Blazing through the Balkans Part II

Targeting the Balkans as we near the end of Year 2 of our Senior Nomad travels.

 Welcome back! Here is part two of our Blaze through the Balkans.

Bucharest, Romania: At the Sofia train station we made the mistake of looking a bit confused and that led to a dervish of a man who asked if we needed help, and without waiting for the answer grabbed our heavy bags and took off. He turned and impatiently waved for us to follow him and there wasn't really an option. Actually, he was helpful since the station was under-going renovation and indeed, we might have gotten lost trying to find our platform. He found our train, hauled our bags on board and lifted them up onto the overhead racks. It appeared by his body language that we needed to tip him. We gave him around $5. and he became very agitated and angry because he saw I had more money in my wallet and yelled we had given him our "Toilet money!" Apparently just enough to use the toilet. We dug deep a bit deeper and gave him all our remaining Romanian cash which apparently topped up the toilet money. He was still put out, but we thanked him profusely and then encouraged him (firmly) to get off the train. Wow. Rough start to a long, hot journey.

The train ride to Bucharest was long and hot - but we enjoyed meeting other intrepid travelers on board.

We shared our cabin with two teenagers from Turkey who had just graduated from high school and were traveling for the summer. Not only were they happy to practice their English with "actual Americans" they were enjoyable to spend time with. We made friends with several other passengers from a variety of countries as we slowly chugged our way to Bucharest - Michael meeting most of them in the passageway of the train where he could find a breeze if he stood on his toes near a partially opened window. For miles we passed field after field of brilliant sunflowers with their heads turned to the rising sun. In between there were abandoned factories and desolate villages. This is a part of Europe that is truly struggling to find it's place in the new free market economy and the EU.

Michael catching a breeze in the passageway.

An abandoned train station along our route.

Sunflower fields stretched for miles and brightened an otherwise bleak landscape.

We had been forewarned that the taxi drivers in Bucharest were the worst as far as taking advantage of tourists. We'd heard harrowing tales of unsuspecting passengers being driven far outside their destinations, of having their luggage held hostage, meters (if you found a cab that had one) that were set to run at twice the legal rate, etc. Fortunately for us, one of Michael's new train buddies was Romanian and he was willing to help us get a cab. Unfortunately, driver after driver said no because we weren't going far enough or they didn't want to take the amount our host had suggested we pay. Our friend had to catch up with his family, so in the end we were left on our own. We walked across the street to the Vodafone store to get SIM-cards so we could call our host and figure out a new plan. While in line a very nice woman heard us discussing our plight and offered to call a taxi for us and even waited with us until it arrived and made sure the rate was fair. Whenever we've needed assistance no matter the city or the circumstance, we have always found helpful strangers - it gives us continued faith in humanity.

As we got deeper into this part of Europe, the Airbnb apartments begin to get more "interesting". That is the word our daughter Kelly uses when she doesn't want to offend. Like "Mom, this new soup you made tonight is interesting. Meaning you don't need to make it again". In the case of our next apartment "interesting" began at the door. When the taxi pulled up we thought there must be a mistake since we were in front of an" Erotic Shopping Mall". But no, the address was correct. Our host popped out the entrance door next to a sex shop to welcome us and help carry our luggage.

Front doors can be deceiving - the apartment was actually quite nice.

The location actually turned out to be good and the apartment itself wasn't too bad either - however, just outside our window we were treated to all-night Karaoke caterwauling from one of many nearby  bars. And trust us, the later it got, the worse it got...I still have "Big Mary Keep on Rollin', Rollin' Rollin' on the River...boop, boop, boop, boop, boop." in my head. Here's a link to the apartment: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4202554

Bucharest was a jumble of neo-classic, Bauhaus, art deco, and Soviet-era monoliths. This was a bright spot in our neighborhood that was part of a rejuvinization of the old town.

The first day we took our usual free walking tour of the city and our guide informed us the confusion between Bucharest and Budapest is one of the top 5 Geographical mistakes in the world. Here's a link to a website that confirms his story: http://www.bucharestnotbudapest.com/gallery.

The history of this country is a violent from one century to the next - the last century being no exception. Everywhere you looked you saw the heavy hand of Romania's ruthless dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu influence on this city. Not only did he terrorize his citizens, he blighted Bucharest by tearing down historical buildings to construct massive housing blocks and bureaucratic monoliths in the name of systematization - and, to glorify himself he began construction of the "Peoples Palace", the second largest structure in the world. In 1991 as fledgling independence for Romania became a reality, the much despised Ceausescu and his wife were executed by firing squad on Christmas day. He did not live to see his palace finished.

The Palace of the Parliament, also known as the "People's Palace" is finally being used for all the right reasons.

One of 1,000 elaborate rooms inside the palace. Ceausescu died before he lived out this particular fantasy.

Note: During these past few weeks we were managing the sale of our house from the road.
The house sold easily, but there were challenges along the way in getting documents signed and sent back to Seattle. Often e-mail correspondence was fine, but we needed to get a Limited Power of Attorney notarized and sent back as soon as possible so our friend George could sign the closing documents for us. The only solution was to visit the US Embassy in Bucharest where they perform this service (for a fee of course) for US citizens. We made an appointment online and took a lengthy bus ride out to the fortress that is our embassy. I think the "no photos" signs and the sweeping cameras started about 100 yards from the first fence. 

