After Ruth and Dave left, we packed up our backpacks to travel inland, beyond Turkey for a few weeks. We took the all night bus from Marmaris to Istanbul then to Sophia, Bulgaria. Bus travel is not as bad as it sounds- in fact it was quite comfy and civilized, as bus travel in Turkey is the way people get around since there are relatively few trains. The seatsbacks all had video players and there was even a steward who gave out drinks and snacks like you would find on a plane.
We got to Sophia about 20 hours after leaving Marmaris and spent the night in a hotel. The next day we just toured the city - very different than the communist stalwart that it was when I was last there in the 80's. We had a day to kill and we just werent too focused on sighseeing in Sophia. We walked around the city a bit, but it was cold and snowy, so we just wanted to get inside. It just felt like after a few churches, mosques, and general architectural sights. There were some hip shops, but somehow ended in the mall. We got our haircut (um, not Code) and we were warm, sudsy, and pampered. My impression was that the malls were full of high end shops - Laura Ashley, Ralph Lauren, and stores filled with anything you would find in US department stores, mostly with US prices. Another observation was that apparently Bulgaria has the European rose market cornered. There are tons of cosmetics stores that focus only on products made from roses. Rose soaps, rose oils, rose lotions. Everything coming up roses, I guesss. I have to say, you can have too many roses.
There might have been some great works of art that we missed or some famous historical monument, but we were just burned out and readying ourselves for more travel.
As we travelled by train from Sophia to Budapest, then to to Vienna and then Salzburg, the trains got progressively nicer and more modern. We took a night train out of Sophia with a sleeper cabin. The kids thought that was the cooles thing ever. Aethan slept on the top bunk, Code on the middle, and Graeme and I on the bottom. Sleep was fitful and occasionally interrupted with knocks from passport control, etc. Nevertheless, having the opportunity to sleep in relative comfort was awesome after 'sleeping'on the bus 2 nights prior.
We staggered out of the train in Belgrade to switch to a new train at 5 am. Not as bad as you would think, really. No more sleeper car, but we were able to snooze a bit more on the way to Budapest. After all was said and done, 20 hours later, we arrived in Budapest. I love that city, and it has transformed itself since the fall of communism (when I was last there). I was surprized at how much Hungarian came back to me (my mom taught me some Hungarian when I was little, and I actually took it in college). Not that I can have a conversation, but I recognize enough words to not be completely befuddled by it. It is a very unique and impossible language. The drearyness of communism has been cleaned up and the city is returning to its former beauty. Aside from the usual sites, we went to the Gellert Baths - there are lots of thermal baths around the city each having a series of heated pools (20, 27, 34, 36, 38' C in temp), temperature graded dray saunas (up to an unbearable 80 C...which is maybe about 175 F?), steam baths, massage rooms, and a bidet room (I didnt go in there...). Basically if it is cold or hot and you can endure it, it is there for you. Most of the pools are single sex, except for the main family pools where bathing suits are worn. Once again,just like in Pamukkale, the water tasted like Perrier! The Gellert baths were built around the turn of the century and were built in the art deco style. It is just really an experience.
We did a short stay in Vienna and Salzburg, with the highlight being the catacombs under St. Stevens church. Code and the kids loved it! We left for Zell am See in the western Austrian Alps to ski for two weeks. We're in the heart of beer and lederhosen country, that's for sure. By 10:00 a.m. or so the bars on the slopes are full (yes, full) of beerdrinkers (if not harder alcohol) and smokers. Yep, just what I want in the morning... I dont know how they make it past lunch, much less ski. They drink beer like it is a sport drink, it is really strange to see. We use the balance of our time a bit more sober, but having fun, at the pool. There is a state-of-the-art pool around the corner with a waterslide, steam room, sauna (but it is that Austrian/Germanic naked mixed sex thing, so I pass), etc. The pool, unbelievably, is lined with stainless steel. There is underfloor heating throughout (so I just want to lay down on that warm tile, but that would be weird), and there is a fabulous balcony area where I can do yoga while the kids swim.
I know it is a cultural thing, but we just dont have the same love affair with being naked in public that the Germans and Austrians do. The saunas is one thing, but the mixed sex locker room for the pool freaks me out. High schooler girls changing with adult men...it just seems...well, whatever you think. Of course, they will say we are the ones with the hang ups. Hmmm.
So we are here for another week to ski and swim then we're thinking maybe Paris, then another week of skiing. After this fabulous few weeks, it is going to be hard to live on the boat again!
Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 07:28AM