Funny Finnair

[craven morehead]

Thanks for the encouragement folks! I will keep adding to it. Glad I am not boring everyone!

Ruse was quite a decent town. The train station looks a bit basic but beyond there and toward the river was pretty normal.

These random coffee vending machines were everywhere

Far from boring, mate. This is where we learn and or get ideas for future travel from
Do you still get work up EMD way?

 

[Cessna 180]

Far from boring, mate. This is where we learn and or get ideas for future travel from
Do you still get work up EMD way?

Oh yes, good point. I am glad I have started to report in now.

I was there a fair bit earlier in the year. I think I will be again, But I never really know until I am on my way...



Are you well?

 

[Cessna 180]

Short walk to some more really good accommodation. These places often seemed to look pretty basic and rough on the outside. Old brutalist type structures however on the inside really modern. Plus I just LOVE the European window that opens two ways. Nearly everywhere had this and usually around the ~$80 Aussie per night.

Walked around Ruse and down to the Danube. All the words were mostly in Cyrillic so a bit more challenging. Another amazing place that a person could spend several days at.

Next day on to the long train ride to Sofia. There is plenty written about this so my expectations were low and I was not disappointed. Haha! No air con or heating, just windows that open for fresh air. I really enjoyed this journey. People were so laid back and sometimes the train would just stop and folks would get off and have a smoke or a chat or whatever. No woke safety krap that we are so accustomed to in Australia. At some point there was a large delay and the conductor came and spoke to me. We just could not understand each other, so he disappeared and then reappeared a few minutes later with another pax who acted as a translator. Bottom line was, we were delayed a bit due something but the connecting train would wait and we would still get to Sofia. Again, so helpful.

Around 1830 arrival in to a miserable cold Sofia. Managed to work out the underground Metro and was shortly at the station which was right next to my accom. It was Orthodox Good Friday in Sofia. The shower was on top of the toilet in this little bathroom, that was something I had not seen before! Other than that, another good little spot with a balcony view in an old apartment block.

Next day was also cold and rainy but I got outside and saw the main bits.

 

[Cessna 180]

More Ruse, the train and the toilet shower in Sofia.
I did not really do Bulgaria justice. I would like to spend more time there.
I have always said “ the more I see the more I realise how much there is to see”.

 

[Cessna 180]

Sofia.
I had already seen inside a lot of beautiful churches in Romania.
I did not take many pictures inside. I just did not feel comfortable doing so. There were a few signs asking not too but that did not stop some people which I found a bit rude.
They were mostly free to enter.

If I had to pay I was more comfortable taking pictures for some reason.

 

[Cessna 180]

Decided to stick to my original plan and head to Plovdiv for a few days and I’m glad I did. Sunday dawned beautiful and sunny. On the metro and back to Central for another Bulgarian train ride. For some reason I was in a bit of a funk. Perhaps after ten days and not really having anyone to talk to coupled with a sudden cold day and just being overwhelmed with so much old history and beautiful architecture, It was all too good to be true.

Thankfully this did not last long. Seated on the train I asked the girl next to me to confirm this was going to Plovdiv. She replied that yes it was and where was I from?! We ended up having a good chat. She was a Sofia local who had studied and worked in Denmark and fully understood the challenge of being in a strange country and communication being difficult. She had just returned from Japan on her own for a month. That was a good little reset for me and I was once more excited for Plovdiv and Hungary down the track.

This place has a really good vibe to it. A short bus ride ($1) from the station to old town and again an excellent little apartment right on top of one of the multiple café strips. This place was really busy. Probably the busiest I had seen outside of Bucharest and later Budapest. It seemed a really popular tourist destination but not in a tacky way. Street after street of cafes etc. Also a lot of historic ruins from hundreds of years ago.

 

[Cessna 180]

Arrival Plovdiv and a cracking day.
Sofia was about 14 and miserable yesterday and today it was 24 and pristine.
Train steps cracked me up. I just kept thinking of some pointless safety officer on a mine site having heart failure over this

Random door in the side of a row of buildings led to another great accom spot.

 

[Cessna 180]

Plovdiv Roman Theatre and my house was the top floor of this little building.

 

[Cessna 180]

Two days on foot here and back on the 0800 train to SOFia. I kind of enjoy the randomness of the bus and train and working it all out, a strange hobby I know………….

On route I worked out I could get off earlier than I had planned at this random suburban station and I was only two stops from the airport instead of going all the way to the city and back.
The metro was down this lift thing in a paddock between the main station and a supermarket.

I had booked a RyanAir flight from SOF to BUD the day previous for ~$130 including a ten kg carry on and extra leg room seating. I think my bag was a bit over the rules but I sauntered up to the check-in and was greeted by a super friendly girl who did not even flinch when looking at my bag. Boarding pass in hand and through to the departure area. Our plane was at a bus gate. I quite like the bus gates, bit of a drive around the airport and a tiny bit of fresh air between the terminal and the plane. Plane was full and I easily stowed my bag and back pack above me in row 1. Shortly we were on our way to Budapest. Sadly it was cloudy most of the way so not much of a view.


This concludes all I have written so far. Nine days in Hungary to come

Thanks for all the kind words and “likes” so far.