The mighty US Embassy in Bucharest opened in 2011

No photos. No phones. No electronics (including Kindles), No backpacks. No kidding.

This imposing marble structure was built in 2011 and it wasn't designed around the casual visit. Once we showed the guard (one of many) our appointment confirmation, we were checked against a list and then put through rigorous security checks that included taking just about everything out of my purse. Note to self: clean purse! They also took our Kindles and cell phones for "safe keeping" since no electronics were allowed past the entrance. The actual notary process was easy. Next we had to find a FedEx office and get the paperwork back to Seattle. Not as easy, but we managed.

The bus from Bucharest to Chisinau was a tight fit!

Chișinău, Moldova: We finally reached a city even we couldn't pronounce (Quiche-en-ow) in a country few people can find on a map. Moldova is Europe's poorest country, and one of the most corrupt - quite possibly, those two things go hand-in-hand. We arrived by bus. It was a ten hour journey in a 20 passenger Mercedes mini-bus with leg room designed for those without legs. Once again, Michael became friendly with our fellow sardines. We especially enjoyed chatting with the man sitting next to us who didn't have an actual seat - he sat on a stool in the aisle. His name was Roman and he was heading home for a month's leave from his off-shore drilling job in Algeria. He was beyond helpful when we arrived in Chișinău and used his cell-phone to wrangle a taxi that we shared and got us to our next Airbnb.

Roman was our hero - he helped us get a cab, rode with us to our Airbnb and wouldn't let us pay.

Michael is such a gregarious traveler. If not for his curiosity and willingness to strike up conversations around politics and football (soccer) with just about anyone, and his dedication to using Google Translate, we would not have met so many people willing to help us in countless situations, let alone share their pride and concerns about their country.

Our apartment turned out to be large and luxurious! And albeit Russian style, nicely decorated. We had air conditioning, a huge TV, fast Internet, a lovely big bed, and a shower that did tricks. We didn't explore it much further than music and mood lighting, but apparently it can fire water at you from 20 different nozzles and be turned into a steam room. Maybe next time. Here's the link: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1514277

Our host helped arrange three private tours while we were here. That isn't our usual style, but there is very little in the way of tourism here and we wanted to get the most from our short stay. We booked a day trip to Transnistria, a place that is far off the radar, a city tour and a winery visit. 

Michael and I and our tour guide in Chișinău.

Day Trip to Transnistria: The first day we were picked up by Laurencia, our delightful guide for a trip to Transnistria. Where? It is a small strip of land wedged in between Moldova and the Ukraine that calls itself a country. Not a single country recognizes them, not even the Soviet Union. Who, by the way, runs the place. It has a president, a currency, a national anthem, a border crossing and ... that's about it. No other country will exchange their currency, and citizens carry either Romanian or Russian passports. Here's a link if you want to know more: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Transnistria

The hammer and sickle are proudly displayed at every opportunity in Transnistria!

Michael had read a lot about Transnistria and just had to see it for himself. In short, when the Soviet Union broke-up in 1991 Moldova became an independent country but a small group of people (about 500,000) didn't want to go that way so there was a short war between Moldova and the people who lived east of the Dniester River. As we learned, Russia sent "peace keepers" there in 1992 and never left - a bad habit of theirs. The war ended in a classic stand-off. Undeterred, the citizens of Transnistria declared themselves a country and are sticking to their story.

Lenin looming large in front of the Parliament buildings of the dubious country, Transnistria.

 We had heard that visiting Transnistria is like going back in time 40 years to the U.S.S.R. As it turns out, we saw only one very large Lenin statue in front of the Parliament building, an old soviet-era tank on a granite pedestal in a park, and hammer and sickles in abundance, but that was about all the "throw back" we could document. If anything, a new hypermarket that just opened two months ago was far more interesting. Inside, it was similar to Costco, as in a huge warehouse space filled to the brim with food, clothing, household goods and vodka - lots of vodka.

Just a glimpse of the vodka aisle! This store was a big as the Russian ego.

Just a few of over a hundred garish garden ornaments on offer at the Sheriff Hypermarket.

The only thing lacking was customers. The parking lot was nearly empty and inside the employees outnumbered customers 20 to 1. To me it felt like a cover for storing provisions for a huge influx of Russians in the not too distant future. Maybe I was looking for a conspiracy theory to make the trip worthwhile - but there was a sprawling complex of military housing being built nearby, and with the ambiguity of who runs this place, it looks like a great staging ground for any kind of Russian mischief. So... think about it.

Michael and I with our tour guide Irena in Chișinău

We finished our last day in Moldova with a tour of the city. There isn't that much to see, but we certainly saw the influence of communism in the square-jawed architecture and massive statues of war heroes. Michael took a tour of Cricova, Moldova's largest winery - he enjoyed the experience except for the fact there wasn't a tasting included in the tour. In fact it didn't look like tastings were offered at all. A wine tour with no tasting is a sad day out. But Michael was able to see Putin's own stash of wine in the deep underground cellar and sit in the Board Room where Putin celebrated his 50th birthday.

The tour of Cricova winery was interesting ... until there wasn't a tasting.

Michael had a Putin sighting at the winery. He has his own stash deep in the cellars.

That's a wrap on the Balkans and we thank you for following along! See you in Moscow and St. Petersburg!

