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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Friday, 12 January 2007 09:57 |
I woke up on my second day in Bucharest ready to take a shower and head
out to explore the city, but there was a little setback. Water did not
look too healthy…
Apartment owner explained that they were just “fixing” the pipes and
this is quite normal. He drank some of the water to demonstrate to me
that it is safe. I politely opted to wait half an hour till water
returned to its natural color. When I finally got outside I was
followed by two little puppies for a few blocks. I think they wanted
food, but I did not have any, which made me wish I carried some snacks
around with me, just in case!
I took a metro to train station, as I needed to buy some tickets to
Moldova. There was only one train departing 7pm and arriving at 9am to
Kishinev. So I bough the best ticket they had available for 50 bucks
and decided to explore the train station a bit, just to get accustomed
with it for my Friday journey. Outside I saw a group of 5 boys and one
girl sitting on the steps inhaling paint thinner from plastic bags.
Shortly after the girl was sent on the side of the road to sell herself
to any car that would be willing to pick her up…
Across the street I got hassled by some gypsies who spotted my camera
and figured I was a tourist. They wanted some money, but instead they
got this photo taken of them. The gypsy guy in the group was not amused
and I had to disappear quickly ;)
I spent the rest of the day just walking around randomly around the
city. There was nothing new to see or talk about. Just poverty and
really depressing gloomy atmosphere everywhere I looked. I took a train
back and spent some time on internet and then called it a night…
In a few hours I am getting on a train for my overnight journey to my
hometown of Kishinev. I have not been there for 16+ years since I left
in 1990. I plan to drink a few beers and pass out for the night. When I
wake up it will be just like going back in time!
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Wednesday, 10 January 2007 15:01 |
Last night in my hostel in Bucharest I dreamt of fighting off vampires.
I did not have any garlic so I had no choice but to kick them off the
bridge. They fell and exploded in a bright flash of smoky soft red
light. Then I woke up, showered and stepped out into Transylvanian
capital hoping for a good day with no related paranoid delusions…
First impressions always end up the most memorable ones. In case of
Bucharest, however, every minute was truly unforgettable. Unlike
Hungary, which I visited last year and have referred to as an “armpit
of Europe”, Romania takes competition for a greater title quite
seriously and beats Hungary by claiming itself as the “ass crack of
Europe”. If beggars, packs of stray dogs, mud, bodily fluids and
homeless children inhaling paint thinner on the streets sounds a little
too much to absorb on a first day, believe me it was for me.
Many people here are living at poverty; few others are doing quite
well. Old people have it especially hard. I have found out that with a
$40 pension they receive per month they can hardly afford to pay bills
and food, forget about the rent. So they resort to other ways of
earning additional income. An old man just outside my building offers
shoe polish and repair services on the street for 50 cents. And I have
seen old ladies selling off their personal possessions and home made
cheese in order to make enough money to get by…
New generation considers these old people a nuisance at most in my
observations. Same goes for beggars and homeless kids. Perhaps Romanian
addition to European Union as of 2007 will bring some funding to fix
these social problems, but I am afraid that it may take a long time for
such change to show itself. What puts me in serious doubt about
positive outcome for this country is the attitude of the younger crowd.
I could not help but notice on many occasions a very potent desire for
product consumption and thirst for things these people can not afford.
What is even worse is the fact that Western companies are making a
strong presence here and all expensive brand name goods are available
and ready to be consumed by the masses. Prices are double of that in
the United States. Someone (big companies and retailers) are making a
fortune, while others (Romanian youth) are burying themselves in debt.
By the way, you can apply for credit right inside any large store. I
assume not much saving is happening either when there are suddenly so
many things to buy. And what you own determines who you are on the
status ladder, as in any “civilized” and “developed” society. And that
is the new “shiny” Romanian future!
Most central shopping zone and business area streets have been given a
facelift. But just a few blocks over from same location, things aren’t
as pretty. It is very bizarre to walk these streets, passing fancy
stores and coffee shops, turning around the corner just to see part of
a city still in shambles.
