were competing with Mama Mia upstairs and Ghost: The Opera across the street.

We went to a buffet for lunch today. Lots of young people there--it's all you can eat for $5. They have Indian food, meat they'll cook for you, lots of Hungarian food...and a two hour time limit. Must be popular with all the students here. Since it's serve yourself, no one said "hello, Lady."

Last Show

Tonight is the last show of the Trapdoor tour. Luckily, the theater is under a 10 minute walk for me and I bought a ticket. The director said I could get in free but Nicole made me buy a ticket.

So first today, I went to the modern art museum on Heroes Square. No one seems to go there and for good reason. They host only exhibits--there were 3 today, none of which were very good.

Then I decided to go to the top of St. Stephen's. For $2, you can get a whole view of the city. I thought it would be amusing if I had a picture of St. Stephen's from my apartment and then a picture of my apartment from St. Stephen's.  It is very high up there and today is especially windy. I am always terrified of those places so I don't know why I can't resist them. I walked most of the way around and never really identified my apartment--so much for the amusing idea. One American girl was hugging the wall so at least I was brave enough to pass her on the outside.

The cathedral itself is great too. I don't remember being in there before.

The last time I was here, it was the month of October and I had a month-long transportation pass with a passport picture on it. In that month, I think I was stopped twice to have my ticket checked. This time, there are guards to stop everyone at least twice a day. I guess because it's tourist season. They examine my 7 day pass and are so proud of themselves when they say "thank you."

Liszt Square is one of my favorite spots with all its restaurants. I ate lunch there today and they actually brought the heaters back out since it's so cold. I went to the Liszt Museum the last time so I don't need to see it again. There have death casts of his hands and they were huge.  What I didn't know was that he got his start in Bratislava (the most interesting fact in Bratislavan history). He played a concert at age 9 and immediately got sponsors to fund his musical education.  I do understand why he left Bratislava.

I found my Hungarian dessert of choice--sponge cake. It is pieces of chocolate and vanilla sponge cake with vanilla pudding. Covered in the ubiquitous whipped cream with chocolate sauce...just like their coffee.

Helmut Newton is Following Me

Or vice versa. Saw one of his exhibits in Paris last year and here is a different one in Budapest. In both cases, the exhibitions are huge. This one had  about 5 rooms of several different projects. No Cindy Crawford, but Liz, Angelica, Andy Warhol and an interesting David Bowie shot. There was a room of fashion photography and what was interesting about that is it featured shoots he did for American Vogue, Italian Vogue, French Vogue, etc. As you might guess, the most risque were the French--since the models were mostly nude, it was difficult to know what was being advertised.

Unfortunately, the museum made you pay for their permanent exhibit as well as the special exhibit so I felt obligated to go to the permanent exhibit which was not good. Maybe those Hungarian masters are well known to Hungarians but their brochure featured their one Breugel as one of the highlights of the museum.

I believe one should always try the local burger--this one was the opposite of the totally raw one I had in Paris. I believe they started frying it last night.  Speaking of raw, I think it's now safe for me to report I did not get food poisoning from the steak tartare with a raw egg in the middle that I had in Bratislava. I did not think I was ordering that; I thought I would get small strips of grilled steak and there was no mention of a raw egg.

My elevator didn't work when I left to go to the synagogue so I walked downstairs--it is 4 1/2 flights of stairs and I live on 2. Some people live on 6 so I knew they'd get it fixed by the time I got back; if not, I was going to take the afternoon and walk up to the apartment and never leave.

On my list of things I didn't see last time was the Dohany Street Synagogue. It is a stunning building, built in the mid-1800s. It's the largest synagogue in Europe. Again, I couldn't get far enough away to get a good picture. It has a Memorial Garden and also a Jewish history museum.