Debbie and Michael
The Senior Nomads

Blazing Through the Balkans!

From one former country called Yugoslavia seven new nations were created!

If you are like me, you get the Baltics and the Balkans confused. If you are really like me, you wouldn't know where they are! Both are in Europe and though the names are similar, one is up north and the other is down south. I use the "t" in Baltics to help me remember they are on "top".

Two years ago I wouldn't have been able find the Balkans on the map.

Last summer we visited all three of the "top" countries that make-up the Baltics: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. It was a fascinating couple of weeks exploring countries that only became independent from the Soviet Union 25 years ago. If you are interested, in reading about our trip here is a link to those posts: http://seniornomads.blogspot.ru/2015/07/do-you-know-way-to-kosovo.html  http://seniornomads.blogspot.ru/2015/07/the-balkan-maze.html 

This is a beautiful part of the world - Montenegro is fast becoming a popular tourist destination on the Adriatic coast!

Since the Balkans are much bigger, we wove them into our travels over the past two years. By this summer, we had visited nine out of the thirteen countries: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey. We were down to the final four: Bulgaria, Macedonia, Moldova and Romania.

The Balkans refers to a very large peninsula just a boat ride across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. The region is made up of thirteen individual countries, although it wasn't always that way since most of those countries formed what was Yugoslavia up until 1989-92. Here is a short recap from Michael. 

From 1945 - 1991 six of the Balkan countries were united as one country called Yugoslavia under the leadership of Josip Tito. They were: Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovnia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. Now they are all independent countries plus, Serbia was forced to give-up the southern part of their country to create a new country called Kosovo, which is recognized by 108 countries but not by Serbia.

All this is either confusing or fascinating. I don't think you will be surprised to learn that Michael finds it all very much in the fascinating column and I can tell you that after visiting every single one of these countries, I too have been caught up in the inner-workings of these brand new nations and how each of them has chosen to govern and present themselves on the world stage. And I also became a bit protective of them since Russia is just a stone's throw away and seems to feel a recent need to grab back some lost territory.

This truly is a sentiment amongst people who can remember being under Soviet rule.

Before embarking on this latest tour we had to get to Macedonia from Brussels where we'd spent a couple of weeks waiting for our Russian visas to arrive. Michael used his trusty Skyscanner app and found affordable flights through Cologne, Germany so we pulled over for a two night "pit stop". What a fine city.

Just when I thought we'd seen all the churches we'll ever need to see. Along came the Catherdral in Cologne.

Just one of the details in the entry way to this breathtaking cathedral.

We stayed in the center of the old town which was also a shopping mecca filled with very cool, independent boutiques. We squeezed in a walking tour and a visit to their world famous (and rightly so) cathedral. But most importantly, we found an American sports bar called Champs where we were able to catch the final two rounds of The British Open from St. Andrews in Scotland. Our Airbnb was very nice as well: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6548097

From Cologne we flew on Wizz Air to Skopje, Macedonia to start our "Balkan Blaze." We are on a fast pace staying just four days in each of the four countries! Here's the first of two installments on our travels. First up Macedonia and Bulgaria.

Alexander the great's connection to Skopje is tenious - but he and his kin make great statues

Skopje, Macedonia: This city was just plain crazy. I am not sure I can wordsmith how strange it was. Michael describes it as a mash-up of Disneyland, Las Vegas (especially Caesar's Palace), a Hollywood movie set and Pyongyang, North Korea. All I can say is I've never seen so many statues, monuments, and neo-classic columns jammed into one square mile. Apparently most of them weren't there five years ago! And many buildings in the city center that were there are getting facade face lifts to match the "movie set".

A collection of bronze communists depicting a typical day at the office.

One of thirty statues spanning the "Bridge of Artists".

I am going to let England's well respected newspaper The Guardian tell the story - it's worth reading: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/apr/11/skopje-macedonia-architecture-2014-project-building We talked to a few locals about their strange cityscape and they shrugged, rolled their eyes and blamed it, as always on corrupt politicians, and the mayor in particular - a man who seems to put far greater value on reinventing Skopje's history as he sees it over addressing the needs of his citizens. He would not be the only megalomaniac we'd come across in this region.

We found what looked like a great free walking tour online, so to warm up we walked a mile to the meeting point. We waited under a blazing sun until well after the start time along with a few other would be walkers, but the guide never showed. Frustrated, we went across the street to the tourism office and asked the person behind the desk to call the number on the website. Eventually he found the guide (fresh out of the shower) who said "he just wasn't feeling it lately." What? The least he could do was take down his website! Good news, we found another tour the following day with a more than willing guide (maybe even over zealous) who took us on a four hour march in 90 degree heat, but helped tell the tale behind this enigmatic place. Luckily the statues were so huge you could find a little shade and if you stood in just the right place you caught some spray from the fountains. We had a fine lunch in the old town - grilled Kebabs,  beans baked in a casserole and a fresh cabbage salad, all washed down with a frosty local beer. 

Our guide pointing out another massive statue. This on sits in front of the 1950's Parliament building.

A delicious lunch of grilled kebab and bubbling casseroles filled with smoky beans.

