Summary

Monday 16^th of July



A short summary



Ok, I'll put some random last thoughts from the trip in here now, as an overall summary. I'll probably forget half of the things I wanted to say but that's life.



FOOD
Some local foods I've eaten during the last six weeks:
Borsh soup, cabbage rolls, a local special pastry near Vilnius (sorry, no idea of the name), egg plant salad, bean soup, corn specialities (you'll hear about this more later, I'll promise, but for now it's a secret), Turkish pizza, kebap, Turkish ”sticky” ice cream, baklava... damn, I know I'm forgetting many right now!



BEST PLACES
I think the best place for me was the Transfagarasan Road. Normally it's hard to say, now it's quite obvious actually. Driving in a perfect environment (I love driving), hiking, awesome views, good company, great food... I don't know, what else you need?
Maybe second best was Zakopane. For the cities, it's hard to rate them. I liked Riga, Lviv, cities in Transylvania, Istanbul... really hard to say. I saw so many beautiful old towns, castles, views...
Romania and Ukraine were both positive surprises. Both definetaly worth visiting!



PEOPLE
Wow, this is also a tough one. I think people all around Eastern Europe are awesome. I already told you about the two grannies I didn't like, the rest of them I liked. Ukraine and Romania were maybe especially nice?
Most beautiful women? ;) Riga, Poland, Ukraine. Wow.
Now here's an interesting fact: From ALL the hostels I was in, there was only one in which I did NOT meet Australian guys! Even in the hostel in Sighisoara where there was only one guy and me, he was, of course, from Australia.
I met a huge amount of German guys also in Ukraine, and watched many games with them. But that was mostly because of the games of course.



TRAVELLING ALONE
...was even better than expected! I've only travelled alone for shorter times so far, but it was actually awesome. So I don't know which is better, alone or with friends. Both are great! And it was great to travel with Mika the last two weeks also!
When you're alone, you get to know a lot more people, that's for sure. In hostels it's mainly the fellow travellers, with couch surfing you get to know the local people and culture better. And it's a really good way to travel in many ways, but at the same time it takes more energy than hostels, because you're all the time being in someones home as a guest, and you have to think of them in everything you do. It's the same (kind of) when travelling alone or with friends, alone you can do and go where ever you feel like.



BUDGET
Total budget for 6,5 weeks (including everything, flights, accomodation, food, transportation, shopping etc.) was 1550 euros. With that I'm more than satisfied!



Ok, there would be much more to say, but I think I'm done here now. Tired of writing, and time to enjoy the last night now. Thank you for all of the readers, hopefully you enjoyed the trip with me! I also noticed that it takes much more energy to write the blog when you're alone. When travelling with friends, you don't have to be the one always taking care of it. So sometimes I think I just reported matter-of-factly of thing that had happened, hopefully it wasn't too boring...



All in all, an awesome trip! Let's see when the next one takes place... but for now, thanks, sorry and good bye! :D

Istanbul

Monday 16th of July



As mentioned earlier, Friday was a very lazy day because of the bus trip. Honestly, I fell asleep almost every time I sat down anywhere. I don't even remember the last time being as tired. After taking mini-naps around the city for the beginning of the day, I slept for 2-3 hours in the afternoon. That helped as much as to give some energy to go to Hammam, a Turkish bath, which was an... interesting experience. We went to a big room full of washing dishes on the sides, temperature being between around 40-50 degrees. Then we just sat there for twenty minutes, after which we got massages from a Turkish guy, which was short but painful. After that we stayed on the sauna for some while, so overall we stayed there over two hours. The state of dehydration and starvation was quite complete after that, so it was time to go eating. We got accompanied by a Korean girl and we found a small pizza place on the street next to our hostel. Turkish pizza + Ayran was a perfect combination at the time.



Saturday was a much more energitic day than the previous one, and we spent most of the day doing sightseeing around the city. Istanbul is a huge city with lots of different areas, and you can really see only a glimpse of the city in one day. We spent most part of Saturday discovering Sultanahmet, where we saw for example the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia Mosque,which are located right next to each others and are among the most popular sights in Istanbul. It would've been nice to go inside the Hagia Sophia also, because it's supposed to be very beatiful inside, but the entrance fee was too much for us this time. Instead we went inside the Basilica Cistern, a huge undrground water storage, which is once again restored for the public. When returning to the hostel we also took an underground furnicular. We didn't know in advance that it was underground, so the view from the windows was slightly disappointing... Right next to our hostel we found Galata Tower, which offers awesome views from Istanbul. Unfortunately it's packed of tourists, which makes the experience less nice... still worth the money in my opinion. Then again, I always love the places high above the ground where you can have a great view. But you could actually realize the size of this place from up there. Rest of the evening was filled with walking in Taksim area and eating salads...

