Daniel's Microcosm

Good: The Blue Church with its art nouveau exterior design in cool sky-blue and white. Reminds me somewhat of a balloon castle in a kid’s theme park, all cheery and bright.

Not-so-good: Morning rush which almost resulted in missing the planned train from Budapest to Bratislava. What did happen instead was having to leave Budapest in a hurry with a pile of Hungarian currency which ended up being changed into Euros at a less-than-desirable rate at Bratislava.

Noteworthy food/drink: Zemiakovej placke, which is a potato pancake stuffed with some kind of meat stew.

Good: Hungarian folk performance at the Danube Palace in Budapest, which comprised several kinds of gypsy dances and string orchestra pieces. Lively and colourful, it’s always great watching a show where the performers are clearly enjoying themselves.

Not-so-good: No wifi in room due to very weak router signal.

Noteworthy food/drink: Porkolt with Galuska, which is paprika-infused stew (of chicken, or pork, etc.) served with small, gnocchi-like dumplings.

Good: Free wifi on the 2-hour bus journey from Eger back to Budapest.

Not-so-good: Dilly-dallied in the morning which resulted in reaching Eger only at 2pm. In the end I did not have sufficient time to taste Egri Bikaver or “Bull’s Blood” wine at the Valley of the Beautiful Women in Eger.

Noteworthy food/drink: 1.20€ traditional Transylvania funnel cake, which I first saw in Romania but didn’t buy because the size of portion sold there was just too big/long. It’s basically bread shaped like a pipe and dusted with sugar.

Good: Budapest thermal baths, which has Turkish origins. What amazed me was the seamless process from check in to check out. Upon payment you are given a wrist strap with an electronic chip inside. You use this chip to enter the baths, get an assigned changing cubicle where u can store belongings as well, and unlock the cubicle door. It makes it feel like I’m at a theme park where I can electronically add to my tab using the wrist strap and only make payment at the end. It’s efficient, automated, uncomplicated to use after the first time. Of course, the soak in the hot spring water was the best part of it all.

Not-so-good: The 8-hour daytime train journey from Belgrade to Budapest was absolutely boring. I couldn’t fall asleep much because I had already slept during the night. To make matters worse, there was no means to charge my phone on the train. If I hadn’t taken an overnight journey just the night before, I would gladly have done this leg overnight instead.

Noteworthy food/drink: 0.50€ bacon & cheese bread and 0.50€ cappuccino non-holed longish doughnut, both from Tesco.

Good: Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade. Although not a very big museum, there was a guided tour in English which included demonstrations of Tesla’s inventions (e.g. induction motor and remote control) and their continued impact in today’s modern world. Tesla was born in Serbia but lived mostly in the USA, and the museum placed much emphasis on his heritage and altruistic nature that kept him in the shadows of peers like Thomas Edison, despite seemingly achieving more. During the tour a fluorescent light tube was made to glow in my hand, just be being close to a Tesla Coil with output of 500 kV, and we are told this is how light sabres are made to glow in Star Wars movies. The icing on the cake was that my visit was free due to National Week of Culture in Belgrade, but it is one museum I would have paid for anyway.

Not-so-good: It rained almost non-stop from morning till evening, making it nearly impossible to take outdoor photos of Belgrade.

Noteworthy food/drink: Although the pljeskavica is essentially just a hamburger grilled on the spot, it is the huge serving that makes it stand out. 200 grams of patty makes a burger of about 20 cm in diameter, larger than my hand. All for about 1.90€, garnishing included. Don’t ask me how I finished one at a go, but I wasn’t going to just give up without a fight.

Good: Rila Monastery, which is an easy day trip from Sofia using the one-timing-a-day public transport. The entrance to the monastery grounds and church is free, and photo-taking is allowed outdoors. Great that the exterior of the church is covered with richly-coloured 19th century murals, and I was snapping away happily. The 4€ entrance fee for the monastery museum may seem a little pricey, but the exhibits were very well-displayed, and there were English captions and write-ups. I guess if the money goes into making the museum visitable, I don’t mind paying it. Situated about 2-3 hours drive from Sofia in a tranquil mountain setting, Rila Monastery is a not-to-be-missed sight if you happen to be in Sofia.

Not-so-good: I had a really hard time trying to spend the last 4€ worth of my Bulgarian cash at the train station. After walking round and round the numerous similar convenience stores, I ended up with the following desperate purchases: 0.50€ meat pattie; 1.70€ mini bottle of whisky; 0.80€ drink; 0.50€ bread; 0.50€ chips.