Since I eat lunch too late, I'm never hungry for the big Hungarian meal so ordering just an appetizer is working well. Tonight I had duck liver pate which wasn't as good as Johnny's and also twice as expensive, but it was tasty and served with a lettuce salad with fresh fruit.  Their salads are really good and I also like how they put tomatoes and cucumbers on sandwiches like a club sandwich or burger. There was no eating outside tonight, though--apparently, all the restaurants took their heaters in for the summer. It's cold, rainy, and windy now.

Off to watch some news--I can get all the English speaking news channels but if a good show like "The Big Bang Theory" is on, it's dubbed. I hate when they do that--they do that in Poland too. Speaking of my dislikes, I also don't like that you have to beg to get a check in these restaurants, everywhere I've been here in the East. There can be people waiting for tables but I'm sure you'd be allowed to sit at yours for hours if you never asked for the check. On the flip side, I've never seen such fast service, again, in every country I've been in. Some restaurants have 100 things on the menu and they still will cook your food in under 10 minutes. It makes me wonder whether they have everything ready in the back, just waiting for someone to order it. I'm sure that's true of that hamburger I had today but the gourmet dishes like grilled goose liver are always perfectly cooked.

Hop On, Hop Off Outta Da Way

The Hop On, Hop Off tour people are driving me nuts. They have a table every three feet and want to give you a brochure and talk you into buying their tour--even if they just saw you pass by another table two minutes ago. I have 43 brochures. They're young people, apparently paid on commission. If tourists would look at the map, they would notice that for 6000 forints, about 8 of the 12 stops are within 1/2 mile of each other. Yes, you get a boat tour, a beer, and some discounts, but you're not going to go to the places with the discounts. I bought a week all transportation ticket for 2000 less. I must say I hate this money. A dollar is about 237 forints. I can do the math, but when it comes to something like a tip, I don't know whether I've give $10 or 10 cents. Plus, it's hard to figure out if something is a bargain.

For nostalgia's sake, I took the subway to Heroes Square today--I did that every day when I was in school here. I changed to a bus to get home from there; wherever that was that I lived. I have no desire to look at the old apartment although the street was nice with some embassies and fancy houses. Then I walked back--Andrassy is about a 2 mile walk--something like that. I stopped at Liszt Square for lunch because I love that square. The Hooters is still there. As is the TGIFridays on Deac Ter I once ate at because I couldn't make it any further that night. I had a horrible lunch and remembered the food really isn't very good here unless you're eating goose liver. So for dinner, I had fried goose liver bits on arugula with red onions. Delicious.

It rained and cooled off considerably so I washed my jeans and then ironed the t-shirts I washed yesterday. Of course, I can't figure out the washing machine; I bought some fabric softener to make the clothes softer but it didn't seem to help too much.  I have the instruction manual in English.and can't figure out where the soap goes.

I have better pictures of Heroes Square from the last time I was here Kind of busy today. So here's also a picture of my cafelatte.

Moving On Up

When this couple advertised "view of St. Stephen's Basilica," I thought it would be a sideways glance look, but this is the view directly across from my balcony--couldn't get the whole building in the photo. This is by far the best apartment I've ever rented in Europe. Dishwasher, washing machine which I already used. It's like the one in Paris in that it locks and you can't stop it, but when it says it will wash for an hour, it means it, unlike the one in Paris that really meant 5 hours. This doesn't have a dryer but it wrings well. Here is my living room before I trashed it:

I took a train from Bratislava, first class with the other Americans and Brits. The reason I do that is because you usually get two seats to yourself so I don't have to lift my suitcase overhead. Plus, 2nd class can be packed and noisy. They didn't offer a discount for old people--I asked in those exact words but it was about $7 more and worth every penny. Plus, Americans and Brits will help a gal with her suitcase.  I always forget about train travel when I pack. Train stations always have steps that you have to go up and down to get to your track. Fortunately, today I rolled right out to track 1.  In Sibiu, though, I had to carry the suitcase down a flight of stairs and then up another. Also, their trains had the highest steps I've ever seen. I could barely lift myself onto it, let alone the suitcase. Some nice man helped--probably an American or Brit. When I got to Brasov, a little redcap, half my size and twice my age carried it for me, for a tip. He asked me if I spoke a little French and then I think he asked me for a bigger tip...in French. I acted like I didn't understand.  Vlad had told me that during Communist times in Romania, people either learned Russian or French, hence the old guy and his French.