Hagia Sophia Mosque

Blue Mosque

Basilica cistern

Roof terrace view

Galata Tower

The view from the Galata Tower

Sunday was a day for a boat trip! We woke up ”early” to reach the first boat, but surprise surprise, there were people swimming from Asia to Europe so all the morning ferries were cancelled. Well we got a ferry couple of hours later and it was pretty awesome. Sitting on the deck enjoying the sun with a small breeze all the time... life was good. And then came the dolphins. Maybe a dozen of them got interested of our bat and started jumping around it. Funny animals. On the island where we landed we climbed up to a castle with some great views. Afterwards I ordered fish in a restaurant, as far as I can remember it was the first time in my life! Swordfish, and it was pretty ok, so maybe I'll even do it again one day. We also heard many Finnish and Swedish families on the island for some reason... Oh and btw if you are wondering about the lack of pics from here, I did have my camera with me, only I forgot my memory card in my laptop... so no pics of dolphins this time.



Our Monday was quite relaxed. We went to the Grand Bazaar, and left the place in unison quite soon. Too many people, too hectic, too much things we aren't going to buy. The positive thing was, you were actually able to look at the shops without someone immedietaly trying to sell you something. I was quite surprised. After a two-hour siesta we spend the rest of the day walking around and fiilistellen the last day of our trip. Tomorrow we'll just need to check-out and then it is time to go to back to Finland...



Ok, I'll post one more time after this to do some summary, then I'll close this blog. :)

Varna

Friday the 13^th of July



When leaving Vama Veche, we decided to walk the 2km to the Bulgarian border and then try to hitchhike from there on. Back-up plan was to walk to the nearest town (7km from the border) and catch a bus from there. But we got a ride from the border to almost to the next town from a young kite surfer, and from there we got a ride quite quickly all the way to Varna from a minibus who was driving there to get some customers. So despite of the hot day we got to Varna quite easily, although sweating as little pigs all the time.



In Varna we spent two days continuing the enjoyment of the nice weather and great beaches. Our hostel was again the X-hostel (same as in Bucharest), and it turned out to be a similar party hostel. Every day of the week they arrange some special parties, we happened to be there in time of Foam Parties in Golden Sands. Not bad... We did also have time to walk one day in downtown of Varna. Anyways, the important thing the last few days have been the beaches...



Yesterday we took a night bus from Varna to Istanbul, which took about nine hours. The bus was by far the fanciest bus I've ever travelled in, we even had our own ”flight attendant” serving drinks all the time and a screen showing movies and cartoons for each seat. There was also (for once) enough space for a normal person to sit comfortably. But of course it would've been a bit too good to be true, so I happened to have the second true idiot during the past six weeks sitting behind me. First was the old lady in the bus in Vilnius, and this was second. Luckily otherwise I've met amost only very friendly and helpful people where ever I've been in. But this old ”lady” almost ruined my whole bus trip by acting like a total idiot. I wanted to incline my seat (as everyone else in the bus), because it surprisingly makes sleeping lot easier. But this madame joyfull didn't accept it for some reason. And for the record, I think she was the shortest person in the bus, so she still had like 50cm room for her tiny legs. But no, it was too much for her, and she started yelling and beating my seat and act like a lunatic. And of course to make the trip better for Mika also, the small girl next to us on the other side of the corridor was throwing up half of the time. So let's put it this way: the bus was awesome, but the trip still not the best I've had. I didn't basically sleep almost at all, and today we have been very, very tired. But we are now happily in our hostel and got beds also, so now it's time to start enjoying the last days of my journey. Because after four nights here in Istanbul I'm flying back to Finland on Tuesday. How weird does that feel at the moment? Luckily I have a lot to look forward in the rest of the summer time also, so I'm actually quite happy to return to Finland also.

Bucharest and Black Sea Beaches

Monday 9^th of July



Long time since last posted anything. Been lazy... to write and also in everything else in life. That's right, I finally reached the Black Sea beaches! But let's go back a little bit first.



Last Wednesday I left Transylvania in order to meet Mika in Bucharest. I hitchhiked from Sibiu, which turned out to be quite easy. Hitchhiking is actually a little misleading term, because it's a bit different in these countries. It's a way of transportation basically. People who need to go somewhere stand on the side of the road, and people who have a car and have space in their car stop and ask the people waiting where they need to go. If they are going to the same directions, people hop in and after the trip they normally give the driver some gas money. It's not mandatory every time, but normally people do it. So that's how I got to Bucharest. Also for example when I was in Lviv, living in Peter's place, one night we were returning home so late there were no buses going anymore, so we just waited on the bus stop for a few minutes, and then someone was driving to the same direction and offered us a ride. Nice and easy.



