Best Eastern National Hotel Chisinau

... Moldova. So, here I was, a fugitive in the country! I didn't know how I would be able to get thru control if I didn't have any entry stamp. How can you stamp out if you hadn't stamped in?

I took a cab to immigration downtown, but it was very early (and Saturday-I traveled on the weekend, my own rule that I had broken. Anyway, since it was so early, I went to a coffee shop, and found a backpacker ...

... s notable, probably more notable than the city of Iasi, actually.

I do the obligatory walk around town, and it’s not bad, but nothing spectacular, the most notable feature being that everything- hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza- is weighed and measured. I even buy a Romanian-English textbook/dictionary, albeit intended for Romanians learning English, but quickly tire of it. There’s something in the Romanian personality ...

... group disappearing into the ground and appearing below us on a balcony half way up the cliff-face. We hurried over and attached ourselves to them as they clearly knew what they were doing, unlike your authors. The monastery itself was quite small - to be expected in a man made cave hewn from rock I suppose - but interesting to see and replete with the usual Orthodox glitzy paraphernalia.


The highlight of our ...

... place look even more bigger Bedroom 1 : build in cupboard 240x70cm behind sliding mirror doors, bed with anti-allergic mattress 200x160cm, connection for TV and phone Bedroom 2 : study / writing desk with phone and WiFi Internet connection with modem, cupboard 180x45cm, sofa bed (open 210x 156cm ...

... directed by another fine member of the Romanian border police to where I could buy the ticket. I, however, am lacking in an internal GPS and walked right past the station where you buy the ticket. In my defence I would like to point out that the station was hidden behind some cafes and bars and whatnot and there was not one sign. It didn't take me long to realize I had missed the station where I buy the ticket and turned back to try again. I was less than 100metres from the ...

Iasi is one of the larger cities of Romania. We got here on the heels of an adventurous car road trip of about 400km, which took about 8 hours to do, due to the vagaries of driving on Romanian roads. It is prettier than Bucharest and has a certain provincial charm, though it does not feel at all like a small city. Tavi's godparents live here and it was a pleasure to visit them, as ...

... valley, good exercise and good weather until lunch. We then drove a short distance to a restaurant whose name, translates (appropriately) as winter. We sat outside - the temperature dropped and the rain came in. We had a great meal that was the four of us plus Elena, Vitalie and Iurie and Vitalie's daughter Dana. Dana had been taking some very professional photographs on her way round ...

... change $100. Outside spoke to the girls for god with a local boy, who were there on a mission in Calarasi. Told not to stay anywhere in between as it was dangerous so cycled 50k with many stops with heat exhaustion and had food with local drunk trying to talk to me but I was in security mode. In the end drank 8 litres of water and then couldn't find a hotel, cycling round town - a bit of a **** hole with many young men, petrol wasting ...

... und immer gegen die Freiwilligenbeine schlagend; und die groesseren, zwischen 15 und 19 Jahre alten Jungs und Maedels, die auf Abwechslung hoffen. Na klar, jeder will Geschenke. Und es ist nicht besser geworden seit letztem Jahr. Denn in diesem Jahr waren bereits zwei Gruppen amerikanischer Missionare gekommen, mit vielen Geschenken und Geschichten. Und seitdem haben die Kinder etwas zu lesen. Manche haben die Bibel bereits zweimal hinter sich. Und ich werde immer wieder gefragt ...

... remark about another Italian from further South regarding their so called ability to understand line protocol or something like that. Now you must understand we were coming from Rome via Bucharest - oh yes I've done the Romanian airport too - wow - and all this was being interpreted for me by a Scandinavian with an EU passport. Needless to say the Italians waxed lyrical and in-between this display of Roman fervour (you can understand why the Roman Empire is ...