I finally solved the strudel mystery. In Bratislava, I kept reading that tourists should try poppy desserts because the EU is trying to outlaw poppy seed cultivation. I didn't try anything so tonight in Budapest, I tried their poppy cake. It was the same base as that strudel except, instead of two cherries, they made it into a layer cake. So apparently, it's just ground up poppy seeds. I also had goulash which in Hungary is soup but is stew every where else. I sat around the restaurant for awhile to see the pizza that several people ordered. Some of you will recall that I had that once in Budapest and they brought a bottle of ketchup in case I wanted extra sauce. Sure enough, out came the ketchup and then thin pizza with little sauce. I actually saw someone put ketchup on it.  I had french fries earlier today and I must say their Heinz ketchup is really sweet--guess that's the difference between added sugar and added corn syrup.

Big Doings in the Brat

Several people on tripadvisor said their favorite spot in Bratislava is Slavin, a memorial cemetery/park built in 1960 to honor vets of WWII. One liar on tripadvisor claimed it's a beautiful 20 minute walk from Old Town. I did a mapquest and it was a 16 minute walk for me and I am already half way up the mountain. My location is up a steady incline; Slavin is straight up from there. Once you get there, though, it's worth it. Beautiful park with a great view of the city and the way back is all downhill. This whole area is a ritzy residential area--the houses have to start at $1 million and go up from there. The people who live here don't care that they live on a mountain--they all have cars. High security also; every house and this hotel has a camera controlled entryway.

I am an experienced trolleybus rider from my time in Budapest. The system is similar here. What I hate about  public transportation in these countries is you can't buy a ticket on the bus.  You have to buy tickets from a stand that sells lots of other stuff besides the ticket; plus, it's hard to make the person understand what you want if you only speak American. But yesterday, I noticed on the 10th time up the hill that there are machines next to the stops. So today, I asked the hotel clerk what stop to take and took the trolley. You buy a ticket for 15 minutes and stamp it on the trolley or bus. There are random checks but otherwise, it's an honor system. So I went to Old Town one last time where I saw everyone getting ready for the annual "fake coronation" ceremony tomorrow. But they don't do just one fake coronation; they do about six. I think that explains the different types of uniforms  I saw  but all women were dressed up as Quakers. I heard an English speaking tour guide tell her group that if they go, just stay for a minute; it's very tiresome.

For lunch, I had Pressburg schnitzel because I kept seeing that everyone should try this regional food. I have never liked schnitzel so that turned out to be a bad idea and I still don't know what was all Pressburg about it. The waitress said "It is no good?" Frankly, no. Schnitzel is never good.

...And I don't like their strudel

I've had it twice--one apple and one cherry. I ordered it the second time because I thought the first time was lost in translation. In both cases, it was some kind of chocolate cake thing with a grand total of 3 pieces of fruit. Not strudel at all and not very tasty. Tonight at my hotel (I don't dare go out after dark), we had banana splits and that was true to the translation--a banana...split, with a scoop of banana ice cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Covered with chocolate and whipped cream. These Eastern Europeans serve whipped cream on everything, but especially coffee. It's difficult to find a plain coffee. In Sibiu, I ordered coffeelatte as  was printed on the sign and they asked me if I wanted milk.

So here's the main square of Bratislava; as main squares of Europe go, not one of the best.  It's small but the building are nice. Plenty of street performers and the usual ice cream stands.

And here is a view of the Danube; I finally got to see it on a mini-train tour of Old Town and the castle. According to tripadvisor, there's no reason to go into the castle. I finally took the mini-train today. I had been trying to book tours with another agency but it turns out, they don't exist any more even though they didn't take down their system that automatically answers your email request and says they'll get back to you. 

