Eastern Europe

 

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We don't expect to ever fully understand this part of the world with all the troubles they have experienced from the rule of dictators to the conflicts that resulted when the Iron Curtain came crashing down. But we believe their story offers a cautionary tale for all of us, and we wanted to share some of the things we learned:

• These countries have a long history of being occupied beginning with Attila the Hun, then on to the Turks, Austrians, Nazis, and finally the Soviets. One guide told us they like to think they took the best things from each of their occupiers (like paprika from the Turks), but there was nothing good from the Soviets.

• Hungary lost 2/3 of their country after WWI.

• Hungarians murdered more Jews during WWII than anyone, even the Germans. (This was told to us by a Hungarian guide.)

• Our Viking program director, Gabor, kindly shared his experiences growing up behind the Iron Curtain. His bottom line: "Never again. Anywhere."

Bullet-pierced vehicles

Gabor told us of false government statistics that made it look as if the country were thriving. Children were brainwashed through Communist clubs that replaced church groups and scouting. And in a classic Catch 22, you couldn't get a job unless you were a member of the Communist Party, and unemployment was an offense resulting in jail time.  So join the Party or go to jail. (And yet after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, people were punished for belonging to the Party. The incongruities never end.)

• Gabor's most sobering story was about the time his parents took a vacation to Western Europe (quite rare to be able to leave the country); however, Gabor had to stay at home with relatives. He was upset and couldn't understand, but it was a common practice. The state would keep at least one family member behind to insure the vacationers would return.  Gabor was being held as a hostage.

• In Belgrade, the city was in the midst of a months-long peaceful protest with students hoping to end the rampant corruption and make government work for the people, providing better hospitals, schools etc. Universities were closed causing students to miss class and professors to go without paychecks, but they were passionate about driving change and many adults were starting to join them. (As of today, these protests have become violent with reports of police brutality.)

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  Vintage Soviet era car

  A special speaker shared that much of the problems here stem from a major split in 1000 a.d. when Hungary and Croatia joined with Western Europe and Catholicism while the other countries were conquered by the Turks and became Greek Orthodox (with some even becoming Muslim).

• He also said that unlike most countries, people here are aligned with their ethnicity, not the country they live in causing major polarization.

• Another guide told us that communism finally broke religion because if you had a good job and someone saw you in a church, you would be fired.

• In Bulgaria, we were also told that during communism everyone had money (since they were all paid by the state), but there was nothing decent to buy since communist goods were junk. For example, grocery stores carried only two kinds of cheese and bananas and oranges were only available a few times a year, usually for the "Grandpa Frost Celebration" on New Year's Day (a poor replacement for Christmas and Santa). Now, nice things are available, but they don't have the money to buy them.

One last observation. When we were here in 2005, we were touched by the people's sense of optimism after finally shaking off the oppression of communism. Now, the mood is much more subdued. It seems creating new countries with new freedoms is harder and takes longer than anyone expected. Plus the specter of Putin is never far from anyone's thoughts.

Retour à Paris!

We flew from Bucharest to Paris to end our trip with a brief stop in the City of Light. Anne was thrilled to discover that nothing had changed, and she still felt like jumping up and down when she first hit the Parisian pavement.

We stayed at Hotel Abbatial Saint Germain, a sweet little family-run hotel that reminded us of places we'd stayed at years ago when we first started traveling together. Best of all, our hotel was near Notre Dame, which was important because our primary goal was to get inside the newly reopened cathedral.

We arrived on a Thursday, which is the one day the cathedral is open until 10:00 p.m. We headed straight over about 7:30 p.m., hoping to get in, but knowing we could make a second try the next day. And if nothing else, we could see the outside.

We were surprised to see how much of the back of the cathedral was still under construction even though the front was restored to its original magnificence.

But the biggest surprise was that we were able to walk right in (after we negotiated the lengthy winding queue line, which seemed to go on for a mile even though no one was in it). 

The inside was simply stunning. The last time we were here the inside was dark and a bit gloomy, but freshly cleaned, the nave positively glowed!

And the stained glass sparkled as if it had been made yesterday. What a remarkable achievement!

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With Notre Dame checked off our list, we had a day to do what we enjoy most: wander this incredible city. We started our day by stocking up at a Parisienne boulangerie (bakery) near our hotel and a small grocery with beautiful-looking fresh fruit. 

