The first four pictures below provide some insights to Prague, Czechia.
Our trip thus far has been without a dull moment. Then again, we never have dull moments, but we do have some tricky situations besides the excitement and good old adventure. It’s a good thing that Jenni is still so young and vibrant or else who knows what might happen. I hope to be able to keep up with her which of course is what is supposed to keep me young. I don’t know whether that concept is working or even viable, but it sounds enticing (and tiring). Returning to life’s journey, well if one is living, I suppose one is never off the journey. What varies is how much excitement one wants while upon this journey that each and everyone of us undertakes to reach what may appear to be an unsatisfactory termination. Let me get back on the road before I get further knotted and lose direction. Anyone seen our bus? It's a yellow one, we think.
Not all yellow buses are for school children. Picking up a bus in Prague and heading to a car rental in Bratislava. That's one way of doing it. Jen had a good plan which we executed well by being in walking distance of the bus station. We departed from the hotel and headed to the terminal, all without a hitch. The day was young.
We paused writing of our travels and travails on-and-over the roads and highways after we left Prague and had arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia, preferring to focus on the trails—smart thinking when considering the narrow edges, numerous sharp rocks and of course, mostly mesmerizing sights. After nearly 4 weeks in that country, we reluctantly had to depart once again because we were expected to arrive in Budapest and as everyone knows, one should not keep the Magyars waiting. Mañana might be acceptable in Spain but... What may sound unusual to many is that we had tried to change our plans a couple of times as we did not wish to be bound to a city for a further seven days. We needed to get back into the wilderness. Had we been able to extend the car rental, we would have remained in the Tatras Mountains (Slovakia) and skipped over Hungary.
We paused writing of our travels and travails on-and-over the roads and highways after we left Prague and had arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia, preferring to focus on the trails—smart thinking when considering the narrow edges, numerous sharp rocks and of course, mostly mesmerizing sights. After nearly 4 weeks in that country, we reluctantly had to depart once again because we were expected to arrive in Budapest and as everyone knows, one should not keep the Magyars waiting. Mañana might be acceptable in Spain but... What may sound unusual to many is that we had tried to change our plans a couple of times as we did not wish to be bound to a city for a further seven days. We needed to get back into the wilderness. Had we been able to extend the car rental, we would have remained in the Tatras Mountains (Slovakia) and skipped over Hungary.
A great reason to have extended our stay in the Tatras Mountains...the Tatras, of course.
Arriving at Batizovske Pleso after a solid, steep climb close to 3,000 feet elevation gain.
Across the way from the High Tatras, the town of Bystra viewed from the ski slopes of the 'Low' Tatras.
A view from Solisco Peak down into the village.
The hiking and general living in Slovakia was superb. Long story short, there is not an easy way to get from Bratislava to Sofia, Bulgaria, particularly in the height of the season. It also becomes more complicated when trying to make late-stage changes to an itinerary. Don’t get us wrong. We had a good time in Budapest, just as we enjoyed it on our last visit. However, on that occasion, we did some hiking in different regions within the country as we had a rental car. This time we were locked into city life—not an ideal option for us. Our rationale for the weeklong stay was that it is indeed a beautiful city and we would walk it extensively as well as need and enjoy a rest at that stage. Clearly, we were not yet tired; that feeling still awaited us.
Arriving at Batizovske Pleso after a solid, steep climb close to 3,000 feet elevation gain.
Across the way from the High Tatras, the town of Bystra viewed from the ski slopes of the 'Low' Tatras.
A view from Solisco Peak down into the village.
The hiking and general living in Slovakia was superb. Long story short, there is not an easy way to get from Bratislava to Sofia, Bulgaria, particularly in the height of the season. It also becomes more complicated when trying to make late-stage changes to an itinerary. Don’t get us wrong. We had a good time in Budapest, just as we enjoyed it on our last visit. However, on that occasion, we did some hiking in different regions within the country as we had a rental car. This time we were locked into city life—not an ideal option for us. Our rationale for the weeklong stay was that it is indeed a beautiful city and we would walk it extensively as well as need and enjoy a rest at that stage. Clearly, we were not yet tired; that feeling still awaited us.
Back in Slovakia, we dropped off the car rental at the airport which is always an experience in and of itself. Depending upon the country and language, a person can be sure to have a mini-adventure. Did I mention something about ‘never a dull moment’? When we had collected the car nearly a month earlier, we took a taxi from the bus station to the airport. Now we had to reverse the procedure and return to the station to board a bus for the 2.5-hour ride to Budapest, after returning the car. How about an Uber we thought? We connected to the internet, summoned an Uber which arrived a minute later and off we went. The journey from the bus station the month before cost US$52. Because it’s ‘downhill’ all the way from the airport, the charge was only US$9. That’s no error…$52 versus $9, plus tips. Talk about deflation. At that stage, I was feeling pretty smug. Perhaps to express it better, Jenni was pretty and I was smug.