I  can now say with confidence that this city is rampant with crime. First, the purse-picking incident and then, as I was walking the 10 miles to my hotel, I saw two politia looking into the empty trunk of a car with a family who had apparently lost all their luggage...as though looking into the empty trunk would provide clues. I did get another nice email from the American Embassy saying they would mail my billfold to me if it ever got turned in. They said while these incidents are common, rarely are American citizens victims of violent crime in Bratislava. The email went on and on and made me wonder how I can get a job living in another country, writing emails to distraught Americans. Bratislava would not be my first choice, though.

BTW, the bridge below is an engineering feat--no pylons in the water. The whole bridge is supported by the cables going into the "ufo" top, which is also a restaurant but tripadvisor says the food isn't very good. Outside of boat trips to and from Vienna, Bratislava seems not to take advantage of their Danube location--no restaurants or boat hotels in the area.

     

Curses, Djohnny

The D is not silent. It stands for dammit, johnny, why you make me go to Bratislava and get pickpocketed to the tune of 300 euro?? Plus, it's 93 degrees here.

This was a textbook incident. First, if I had found an ATM at the airport, I would have left most of the money in the hotel. But I didn't so the first thing I had to do today was get euros. I was going to take my money belt but didn't. Don't I have a safe purse that can't be cut and has secret fasteners? Yes. Did I have it fastened? No. I was very careful about that in Romania but apparently got complacent.

 This girl blocked my way into the area to enter a museum. I kept saying "scusi" and fnally, she turned around and apologized. When I got into the museum, I noticed my purse was unzipped. I thought she did it, but now that I remember, there were people behind me--I thought they were trying to go to the museum too but really, they were opening my purse and getting my very small billfold. I lost a credit card, a debit card and my driver's license. I was just surprised because they didn't take anything else--not even my change purse which must have $3 worth of euro coins.

My hotel is a mile up a hill but I didn't care when I set out because I was going to take a taxi. Well...had to walk it (think Straight Street in Cincinnati). I always separate a set of debit and credit cards so I'm not destitute or Djohnny would be wiring me money. I cancelled the cards and the hotel clerk said to contact the American Embassy because often, thieves just take the money and pitch the billfold. The Embassy said, yeah, happens all the time; they'll email me if they get it.  Meanwhile, I just hate feeling (1) tres stupid and (2) like I have to guard these two cards with my life. But, I went down to Old Town again, got more euros and ate lunch. So, Djohnny is safe for now.

Brasov to Bratislava Via Vienna

I thought I had a closer picture of the Black Church but apparently not--it's that gigantic building in the left corner that looks like a church. I read one place that the Germans built it; then another place that the Bulgarians built it but what really happened was the Germans of the city hired Bulgarians to build it. It's called the Black Church because the outside turned black in a fire. The inside is white, Gothic, very impressive. It's pipe organ has 4000 pipes making it the largest in Europe. Someone was playing it when I was there. All instructions in the church are in German first, then Romanian, then English. As you can imagine, the German took 3 lines to translate the simple phrase "Please do not sit in this pewage."  I don't know much German but from what I could tell, it seemed that the Germans must want to know why they can't sit in the pewage.

I was sad that I didn't get to take the tram up the mountain to walk to the Brasov sign and maybe encounter bears--most of the bears that hang around the sign don't kill people, according to the tourist information. But, according to Vlad, Romania has a bear problem. The bears come down the mountains to the affluent neighborhoods at night and scrounge for food. The well-meaning residents feed them even though the wildlife people feed them in the forest. Every spring, the authorities take the bears far away in the mountains but every year, the bears find their way back to town. Vlad claims if you are stumbling home drunk at night, the bears will probably eat you.