Our Airbnb was about a half hour walk from the city center in an area that had not yet benefited from "State Beautification", but by the time we stumbled up the dark stairwell all we wanted was to be off our feet and down a cold beverage from the fridge. The fridge wasn't in the kitchen itself, but sat outside the apartment on the porch. The apartment was a bit of a time warp - we met our young host who grew up in this flat with his sister and their parents, who also lived here with their parents, etc. Not much in the way of upgrades, but comfortable. Here's the link: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/717852

We took a break from the oppressive heat and spent the next day on the water in nearby Marta Canyon. The main activity on offer was an hour-long boat ride to the top of the lake to visit a cave. So as the saying goes, at least in Alexander the Greats Skopje "When almost in Rome do as the Romans do". We hopped on one of several rickety tour boats (life jackets optional) and pushed off.

A straight forward message in a beautiful park, but this sign could work in many place.

Note: there are often times we've come across a situation and say "that would never happen in America!" - and most of those times human safety is involved. Like the time we saw a man welding with no eye or hand protection, and a lit cigarette nearby, and certainly no steel-toed boots or hard hats for the macho men on construction sites in most places we've been lately. We've lept over potholes that could swallow a dog whole, raced across intersections that showed no regard for pedestrians, resisted the urge to snatch babies from the laps of mothers riding in the front seat of cars, eaten food that as near as we could tell had never met a single health standard, and, even with all that knowledge, decided to take a boat cruise to a cave.

This could have been the last picture you ever saw of the Campbells alive.

Off we go to the Cave of Potential Death.

After a picturesque run up the lake we pulled up against a creaking dock with a tangle of stairs that led to the "trail head" to the cave. Getting out of the boat and onto the dock was the first life threatening experience. The second was climbing the steep path to the cave on uneven stone steps and narrow switch-back trails with just the occasional hand rail. The third opportunity to never be heard from again was on the decent into the dark, deep, wet, bat-infested cave itself. Again, no handrails, slippery stones and meager light from single bulbs relying on a groaning generator. If that beast had given out for any reason ... well you can guess the rest. Now I know why we have never taken to Spelunking. Although the stalactites and stalagmites were interesting - even more interesting was the man teaching his children how to remember the difference - "tits" hang down. Stalactites! Get it?" Happy to emerge in daylight, we practically scampered down the trail feeling lucky to be alive. 

Our ride to Sofia. Nice be be back on a comfortable bus.

Sofia, Bulgaria: After our time in Skopje,  we took a 5 hour bus ride to Sofia. It wasn't bad - there was plenty of leg room and interesting scenery, and as always we were both deep in our books. Our Bulgarian host met us at the station and drove us to our newest home. The front door wasn't much to look at, but that was becoming more and more the case in this part of the world.

The apartment itself was really very nice and the location was great: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4543540  I was happy to see a big screen TV with tons of English speaking channels - including The Food Network! I was so excited, and it seemed like ages since we'd just plopped on a couch and channel-surfed. There wasn't a button on the remote that listed the stations, so I started flipping through the channels: Eurosport, check. BBC, check. Sky, Fox, E! and CNN, check. This was getting good! Then, just after I whipped past the Disney Channel, National Geographic and Nickelodeon, I landed on a string of stations serving up eye-popping, hard core porn! Luckily we didn't have any grandchildren with us because this stuff was one-click of the remote away from Sponge Bob Square Pants (a kinky show in it's own right). Luckily I had been jotting down the channel numbers of stations we wanted to watch - and anything else became optional.

I came across Seinfeld reruns and so much more...

It was hot so we were happy the free walking tour started at 6:00 pm that evening just a few blocks away. There is a lot of ancient history in this country - we came across many excavations of Roman ruins and Byzantine churches alongside muscular communist structures that overtook the city after World War II. I would say that Sofia is a bit of a snore - unless you are trying to sleep. It turned out our bedroom window faced a busy road with late night drag racing and early morning (as in 5:30 am) daily garbage collection.

There were many of these knee-level kiosks in Sofia. You just sort of squatted down and bought what you needed. In most cases it was beer and cigarettes.

Bleary eyed, the next morning we split up and  I took a Bulgarian Cultural Walking Tour and Michael took the Communist Walking Tour, it being his 3rd such tour in the former Soviet Union countries we've visited. I'm sure he could teach a class when we get back.

The architecture in Sofia was a mix of stunning buildings like this next to concrete postwar monoliths.

Ancient ruins dotted the city and were open for exploration.

Having time with a local connection beyond chatting with our host or tour guides is always a treat. We were able to spend an afternoon with a friend of friends while we were in Sofia - Ivo. He met us for a long lunch followed by ice cream desert at a 2nd restaurant - he was welcoming and gave us insights on living in Sofia. He was optimistic about the future for his generation, but echoed what we heard from others that the older generation, including his parents, remembered better days under Soviet rule. More stability. Less stress. More certainty about their future.

Our new friend of friends,  Ivo - we spent a great afternoon together.

Time for us to head to Bucharest. Not Budapest. Apparently the confusion between the two is one of the leading geographical mistakes on record - we'll triple check our tickets.

See you there for Blazing Through the Balkans II in Romania and Moldova, and thanks again for following along.

Debbie and Michael,
The Senior Nomads

P.S. During this period of travel we sold our house in Seattle. We are truly nomads now!