My feeling is Romanians themselves as people must rise above and adopt
new standards for living, perhaps before investing their life into
Dolche & Gabbana jackets; they could learn not to throw garbage onto
their city streets and into water…
Religion has been a long practiced method for keeping ones sanity. And
it must be hard to do so living around here. But there are many
beautiful orthodox churches, kept up to the best of ability and I had a
chance to go inside one.
There I saw Romanians walk up and kiss icon of Jesus and of Mary, and
another man on his knees on the floor reading out of the small paper
version of bible, desperately praying for something to happen. Jesus
was on the ceiling, listening?
Outside you could light the candle for the dead. Maybe some of them are
now lit for few old people who could not afford to heat their rooms
this winter. Or their medicine… Maybe some are for children who inhaled
too much pain thinner from a plastic bag…
I feel many different emotions from being here for one day. I am
disturbed, angry and in disbelief of social inequality and how little
is done to help these unfortunate people by those who clearly could
afford if only they wanted to. Things seem to function by the laws of
the jungle here, except with humans being the predator and the prey. It
is quite late now and I will head to bed, as tomorrow will be another
stimulating day, which I will write about in detail soon. And hopefully
no vampires will try to eat me tonight…
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Monday, 08 January 2007 08:20 |
This is a rather long update as I have fallen one day behind and due to
lack of internet of course. Although I stayed in a “presidential suite”
of Oki Doki hostel in Warsaw, they sadly did not provide a WiFi
connection to my peculiar room…
But there was an improvement in toilet paper dispensers. Charming!
Warsaw has turned out to be a very gorgeous and clean city. On the
first day I did a walk around old town. Just before entering it I got
to see royal palace and in front of it there was a display of
photographs of people who have died during the regime change uprising.
Just a short walk over landed me into old town square. Everything was
destroyed during WWII bombings, so all you see in the picture has been
rebuilt after the war.
I strolled through many small streets and alleys and reached old town
walls that once surrounded and guarded the city. I followed them around
and reached an impressive arch shaped gate that connected the old city
and the new.
It was only 5pm but it was already getting dark. One thing that I
dislike about traveling Europe in the winter is that you get very few
sun hours. And even less sun hours if you do not like to wake up early
in the morning ;) As I walked I saw a monument dedicated to fallen
soldiers. Here is a partial photo of it taken from behind with a view
of the city at night!
And nearby ministry of defense has setup a rather confusing Merry
Christmas display. Polish soldiers are guarding Jesus at birth? Is that
suspicious bearded man with a stick really Osama in disguise? Is he
about to hit Mary on the head and knock her out? And if so, why is
defense looking the other way? So many questions have left me confused
and I decided to go back to hostel and sleep on it.
Last picture I took that night was of the main city theatre. This is a
rather large and striking theatre I would say. Too bad my stay here in
Warsaw is short lived with no extra time to spare for extensive
cultural activities…
Following day was dedicated to colorful birds, like these peacocks!
Well not exactly, actually I was on the way to a large park to see
something everyone has recommended, a “palace on the water”. 17th
century baths were rebuilt into a gorgeous summer residence palace,
just like this…
I walked around the park, up and down the stairs. This sun dial clock
did not tell time ;(
On the way out of the park I saw some empty pocket size vodka bottle
swimming in the puddle. It was raining and I was able to catch the
motion of water in this photo!
Bottle must have come from this place right around the corner. This is
a Planet that many like to visit. But it was Sunday and Planet was
closed. Because god did not drink on Sundays, he just rested and took
it easy…
But if you were this woman forced to lay bricks you would be drinking
too! Many x-communist buildings and statues like this one are still
present in this city. And they make for a very unique experience!
Overall Warsaw is a great city to visit. Had I stayed here longer I
would be able to explore much more of it because of its size and
density. It is quite safe and very affordable when compared to rest of
Europe. I am presently in Slovakia. My flight to from Bratislava to
Bucharest is tomorrow afternoon. Flying into Romania gets me one step
closer to Moldova, which should be my next stop after that. Hoping for
good internet and just a few cockroaches in my Bucharest hostel…
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Thursday, 04 January 2007 13:41 |
Wieliczka is a small town near Krakow with a total population less then
20 thousand people. Nevertheless it is quite well known for its
underground salt mine that has been exploited since 13th century. Salt
was both a resource and a currency. Many famous people toured the mine
including Nicolaus Copernicus (the famous astronomer who proved that it
is earth spinning around sun and not the other way around) and his
statue carved out of salt has been erected inside the Wieliczka mine.