So Romania is my new favorite country; I know I say that about every country but this time I might mean it. The people are nice, the towns are charming, the food is great and it's cheap. Now I'm into Euro land and everything already looks more expensive. My flight from Bucharest to Vienna was an hour and fifteen minutes so naturally, they gave us a full meal. Romanian airplane food isn't much better than American airplane food, except for the bread and butter. Plus, they gave us a bite size Milky Way. The bus to Bratislava cost 7 Euros and was amazingly easy to find--I had 10 minutes to find it and I did, unlike the buses at CDG, Paris, which are impossible to find. 

I got here at night so I haven't been out. Tomorrow I'll try to figure out why Johnny made me come here. It's sweltering--temps. in the 90s the whole time I'm here.

3 Castle Tour

Today, I was supposed to go on a tour with two other people but they canceled at the last minute. That was fine since the car was a bit smaller than a Corolla so it would have been crowded. That meant, though, that I had to pay the two person minimum price, about $100 for an 8 hour tour so not too bad. Although I had to pay admission at the castles, I get the senior rate which is always half price--so instead of $7, I paid about $3.50. A bargain.  My guide was Vlad, a young man in his 30s who graduated with a banking degree, worked in the industry for 5 years until the economy took his job and then went into tourism. His English is excellent and he works for several different companies. Tomorrow, he is leading a 3 day tour of 170 people on 3 buses. If I had it to do over, I probably would take one of the longer tours since these Romanian villages are so charming.

We went to Peles (that's s with a squiggly at the bottom) Palace which was the summer home of the first  king of "modern" Romania, Carol I. I have never seen anything like it--opulent is too mild a word. It was built from about 1880-1914; it has 160 rooms, including 30 bathrooms. Every prominent European architect and interior designer was employed to furnish this place--there's a Venetian room, Florentine room, the dining room is German, etc. The dining room table seats 36 people and the food magically appears in the middle of the table next to the candelabra through a pulley system from the kitchen below. It had electricity from the river close by, a central heating and air conditioning system, and even a central vacuum system that was installed in 1901 when it was invented--it's still in use today. The armory room was especially impressive, with knives, guns, armor from all over the world. I took the English speaking tour and there were probably two other people who have English as their first language. All the Asians and Turks were in my group.

Then we went to Vlad castle which is ancient. Not much original furnishings remain but the architecture is interesting. Lots of information about Dracula that doesn't relate at all to Vlad the Impaler, except maybe they both were very mean. My guide said mostly Vlad impaled bad people so even he is not as bad as you might think.

 Finally, we went to a Citadel or Fortress which is not really a castle. People lived in the village below but all had homes in this self-contained fortress. When invaders attacked, everyone ran up the mountain to the fortress. Personally, I would have been invaded; I could barely make it up this mountain and that was after a wagon took us almost to the top. Also, it was the hottest time of day when we were there and a million screaming school children who were being forced to learn about their heritage, even though they live about 3 hours away. Once 12 soldiers defended the fortress for a week until they ran out of water and had to surrender. After that, they dug a well--down about 160 meters. There was also a secret passageway from the church in the village, through the mountain, up to the fortress. It was destroyed by an earthquake. They also have the highest bungee jump in the world in this area but I didn't look for it. Skiing is popular in this area in the winter--still a little snow on the mountains today.

My guide told me he had a Canadian couple last week who came to Romania with a suitcase full of food because they read that Romania is poor, the people are poor, you can't buy food or anything else. Vlad said "Maybe they read a magazine from 1980 when that was true." At any rate, they ended up giving most of the food to the homeless.  Vlad, like all Romanians, hates the gypsies. He said Romania is fighting with France because the French give each gypsy a free flight to Bucharest and 300 euros if they promise to "go and never come back."  The gypsies go to Bucharest, spend the money, and gradually make their way back to France where they say they can make 300 Euros a day panhandling. And, of course, Vlad resents the fact that the gypsies are on public assistance which is funded by taxpayers--the more children they have, the more money they get.