The Senior Nomads

No Waffling in Belgium

After a leisurely week on the Gullet it was time to get back to the business of being Senior Nomads. First on the list was continuing our efforts to get Russian Visas so we could visit that country before  heading back to Seattle in September. We had tried several different approaches while traveling  including pleas into the intercom box at the Russian Consulates in Paris, Prague and Budapest. We believe what they said in Russian was "Go Away".

How many times do I have to say no!

In reality we knew you had to apply from the US, and obviously that wasn't possible, but Russia was so tantalizingly close that we racked our brains for a solution. Then, Michael remembered there was a a fellow Seattle Rotarian named Bill Robinson who traveled to Russia often and sent him an email asking for advice. He recommended we contact a company in Seattle called Red Star Travel. Michael jumped on the case and connected with Albina Netchaeva, one of their visa specialists! It would require filling out forms and sending our passports (gulp!) back to Seattle for a couple of weeks for processing, along with a sizable check but we decided to go for it. 

It wasn't too difficult to be exiled for two weeks in the land of waffles, chocolate and beer!

Since we would be without passports for two weeks, so we decided to camp out in Belgium while we sent our passports home and waited for our visa applications to be processed. Besides, by taking an Airbinb in Brussels we could host our 5 year-old grand daughter Colette for a week during a school break and it was easy for Mary to deliver her from Paris.

Colette loving her first class train journey to Brussels and excited about delivering the FT to Grandpa!

Our first apartment was about a 15 minute walk from the center of the city. Our lovely hosts, Elsie  and Irena were a delightful couple. They lived just down the street from our place (Elsie's brother's apartment) and when we arrived invited us up for drinks and delicious appetizers while they shared their favorite parts of the city. In addition to their day jobs they host occasional dinner parties in their apartment for travelers who love food through this website:  bookalocal.com As a welcome for us they prepared small plates of salad made with diced green apples, cucumber and red onion tossed with yogurt and dill topped with melt-in-your-mouth smoked mackerel fillets. So simple and so delicious! Here's a link to our apartment: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1849048

Our lovely Brussels hosts, Elsie and Irena. They were the best!

We had two days before Coco's arrival so on the first day we took the free walking tour of the city to get oriented. That night,  Michael set his alarm for 1:00 am and got up to cheer on the US Women's soccer team as they beat Japan 5-2 in the final of the Women's World Cup from Vancouver. Later that morning he caught-up on his sleep while I shopped for kid friendly provisions and made a photo scavenger hunt on my phone at Brussels main square, the Grand Place. Our hosts arrived to fuss over  Colette's bedroom set-up and lent us a great a game to play - Tumbling Monkeys!

We played Tumbling Monkeys many times - if you have a 5 year old, get this game!

Coco and Mary arrived by train and we had an hour with Mary before she headed back to Paris. I was pleased Coco didn't seem at all concerned about her leaving and easily settled in with us. She did have one night where she truly did miss her mother and shed some tears and had a few hiccuping sobs, but after some excellent back rubs by grandpa she fell asleep and was up early the next day asking for Honey Nut Cheerios.

I had a great time creating photo scavenger hunts on my phone. This lovely goose was high up on a building.

This Royal pup was stitched on a pillow in a shop window.

On our first day together we headed to the city for our scavenger hunt. The next day Michael was able to visit the European Union Headquarters and visited the Parliamentarium, an interactive exhibition that explains the inter-workings of the EU. Admission is free and he recommends it for anyone interested in recent European history and current events.

Michael heading to the EU interactive exhibit, a highlight for him in Brussels.

Coco and I played in the park and had a fine day out. But mostly we wanted to get home to play Tumbling Monkeys, the card game Happy Families and put the jigsaw puzzle together with Grandpa. If it sounds like I was in "Mooma Heaven" that would be true.

Fun at the royal park - nothing like a little fountain spray on a hot day.

The puzzle masters at work!

Soon it was time to pack up and catch the train to Antwerp where we had booked our second week in Belgium. This time, the rest of Coco's family would join us for a few days. Because there would be seven of us, we rented what looked like a fairly large and lovely house. Having said that, I may have fallen in love with it without fully understanding the layout. Here's the link: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4733497

Me standing in front of our latest Airbnb - the narrowest house in Antwerp.

Michael taking the half empty bags upstairs. Most everything else was taken up bit by bit.

With Colette in tow, Michael and I opened the front door and discovered, as our host proudly shared with us that we had rented "the narrowest house in Antwerp!" I knew the minute we walked in there would be serious challenges ahead. It truly was narrow, only 8 feet wide by four stories tall. That turned out to be 78 tight and winding stairs to navigate several times a day by tiny humans ages 1, 3, and 5, their parents and two Senior Nomads with hip and feet issues -all with no banister along the last open stretch to the main floor. And even though we were hoping Jacques might take his first steps while he was with us, we also didn't want his first one to be his last.

This was taken as the Mary's family were leaving, thankfully all in one piece!

When we weren't concerned with safety hazards we could appreciate the quirkiness of the house. It opened directly onto a pedestrian-only shopping street that made for a great play area (when it wasn't raining) and it felt like we were living in Antwerp 100 years ago. Except 100 years ago the alley behind the house wasn't covered in really cool graffiti. I quickly made another scavenger hunt that Marcel could master along with Colette. They both had eagle eyes!

The alley around the corner was perfect for another scavenger hunt!

Here's the first image of about 20 for the kids to find!