 

[ellen10]

Really enjoying your trip report and photos of some different places and cities.

 

[RB]

Thanks for the report. You have motivated me to dig out photos from our time in Romania & Bulgaria. We really enjoyed getting around the Plovdiv ruins

 

[VPS]

Short walk to some more really good accommodation. These places often seemed to look pretty basic and rough on the outside. Old brutalist type structures however on the inside really modern. Plus I just LOVE the European window that opens two ways. Nearly everywhere had this and usually around the ~$80 Aussie per night.

Walked around Ruse and down to the Danube. All the words were mostly in Cyrillic so a bit more challenging. Another amazing place that a person could spend several days at.

Next day on to the long train ride to Sofia. There is plenty written about this so my expectations were low and I was not disappointed. Haha! No air con or heating, just windows that open for fresh air. I really enjoyed this journey. People were so laid back and sometimes the train would just stop and folks would get off and have a smoke or a chat or whatever. No woke safety krap that we are so accustomed to in Australia. At some point there was a large delay and the conductor came and spoke to me. We just could not understand each other, so he disappeared and then reappeared a few minutes later with another pax who acted as a translator. Bottom line was, we were delayed a bit due something but the connecting train would wait and we would still get to Sofia. Again, so helpful.

Around 1830 arrival in to a miserable cold Sofia. Managed to work out the underground Metro and was shortly at the station which was right next to my accom. It was Orthodox Good Friday in Sofia. The shower was on top of the toilet in this little bathroom, that was something I had not seen before! Other than that, another good little spot with a balcony view in an old apartment block.

Next day was also cold and rainy but I got outside and saw the main bits.

Loving this TR with so many different places. My hotel in Sofia in 1982 had a beautiful tiled bathroom. The only issue is there was no running water so you just took a bucket downstairs and filled it up and flushed the loo and had a wash

 

[craven morehead]

Oh yes, good point. I am glad I have started to report in now.

I was there a fair bit earlier in the year. I think I will be again, But I never really know until I am on my way...



Are you well?

Yes, mate keeping well thank you.

 

[Cessna 180]

Yes, mate keeping well thank you.

Oh good. I am in your area, possibly flew over your house a couple of times on the weekend...

 

[kookaburra75]

Thanks for taking the time to put your trip report together. MrsK and I are starting planning for our next big trip, and your photos and notes are a great help, as we like heading to the more off-beat places.

 

[Cessna 180]

Thanks for taking the time to put your trip report together. MrsK and I are starting planning for our next big trip, and your photos and notes are a great help, as we like heading to the more off-beat places.

I am so glad you like it. Right now I am writing notes on Hungary ready to upload soon. There are so many places in the world to see. I have always been more interested in the less popular spots. I really have close to zero ambition to visit many of the well known over crowded places that so many people are keen on.

If you want any further elaboration on anything in particular please let me know.

 

[Cessna 180]

A rainy day in the coalfields today so no good for survey, so I thought I best get on with the rest of my report before I forget what I did! It might be a bit more abbreviated from here but I will add some pictures as well.
Good to see RB's pictures of Plovdiv as well.

 

[Cessna 180]

Arrival into BUDapest. I just love the names of these places. They all sound so exotic!

I had booked a car with Budget this time. I arrived at the counter at 1445, introduced myself and showed my details etc. I was informed that “there was a problem” ‘Ok’ I said, ‘go on’….

Well, the problem was that I had booked for 1530 and it was currently only 1445. Subsequently, a bit of back and forth and confusion, by 1520 I was on my way to the car park with the keys for some little Toyota. Bright red and looked cute but lacking significantly in performance for the way people drive in these parts. Never the less, a week later when I traded him in I was a little sad to see him gone.

Pleasant enough afternoon and as soon as I got on the motorway the clouds opened.

Destination Eger and hopefully some hot springs. I departed the motorway as soon as I could and followed some country roads through more beautiful cropping country. Roads here and in Romania reminded me of Aus as well. The big motorways are good and most of the other roads are potholed and not that good. A good drive through more cute little towns and arrival Eger around 1730.

I decided I needed to eat at home and dispatched myself to the closest Super which happened to be called Spar. These funny little experiences are the things I remember fondly. Albeit annoying at the time. I walked around this place five times I think, and I could not find any meat I wanted and could not read any labels! There was plenty of meat behind the counter so I attempted to ask the lady there. No one there had any English and my Hungarian was limited to Jo napot at this stage.

I do not expect them to learn my language. I am a guest in their country, so it is up to me to learn theirs. Ended up with something pre packed from the freezer section..... somewhat less than exotic.

 

[Cessna 180]

Little red car and part of my daily diet.
Traded some cash I had left and felt rich.

 

[Cessna 180]

The next day I wandered around Eger. I checked out the castle, climbed the minaret and had a look inside some churches. In the afternoon I found the first thermal bath a short walk from where I was staying. It was quite an experience, apparently the building dates back to the 1600’s and the bath is inside. The next day I drove over to Demjen where there are a few high end hotels all connected to the various baths and hot springs. I was hoping to see hot water bubbling out of the ground a bit like around Taupo in NZ, but it is set up as more of a destination in Hungary from what I could tell.

The view from the Minaret and the narrow stairs.