Savoy Hotel Timisoara

Timisoara is not a city that I couldn't wait to visit, but on the other hand, it is not a bad place to travel to either. I went there because it was the only Romanian city I could go to from Belgrade, and my first impression of it wasn’t a good one. My train arrived late, by 10 at night I walked into a dilapidated and dirty station, filled with gypsy baggers and a few suspicious looking men pushing their ...

... of luggage that were heedlessly heaped on the racks and floor. There were five men and one girl. They talked loudly, ate seeds, and spread out more and more. i found myself frustrated by the man next to me who, without any sort of seat divider, sprawled out in typical guy fashion with his legs taking up about a foot more than they ...

... at about 5pm and after finding the Pensione (not pre-booked) we drove into the town. Timisoara has some lovely buildings, parks and two main squares. Our favourite building was the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral with its ornate roof and spires. We found a nice outdoor restaurant in the main square, which had old treadle sewing machines as tables, and had a lovely Romanian pork ragout (goulash) with polenta for dinner.

... top 3) Omelette with smoke fat (from a pig) mixed sausage and home grown radishes 4) preserved cherries This girl is amazing she makes everything from canned squashed to jams Changing subjects............ I had a FIRST I have been hearing so much about Opera since being here I figured I go to a show. Well between not understanding and having an uncomfortable chair it wasnt too bad. I only fell asleep 3 times. Ill keep you posted jab

Nos despedimos de Belgrado para volver a Timisoara y desde allí coger el avión de vuelta a Valencia. Tras la huella del Danubio: El sol se oculta detrás de los frondosos bosques rumanos, el tren silba, los raíles chirrían y dejamos algo más que nuestra estancia en Belgrado. Cada regreso es una armónica melancólica, cada vuelta a casa es una nube de nostalgia. La imagen de la capital serbia al cerrar los ojos. Al acabar un viaje se empieza uno en la antesala del subconsciente.

Llegamos sobre las 3 de la madrugada al aeropuerto de Timisoara. Allí cogemos un taxi para ir a la estación de tren, donde tenemos que coger el tren hacia Belgrado. Después de los 17 euros que nos sabla el taxista, cambiamos algo de dinero rumano (RON) para poder comprar los billetes. Esperamos dos horas en el hall de la estación con algunos indigentes rumanos. A las 6 de la madrugada sale nuestro tren.

... statues and squares scattered around the old town. Their parks are gorgeous. We had beers (Calvin) and lemonade (me) outside while people watching. The Eastern European fashion statements are coming out now that the weather is nice - low low pants, high boots, tummy shirts, etc. Calvin finds it amusing. We are enjoying our days of "doing nothing" while actually experiencing a lot before we go on the tourist track and get caught up seeing all the big sights.

I AM SICK AND TIRED OF THESE #@*%$ TRUCKS ON THESE #@*%$ ROADS. We have tried everything. Larger highways hoping for wider shoulders, smaller highways hoping for less truck traffic, unnamed country roads that will loosen your fillings (but may save your life). But we can't seem to get a break (or a BRAKE) from the truck traffic here. Actually, traffic in general is MUCH worse in Romania than ...

... and laugh...what are you crazy westeners doing on a bike when you can drive a car with aircon, good point! We got into Timisoara around 4.30pm, a truly stunning town with beautiful buildings and well maintained gardens. I am pleasantly surprised....We went for dinner with a large crowd, I tried to help out translate the menu with my Romanian that seemed to have come back quite easily. Eventhough we had to wait for dinner for quite a while (something that ...

... hall was a beautiful modern hall at the Academy of Music with a warm accoustic and even warmer audience. I was especially impressed at how responsive our choir was after such a tiring day and lots of challenges to deal with, like bringing their luggage inside the concert hall to change since we didn't arrive in time to check in to our hotel first. In bright mansions above, one of the spirituals from our Fall BCCS concert was especially magical - the choir let ...