Then, we walked over to Ile Saint-Louis to eat our goodies in a small park by the Seine. We'd forgotten how delicious real Parisian croissants tasted! And just how gorgeous the Seine is.

We spent the day wandering the small island, doing some souvenir shopping (yes, Anne found a bookmark!), eating lunch at a typical French cafe, and eating famous Berthillon ice cream for dessert. Perfect!

We ended our trip with a memorable night with friends Eric and Helene, a couple we first met in a French B & B in 2006. We'd stayed in touch and visited over the years but hadn't seen them in over a decade, so it was a happy reunion! We ate at Bistro des Lettres, a cute little place near our hotel.  

Bistro des Lettres earned its name by offering us envelopes and stationery to write letters to ourselves--which they will mail in one year. Can't wait for the wonderful surprise of receiving our letters in June of 2026!

Back to Bucharest, Romania

We spent two weeks roaming Romania in 2015 and looked forward to revisiting this fascinating place. On that trip, we were in Bucharest only briefly and were not terribly impressed. This time, we hired a private guide through Tours by Locals to learn more about Ceausescu  Romania's corrupt and ruthless dictator, and Anne especially wanted to find out why Bucharest was known as the Little Paris of the East. 

Last time we visited in 2015, the city seemed overrun with Communist architecture, but on this tour, we got to see her grand boulevards and elegant architecture including the stunning Romanian Athenaeum. The Athenaeum is a concert hall, and if we ever return, we vowed to see a performance here.

We drove down Bucharest's copycat Champs Elysees, a broad boulevard lined with gorgeous Baroque and Art Nouveau buildings, many of them now turned into banks. Then, we walked these lovely streets that Ceausescu had targeted for demolition--to be replaced with his hideous concrete Communist-style monstrosities. Many, like this cafe with its elegant atrium, had a definite Paris vibe, and we felt grateful they survived.

One building especially caught Anne's attention, Victoria Store formerly called the Bucharest Galeries Lafayette after the famous Parisian Galeries Lafayette. Honestly, the guy shows up everywhere we go! 

Bucharest definitely has an ambience we totally missed on our first visit here.

For a dose of reality, our next stop was Revolutionary Square. From the balcony below the flag, Ceausescu gave his last speech before the people revolted. Our guide showed us a video of his last address, and as protests get louder, you can see his expression change as he realizes what is happening. Our guide also showed us pictures of Ceausescu escaping by helicopter. However, he was later arrested and he and his wife were shot by a firing squad on Christmas Day five days after the uprising. 

To better understand why Ceausescu was so despised, we visited the only one of his forty mansions open to the public (and this one only opened very recently).

Our guide had a dry sense of humor and clearly found the excess of his former dictator's lifestyle obscene. Especially, during a time when this same leader preached that the people needed to make more sacrifices, even though they were already starving with no running water and struggling to survive.

We were not permitted to take photos inside the home, but needless to say, these two lived like royalty in this 40-room pleasure palace with separate apartments for themselves and their three children. The whole place drips with opulence from the Italian marble to the Murano chandeliers and other treasures from all over the world. Accumulated during a time when the people were unable to buy any goods from the west and were forced to purchase only shoddy Communist goods.

Mrs. C. had a huge dressing room lined with Chanel dresses and matching shoes. The mansion also features a sauna, spa with massage room, make-up room, and a movie theater in the basement. Our favorite room, the stunning indoor swimming pool, was entirely covered with colorful mosaic tiles. 

This was our last night of our Viking "cruise," and we went out in decadent style at the 5-star JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel.

Arbanasi and Veliko Taranovo, Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a rose lover's paradise. The country is the world's largest producer of rose oil, which believe it or not, is more valuable than gold!

 

We began our day in Arbanasi, a historic village founded in the 15th century. We visited the House of Konstantsalievt to see how wealthy merchants lived here in the 1600's.

The comfortable home included an attractive kitchen and a simple but private indoor toilet room.

The highlight was a visit to the 15th c. Nativity Church, the oldest church in the town, to see its magnificent frescos dating to 1681. The three galleries, which felt as if they were underground, were covered with artwork from floor to ceiling. 

Most notably, the art included a very early depiction of The Last Supper and possibly the very first example of the HolyTrinity.

Veliko Taranovo is touted as the most beautiful historical city in Bulgaria, and we wished we had more time to explore it. This is a view of Tsarevets Fortress, the city's most iconic landmark. 