Noteworthy food/drink: Bulgarian beer is actually quite good. I’ve tried the brands Kamenitsa and Pirinsko. Not too bitter, just the way I prefer it.

Extra interesting fact: If you are one of those who can’t have your passport taken out of your sight for more than a few seconds, don’t do land border crossings in Eastern Europe. I’ve had my passport taken from me by immigration officers for periods of up to half an hour, and at times even while the train is moving and stopping. You can only hope that the immigration officers won’t forget to return you your passport before they get off the train for good.

Good: The interior of small and cosy Boyana Church with its 90 murals dating from the 13th century. Recently restored, the murals are rich in colour and detail, and there are parts where an even older 11th-century layer of paintings have been uncovered beneath. Sadly, this Unesco’s World Heritage site receives little international publicity as no photo-taking is allowed inside the church, and its exterior is dreadfully dull and unspectacular. When will these tourist attractions that disallow photography or require extra payment for it learn the power of publicity in today’s social media age? I understand flash can be damaging, but then its flash photography that needs to be prevented, not all photography.

Not-so-good: Significantly unpleasant overnight train ride from Ivanovo to Sofia. No beds on the train, lights perpetually switched on, stops every half hour or so, lots of passenger movement and activity throughout. Couldn’t wait for the ride to end.

Noteworthy food/drink: 0.45€ banitsa, a flaky cheese pastry that is Bulgaria’s most common street snack.

Extra interesting fact: Sofia has a centrally-located underground source of thermal water, and a drinking-fountain complex has been set up for locals to fill up (large) bottles with free steaming mineral water. I drank a bit of the warm water in situ and did not taste anything wrong or out of the ordinary, but didn’t go so far as to top up my own water bottle.

Good: Managing to squeeze in a visit to the Ivanovo Rock Monastery despite exercising the option of waking up late, leisurely eating a free breakfast at the hostel, and arriving at Ivanovo about 8 hours later than planned. Although, I don’t think I would have missed much if I hadn’t made it.

Not-so-good: The “my bags and my legs need to take up extra seats despite other people not having seats” syndrome on the train. It’s made worse when those without seats condone it by not asking the culprits to move their bags/legs away and continuing to stand in discomfort. Seems to be quite a ubiquitous occurrence in Bulgaria. Oh well, not my business as long as I have a seat.

Noteworthy food/drink: Romanian ciorba de burta, a warm garlicky and milky tripe soup with a dollop of sour cream, vs Bulgarian tarator, a chilled cucumber and yoghurt soup. I much prefer the former.

Good: Free use of washing machine and detergent at Puzzle Hostel in Bucharest, with a semi-covered outdoor area to hang-dry laundry.

Not-so-good: Zero vampiric atmosphere at “Dracula Castle” in Bran, Transylvania. The castle does have written descriptions in decent English on the self-guided tour through its decorated rooms, making it a credible tourist attraction, but where’s the pale, deathly staff standing in the shadows; the spooky, dark corridors that send shivers down your spine; the butler that opens the heavy, creaky main door to greet you almost too eagerly; the sound of bats flapping behind closed doors? Disappointing.

Noteworthy food/drink: 0.40€ covrig cu seminte, a lightly-salted large pretzel coated with sunflower seeds. Delicious snack when fresh out of the oven.

Extra interesting fact: Instead of copying Hollywood to tap the tourist potential of a themed “Dracula Castle”, the town of Brasov has a rather eye-rolling “BRASOV” sign placed high on a hill overlooking the town, in the style of the famous “HOLLYWOOD” sign in Los Angeles. Focus on what really brings in the money, please.

Good: Bucharest metro day pass for just 1.5 EUR when it costs 0.50 EUR per trip. I took the metro 9 times in all.

Not-so-good: In short, Bucharest. The city is grimy and dusty, and many areas look abandoned and forgotten. Despite making full use of my metro day pass, I still ended up walking a lot as the metro stations are not near many of the sights. Perhaps the city (and country as a whole) is still desperately trying to recover from an era of cruel dictatorship (its first democratic elections were held only in 1990), and in the future things might improve. But till then, Bucharest is not a city I would recommend to visit if other options are available, and definitely not one where I would like to live in.

Noteworthy food/drink: I wasn’t going to have anything to write about, given that Bucharest food is as unappealing to me as the city itself, but there was a surprise free barbecue when I returned to the hostel at night, where I tried mici, a beef and pork sausage. I didn’t really like it, but that could have been due to typical barbecue over-seasoning rather than its actual taste.