Alright kiddies. Round two is finally finished and ready for takeoff. So after Istanbul, we got on a bus and headed to Varna, Bulgaria. A nice little drive that took us through the outskirts of Istanbul to give us a glimpse of how the city folk in Turkey really live. Crowded streets with even more cramped buildings; sad, down-trodden apartments that seemed to have been morose since the day they were built. Tenants whose very nature seemed to have been transformed by their surroundings. But ours was just a glimpse of the other half and we were soon on our way into the dark Balkans. On the bus we met a very nice Bulgarian woman named Valena who was kind enough to help us find a hotel once we got in at six in the morning.. Unable to check in until noon, we dropped our stuff off and high-tailed it to the beach. The Black Sea is something of a mix between Mobile Bay and a garbage dump. The waves were almost nonexistent and the beach was rough with cigarette butts and 70 year-old breasts. But a welcome respite, nonetheless. And Meghan was stoked to be at the beach after an 8 month divorce. Slept and dreamt of traveling the world in my own backyard and awoke to her beautiful face, as she showered me with affection. With our stomachs growling and our faces burning we decided to get out of the sun for a bit and stumbled into one of the coolest places either one of us have ever been to. Dubbed aLounge, its a beach deck the size of a baseball field with two pools in the middle. White leather beds complete with cabana girls surrounded the pools and were available for 8 Leva ($5) all day long. House is the music of choice in this swank cranny and there is plenty of it, day and night. I’ll never be in a sweeter jaunt unless I’m an extra in some fake California reality show chronicling the life of Jackie Kennedy Onassis or Anne Bancroft.
In the evening we ate Dinner and took a walk down the strip of clubs to see what we could see. Interesting clubs (with cover being only 2 Leva) but lacking in beats. Mostly dance-pop with some bad bootie bass to make it just slightly unbearable. The next morning we woke up and headed back to the beach for even more fun in the sun. The funny thing about Bulgaria is that it still uses the Cyrillic alphabet, so almost everything is not only in a different language, but also different texts. Not only do they have a completely incomprehensible language, but they also shake their heads ‘yes’ and nod ‘no’. I thought this part of human communication was part of some inherent psychology, but apparently not. Now I must requestion my entire existence as a human being. It makes doing things on your own almost impossible. Fortunately English is their second language, so we had zero trouble doing anything. The next day we went to the archaeological museum and were blown away by what we saw. Art and tools dating back to the 5th century BC. Roman bath ruins and leftovers from the Ottoman days really let you know that you’re very near the cradle of civilization, which was only a mere 700 miles away.
We went back to aLounge for our last night in Varna and laid by the pool listening to the beats of the jock until we could stand it no longer and ran to the beach for our own personal dance party.
The Bulgarians we met in Varna were such nice people, caring not that we were wandering idiots and incredibly helpful and compassionate. We did see a disproportionate amount of stray dogs though. The funny thing was that all of them had been tagged in the ear by some authority. Which begs the question, do they not have pounds? What good is it to brand a dog “stray”? Our minds blown, we nonetheless shared our love with some of the lovesick creatures, one of which took a liking to us and decided to protect us all the way home. She walked between us and whenever something threatening appeared, be it another dog or a misshapen bush, she would bark and growl and do everything in her power to let us know that she can serve a purpose for us and that she would make a loyal and trustworthy addition to our imagined home. Despite our best efforts, dogs were not allowed in the hotel and thus, we parted ways with our new friend with the greatest of unease. Our train didn’t leave until 10 the next night so we checked out of our hotel and spent all day at the Lounge, soaking up the sun, playing chess, and giggling to ourselves.
We took the overnight train to Bucharest and arrived at 7 in the morning and passed out at the hostel. We woke up and got our bearings of the city. First impressions: Weak. Bucharest reminds me of what would happen if a crazy dictator decided to destroy 1000 year old buildings and replace them with poorly constructed Soviet apartment blocks. Oh wait. Yeah, you get the picture. Bucharest is poor, unsightly, and worst of all, poor. So the quick story behind the last reign of Nicolae Ceauşescu: dude gets power in 1965. Not only outlaws abortion and contraception, but makes it illegal to not have kids, whether married or single. What a punch in the gut to the dude that can’t get any play to begin with. Not only does the pain of rejection sting, he also gets slapped with a fine by the government for not getting laid. By the late 60’s the population swelled and the number of street kids was running amuk. Especially with the amount of Romy (Gypsy) population growing, Romania became known as a cancer on the USSR. In 1989, whilst giving a celebratory speech to workers, we was booed off his balcony. Rumor has it that he told his military general to fire upon the crowd. When the general refused to give orders, he was killed. He was finally forced out, escaped for a brief instance, but was soon captured by the army. Quickly tried, and executed, along with his wife. Nationally broadcast. Nonetheless, hundreds of people were killed during the uprising and millions more were affected.