In Bucharest I met Mika in X-Hostel, where we had a reservation. Mika had arrived earlier, but I found him from the hostel. So from this point on we'll travel together to Istanbul. Mika is an old friend of mine, we've known each other since high school. Never travelled together though, but I know it's gonna be awesome!



I had mostly heard negative stories from Bucharest, so I didn't expect much from the city. And it wasn't my favourite, the contrast was especially big after Transylvania, but still the city is not so bad. It has an old and vivid old town and lots of interesting architecture. The old town in the evening was maybe even too hectic for an old town though. But it's a very big city, and the temperature was near to 40 degrees, so I think we didn't see even close everything even though we did our best to walk around the city. On Thursday night we attended to a pub crawl organized by our hostel which was a great way to see the city from another point of view...

Mika in Bucharest old town.

Professional intrest towards the outdoor gym... didn't last for very long in  close to +40 temperature.

On Friday we took a train to Constanta (and to Black Sea baeches!), and from the station we found an old aunt who had a place for us to stay. It was located inbetween Constanta and Mamaia, very close to the beaches. The room itself was a small, old and incredibly hot, but it was also cheap so we were satisfied. To get to the room we had to walk through piles of old tires, careful not to step on cats on the way. The doors also had no locks, but we still have all our stuff safe...



On Saturday the first thing we did was to go to the beach. After two hours we both started to feel our skin colour changing, so we decided to move on. Nothing serious though, not like in Cambodia on January... After improving our chances to get a skin cancer we started walking towards the old town of Constanta. After a short walked I spotted two familiar figures from the beach, it was the Finnish girls I've met in Sibiu. They were doing the same thing as we were, enjoying the sun. In the old town we climbed on top of a Mahmudiye mosque to get some views. Nothing spectacular, but still ok. After that we went to see Mamaia, which had very crowded beaches and a lot of activities for tourists, including a water park and an amusement park.

Constanta beaches

P-kiosk... ;)

On Sunday it was time to move on, heading south and close to the Bulgarian border, a small place called Vama Veche. This has been our base since yesterday, and tomorrow we'll continue to Bulgaria. Vama Veche is a small village which used to be a haven for hippies and other ”artistic souls”. Nowadays it's more popular among ”normal” tourists as well. On Sunday it was packed with sunbathers but now on Monday there's much more space. We're living in a hostel in the middle of the village. But it really is a very small place, so it actually takes like ten minutes to walk from one end to the other end. Now we have already tried almost every restaurants there exists in here. So tomorrow is a good day to move on. Today we did try a local speciality, a half cantaloupe melon filled with pancakes, chocolate sauce, nuts and honey. Not bad... Time goes by in here mainly by lying on the beach, swimming and eating. And then doing it again, in different order. And again. And again. In other words, relaxing...

Vama Veche

So tomorrow our destination is Varna. Let's see how easy it is to get there from here.

Photos from the Transfăgărășan Road

The Transfăgărășan Road

Wednesday 4^th of July



Eilen oli aivan huikee päivä!
Yesterday was by far one of the best days on my trip so far, if not the best.



Fun facts of Tuesday:
Route: Sibiu - Transfagarasan road – Curtea de Arges – Brasov – Sighisoara - Sibiu
Staring from hostel: 10 AM
Back to hostel: 3.30 AM
Total distance travelled: 552 km
Total time spent in car: 11 hours
Average Speed: 50km/h
Highest point by car: 2000 m
Highest point by foot: 2400 m
Feelings after the day: Very tired but super good!



We started our mini road trip at 10 am from the hostel with our rental Fiat Punto, heading straight to the mountains. Two Finnish medical students from Turku, Tanita and Henriina, who happened to be in the same hostel came with me. We didn't need to drive for too long before we reached the Transfagarasan Road. It's absolutely amazing. The beautiful road climbs up to the mountain and to Balea Lake, after numeous S-curves and accelerations. I can't describe it, see yourself from the pictures. ;) Anyways, after reaching the lake and having a lunch in an amazing spot, we decided to climb even higher by foot. After half an hour of climbing we found a huge herd of mountain goats (or whatever they officialliy are) from our path. We tried to continue, but the dog leading the herd didn't want to let us go. And we didn't want to get bitten by a dog, so we took a small detour. First it was ok, but at some point it got really difficult, and in the end it was real mountain climbing. Fortunetaly no one got hurt and we reached the peak in the end, even though it didn't look very good at some point. Luckily the girls proved themselves to be real climbers. ;) The view from the top was also worth every effort.



