More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Accor hotels

[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

I've got tentative plans to head to Paris for the French Open next year, and was considering doing France, Germany and Italy for a couple weeks after. While I still definitely want to do Italy, perhaps I should skirt across to Eastern Europe... I'm not known for being adventurous. Would it work as a solo traveller? Or am I best to stick to the West? Thinking, thinking..

Each region has it's own charm. I can't really recommend you to swap a trip to Germany but if you are looking to add some destinations in the East to your itinerary then I can suggest starting with a visit to Budapest and Prague. Both cities are very tourist friendly.

Ditto to that. Hard not to do whole swathes of Western Europe, and certainly their histories are more relevant to most (I venture) Australians. Big thumbs up to Budapest and Prague ( but shoulder or even off season for the latter - huge crowds).

The advantage the east has over the west is, in general:

* somewhat cheaper
* definitely friendlier
* many more "WOW! I never knew that" moments
* more unexpected good experiences
* easier to get off the beaten tourist track

I travel solo frequently; I don't think there is anything holding back a solo traveller in the east, but you may want to do more private tours to get the most out of it.

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

OK, back up and limping; reserve laptop pressed into service while the other one gets repaired; last used in 2011. Gawd! Did we actually use this sort of thing?

Still in Florence. Just strolling around. The 11th Century Baptistery is being renovated, but the gilded brass doors are still on display.

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The Uffizi we see is as popular as ever – a queue of maybe an hour to get in. In the central courtyard (open to the public), there we see more of what is afflicting many of Italy’s prime attractions – hawkers selling cough. Kids toys, knock-off handbags, rings and necklaces are the go. It's a real shame and devalue these places – I would hope the civil authorities may have more pride than to let this lot deface the national monuments. I bet Macca would have sorted them out.

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The 13th Century Palazzo Vecchio, with the reproduction of David out the front (original is in the Galleria dell’Accadamia, about 20 minutes walk away. 20 minutes walking and over an hours queuing.

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Head out of the main touristy areas we come to the 13th Century church of Santa Maria Novella; we didn’t go inside. The 2 obelisks in the plaza in front of the church mark the start and finish of the annual chariot race which ran from the 16th to 19th Centuries. And as if the tortoises weren’t holding enough up!

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Then time to move on. We enjoyed Florence again, not having to do the queuing thing (there would be enough of that in Rome!). Very crowded though - middle of summer of course.
To get to Naples, we are on the high speed train Frecciarossa, in Business Class. This thing gets up to 300km/hr and the trip is very comfortable. Travel time of 2h50m with free wi-fi, power at each seat and the occasional drink. The cabin is a 1-2 configuration, and we had a cluster of 4 seats with table in the middle.

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[JohnM]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

The Firenze-Napoli train has improved considerably since I did that route on the express in 2004. OMG! - is it that long ago :shock::?:.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

The new IHG Points Breaks properties effective 01 August are for sale effective today 28 July 2014 (see link below for preview of properties.

Point Breaks - IHG Rewards Club Connect

The InterContinental in Bucharest Romania is featured as is the Crowne Plaza Bratislava in Slovakia.

 

[burmans]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

Regarding the food, I actually heard it was much better when everything used to be organic and "home made". Since the country opened to the west and gained access to modern technology a lot of the traditional dishes lost their original flavour.

On the food question my experience all those years ago was very mixed, Russia we found it hard to even get into the restaurant at the hotel we stayed at, they had two restaurants and at each place they werent very keen to feed us, they kept sending us back and forward until my wife just sat down and said I'm not leaving until we get food! Prague and Bidapest we had good food experiences, Romania somewhat mixed though we did hook up with a,ocal in one place who took us to a very nice restaurant. It wasnt all bad but we did eat a lot of uninspired stodgy food. And of course there is some of that still around too to be fair, it just seems easier to find the good places, and when you do they really are good.

One exception, Yugosalvia was good then and is still really good now.

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

Arrive Naples, a taxi to the hotel, another Accor MGallery the Palazzo Caracciolo on via Carborana. Being Accor Gold, we all get upgraded to suites, which in my case was spacious but rather plain. Never mind, it was quiet and I could spread out a bit. Free wi-fi.

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The place is some form of high status building in a former life and is moderately grand today. There was a decent enough restaurant in the place which we ate at both nights we were there as we couldn’t be bothered going out anywhere. Service very slow, especially in the bar, due to lack of staff it seems. My conclusion is that this ‘MGallery’ status hotel trades very much off the building history and overall architecture and if I did go back to Naples, I wouldn't bother to stay here again.