So Romania is the country I visited that is still stinging from Communist dictatorship in a major way. Whilst sitting at a café, we were hounded 4 times in 20 minutes for money. Beggars are everywhere and its really heartbreaking to see the way some people there live. We were in an internet café that had a hole in the floor. In the room below, there were workers yelling and screaming. And digging. Digging a hole for what I’m not sure, but it definitely didn’t seem to be on the up-and-up. We met a couple on the train who told us about personal feelings and experiences and it’s really amazing to be in a place where something like this happened. His legacy as a megalomaniac is evident in the Palace of the People. 1200 rooms. 1400 chandeliers, marble and carpet as far as the eye can see. Second largest building in the world, next to the Pentagon. Still under construction. sick sick sick.
After Bucharest, we were happy to get to Budapest. Another 6 am arrival, and another noon check-in. Wandered and got food. First impressions: like Prague, only….not. Great views of the river and the night life is up and kicking. Had an apartment surrounded by real-life Hungarians. They have lobsters crawling out of their ears. Ok enough for today. Check pics yo.
Who birthed this Idiot?
Crew, Crew. A little MTL updates for you's ass. For those of you who missed Whoreleans for Chip's wedduu, you missed one helluva time. In brief: Maker's Mark, Maker's Mark, Maker's Mark. And, oh yes, Danny made his triumphant return into the fold. Pulp Fiction dance and all. I'll return to that subject at a later date. For now, there are more pressing matters.
I returned to Prague on the 4th of July, after 30 hours of travel. Got to my apartment and made a mad dash to the beer gardens to watch some World Cup action and recommune with wayward American and Czech friends. The next few days were a whirlwind tour of errands and drinking before my excursion to Turkey and Eastern Europe. Meghan (if you're not in the know, the snazziest chick this side of the Atlantic, hailing from the Cheesy State) and I humped a bird to Istanbul. Got in and had little problems getting to our hostel. Our cab dropped us off in Sultanahmed Square, pinched between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia Mosque. Two of the most gorgeous structures this meek Alabamian has ever laid eyes on. We met two Norwegians, Eric and Anders. At least, those are their Anglified names. The were kind enough to get us to our hostel and we arranged to meet for drinks after we dropped our merchandise off. The hostel we stayed at had a balcony bar with just an incredible view of the Marmara Sea, harvest moon and all. Had a few drinks with our new friends then hastened to sleep in anticipation of the exploritude that awaited us only a few hours away.
Our first stop was the Blue Mosque. Significance: lots of blue tiles. Historical significance: loads, the only thing I know is that it has six minarets instead of the typical 4. A minaret, btw, is a slender tower where dude gets Pavarotti on your ass. I'm sure its got other functions, like evoking Allah and junk like that. My first time in a mosque, though, and my first impressions were substantial. Fully carpeted with amazingly ornate tiles lining the walls and domed ceiling. Lights were abundant, but hung only inches away from our heads. Not sure why, but its a pretty cool effect. After we saw what we could see, we got hustled into a rug store, by a very nice Turkish man. Were served apple juice and given a private rug show. Kinda like a lap dance, but change the couches into rugs and the stripper into Turkish air, and you'll get the idea. After the shopkeep realized he was grinding on the wrong ne'er-do-wells, he was still nice enough to have a chat, instead of report us to the surly bouncer, his 8 yr-old son in this case. After we left him unsatisfied, we got some lunch and had our first encounter with the call-to-prayer: a five minute sung reading of the Qur'an. It was largely ignored by the people, but had me enthralled. Pretty much just how you've heard it in Alladin and They Might Be Giants tunes, but a trip to hear it live and in person. It continued to call my attention from there-on-out.
After lunch, we made our way down to the port of Marmara, where we had our first glance of Asia. Much like St Louis is the Gateway to the West, Istanbul is the Gateway to the East (except it doesn't blow nearly as hard as Nellyville does, although East Istanbul is just as Shady as East St Lewy.) I believe this a natural continental border, as a lot of the history mentions earthquakes. We walked through a very nice park and then made our way back to the hostel. We ran into our Norwegian friends and decided to share a cab across the sea to Taksim, a trendy spot of nightlife, to watch the World Cup final. Italy can you know what to my you know where. After the first club failed, (we weren't in the mood to dance to Sonique) we found a cool rock pub with a Turkish band playing a mix of Turkish classics (all the girlies were beltin em out) and classic rock. Seriously, the best rendition of "Another brick in the Wall" I've ever heard. The guitarist looked like he was in Sound Tribe Sector 9 and played just as well. We made friends with the staff and I ended up arm wrestling the bartender at the end of the night. I let him win. We left thoroughly spent and downright drunky. The next day we went to Hagia Sofia, which is amazing. Its present form has been standing since 537, after two renditions were destroyed, dating back to the 4th century. Here's a pic.
Check it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_SofiaOk, so that's all you get now, part deux coming in a few days. In Varna, Bulgaria at the moment. Gotta go nap and eat and drink. Not necessarily in that order.