This was Marcel's favorite.

 Antwerp is an easy walking city and we found some great "dragon houses" as Marcel calls churches - and we even found a giant statue featuring several fire breathing dragons, a severed head and arm, a frog and savage women with water spewing from their mouths. Everything a three year old boy could ask for.

Climbing on the scary dragon statue in the rain.

Mary had been here before and had a few places she wanted to revisit including a take-away restaurant called Chips. Now the Belgians would argue there are no "French" fries and that in fact that delicacy was first created in Belgium. Chips is one of the finest preveyors of this deep fried dellicasy in the city so we loaded up with enough to feed twenty people along with seven different dipping sauces and called it dinner.

we devoured five  of these "small orders" of fries. Enough to fill a kitchen sink!

Jacques had the best vantage point for our long walk to the port.

The puzzle team hard at work.

Just outside the door was a great place to kick the ball with Grandpa.

Having survived "The crazy house" as Colette called it for three days, it was time for Mary's family to catch the train back to Paris. Michael and I still had a few days left in Antwerp. We'd heard from Red Star back in Seattle that our visas had been issued and that our passports were on their way back - Nostrovia!

Our precious passports returned. Thank you FedEx!

Russian visas secured! Now we could plan our trip.

The next day I spent an afternoon at the famous Antwerp Zoo. It was a lovely place to spend a summer afternoon - but once you've seen the Woodland Park in Seattle it's hard to appreciate anything else. The next Belgian experience had to be a dinner of Moules Frites. Mussels with French (Belgian Fries) a national specialty. As a seasoned traveler, I knew not to seek this dish on the main tourist routes - but even on the back streets this simple meal cost $25.00 at a minimum. I had a better solution - make it at home with local ingredients. A fine result was had with $7.00 worth of ingredients - it was a Senior Nomad moment.

I arrived just in time for the hippos to have lunch!

Speaking of hungry hippos ... my home cooked mussels were the best.

On our last day we took the train to Bruges. This city was almost too perfect - sweet canals dotted with swans and weeping willows reaching from their banks as if to take a drink. Beautiful brick-row houses proudly wearing their construction dates from the 1600's. Horse drawn carriages clip-clopping on the cobbles, traditional Belgian waffles with burnt sugar edges - and a 50% off sale at H&M. An excellent day out.

Continuing the eating theme - that would be my decadent Belgian Waffle on the left. Michael's on the right.

Back in Antwerp Michael headed to the Fedex pick-up facility and returned with our precious passports complete with our newly minted Russian Visas. We have several Eastern European stops before arriving in Moscow and St. Petersburg next month. Learning more about recent history of this part of the world has been fascinating, and Michael often says "we're taking a graduate course in 20th Century European History".

When we are done with this next month of travel we will have earned one of these!

Our next stop would be Cologne, Germany for a two day "pit stop" as we moved further down the game board towards Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova before exploring Mother Russia. 

Thanks for following along!

Debbie and Michael
The Senior Nomads

Oh Say can you Sea! Celebrating the 4th of July Along the Balkan Coast.

Our starting point. The UNESCO Heritage City of Kotor, Montenegro.

It was time for a break! A week aboard a boat where someone else would set the course, prepare the meals, drop the anchor and refresh the beverages over the 4th of July holiday sounded perfect.

This diversion came about when Michael was searching for an Airbnb boat option in Montenegro. When he couldn't find one he went surfing and up popped Experience Montenegro, a British tour company that specialized in affordable cruising in Montenegro and Croatia. For just a bit more than our Airbnb budget we could spend seven days on a Gullet (a Turkish made boat that sort of looks like a whaling schooner), cruising the Montenegrin and Croatian coastline with a cozy cabin including breakfast, and either lunch or dinner, depending on where we anchored. Ours was "The Jewels of the Adriatic" cruise that began in  Kotor, Montenegro and then made several stops in Croatia including Cavtat, Sipan, Dubrovnik and Herceg Novi, returning to Montenegro via Bigova, Perast and finally back to Kotor. Take a look at some of our stops.

St. George's Island near Perast, Monetegro - the most beautiful village we visited.

Devouring our daily ice cream while taking in the scenery in Hercig Novi.

Sunset in Bigova reminded me of nights at anchor in the San Juan Islands.

We would be sharing this adventure with three other couples whom we didn't know - but that can be half the fun. Or half the nightmare.

Living in Seattle, surrounded by water, almost any occasion can be celebrated on a boat. Birthdays, anniversaries, office parties, etc. The usual itinerary includes at least a four hour cruise around Puget Sound or through the Ballard Locks into Lake Washington to ogle Bill Gates sprawling estate, and of course lots of alcohol and a fairly predicable buffet. My first reaction when invited to one of these potential all day excursions is to conjure up an immovable commitment. It’s not that I don’t love being on the water - Michael and I happily shared our sailboat boat for twenty years, the problem, at least for me, is mingling in tight quarters with strangers without an opportunity to gracefully back out the door when you’ve had enough.

Du Zamani boat mates, Doug, Jackie, Michael, Wendy and Graham

We could always seek refuge in our very comfortable cabin.