Frankly we all found Naples to be dirty and unappealing and have no desire to go back there. We only went there as a base to see Pompeii and Vesuvius the next day.

There is rubbish strewn everywhere – on the roads, the footpaths, in the parks. Graffiti similarly everywhere – on buildings, on the monuments etc; human and animal wastes along many footpaths. Holes in the footpaths which could break at least an ankle if you stepped into them. No civic pride at all it seems. The city reminded me of some of the African cities – third world. People just hanging around on door stoops or hanging around in groups, smoking. Street sellers selling cough.

We had a couple of hours to kill that afternoon, so did a bit of a walk to where it seemed the sights were and firstly came across the New Castle, built in the late 1200s to be the site of the court of Charles 1 of the Kingdom of Naples. A triumphal Arch was added in 1470 and commemorates Alphonso of Aragon’s entry into the city in 1443. On the other side, the castle drops to the sea with a formidable wall, and there is a deep moat around the castle. Its pretty impressive.

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A little way on we unexpectedly came across the Piazza del Plebiscito, bounded on one side by the Royal Palace and on the other by the church of San Francesco di Paola. Here are 2 panoramas at 180 degrees to one another.

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The upper one shows a side of the Royal Palace, which extends for a long way back in the direction of view and has niches with statues of a number of the Kings of Naples. Scholars of Italian Royalty will recognise “Roger the Norman”, Charles I of Anjou, Alfonso V of Aragon and Charles III of Spain.

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The Palace was built initially in the early 1600s intended to house King Phillip III of Spain during a visit, but he never came. Charles III of Spain came to Naples in 1734 and the Palace then was occupied by the Bourbon Kings. It is now one of the national libraries of Italy, called Biblioteca naz_onale Vittorio Emanuele III.

The other side of the Piazza is the church of San Francesco di Paola built in the early 1800s, started by King Joachim Murat (Napoleon’s brother-in-law) including the colonnade as a tribute to Emporer Napoleon. It was finished and dedicated as a church by the restored King Ferdinand I of Naples.

The square is called the Piazza del Plebiscito and was named thus after the plebiscite in 1863 that took Naples into the Kingdom of Italy and the House of Savoy.

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

Have I mentioned before that I loathe tour groups? Hate coming across them on location (loud, pushy and in-the-way) and hate being part of one (much the same reasons). We debated strongly whether to go in a tour group for our day at Pompeii and Vesuvius and decided, mutually reluctantly, to do so, mainly for logistical reasons.

Unfortunately the day was extremely disappointing and frustrating and only reinforced all my predjudices against tour groups. In retrospect we should have just hired a car from Naples. There were 2 tours, one morning (Pompeii) and one afternoon (Vesuvius) both booked through Cit Travel in Australia, but ultimately supplied by Seduction Tours out of Naples / Amalfi.

The day started well when the bus turned up at the hotel bang on time, and we then would around Naples picking up other pax at other hotels. Then the guide and the drivers phones started going off and we kept stopping at strange places (not hotels, which were all scheduled) to pick up more people. Then after we arrived at Pompeii we had to wait while the guide ran around aggregating yet more people. Obviously they were joining together multiple tour groups, with many people being last minute additions. When at last we were all together, we then joined the queue to buy our tickets. All these delays resulted in us only having 1.5 hours actually in the Pompeii ruins, out of a morning which started at 8am!

Anyway, as I said the day started well and at one of the seaside hotel pick-ups we got this view of Vesuvius, and also the sea-side of the Castle, showing what an impressive structure it really is.

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I guess everyone knows about Pompeii? A roman town just south of Naples on the flanks of the volcano Mt Vesuvius which erupted in AD79, burying the city in ash and pumice. People were trapped in homes and other places and suffocated. There was a strong earthquake in AD63 which extensively damaged the town, so it’s not as ‘pristine’ now as it might have been. It lat forgotten for about 1,800 years; much, but not all of the town has been excavated.

The tour was rushed and I’m sure parts were dropped off because we had so little time left. Pompeii is a very large site, and it would take a day or more to cover it all, but I have studied it a bit and we didn’t go to 2 or 3 of the ‘classic’ sights there. We would have dumped the guide, but we didn’t have any maps of our own with us.

Here’s the theatre and one of the streets; the buildings are shops lining the road.