Vlad recommended a restaurant for me. He told me it has traditional food and at the beginning, they bring everyone a special Romanian dish. The special dish was what we'd call cracklings. Tastier than Pork Rinds. I ordered a porkchop with applesauce. The applesauce was pieces of apples drowning in a sour cream sauce. The Romanians put sour cream on everything--it's always served with soup. Frankly, it's a good idea, in my book. I was amused by 5 businessmen sitting at the table next to mine--4 Germans and a Romanian so their common language was English. 

Tomorrow I'm off to Bratislava. I decided to spring for an airport transfer instead of taking a taxi to the train station, a train to Bucharest, a taxi to the airport, a plane to Vienna, a bus to Bratislava, a taxi to my hotel. Now I'll just have to do the last part...starting with that plane ride.

I am an idiot

Nothing new there but this time, I was an idiot for not complaining, which is so unlike me. When I arrived yesterday, I was angry because there was no one to carry my suitcase up the long flight of stairs. The young girl clerk helped me and said "Here is your room. I hope you like it." As you can see, it's adorable so I resisted saying "But it's so hot." So, for 24 hours, I've been suffering; I opened my window even though it's right outside the breakfast area and the door everyone else has to go through to get to their rooms. There was little breeze; the breakfast room was hot this morning; the hotel was hot. Then tonight I noticed the breakfast room was cool and saw an air conditioner. When I went downstairs, I asked the girl whether the rooms were air-conditioned. She said mine was--"it is the thing that looks like a picture." Well, of course--how could I miss it--it's called Art Cool. I still blame the hotel, though, because the remote wasn't in my room. If I had had that, I would have just pointed to all the walls until something worked.

All Romanians are Italians

I've been in three Romanian cities so I speak with authority...but maybe not all Italians are Romanians. First of all, there is a gelato stand every three feet and these people buy their first ice cream cones at 9 in the morning. Second, even the traditional restaurants serve pizza and some standard pasta dishes--one of them is carbonara which I ordered once...by bacon, they mean ham. I even had a HLT that they called a BLT. It made me wonder whether the US is the only country that makes real bacon (Canadian doesn't count). I think these people live on pizza.

I haven't been eating the wonderful pastries they have here because I'm not well, but even on my best days, we all know I have never "cleaned my plate" in my life. If we leave food, apparently all the waiters have been trained to say "It is not good?" or "You do not like it?" If I leave one noodle, they say that to me.

Now I live in Brasov on the town square. I like to stay on the town squares because that's where the action is, and more importantly, it makes it harder for me to get lost. Yesterday, was family day on the square and people kept their kids out until late at night. It's like Cincinnati here--doesn't get dark until 9:30. One of Nicole's friends told me he thinks European kids are cuter than American kids but I think it's just he can't understand what they're screaming. It was very noisy all night.

When I was in Bucharest a couple of years ago, there were packs of wild dogs. I noticed this time that the wild dogs all seem to have their ears tagged, probably meaning they've been neutered. These wild dogs tend to hang out near markets and aren't scary at all; I guess they get fed there. There are plenty of dog owners--I've seen a few large dogs like German Shepherds but most people have the same small white dog; about the size of a Shih Tzu but they don't have flat noses. 

Unfotunately, the two most popular things to do in Brasov are both closed on Mondays. The Black Church and riding the tram up to the Brasov sign. Actually, you ride the tram to a restaurant but you can walk to the sign. You can walk up the mountain, too, but it's just too hot. 

Theoretically, I'm going to the castles tomorrow if the travel guy ever gets back to me. 

OCNA SIBIULUI SPA--children of the mud

For several days, we had been trying to go to the Ocna spa and finally, on the last day around 6, we made it there. All I knew was we were going to a mineral spa and I figured there would be various baths at varying temperatures, much like the ones in Budapest. There are a series of baths inside but the Romanian director wanted to go to the lake so that's where we went. I was disappointed because it had rained and was cool outside so swimming in a lake didn't sound like my idea of a good time. Since we were there, though, I decided to be the first one in and walked down a set of wooden stairs to the lake. The first thing I noticed when my feet were in the water was that the temperature had to be over 100 degrees. Then I got in but was startled because I couldn't swim--I seemed to be flailing around and getting nowhere. Finally, someone showed me that all you have to do is float--I had no idea this was a salt water lake and so drowning is nearly impossible. It turns out the lake used to be a salt mine that collapsed. It's also incredibly deep. There was small mud pool, too, but you the mud was under the water so you had to pick it up with your feet to spread it on your body. Makes your skin soft but is very difficult to get off yourself and your bathing suit. 