In this case - our boat mates turned out to be more than delightful. Our companions included Graham and Wendy from North Wales and Doug and Jackie from Dorset, England (the other couple had cancelled - which was a blessing) so it was just us two Americans and four Brits! Our two-man crew, Skipper and chef, Mishu and Meri, director, deck hand, navigator, and chief entertainer. They were funny, friendly, laid back and very capable.

Our trusty crew - Mishu, skipper and chef and Meri, everything else!

Meri was great fun and kept us distracted from any challenges.

When we arrived there was some confusion about which of the two boats sitting next to each other in the marina was the one we'd be sailing on. It turned out there was a surplus of guests who booked the "Jewels of the Adriatic" cruise, so a smaller boat was brought in that could accommodate the 8 overflow guests. We were on that boat. An initial side-by-side comparison made our Gullet look a little shabby, but after a week shadowing the bigger boat with their full contingent of 12 on board, we were very happy with Dus Zamani, our "Little Gulet that Could". She wasn't fast, but she was comfortable and certainly not over crowded. We also learned that these boats don't actually sail, which was disappointing, but if we had sailed, I doubt we'd have gone half the distance.

Our boat anchored just off Dubrovnik, one of the best stops on the cruise.

 We almost didn't have the fun of getting to know Doug and Jackie - they had booked the "Highlights of Montenegro" cruise but the company (not the most organized we discovered) failed to inform them that cruise didn't have enough takers and was cancelled - so now they were taking this trip instead. The news was delivered on-board before departure by a over-smiling, bumbler of a company representative who "hoped they were okay with that?" He apologized for the mix-up of course, but the good news was "they would not be charged the extra cost of this unexpected (but lucky them) upgrade". We knew we'd love these two when they shrugged and said "why not? We're on a boat and you lot (that would be the rest of us) don't seem too bad". I don't know many people that would do that. This would be the first of many running jokes about the tour company and how they operate, mostly around over-promising and under delivering. If this inspires you to take a trip like this, there are many companies that provide similar experiences - I wouldn't necessarily recommend ours, but here's the link:  http://www.montenegroholidays.com/gulet-cruises. 

Two happy Senior Nomads!

This was very close to a clothing optional excursion. Lucky we had these handsome men aboard!

A challenge that could have caused mutiny was the food. You know I love to cook and some of my happiest memories are from puttering in the galley on Butterscotch, so I had visions of being served freshly caught fish on the grill, juicy fruit, light salads, and interesting Mediterranean specialties all prepared by someone else while I was deep into a book. That was not to be the case. Our poor skipper and harried cook, Mishu did his best - but the daily menus were set by the dreary tour company in England and the provisions were already on board. We knew we were in trouble with the first breakfast - fleshy pink hot dogs, hard boiled eggs, mystery white cheese and slabs of white bread, all washed down with a mysterious "orange" juice. Or on other days bright "pink" juice.

The happy passengers enjoying lunch together. And look at all those clothes!

 Most of the meals were heavy and felt a bit institutional. I mean, who serves a hot soup course, followed by pork chops and mashed potatoes for lunch in 90 degree weather? In a fit of defiance Mishu bought ingredients out of his own pocket and made us Black Risotto from Cuttlefish ink that is one of his specialties - and made sure we had fresh watermelon for the 4th of July. Otherwise, we bought our own fruit and snacks onshore and enjoyed dinner or lunch on our own. I did take over the galley one afternoon to make Strawberry and Blueberry Shortcake for a 4th of July celebration.

Eventually I did share the watermelon.

Doing the best I can to make shortcakes from what was in the larder.

The final results for all to share and a rousing rendition of our national anthem.

The wine and beer seemed to be in endless supply, along with soft drinks and water, so the six of us were relaxed and sun-dazed, and merrily went along with whatever was brought to the table and wherever we were taken.

Mishu extracting ink from a cuttlefish for his special black risotto.

Mishu's fingers were stained for two days - but it was worth it.

The final results: Cuttlefish Ink Risotto. A memorable dish.

One final challenge. We usually anchored out and Meri would take us to shore in two batches in the dinghy and then collect us when we were done dining and exploring. That worked well until the dinghy motor died a shuddering death. From then on we had to use our big sister ship's tender when we could - or we'd raft along side the bigger ship and crawl over both decks to shore. 

The yellow boat was the larger sister on the same cruise from the same company.

We encountered many mega-yachts on this trip. Here's a harbor blocker at 150'.

In the end,  not having a dinghy turned out to be a good thing - the "rats on the ship" as we called ourselves, convinced the crew to skip a couple of stops that required going ashore so we could spend more time in tranquil bays where we could swim and relax.

Having a fine day in the sun as we slowly make our way back down the coast.

The water was cold and refreshing. Unfortunately, the snorkelers in the group saw more junk than fish.

Doug and Graham toasting to whatever might be appropriate at the time.

After and hour of fishing this was my reward. He went directly in the soup pot.

I don't need to go too much deeper - especially since most of our daily journal entries included notes like: Read most of the day, napped, Played dominoes and card games, ate too much (even though dinner was weird). Caught a small fish. Went ashore in (insert stunning coastal village here), ate ice cream. Or ... don't remember. Who could ask for more? And again, the good news is we loved the people we shared these languid seven days with and hope to visit them in the future. 

Domino dominating the game table. Graham apparently doesn't like his hand.

Personally, we shall not seek independence from these particular Brits.