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On the left below is one of the forms Pompeii is well known for. When people we covered by the ash, their bodies decayed inside. When they were eventually re-discovered almost 2000 years later, there was just a cavity and in the early endeavours, plaster was poured into the cavity and a mould of the person, in their last moments, made. I hope people don’t think this ghoulish or unpalatable. There is no ‘person’ left, just their shape. Its less of ‘dealing with the dead’ than, say a skeleton or even a skull. There are these plaster forms in situ in several of the houses and this is one of the sights I was very eager to see, but all we saw was this one form, in a case in one of the ruins.

The second pic shows one of the places that was a feature of the tour – brothels. We visited several, in somewhat of a titavating way. The brothels were marked by phallic symbols outside (all eagerly pointed out to us) and this one – visited by everyone it seems - had mosaics of couples in, shall we say, karma sutra type activities.

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The panorama shows the town Forum.

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The last pair of pics shows Vesuvius lurking in the background of the Forum area and another one of the streets.

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We were then taken to the ‘Restaurant Vesuvius’ for lunch prior to the next tour and during this time the guide again tacked on people, sent them to other tours and generally wheeled and dealt. The lunch, in a large tourist type cafeteria, was simply inedible and a couple of us wandered outside to get some fruit. There were other Aussies in the Pompeii tour, and continuing to Vesuvius and they were equally as pissed off as we were.

 

[RB]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

Really enjoying your trip report. I share your thoughts on group travel. When we visited Pompeii during our Amalfi stay we travelled up by train-sounds like that might still be the best way to get there from north & south?

 

[drron]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

I will third the opinion of group tours.
Still loving your photos and enjoying the commentary.

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

So after ‘lunch’ we were together with another Aussie couple from the Pompeii tour and a couple from England doing ... a wine tasting. Hmmm. OK, says the driver of the mini bus, he’s been tasked to look after two groups. So the wine tasters will first be dropped off at the winery on the flanks of Mt Vesuvius, then the Vesuvians will be dropped off near the summit, with the road on the other side.

So we are hit again. Our Vesuvius tour effectively cut by ½ an hour, but actually more, as the same thing has to happen at the end!

Now somewhat steaming ourselves, we eventually got dropped off at the crater car park; the road up to there is very winding and narrow. Still, the view from the car park was good .. and we knew it would get better. That’s Naples in the distance.

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At the car park we were told that the van would be back in 1 hr 15 mins to collect us, after they picked up the wine tasters. By this time we were pretty pissed off, so I took it upon myself to tell the driver that we would be back at the car park when we have completed our visit to Vesuvius – and that wouldn’t be less than 1 and a half hours, probably more like 2 hours. I didn’t wait for an answer, but picked up my water bottle and headed off. We were supposed to be met by a guide. Not surprisingly, it was chaotic. We bought tickets and not finding any guide, pressed on. Later we found out that the ‘guide’ was part of the ticket, not part of the tour and we could have asked for one. Good to know – an hour after we left the mountain!

It’s a brisk and steep 20 minute walk from the car park to the crater, on a cinder track. Many people don’t make it to the crater because its too great of an exertion and/or they have worn thongs or other silly footwear to tackle the climb. (mind you, our delightful tour people gave us no prior advice as to suitable footwear!).

Anyway, at the summit the views were breathtaking. Naples to the right, Pompeii somewhere in the urban area to the left.

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Turning around, there’s the crater. You can walk half way around it, on a well constructed (but soft) track.

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The crater is classified as active (last eruption in 1944) but is obviously considered safe enough to visit. There is sulphurous steam coming out one patch on the side. About 3 million people live around the volcano; I wouldn't be amongst them for quids. This thing WILL go off again, its only a matter of at what scale.

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Down the flanks of the cone you can see where the 1944 eruption lavas penetrated into the forest. In the other direction, the islands of Procida and Ischia off Naples.

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The van was there when we returned after an hour and a half on the crater and we got dropped off at our hotel. I immediately got into the e-mail and sent a scathing assessment of the day to our Travel Agent, for sending on to Cit Travel and hopefully the Italian tour organisers. Two sites I’ve looked forward to visiting for over 30 years, and an absolutely coughpy experience. It didn’t make my impression of Naples any rosier! Couldn’t wait to leave for Rome the next day.

