Good morning Bulgaria

Turkey is AMAZING! Or rather, Istanbul is amazing. Or at least, the parts I have seen so far today.

The Turkish border, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired.

Our night train arrived at around 3:30 am this morning, and unlike in Europe where the officers come through the train, here you actually have to get off the train and go into the customs & immigration station. Now, because Turkey is keen on joining the EU, European citizens don't need a visa, they just get their passports stamped, however nationals from places like Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada need to buy a Visa at the station.

No big deal - or so one might think. Recently, Turkey pulled its envoys to both Canada and France after our countries officially recognized the genocide of the Armenian people committed by the Turks in the early 20th century. The Turks claim that the deaths were casualties of a war for independence, that the rates were much lower, and that Turkey suffered just as many losses. Now, I honestly don't know enough to comment one way or the other, however what I DO know is that the cost for a Visa is now 3 times higher for Canadians than it is for Americans. And did I mention that they don't accept credit cards? And that there isn't a bank machine? And that the staff doesn't really speak english? Basically, if you don't have enough money you get stuck there at the Bulgarian border until the morning when you catch a local bus to the nearest grocery store to get some cash out. That would be a shitty deal.

So, I had exactly 43 euros on me, and that was it. I knew it would be expensive, but I didn't think it would be more than 40. It was 50. Thankfully earlier I had met a Spanish guy named Diego and his girlfriend Carolina and they offered to give me the difference, so I was in the clear. Except that there were 3 other Canadians there (including a guy and his 80+ year old mother) who didn't know they had to have currency at the border and were gonna get stuck. So between me, the Spanish couple and 4 Danish guys, we gathered up enough euros for them to all get a visa and got them across! Because who wants to be stuck at a train station in Bulgaria at 4 in the morning?? We sorted out who owed what once we got to Istanbul and then went our separate ways. All in all, quite the international co-operation!

Anyhow, now I'm here and I'm safe, and it's beautiful and the Turkish people are awesome. I have tons more to write but I think I'll save it for next time.

All the rage in Romania

Today I played a few rounds of "Catch the Falling Senior Citizen" - it's apparently a very popular game in Romania! The way it works is you get on a public bus shortly after church has been let out and wait for it to pick up a senior citizen. After the senior citizen has climbed the steps (but before they've reached their seat) the driver of the bus then GUNS it, causing the old biddies to lose their balance and go flying backwards. I played 3 rounds today and won 2 of them. I felt really bad for the one I missed, he could have seriously hurt his hip or something. But there you have it, just another day abroad.

Today I also visited Dracula's castle with 2 Californian girls that I met on the bus. Now I'm hopping on a train back to Bucharest to hang out with them tonight.

An evening of good company

Last night I hung out with 3 beautiful girls (i refer to both inner and outer beauty) - 2 french, 1 portuguese as well as a guy who graduated from my university a year before me. Freaky. It was a blast though. One of the french girls has been living in Bucharest and working with kids, so she showed us around town and ordered food in Romanian for us, very helpful! I slept in today and hung out with my Canadian friend some more, but they were all headed to Hungary tonight, so we said our goodbyes. I think I'm the only one staying at the hostel now (don't worry Matt!) but who knows, there's still the hope that a group of 4 Swedish girls might arrive later tonight!

Tomorrow I think I'm gonna head to Brasov for a couple nights, check out the town and go see Dracula's castle - after all, when in Romania....

Just in time!

According to CBC they're giving Dracula's castle back to private owners at the end of this week! Better go check it out while I still can!

Of Hungarian Night Trains and Romanian Train Stations

Well, I took a night train from Budapest to Bucharest last night. I went for the cheap option in which up to 6 people could be slept in the same compartment, however it was just me and a sketchy Romanian man. He had a greasy ponytail and a 'stache, along with coke bottle glasses - had I been a solo female I would've been a bit freaked out, but he was nice enough. He spoke a little bit of English, so we talked a bit, and since there were only two of us, we went to bed right after we crossed the border (and time zone!). It wasn't the most comfortable sleep I've ever had, but it was better than I expected. When I awoke all my valuables were intact and my bag was still there (which is good cuz the lock on the door was broken!) so it all worked out. I had a sandwich for breakfast that I made earlier and then it was on to Bucharest!

