Hotel Municipal Iasi

I finally got on the road from Lviv on my Istanbul trek. I took a bus from lviv to Chisinau, Moldolva, which has the breakaway communist province of Transnistria. Against all advice, I booked a bus that went thru this region, although I certainly didn't know it at the time. Communicating with anyone in Ukraine is almost impossible (outside of the hostel workers and guests), and was certainly beyond my ...

... frescos. Each is surrounded by a fortification and flowers growing around its courtyard. In our last monastery, the nuns are beginning mass. They are chanting. It is only us as observers in the tiny interior. Pretty amazing.

Since the nuns get out rarely and transport costs are very high relative to local salaries, Monica turns out to be the transport provider for many of them as they send goods to/from their ...

Before I leave the hostel, I get my laundry back. It has been 24 hours and the laundry is folded but is very wet. I am guessing that they had it had been drying outside when the rain hit last night. Yuck!

I am crossing the mountains to get to the Northeast section of Romania, apparently an uncommon path. There is only one mini-bus per day. The availability of such buses is difficult to ascertain until one is actually at the departing location. The hostel is able to ...

... s plenty of cheap pizza, too, so I gorge on that, but I’ve been feeling a bit fuzzy lately, that 'campout’ feeling- vitamin deficiency- so I’m anxious to find something with some letters and numbers in it. Those grapes that I saw back in the field are going for only about a dollar a kilo, so that sounds good. I get a kilo and start popping them by the handful. It’s not enough. By the next day I’m feeling ...

... some waiting around. So that's exactly what I did. Thanks to the internet I knew I could get a train from Sighet that would get me started towards Iasi (pronounced Yash). The train left Sighet around 7:45 am and got to a place called Viseu de Jos around 9:30am. I then had to wait there until 11am for a train going to another small town (or hole in the ground, depending on your point of view) called Salva. The train arrived in Salva around 12:45pm. Not too bad of a start until you ...

... are both very educated and interesting elderly people. It was also quite an experience for Virginia to experience and for Tavi to reexperience life in one of those Communist era appartments, complete with the old 1960s Russian radios as big as a piece of furniture. We had a good time here and we marvelled at the kindness and generosity of people who were treated quite harshly by life.

... in frescos in the late 1500's (mainly). Last night walked out to an Italian/Romanian restaurant called "Latino". Now, from my Miami perspective, Latino is name of south or central American restaurant. Here, however, common word in an Italian one. Cold, cold walk. I asked at the hostel for closest restaurant. I just kept thinking "hot soup" on the walk over. I soon realized that maybe I should spend a little more time reading my Romanian language ...

... time it's difficult to truly call the city "beautiful." The setting is one of Romania's nicest though. Yet another city built upon seven hills (insert another nod to Rome), it's a green and rolling place, with long boulevards leading past fine parks and monasteries set on slopes in the outskirts. And for those willing to overlook all the concrete, it's a fabulous place to explore. There are still quite a few streets that escaped the excrescences of the previous 60 ...

... in till 10 and showered for the 1st time in 4 days and shaved first time since Budapest, while washing cycle gear in shower. Asked at reception for information, but none so went walkabout and found tourist office with English speaker but no information but while I was messing about a customer Ramona, who was a English translator, walked in and offered some good advice. I asked if she did city tours and she said she was free at 9 so I gave my number ...

... auf der Klassenabschlussfeier im Wald vergewaltigen und sich danach damit bruesten, bleiben unbelangt, ja, das Maedchen wird laecherlich gemacht und geschnitten. Menschenhaendler bleiben im Geschaeft. Und ein simpler kleiner Dieb bleibt fuenf Jahre im Knast?? Das Projekt Das ganze Jahr habe ich Werbung dafuer gemacht in SCI, dem Service Civil International, dem NGO-Verbund, der internationale Workcamps organisiert. Das Falesti-Waisenheim-Camp. Am Freitag, nach dem ersten ...