The young Uberman dropped us off at our destination and zoomed away to give someone else a 'Lyft'. We looked around and the landmarks did not appear familiar. But what do we know. We had to get to the basement of a shopping mall from where buses operate. I then embarked on my frequent task using a long perfected opening line which even bores me. It goes something like this:
“Do you speak English?” When in Spanish speaking countries, I adapt rather smartly, if I may say (write) myself. Instead, I rephrase it: “Do you have the English?”
Of course, a really wise Spaniard might reply: “Hola! We don’t even have Gibraltar any longer.”
(Forgive me. I was in a bit of loop but fortunately Jenni is around to pop my windbag). I asked a few people for directions; it turned out that we still had a little less than a mile to walk. I asked more than one person in order to verify that we had the correct destination, not relying on information from a single source. By then, the clock was ticking a little faster and we had some doubts whether a bus would wait our late arrival. Fortunately, after a long walk pulling two sets of luggage, a backpack each and a few hand items, too, we arrived at the correct destination. The uncertainty and apprehension along the way can play havoc with the mind. Lugging the baggage through a city is the easier part but not much fun either.
We arrived in Budapest and resumed the search for local transport. (To have the use of a car in the city is not a smart move, in our opinion). Ah! We noticed a Starbucks. Coffee anyone? Actually, I avoid their coffee but sought internet access instead. Unfortunately, I remembered and rediscovered that Lyft and Uber are banned from Hungary and Bulgaria. Back to the good old Yellow Cabs which were not readily available until we spotted one in the distance. After arriving at our building and following a misunderstanding with the landlord, which was easily resolved, we finally entered the apartment later than expected, mostly intact.
We would say that some of our toughest climbs are a breeze compared with a few of the obstacles we face in city life. It makes me smile when some people ask about the dangers in the wilderness. Sure, there are situations that present risks. However, I notice the murder, rape, theft, muggings, car smashes, freeway accidents, etc. appear to be somewhat less in the jungles and on mountains. Then again, I freely admit I have a strong bias.
4 images from Budapest
The trip from Budapest to Sofia is a long one, some nine hours. However, all our trips have been rather pleasant. The main holdups occur when passing through passport control posts which we thought had ceased. In some European countries there is no border check whereas between Hungary/Serbia and Bulgaria, they nearly filled our passport pages with their official black stamps, not to mention delays. It would be quite nice should they decide to change the stamps to an attactive graphic, preferably in color.
As an aside, it’s happened a few times in the Slav countries. A person takes a look at my passport and begins a conversation in the local language. I then have to explain that while my grandparents may have lived in the neighborhood, I’m from ‘down in Africa’. When we arrived at an apartment in Bulgaria some years ago, the manager got quite testy with me about my lack of ability to speak the language matching my surname. Finally, in the mountains of Peru one year, we had to cross a river. For that purpose, there was a roped section supporting a chair which the fellow would pull to get us across. When he demanded to know why, living in California, I could not speak Spanish, I thought he would refuse services. I mentioned I could speak another language, Afrikaans, and that appeared to assuage his anger. On second thoughts, maybe it is quite rough in the wilderness—I take back my earlier comment about civilization.
Having passports filled with stamps from various countries without borders, we felt like philatelists with incomplete collections. Arriving in Sofia is always a good feeling for us and this time was no different. Because of the lateness of the hour, we had decided to spend the night in an hotel, a wonderful establishment actually, pick up our car the day following and spend the next two months hiking in Bulgaria and a little of Greece…(promise you I won’t slip-up and make a corny joke.) Once again, we had to grab a taxi to head to the airport to collect our rental although upon arriving, a shuttle drove us a further few miles away to the car hire depot. We then learned of a possible hiccup should we want to drive into Greece. Thereafter, we headed for Sapareva Banya, the gateway to 7-Rila Lakes.
The next part of the wilderness adventure had begun following the civilized chaos of spending time in two major, classical and beautiful cities, Prague and Budapest, including a journey that commenced at the former airport and ended (temporarily) in Sofia with the purpose of hiking in Bulgaria for an additional ten weeks.
In Devin, Bulgaria, we welcome, after waiting patiently, the arrival of 'autumn leaves'. It's music to our ears.
Heading through the forests toward Grebenetz Peak, Devin, and mezmerized.
Mount Vihren, another favorite.
Polezhan Peak, Bezbog.
Orpheus Rocks, Smolyan.
And now for some watercolors.
Some height above Bansko.
Each hike in Bulgaria was unique, stimulating and caused pain...the latter feeling because the stay would end.
Obviously, reference to the specific blogs will provide more in-depth exposure to this fascinating land.
Each hike in Bulgaria was unique, stimulating and caused pain...the latter feeling because the stay would end.
Obviously, reference to the specific blogs will provide more in-depth exposure to this fascinating land.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
Following another 5 weeks of living in a wilderness of paradise, chaos of darkness overtook what they tell us is civilization when a representative group embarked upon evil plots of murder, rape and the brutalization of Israelis, young and old.
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