First impressions of Sarajevo are most strongly of modernity. The old city, thoroughly reconstructed, is a pleasant collection of cafes, bars, and clothing shops, populated at every hour of every day by swathes of people. Although there isn’t much that survived the war, the reconstruction is tasteful and faithful, and the Ottoman quarter feels absolutely Turkish, from the whitewashed wooden beam houses to the stray cats, who predominate over the typical dogs only in this part of town. The mix of Orthodox churches, Austro-Hungarian row houses, and Turkish style mosques and market buildings reminds me of Bulgaria, though in a somehow more muted way. If anything, religion seems stronger here, and we’ve seen the mosque full at noon prayer, while minutes later a large group of nuns in habits wandered down the street. Continue reading →

When Jamie informed me that there wasn’t much to eat in Serbia apart from the street food staples of burgers and pancakes (more like crepes), I knew I was in for a good week. And Belgrade has come through in spades. Continue reading →

Sibiu was followed by Brasov, the southern point of the triangle of cities that border Transylvania. Another lovely town, made more special by chance meetings with two marvelous folks who’ve also greatly enhanced (and extended) my last few days in Bucharest. But I’m once again jumping ahead. Continue reading →

Took the slow train from Sibiu (more on that soon) to Brasov today (now two days ago). I assume it’s the same track as the fast train, only with more stops, but it’s still well worth the extra hour or two. It stops Everywhere. Continue reading →

We got up early. Too early. It wasn’t an early night, though not a particularly late one, and I figured we could easily make the 8:30 train. We would have, too, after a refreshing jog through the metro station, but it transpired that the 8:30 train was 100 minutes late. This made the 10:00 train earlier, so we acquired our tickets and proceeded to kill 90 minutes over breakfast and wanderings about the train station.

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So begins my Romanian country visit. I’m not settled into a cozy two-room house at the edge of a “small” village (~1000) people in the middle of the Romanian plain. It’s clay and vine walls, and holds the heat from the wood heater amazingly well. Not without its inconveniences (no running water, the door to the heater is outside, so stoking the fire means being cold, no heat in the kitchen) it is nonetheless most charming. It will be a happy few weeks. Continue reading →

I don’t want to put too much stock in first impressions, but the hostel that serves as the gateway to my volunteer experience in a small village in Romania certainly distinguishes itself in this regard. Continue reading →

I don’t remember what they’re called, even though I’ve heard the name several times. It’s a kind of layered puff pastry rectangle full of feta cheese. You can buy them everywhere, and I found a great tiny little storefront/bakery in Plovdiv where I managed to get them fresh twice. Unreasonably good. crispy and soft and hot and just a little gooey. And cheap. So cheap. My new Bulgarian home, Valiko Tarnovo, is nice, but the lack of these pastry things is a huge mark against it. It’s Sunday, so maybe there’ll be some to be had tomorrow. God I hope so. Continue reading →