Thanks for following along,

Debbie and Michael
The Senior Nomads

The Balkan Maze

Heading for a break on a boat similar to these ... if we can get there!

Last month when we were in Prague, Michael was travel planning for Montenegro and came across a week-long boat excursion along the coast of Montenegro and Croatia. After two years on the road, a week on the water sounded like a perfect break from our land-locked travels. We booked a seven day cruise and looked forward to going wherever the wind blew us.

From Kosovo we had to work our way down to the coast of Montenegro to the city of Kotor to board our Turkish-style boat called a "gulet" a 65 foot boat that lookes a bit like a whaling schooner.

In an idle moment, have you ever fiddled with one of those little plastic maze toys? You know, the tilt-the-thing-back-and-forth until the little silver ball rolls from the start to the finish without hitting any dead-ends thing?  Not as easy as it looks, right? That was our experience in trying to find transportation from Pristina, the capitol of Kosovo to Podgorica, the capitol of neighboring Montenegro. It was just one country away as the marble rolls but still not easy. Fly? Twenty-three hours with a 20 hour lay-over in Istanbul. Train? No service. Bus? Kind of...once-a-day leaving at 7:00 pm and arriving at 3:00 am (not a favorite check-in time for even the most accommodating Airbnb host). Rent a car? Not available for one-way, besides we were warned driving through Albanian mountains is harrowing. All this to go less than 200 miles. So, for the first time, The Senior Nomads were at a dead end.

It took an international village from the Sirius Hotel to help organize our travel.

Here's the map to our destination that Michael created to keep our family updated on our travels!

The only option left to us was to make the trip in a taxi! Our apartment in Pristina was just around the corner from a boutique hotel where Michael, at his most charming self, made friends with the young manager. Before you knew it, we had a driver who spoke some English and a shiny black Mercedes lined-up for the next morning. And it cost less than we'd anticipated - $220. door to door! We saw some beautiful parts of Kosovo heading south through Albania - also beautiful, and finally through the black mountains that give Montenegro it's name. And we felt like rock stars!

From left to right Michael, our driver, the hotel manager and yours truly!

On the road in style. I hope we get stuck somewhere else and can do this again!

Just one of the vistas on the road. This is in Albania.

We descended into the capital city of Podgorica in pouring rain and our driver became hopelessly lost. His cell phone didn't work in Montenegro, and neither did ours but eventually with help from strangers with Montenegrin cellphones we connected with our hosts. They drove to meet us at a petrol station so we could follow them to the apartment. Our dutiful driver waved good bye and began his long, four-hour drive back home.

Our little attic Airbnb in Podgorica.

Our little Airbnb apartment was on the 4th floor with no elevator. Not the first time we've hauled our heavy bags up 5 flights of stairs - but it is one of the reasons we are ready for a break! https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/188858 Our host drove us around the city for a quick tour and a stop at the grocery store. We were only be there for two nights, so we hardly unpacked. There wasn't much to do in Podgorica, but we wanted to see the capital of this recently minted country.

Trying on various "Harem" Pants  in a make-shift dressing room in the bazaar.

We did some shopping in a crazy maze of a indoor market. The first floor was all local produce - and you know how much I love a good fresh market, but this one had sort of an overall sadness about it. Maybe it was the dim, fluorescent lighting inside this former communist gymnasium coupled with  the oppressive heat, but everything just looked wilted, including the vendors. Once you got past that, the food and produce was incredibly cheap. A pint of rich red local strawberries for 50 cents, A glorious watermelon for $1.00 and a whole, plump roasted chicken for $2.00! Upstairs, the Bazaar was a rabbit warren of hundreds of tightly packed stalls selling anything and everything you can imagine.  I bought a pair of "Harem Pants", Michael splurged on a pair of $5.00 swim trunks and a $4 pair of guaranteed fake "Ray Ban" sunglasses.

The final touch! A wide brimmed hat for many hot, sunny days ahead at an outdoor market in Budva.

Our next destination was Budva, a resort town on the Montenegrin coast about an hour away from our final destination of Kotor. We had a comfortable bus trip through the mountains and then took what seemed like a straight shot down to the sea. Our apartment for this two night stay was also small, but close to the beach https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1308391. We were happy to be in the sun, on the water, and in a beautiful city. The only spoiler was the constant exposure to over tanned, middle-aged men with large tummies draped in gold jewelry and wearing speedos.

Just one of the Russian Sun Gods on view in Budva.

It was pedicure time! It had been long time since I'd been good to my toes, and in keeping with the low cost of living here, $10 got me an hour of tender loving care. However, the salon was about a half a mile from our apartment. I couldn't put my shoes on for fear of the dreaded pedi-smudge, so I tried to walk in those flimsy free flip-flops. That lasted for about five minutes - but being the clever girl I am, I made toe carriers out of my daily walking shoes and flapped my way home.

Wearing my shoes in a new way to avoid Pedi-smudge!

 Michael got a haircut for about the same price. The last thing we needed to do before we disconnected for a week was to fill-out and sign the paperwork to put our house in Seattle on the market! (more on that as the tale unfolds).

The two cheesy plaid bags held what we needed for the boat.The rest was stored on-shore.

Our next stop was Kotor, a designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site lauded for it's well preserved Medieval walled city. There we would climb aboard our Gulet - and set sail.

We'll see you there!

Debbie and Michael
The Senior Nomads