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

A morning departure on another Frecciarossa, in Business Class, same config as before. These do look beaut from the outside. In a couple of hours we arrived at Roma Terminii and as our hotel was close, walked to it, towing our bags. A bit inelegant, but it was only about 15 minutes. Digs this time, another Accor MGallery – the La Griffe Roma on Via naz_onale, not far from the Opera House and Republica metro station. And when you see a vesper in the lobby you know it might have some pizzazz.

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As noted earlier, we had been generally disappointed in the Mgallery hotels. As Accor golds we were batting 2/3 for upgrades, 3/3 for early check-in, a ‘welcome drink’ voucher from all of them, free wi-fi and even a prezzi in 2 of them (gift wrapped biscotti). But they were really not much above Novotel standard with a bit more elegance in the building and decor. Certainly the service or facilities were not any great standard. Remember, we are all in our 50s and have been around a bit, and need our creature comforts. Maybe the La Griffe would exceed expectations?

As our rooms weren’t quite ready (it was only about 11am), we wandered up to the rooftop bar and restaurant area and were impressed. St Paul’s is in the distance of the pic on the left. There is another level above this one, entirely roof top seating. Looking good!

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Again, we got upgraded and my room was pretty nice.

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In the pm, we went for an orientation walk but ended up going further than planned, and decided to tick off a couple of the lesser ‘must sees’. People said we must visit the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. OK. This is what we found at the Spanish Steps. Renovation scaffolding covering the church at the top; unfortunate but necessary in the long term. But of course it’s covered with hoards of tourists and, again, guys selling cough. Oh, and the inevitable Centurion there for photos. Maybe we’ll come back in an evening.

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Onwards we decide to the Trevi Fountain. Uh-oh. Renovations 2/2. Closed, dry, barricaded off and scaffolded. I couldn’t care less about the Spanish Steps, but this was a disappointment.

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[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

But its Rome! Onwards and upwards The Pantheon is one of the world’s iconic buildings I think. You crawl through Roman ruins from Pompeii to Spain and Tunisia but they pale to irrelevancy beside this intact, huge, ancient engineering and cultural marvel, just sitting there in the middle of Rome. Built about AD126 by Emperor Hadrian, it was the biggest dome in the world for 1,400 years. It was 900 years old when Westminster Abbey was built; it was there as European, African and Asian civilisations, and their buildings, rose and fell. That oculus is simply marvellous to behold.

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I must admit I just wandered round in a daze for a while. There was a crowd, but it wasn’t packed. It would have been nice if it was quieter, the most intrusive sounds being the booming entreaty for “SILENCE, PLEASE” in about 5 or 7 languages.

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This cut-away illustrates some of the engineering; a self supporting, un reinforced dome. The RH pic is a shot looking up through the entry vestible.

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The back of the Pantheon is interesting – showing the brickwork and also that much of the building would have been clad in marble. Imagine how it would have looked if the marble was still there!

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[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

We then decided to do a recce of the Colosseum prior to our visit the next morning, as it was sort of on our way back to our hotel. We turned a corner and was confronted with this: :shock:

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Good heavens! That’s not in the guidebook (literally, not mentioned!). “See the Spanish Steps” ... but don’t worry about ... this?

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Wikipedia tells me that its the “Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) also known as the Monumento naz_onale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II), built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. Designed in 1885 its was commenced in 1911 and completed in 1925. Its apparently still the biggest structure in white ‘Brescia’ marble. And it shows.

I read on that it was, and still is a controversial structure, destroying some of the Capitoline Hill and being too ostentatious and brutalistic. Well, I find it impressive. You climb the stairs and wish you were a few years younger. The neighbourhood starts to emerge:

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We discover an elevator which takes you to the roof. About 10 euros from memory. The views across Rome I think would be unsurpassed. This one looks up the via del Corso; St Pauls Basilica is off to the left.

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We pick out any number of landmarks:

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Very well satisfied, we continue on our way and case the Colosseum – the layout of the ticketing area etc. We intend to be here early in the morning to go straight in on opening. OK, then its just a (relatively) short walk back to the hotel. We had covered a lot of cobbled Roman streets that afternoon, and were ready for a) a bath, b) a drink (or three or four!) and c) a good dinner.

 

[amaroo]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

But its Rome! Onwards and upwards The Pantheon is one of the world’s iconic buildings I think. You crawl through Roman ruins from Pompeii to Spain and Tunisia but they pale to irrelevancy beside this intact, huge, ancient engineering and cultural marvel, just sitting there in the middle of Rome. Built about AD126 by Emperor Hadrian, it was the biggest dome in the world for 1,400 years. It was 900 years old when Westminster Abbey was built; it was there as European, African and Asian civilisations, and their buildings, rose and fell. That oculus is simply marvellous to behold.