But seriously...

who wouldn't fly to Romania to see Nicole on stage? And the rest of the cast, too. These poor actors worked from 7 in the morning until they went on stage at 8 that night, hanging lights, building the complicated set., etc. Actually, it was only the men who had to go at 7; the women went at 10. Nicole said it gave her a new appreciation for Romanian sexism. There were some technical difficulties but the performance was great and they got a standing ovation. Now they're off to perform in about 5 other cities. 

Sorry I couldn't get the whole cast--I was in the center of the theater.

The "Castle"

 Turns out the Castle wasn't as big as I expected but it is a nice venue for performances without scenery. Trapdoor had this spot two years ago and when they lugged all their scenery up the mountain (and it is a grueling climb), they discovered none of it fit through the door which has to be under 3 feet wide. They had to hoist it all over the side.

So we managed to get into the performance last night, after they made us wait at the top of a hill for over an hour. Instead of counting people on the way in, they let everyone with tickets inside and then figured out how many extra seats and standing room spaces they would sell. The performance was all music, supposedly a deconstruction of Lear by the Polish group, Song of the Goat. The performers were amazing but the "deconstruction" of Lear existed only in the creator/director's mind. He came out before every song to explain things to the audience but none of it made sense, even in English. The performance would have been better had he not spoken a word.

A funny thing happened today. It took me an hour to find the Gong Theater where Trapdoor is performing tonight but only 5 minutes to get back...I did that thing again where I turned right when I was supposed to go left.

Today I went to  Billa (grocery store) to buy my water and bananas I walked to the scale to weigh my bananas because I had learned the hard way that you have to do that yourself. Someone was in front of me but she left and as I went to put my bananas on the scale, a large Romanian arm reached in front of me with a gigantic bag of grapes. The female owner of that arm didn't know the code for grapes so she just left them there and went to get the code. I resisted the urge to take them off the scale and waited for her to do that. Then I put my bananas down. I didn't notice she had bent down to get more produce from her basket.  She was really mad at me--I ended up apologizing but she didn't speak English so I guess I'm lucky to have survived the encounter. Don't mess with the babushkas.

It is so pleasant to eat every meal outdoors. Even though it seems to rain every afternoon, the outside tables are well protected. But, no, haven't tried the Hair and Coffee place.

WILD NIGHT & Romanian Money

At my age, staying up past 11 constitutes a wild night, so being at a club until 2 is really over the edge for me. I even drank an entire glass of beer. The band plays kinda jazz with spoken word music, at least that's what I call it. Very talented musicians and joining them as a guest singer was a Chicago woman who just came along for part of Trapdoor's tour. She plays the French horn and the saw (but never at the same time). She is amazing--apparently, she inherited the knowledge and the saw from her grandfather and yes, she brought the saw from Chicago. The band had met a couple earlier in the day who volunteered to play with them. The husband plays French horn and the wife plays violin...with the Sibiu Philharmonic Orchestra. The wife told me she was a little apprehensive about playing with no practice but they were great.

I feel much better today but don't know whether to credit the antibiotics or the magic bee pollen pills. Or it could be that tripe soup I had for lunch. Speaking of magic, I have always thought Romanian money is pretty but didn't know it cannot be destroyed. The Romanian director showed me--you can't tear it, crumple it, you can wash it, dry it, etc. It's indestructible. Why? It's made of plastic.

Romania has great wireless internet. You can usually get it just sitting outside cafes and in all the hotels. However, the telephone system is like the 1950s. When Nicole calls me, I answer the phone and the desk clerk says "Catherine? Nicole is calling."