When I first got off the train I was hassled a bit by a guy named David. At first I thought he was just being friendly (how naive!) but I realized when he didn't leave after convenient breaks in the conversation that something else was up. I think he was trying to get me to take a rip off taxi to the hostel, and then he even offered to walk me there, but I told him that I was travelling alone and didn't need any help. He wasn't too pleased about that (I think cuz he wasted 10 minutes talking to me beforehand) but he did leave me alone. That caused me to flee from the train station rather quickly though, as I didn't want to be harassed any further, which is a shame because that's where I tend to get maps and internet access and whatnot when I first arrive somewhere. Thankfully I had already booked my hostel but I hadn't written down the address - which in hindsight is rather stupid, but I figured I'd just hop on the internet when I arrived and figure it out. Note to self: don't do that again! I wandered around the streets of Bucharest in 31 degree heat (hey, at least it wasn't raining!) for 30 minutes with my bag on my back, sweating like a maniac. I couldn't find an Internet cafe for the life of me - unhelpfully, there is a chain of currency exchange places here called Amanet, so everytime I saw a big sign with 'net' on it, I thought I had found one, but I was wrong. Then there was another place that I thought might be an internet cafe so I wandered in and instead, it turned out that it was a Ford dealership. That was closed. Go figure.

At any rate, eventually I decided to head back towards the train station, figuring that there had to be something at least nearby, and if need be, I could bravely venture back in - but I didn't have to in the end! Eventually I found this place, which is the basement to a convenience store across the road from the station. It's nothing special, but it's cool (temperature wise) and will be a good place to kill time before heading to the hostel - the address, of which, is now in my possession!

Buda + Pest

Well my second adventure has begun. I am safe and sound in Budapest after a 10 1/2 hour train journey (delayed) and wandering through the rain to find a hostel (took a couple of tries).

I was put into a room full of yanks, but I'm all right with that - they seem to be friendly folk.

I think the plan is to spend the next 2 days here then take a night train to Bucharest on the 23rd/24th. More updates as they occur...

Embarking...again

Well it's our last night here in Prague. Tomorrow we're headed to Frankfurt where my mom will fly back to Canada. Originally I had booked a RyanAir flight back to London Stansted...after having arrived in Swtizerland however, I realized that our rail passes are good for another 3 days after my mom leaves. They can get me as far as Bucharest, and since I don't have any particular reason to get back to the UK immediately, it seems like a waste not to use them. And so I embark on a new adventure...

On the road again

Wow, so much to write, so little time.

I'm in Lauterbrunnen at the moment - a small town situated between two snowcapped mountains, just outside of Interlaken in Switzerland. The weather today was gorgeous (after much rain in Geneva) and we spent the day walking and taking in the view.

The conference in Geneva was freakin' FANTASTIC! So much to say about that, but another time. I think it's off to Venice tomorrow, followed by Innsbruck, Vienna and Prague - that's the provisional plan at least. We could end up anywhere really. As long as I'm in Frankfurt by the 21, it'll be ok. Eh, and even if I don't make that, it wouldn't really be a big deal.

I would love to upload pictures, but unfortunately I'm using a coin-operated internet terminal so I can't access the physical machine. Next time perhaps.

Love you all,
Chris

embark

I have just now come to the conclusion that 'embark' is quite possibly one of my favourite words of the english language. It is filled with such hope, excitement and adventure.

Tomorrow is my last day temping in the office, before embarking on a journey to Amsterdam early friday morning with Kyle, Brad and Patrick. On Sunday morning I will be embarking on a further journey to Geneva where I will be meeting my mother. We're going to spend a couple days there at an Emerging Church conference featuring the likes of Brian McLaren and Jason Clark before traveling a bit through Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic and finally flying out of Germany.

I'm always excited to travel, but that notwithstanding, I feel like I'm embarking on a grander journey as well. It's like this trip through Europe will be the break before the final leg of my time here in Oxford and the UK overall. When I get back, it will nearly be June, leaving me just 3 months remaining on my UK visa. Combined with the nicer weather (finally!) and the fact that I will most likely have a new place of employment when I return, it's as if a new chapter is about to begin. On second thought, what an outdated metaphor. Mayhaps it feels more like a new blog entry is about to be posted. How's that for postmodern? :P

Catch ya from the continent...

Courage.

Wow. I don't know how it happened but someone arranged for Stephen Colbert to speak at the Whitehouse Correspondents Association Dinner. President Bush is there and gets his ass handed to him (among others). Amazing. (For those who are unfamiliar, Stephen Colbert hosts a talk show in the US where he pretends to be an extreme right-winger but in doing so, takes every chance to make fun of them in the process).

See it here.