Many other carvings are inside the mine, including this one I liked.
And some silly ones like these 7 dwarves to entertain the tourists…
We descended some 500 stairs to reach the very bottom of the mine. Fortunately the way back upstairs was "easier" via very frightening small and outdated shaft elevator!
There were white salt deposits visible all over the ceilings...
And here is our salt mine guide. The man spoke English yet I did not
understand a word he said. Being at such low pressure and lacking
sufficient oxygen all day he spoke as if he was going to fall asleep
any moment. But salt pope was watching his back.
There were multiple chapels inside the mine, but this one was by far
the largest one!
Even chandeliers here are made of real salt crystals, very neat…
And the floors we walked on inside chapel were made of pure salt rock!
And the most impressive salt art to me was this one of Last Supper. It
is too bad that many of these works are slowly eroding over time as
salt evaporates into the air ;(
I really enjoyed this mine, although it did make me quite tired. All
ventilation is done artificially and I assume there simply isn’t enough
air for all of us. This is my last activity in Krakow are and I am
moving on to Warsaw, the new capital of Poland next. More updates will
be coming from there quite soon!
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Krakow Sightseeing And Stuff... |
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Wednesday, 03 January 2007 11:19 |
Krakow is a beautiful city that was spared from major destruction
during WW II and has therefore managed to preserve most of its original
landmarks and old city charm! Center of the city has been fortified for
centuries with a massive brick wall, but now such shelter is no longer
needed and all major city gates have been opened and much art and
souvenirs are being sold on the busy streets surrounding Market Square…
In the center of the Old Market Square stands an impressive St Mary’s
Church which dates back to 16th century and is the most important
church of this city!
I soon got hungry from all walking around and stopped by for some
Polish pirogues, delicious dumplings stuffed with different tasty
stuff. Mine were with cabbage and forest mushrooms ;)
Next stop was Wawel located on Wawel Hill. An imperial palace, royal
home and apartments, armory and a massive chapel all inside one complex
enclosure that is dating back to the 11th century. I entered it all
through this little security gate…
It is quite interesting to see so many churches of different styles
combined into one place of worship. It happens to look like this
because each part was added in his own preferred style by each
different king of Poland.
Inside the chapel I was able to buy a ticket that granted me access to
the very top of the Zygmunt Bell and Tower. This massive bell was
funded by King Zygmunt the Elder in 1520 and named after him. It weighs
over one ton and can be heard within the vicinity of 50 kilometers.
Eight people are needed to put it in motion!
And here is a view of Krakow that I saw from the very top of Zygmunt
Tower…
I have also stopped by the basement where all kings’ tombs were placed
along with their bodies of course. There are about 50 tombs total on
display. And here lies the entire family of King Zygmunt, the oldest
and most original tombs dating back 500 years!
Even at night Krakow is a gorgeous city. I had a few beers and walked
into this iron head statue. It seemed interesting enough so I took a
photo to share this head with you ;)
And then few more beers later I bonded with this guy by sitting on his
lap…
Tomorrow I shall visit the oldest salt mine in the world and descend
200 feet underground to look at some… salt! If pictures are allowed I
will take plenty and post them here soon. Yey!
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Krakow, New Years Night !!! |
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Monday, 01 January 2007 12:04 |
I took a crappy and cold overnight train from Slovakia to Krakow, Poland…
Landed here early morning on 31st and taxi driver took me to my hostel.
Fantastic arrangement I got, a hostel and a special “massage” service in the same building ;)
I slept most of day to prepare myself for the big Krakow New Years Day.