We spent most of our time wandering the wonderful artisan shops along the shopping mecca callled Gurko Street.

Belogradchik Rocks, Bulgaria

 

Today's tour of Belogradchik Rocks was described as strenuous, but we figured we could at least take a look at these magnificent prehistoric formations considered one the best natural wonders in Europe.

We decided to give it our best try and tackled the many stairways that would lead to the top, figuring we could at least get to the first level. But the sights got better, the higher we climbed, so we kept on going.

The rocks were fabulous with magnificent views reminding us of our American West.

We were so happy when we made it to the top!

It was remarkable that Frank kept going, cane and all. Everyone was very kind, helping each other through the treacherous parts. Many cheered Frank on, and he himself couldn't have been prouder when he made it all the way up and back down!

Golubac Fortress, Serbia and the Iron Gates

 

Today, we visited Golubac, a medieval fortress that is said to have never been conquered. Its strategic location allowed it to control all the roads and waterways in this area.

We had a great time wandering the ramparts and climbing the different towers.

Later in the day, we sailed through the Iron Gate Gorge, where the Danube carves its way through limestone cliffs with Serbia on one side and Romania on the other.

The stunning scenery included this isolated monastery right on the river. The Mraconia Monastery dates to the 15th c. but had to be rebuilt in the 1990's to protect it from rising waters resulting from the construction of a hydroelectric plant.

The most ancient sight in the gorge is the Roman Tabula Traiana plaque honoring Trajan, but unfortunately, it was covered in scaffolding. 

We did get a decent view of the riverside sculpture of King Decebalus the last of the Dacian Kings in what is now Romania. This recent sculpture, completed in 2004, is the largest rock sculpture in Europe and required the efforts of twelve sculptors working for over ten years to create it.  

In the afternoon, we had a very interesting tour of the wheelhouse with Captain Vlad. The ship can handle any weather with windshield wipers for rain and radar and GPS for fog. The ship can even move sideways. And this whole wheel house can be lowered as needed for bridges with low clearance.

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Belgrade, Serbia

 

Serbia is a country we have never visited, so we were very excited to check out Belgrade. We hired a private Viator guide for the first half of the day to make sure we saw the sights we were most interested in. Foremost among them was the Museum of Yugoslavia and Tito's grave. We've been intrigued by Tito ever since we visited Slovenia and were anxious to learn more about this enigmatic figure.

Here is Tito, born Josif Broz, in a relaxed moment. He changed his name to Tito, which means "this and that" because he was always ordering people to do this and do that. He's fascinating because although he was a dictator, he ran his country well, and people loved him because they felt as if he cared about them.

Although he was born into poverty, he was regal and charming. Stalin hated him and sent assassins to kill him. Tito allegedly responded, "Stop sending people to kill me.  We've already captured five of them. If you don't stop sending killers, I'll send one to Moscow--and I won't have to send a second."

When Tito died, only a handful of countries in the world failed to attend his funeral. It was one of the largest funerals in history.

These touching photos show how people reacted after hearing the news that he had died. Everything came to a stop.
  

Our next stop was Saint Sava, a recently completed (2021) Serbian Orthodox Church, that is one of the largest in the world. It's been under construction since 1935. Unbelievably, both the Soviets and the Nazis used this building as a parking lot.

The stunning interior reminded me of Hagia Sofia in Istanbul.  Incredible mosaics cover every inch of wall space with over 600,000 tiles, each one covered in glass for an extra glossy look.

In the afternoon, we took a special excursion to the Tesla Museum, where our Viking group had the museum to ourselves.  Nikola Tesla was a reclusive, possibly autistic, genius whose inventions such as alternating current (AC) power are indispensable to modern life. He could envision an invention so clearly in his mind, he never needed a prototype. He held 300 patents when he died.

He was a true humanitarian who wanted to help mankind by providing free electricity for everyone. And, he was friends with Mark Twain--what a dynamic duo!

It was an excellent interactive tour, and Anne even got zapped by a small Tesla coil at a static electricity demo. (Yes, I screamed a little. lol) Best of all, we each held a florescent tube light and watched as our unconnected lights turned on, proving electricity can travel through the air.

When Tesla died, he was cremated and his ashes were placed in an urn in the shape of a golden sphere. Here's Frank at Nikola's resting place with Nikola's urn just barely visible next to Frank.