Hotel Raluca Constanta

... as security dogs at rock concerts and now hear nothing. I haven´t been bıtten but am actıvely searchıng a rabies injection, ıncase the terrible rumours of rabid turkish dogs the size of elephants are true.

Over the next few days I really pushed hard with my cycling:  on the day I finally and somewhat sadly left the Carpathian mountains I peddled 170 km/106 miles.  On that day I met Sebastian, who had ...

... booking so that was our first priority. We found one fairly soon which is fairly new and not too far from the sights. Unfortunately the sights are pretty ordinary with only a few interesting buildings. Constanta has a huge port but it did not seem to be very busy. The city seems very run down and neglected and in also fairly expensive for accommodation. It is right on the ocean and there is quite a large beach (not very picturesque though) near our hotel.

... 80s I don't think it's a big deal.

We tried out a lot of the local eateries during our relaxation day and of course we spent some time in the Black Sea. The water was quite clear and cool which is a nice relief on a hot day. I saw a massive jellyfish though which kept me in the shallow area. There weren't many fish to see but it was quite noisy on the beach. I am really curious what the diving is like around here but don't see anything advertised.

... went by and we boarded the bus. I was the only 'foreign' one on board, the rest were either turks or gypsies. Once the bus took off everybody lit up their cigarettes and started smoking. I couldn't wait for this trip to be over with. Had our passports checked at my first Passport Control and then we were over the border into Bulgaria.

... the Brits are starting to discover the place and are everywhere. I didn't get my feet into the Black Sea this time, but they have been there before. I rarely swim in California coz I don't like not being able to see what is beneath me, but since there are no harmful fish in the Black...and no tides, I like swimming there. The water temp was just 19 tho, too cold.

... quote has become one of our favorite ones of that trip J We had been doing sightseeing till 2pm. I was really impressed by the ancient Roman ruins, the narrow streets and beautiful tenement houses. Randomly I even found the way to the sea. In the afternoon we went to the station to find a mini bus getting us out of the city. Marcin had talked to a DHL driver though and 2 of us saved 2 lei :D. We arrived to Ma-something and had to walk 3 km, in order to get to the ...

... markets and rides. You can compare it to Thredbo (where everything is alive in winter) but here it is the case in summer. It was some experience. So after going to sleep around 1am on Sunday morning, then waking up at 4 to leave for seaside, we were totally wasted and went to bed about 11pm. On Monday we caught up with some friends from Roxy's home town. We were together at the beach. It was pretty much a bludge day where we lazed around. Here we ...

Here was a day we will never forget. We were scammed of cash and didn't even realize it till later on. What happened was we were looking for a bus stop to take us to a place called Mamaia resort which was recommended to us by a Romanian working on the ship. With the brochure in hand of the on/off tourist bus that went there we were asked by a guy in the street if we needed help finding the stop. We were with another couple ...

... much beer as I do. If that's not a match made in heaven I don't know what is. Fortunately, she's bringing him back to the states next year. Joy. I got robbed for the first time. Worst part is that it was able to happen because I'm a nice, trusting traveler with empathy for other people on the road, and because that's who I am and I'm not going to change, there's nothing I can do to prevent it in the future. With that said, I hope he gets hit by a bus. Cheers. Romanians ...

Well, there isn't much to say about Romania. There also wasn't much for us to do. So what we did end up doing is just headed to the beach on the Black Sea, and snap a photo or two. Constanta was kinda odd, it seemed like it was trying to fit into the rest of Europe, but wasn't doing too good of a job at it.