In the end our little hike took us four hours, and then started the long drive back. After coming down from the mountain we felt like driving in Finland because of the wonderful lake views (ok, I'll admit, in Finland there wouldn't be the mountains in the back...). We also crossed a huge dam, and after it dozens of small villages. The funny (?) thing about the villages were, that the ”highway” was at the same time the main street of each village, meaning that all the houses were right next to the road. So if you managed to avoid all small kids playing on the road, you still had to watch out for the horses, cows, dogs and chickens. Of course not to mention the holes in the road. And because the road was the ”highway” at the same time, cars and trucks drive very fast all the time. I wonder how many accidents must happen every year. In one village one big truck had fallen partly to the ditch. Probably took some time from the villagers to get it up from there... then again, probably it wasn't the first accident. But it was very fascinating to see all these villages. The average speed of the day was in the end very low, so it took us a long time. I left the girls in Sighisoara maybe after 1 am, and finally returned to Sibiu after 3 am, feeling very tired but at the same time super excited after the amazing day. At the moment I would say that was one of the coolest places I've ever been to...

Sibiu

Monday 2^nd of July

On Monday I took the train to Sibiu. Everything went ok until I got off in a wrong stop. I asked some locals who didn't speak English and got the impression that we were in Sibiu. Well we weren't, we were still 10-15km outside of Sibiu, which I realized when reading the map seemed much more difficult than normally. So I decided to hitchhike, and got a ride from an old guy, who got me almost to the central, and it was easy to walk the rest from there. My hostel here is super nice, owned by an Irish-Romanian couple. It turned out that to rent the car from here and return it to Bucharest would be too expensive, so I decided to take a day-tour from here after all. Also easíer to get more people involved. Unluckily one group of backpackers had just done the same tour today, but luckily I found a solution to my problem after all. The solution was: Finnish girls! There happened to be two of them staying in the same hostel, so I got them convinced to join me.

Sighisoara

Sunday 1st of July

On Sunday I took a bus to Sighisoara, a small medieval town, also known because of Dracula. Sighisoara has a really beautiful old town, with houses of various different colours. A very different style compared to the old towns I've visited during my trip so far. I really liked it. I spent the afternoon just walking around the city aimlessly, after a while getting lost and then locating myself again and getting lost again. I even visited one museum. Actually it was just one room with a few torturing machines, but still. I only spent one night in here, but I'm glad I came.


Now it's time to move to Sibiu, where I'll spend two nights. Then, if everything works, I'll rent a car and drive to Bucharest on Wednesday to meet Mika, with whom I will travel the rest of the time.

Crazy kids jumping to the water. In the other picture you can see someone standing in the same river... It really looked like it was only 1m deep. Another kid was standing (!) in the river right next to the spot where the other one jumped...

Brasovv

I have always really liked driving different kind of vehicles in different kind of environments. Here in Transylvania is one road called the Transfagarasan, which I really would like to experience. Top Gear has announced it the best world in the road a couple of years ago, so that's probably good enough reason to do it. The only problem is that no buses take that route, and I don't have a car. So my mission now is to find someone to join me and to divide the expences of a rental car. And I actually already succeeded in this task in Brasov. When I arrived in my hostel on Friday, there were basically no one else in there, for instance I had a 6-person dorm room all by myself. That doesn't happen very often. Anyway, there was one German guy, and he I got him convinced and we decided to rent a car next day. Unluckily it turned out that the road was still closed on Sunday, the day we were supposed to go. Luckily we found it out before we took the car. It opened on Sunday. It is closed until this time because of snow and bad conditions. So instead of renting the car we went out for beers and I had to change my plans.

Saturday I spent sightseeing in Brasov with a Swedish girl Anna, who was in Brasov for a conference. After changing plans for a few times, we ended up first taking a bus to Rasnov Fortress, a less popular destination. It was a good choice, because there weren't many other tourists at the time. According to the guide, some idiot Italian guy had apparently bought the castle little bit more than 10 years ago and wanted to turn it into a hostel. So what is the best way to do that? Of course by destroying the beautiful old castle and building on top of it. Crazy shit. Still a nice place to visit. Then we took a bus to Bran Castle, commonly known as ”Dracula Castle”. Although there are different opinions if Dracula even ever was there... A place worth visiting in my opinion anyway. Inside the castle it's not very special, but it has a lovely inner courtyard. Of course it's packed of tourists, so the experience would be much nicer if you would find out a way to get rid of them. Still a very beautiful place.

Brasov itself had a nice old town and right next to the city on a small hill you can find White Tower and Black Tower (actually both white), which offer a nice view to the old town. The best view however is found on top of Mt. Tampa, where stands the Hollowood-wannabe huge letters Brasov, which really doesn't fit the picture very well. In the evening I beat my laziness and ran up there, which took about 35 minutes. The view was amazing. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, so I had to ask a local couple to take a picture of me and asked them to send it to me later via email. Let's see if it arrives... After that I still had some enegry to go out with Anna and a couple of other guys, so it was quite a good day.

Brasov

Bran Castle

Bran Castle

Brasov