Theoretically, tonight we're climbing a mountain to see a play in a castle. It might be so crowded that we can't get in. But...if I manage to climb that mountain, I will see the show.

My Blog is a Bore

 Mostly because I am a bore. Yesterday, I ate three meals and slept. That was the extent of my day. Today has been similar. I have hopes that I'll be better soon because I bought magic bee pollen pills that should cure me. I think I have that disease that will cure itself in 7 days or else I can take these antibiotics and be well in a week.

I have yet to be inside a theater at the theater festival. All the street performances are in front of my hotel, though, so I do see those, including the pictured hot Spanish boys...really, they were sweating.
The food here is quite good. Pizza is served everywhere, including at the Italian restaurants. The traditional Romanian soup is tripe but I haven't tried that yet. It's been rainy every day, hot, then cold, then hot again. You have to travel with three layers to be comfortable.
Some of the people in Nicole's troupe have a band and they got booked in a bar tonight. It's close to my hotel so I'll be able to go and leave early.  Life of the party--that's me.

What day is it?

I left on Sunday; now all of a sudden, it's Monday night. I seriously thought of postponing this trip because I'm ill, but I was afraid I'd never get to Sibiu. So, I kept telling myself I'm not the first person who ever went to Europe sick and made the long journey. The flights weren't too bad; it was long hours in airports that were nearly unbearable. I had a bad cough but the antibiotic I'm on has mostly knocked that out; now I have a head cold.

Children under the age of 15 shouldn't be allowed on airplanes...certainly not the little ones who don't have to pay for a seat but instead can sit on mommy's lap right behind me, pull my hair, kick my seat, and have to be constantly amused. Luckily, that was just the flight to Atlanta. There was a screamer all the way to Munich but she wasn't close to me.  BTW, Delta's economy comfort on a 767 plane is hardly worth the price. On that flight, I was seated next to Nerd Boy who was going to Munich for an intensive German course. He kept reading a German manuscript...aloud. I was able to sleep through most of it.

I have caused only one international incident so far. I was sure when we got to Munich, they didn't want me to go to passport control so I started walking to "connecting flights." That turned out to be wrong--I had to go through passport control, then walk the 10 miles to my flight, then go through passport control again and also security even though I had never left the airport--and I thought those Germans were efficient. The good news is I got two Munich stamps in my brand new passport. Of course, the stamps are identical and what they're really saying is "Arrived in Munich. Left Munich."

I am now in Sibiu and my hotel is on a cute pedestrian street. I went out for an eclair and coffee because I realized I had been fed 4 meals in under 24 hours and probably didn't need dinner. Typical Eastern European town--featuring a parade and a gelateria  every three feet. I think it's a requirement that all Eastern Europeans eat an ice cream cone every night. 

We just had a storm but now I hear the music of another marching band. I'm not sure whether these bands have something to do with the Theatre Festival or whether they just march here every day to amuse the people as they eat their ice cream.

Main Square, Sibiu, Romania

And a parade

Eastern Europe, Again

I'm off to Eastern Europe again; this time, visiting Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary. I'm counting Slovakia as a "new country" since I've been to Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic but not to the other half. I must admit I'm somewhat apprehensive about this journey because I have a lot of train travel and trains in Eastern Europe are not like trains in Western Europe and my facility with the Romanian language is confined to one word--Mersi (as in "thanks"). I can only hope an English speaker will point me to the correct train.

After a grueling 18-19 hours, I'll finally land in Sibiu, Romania at 1:00 on June 10 where I'll stay for 6 nights. From there, I'm going to Brasov to see the castle area (maybe; currently, the bid to take me on a tour is 200 Euros). After that, I'll go to Bucharest to take a plane to Vienna to get a bus to Bratislava where I'll stay for 4 nights. Finally, I'll take a train to Budapest where I actually know how to get around and what to eat.

That's my plan. Do stay tuned to see what countries I actually end up in.

Maybe I'll see this