I did not make any reservations and only later realized that it was
impossible to get into any clubs or restaurants. Everything was booked
up! So I waited till a polish mime left his stone podium and took his
performance stand, a bottle of champagne in one hand and nothing in other…
But no one gave me anything to eat for my petty performance, so I
waited in a 1 hour line to buy me a Kebab sandwich instead for a
whopping $2.30. As I almost reached front of the line some locals had
offered me a business proposition. Free food in exchange for my prime
spot in New Years kebab line. And so I got to eat for free! Yummy yum…
I downed half a bottle oh champagne. Drinking was allowed on this one
day on Krakow streets, and this I found to be very nice gesture of
polish authorities. Another thing that was apparently allowed was
climbing atop of portable toilets to get a better view of the New Years
concert happening in Main Square. But I was late and did not get one of
these reserved privileged spots either.
I pushed my way through the crowd of thousands and planted myself in a
fairly good position with a view of center stage and a television
camera floating above my head. I was seen on Polish TV, yet another
score for Vita!
There was a free live concert since early evening, people were dancing
and singing and boozing quite a bit. Some guys next to me started
barfing into package of juice that was a chaser just a few minutes ago.
Things were going according to plan. Few minutes before midnight they
started the fireworks!
At this time people started putting on rain coats and I wondered why,
as it wasn’t raining outside. But few minutes later at exactly midnight
champagne starting flying everywhere. I was completely soaked, my hair,
my camera, and my face. My jacket still reeks of booze… I plan to wash
it when I get a chance!
At around 1am I made it out of the thick crowd and walked back to the
hostel to call it a night. It was quite impressive to see how much
drinking has happened this one night. Empty bottles and broken glass
covered the street…
I strongly recommend Krakow as a place to celebrate New Years. Compared
to New York I have found this night to be quite fun and unforgettable.
Today I hope to be doing some historical city sightseeing activities
and will post some pictures soon!
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Saturday, 30 December 2006 10:29 |
Today I had an opportunity to visit one of the oldest churches in the
region. Christian Orthodox church of Kamienka looks quite unimpressive
from the distance…
However once inside I was surprised at how striking it really was!
There are enough icons to cover all key figures of the Holy Scripture
and they are done with amazing level of detail in tradition of Eastern
European orthodox style.
Some decorations like this wooden carving representing scene from birth
of Jesus were produced by the locals to add a Christmas feel to the
church interior.
Because I was a foreigner who expressed much interest in this landmark
I was given the special honors to climb to the very top of the bell
tower. What looked like a thousand year old door was pried open and up
the dark mysterious stairs I went…
A hundred or so steps up an ancient spiral staircase and I was inside
the bell tower. These bells were close to 500 years old. This one is an
original that is kept under lock and key and is still fully functional,
although it has been converted to perform electric ringing!
From the top of the church a beautiful view overlooking the whole village.
After leaving the church I walked around and up a snowy hill. Someone
was buried here a few hundred years ago. I was told it was some kind of
accident. Details were not provided, so could have been someone
tripping and hitting their head on a rock, or someone being eaten by a
pack of famished wolves or anything else in between…
The hill was steep and covered in sticky snow. This was a perfect
sledding opportunity. I have not gone sledding since I was a kid. A
little kids sled was provided and I climbed all the way to the cross
and sled my way down to the houses at the bottom. Weeeee!
Tonight at 1am on 31st of December I am getting on a train that will
take me to Krakow, Poland. I am long due for a change of location and
am looking forward to it. More pictures coming soon from Polish New
Years festival!
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Thursday, 28 December 2006 11:35 |
I have been gone for a week; some of you have been afraid I may have
died a nasty death or even worse got kidnapped by the gypsies. But I am
alive and doing well, and last five days have been spent in a small
ancient Slovakian village of Kamienka, population 1400. Locals gave me
a first-class accommodation in the shed and chickens keep quite me warm
at night…
What would I be doing here for so long? Well I have been busy studying
old local Slovakian folklore and watching films of traditional dancing
and costumes. I was also browsing many old family photos. Tradition has
been going strong here for over 700 years and I will be posting a more
extensive review of my stay here tomorrow as well as more pictures that
I am yet to sort through. I was told the local Christian Orthodox
Church is quite beautiful as well as the nature around these parts and
I am yet to see all that. And in a few days I am setting off to Krakow,
Poland where I will be seeing Polish people get incredibly drunk and
stumble their streets on New Years Eve. I may join in that cultural
recreation myself in order to wholly appreciate it!
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