Absolute favourite. Love sitting in the Piazza enjoying a beer and just stare at it.....

A fair chunk of those renovations are privately funded Controversy over Trevi Fountain restoration work | www.italianinsider.it

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

Absolute favourite. Love sitting in the Piazza enjoying a beer and just stare at it.....

A fair chunk of those renovations are privately funded Controversy over Trevi Fountain restoration work | www.italianinsider.it

I note that article laments that "much of Rome will be sealed off (by restoration)". Yes, we found a lot of scaffolding, but only the Spanish Steps and Trevi were grossly affected. Most of Europe seems to be undergoing restoration! The Baptistry in Florence is wrapped up, the cathedral in Venice, a bunch of the Vatican, Stephansdom in Vienna, heaps in St Petersburg and Moscow ... . A pity for those travelling now, but good in the long term.

 

[JohnM]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

I assume that you visited the Sistine Chapel and are yet to report on it.

If so, I hope you remembered this : cartoon: Sistine Chapel floor | lapidary apothegms

I had trouble keeping PartnerJohnM quiet last year when I kept saying "Remember, look at the floor!"

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

I assume that you visited the Sistine Chapel and are yet to report on it.

If so, I hope you remembered this : cartoon: Sistine Chapel floor | lapidary apothegms

I had trouble keeping PartnerJohnM quiet last year when I kept saying "Remember, look at the floor!"

View attachment 32989 View attachment 32990

(ps just kidding. Although I'm an avid floor observer and photographer, the Sistine Chapel was 1) totally packed, then 2) pretty empty when I visited and the guards were eagle eyed!)

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

... We had covered a lot of cobbled Roman streets that afternoon, and were ready for a) a bath, b) a drink (or three or four!) and c) a good dinner ...

Alas, we were thwarted.

After freshening up, we met in the bar upstairs and were met with what might be called ‘a hive of activity’, including building and electrical types. It was noisy. The restaurant had been cleared of tables. We asked what was happening. ‘A Special Event.’ And could we get dinner? ‘No sir, but there will be room service’. :shock:

We were tired, thirsty and had suffered disappointments in several other of the Italian MGallery hotels we had stayed at, so this was the last straw. Hotels that sell its amenities to guests, then deprive them of them, and re-sell the amenities to third parties is a practice that I absolutely loath and object to.

And I did. I went downstairs and asked for the duty manager. In a polite but firm way, I explained what we had just been told – she confirmed it. I then explained that hotels should not deprive their guests of the amenity of on-site bars and restaurants to profit by re-selling them to outsiders. She could but agree and apologise. I then realised that the reason that my safe hadn’t been fixed during the afternoon we were out (it had a flat battery and wasn’t working, so I reported it at noon) was that the maintenance guy was working on setting up the special event! I put this to the manager as well. Yes, she agreed that that was probably the case. “You ignore your guests needs to make another profit.” I said, and she was good enough to blush.

She said that the bar would be pleased to provide drinks – complimentary for an hour – in a little lounge we hadn’t noticed on the ground floor, and to make bookings for us for a nice restaurant nearby which she assured us was probably better, and cheaper than the in-house restaurant. This was OK ... except the only white wine by the glass offered by this hotel was a chardonnay. Thats all . The next night we also discovered that they had waived the costs of our drinks at dinner in-house. We also got looked after very closely for the remainder of our stay 

A reasonable recovery by the hotel, and we were mollified, but I really do object to hotels double-selling their facilities for ‘private functions’ and closing them down for guests. And if they MUST do this, they should have told us on check in that the facilities would not be available that evening.

 

[Disco]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

Thank you Roo Flyer for such an informative post: we will be following some of your itinerary later in the year (and travelled some of the Romania last year) and I am very interested in your comments. I wonder how your St Petersburg leg will go with all the latest in sanctions.

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: More Central and Eastern European bling (incl Transylvania); *A flights, Acco...

Thank you Roo Flyer for such an informative post: we will be following some of your itinerary later in the year (and travelled some of the Romania last year) and I am very interested in your comments. I wonder how your St Petersburg leg will go with all the latest in sanctions.

Thanks

St Petersburg & Moscow have been and gone - during the first week after the MH downing . Reports coming up but as far as our visit was concerned, there wasn't much impact, other than us avoiding the English language Russian TV once we heard what they were saying (retch).