Exploring Romania

Romania is one of those countries we always think of traveling back to. It seems like there's so much to explore. It is a big and versatile country, probably best for those who seek for something that you really can't find in central or western Europe anymore. The nature is beyond beautiful but you also have lots of history to explore and fantastic food and wines to enjoy.

Palace of the Parliament

Bucharest, Romania

Our trip started off from Bucharest where we spent one full day. I'm sure we could have spent a little longer there, but not necessarily more than a couple of days maximum. It's a huge city with a beautiful, yet small old town, which was our favorite. We loved the little shops, cafes and restaurants. The city does need a bit of renovation but nothing out of the ordinary.

The shopping possibilities seemed quite decent as there are a couple of huge malls in Bucharest. They have a good selection of western brands but what's way more interesting is actually the selection of eastern European (and beyond) brands that's still as modern and fashionable but you probably can't get the items in your country. 

Bucharest Old Town

Holocaust memorial, Bucharest

After strolling through the capital, we drove off to Brasov, a famous small town about a three hour drive from Bucharest that served as a base when exploring the Transylvania region. It's a very lovely, charming little city near the mountains. The drive itself is magnificent as the scenery is breathtaking. It could also be a great country for hiking.

On the road to Brasov

On the misty road..

While driving in Romania is definitely recommended for the views, it definitely requires some good driving skills. Even though there wasn't that much traffic, it was one of the worst places to be on the road because of the local driving culture. I can't even count how many times we had to beware of a crazy driver on the road either overtaking other cars in a total blind spot or just stopping on the road without any prior warning.

..still driving..

This aside, the drive to Brasov was so great, it took us about two hours extra time as we were constantly stopping to admire the Carpathian mountains. 

A sight you don't see too other anymore

Brasov, Romania

Brasov is a delightful small town, even when the weather is not on your side as there's plenty of museums, cafe's, bar's, restaurant's and shop's to escape the rain. It's also a beautiful place to spend a couple of days when in the region. While it might not be big enough to really offer you new corners to explore, you can easily pass a couple of days in there. Also, like mentioned before, it's a great base to explore the nearby regions.

One of the main streets of Brasov, Romania

Our intention wasn't to drive the Transfagarasan (which we didn't) but we did drive nearby trying to find the beginning of this famous, scenic route. And still we didn't find it but instead we did get to see some beautiful small villages and amazing scenery. We have a habit of driving around almost aimlessly exploring every little corner we find and Romania was another great country to do this. The food was very delicious no matter where we went and it's easy to find nice restaurants serving traditional, local food.


Sadly, Romanian wines are surprisingly underrated as they would definitely deserve more acknowledgement than what they currently get. Try and taste as many as you can. They totally blew us away.

Driving aimlessly

Stunning Romanian countryside

Bran Castle, Bran, Romania

Bran castle is, of course, a sight not to be missed. It's pretty interesting to take a step in. Again, the scenery around it is stunning.

Brasov

Brasov, Romania

Next time we will definitely pack along our hiking gear and explore the nature a little closer. We can only imagine what amazing trails this country has to offer. Also, we'll definitely drive the Transfagarasan. The food in Romania is simply great so make sure to try mămăligă (polenta with cheese and sour cream), cârnați (pork sausages) and, well, just try everything you can get your hands on. It's delicious! Save time for shopping, if that's your thing, and keep your eyes on the road when driving.

Sarajevo

Present day Sarajevo is a beautiful, multicultural and a colorful city! What you experience is life at its best. It’s hard to describe but you’ll know what we mean when you get there. It has a very special feeling, as if all of the people of Sarajevo are truly enjoying the very present moment. It’s more apparent in the evenings when people sit in café’s and restaurants. It feels like true joy we haven't experienced anywhere else so far. 

Walking along river Miljacka

By the famous wooden fountain Sebilj, in Sarajevo

We drove to Sarajevo after Pluzine in Montenegro. Crossing the border took a little more time than in other countries on this trip but we were done with the border formalities in max. 10 minutes. The scenery was beautiful although the condition of the roads varied from gravel and potholes to fresh and smooth asphalt. Traffic was decent, not too many insane over takings or other strange death-wish driving habits as in a few of the other countries in the region. Don't start driving with an empty tank as gas stations can mostly only be found in towns and cities. We followed all of the advice we got on parking the car in a trusted parking garage (in our case it was the parking of Hotel Europe) that was recommended by our hotel. I remember reading stories on how it’s not advisable to drive with Croatian plates in Bosnia but we really had no problems what so ever, so I guess it’s outdated information.

We stayed in Sarajevo for four days which was a good time to explore the city. It's not very large, therefore few days should be enough. 

On the road from Pluzine to Sarajevo

Nature in Bosnia

Tourism in Sarajevo is growing fast although it lacks consistency. You see a lot of people doing their best, really making an effort, many tourist organizations are doing incredible work to support tourism in their country but they lack support from the government which is what they really need the most. According to the World Tourism Organization, Bosnia and Herzegovina will have the third highest tourism growth rate in the world between 1995 and 2020. However, because of these active people, you get a very personalized experience and definitely feel cared after.

Take a seat in Sarajevo

So what is there to do in Sarajevo?

Sarajevo was founded by the Ottoman Empire in the 1450s and you can see and feel the rich history everywhere. It's such a fascinating place with many cultures and religions living side by side. Many other cities in the area claim the same but in Sarajevo you can truly feel the mix of different cultures and religions living together in peace. 

Ottoman street in Sarajevo

Sarajevo is still being rebuilt after the war but you have some architectural gems to explore in many parts of the city. It's quite safe to walk around at any time of the day but you might want to keep your eyes open in remote areas. 

Festina Iente bridge

History

There is so much to see in Sarajevo as it has such a rich history! The old part of the city is full of historical Ottoman architecture as well as churches. You can visit the street where the archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was shot, that gunshot is also known as the gunshot that started the 1st World War. The newer part of the city has more modern architecture, shopping centers and also more signs of the most recent war - some by purpose, others are still waiting for reconstruction, demolition or rebuilding. All over the city you will also find Sarajevo Roses, a sad reminder of the victims killed in the most recent war. 

Sarajevo Rose is a site of a mortar shell's explosion that was later filled with red resin to mark where mortar explosions resulted in one or more deaths (wikipedia).

Sebilj, Ottoman-style wooden fountain

Sarajevo Rose

We joined a free walking tour by BH Spirit City Tours and Excursions and continued with the Sarajevo Under the Siege and also Tunnel of Hope tours by the same company. This is something you really cannot miss in Sarajevo. The tours are incredibly informative and all of the people you meed during these tours have actually lived it, therefore they are the best to share the stories.

First steps in the Tunnel of Hope

Sarajevo Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track, now an attraction

Old Jewish Cemetery overlooking the UNITIC Business Center and  Avaz Twist Tower.

Tony with Abid Jasar, one of the brave men who built the Tunnel of Hope. Abid Jasar passed away in November 2016.

Map of Sarajevo

Food:

You will not feel hungry in Sarajevo. The food is fantastic! You must try ćevapčići which is grilled minced meat in a form of a sausage, usually served with flatbread, onion and sour cream. To eat with the locals as well as tourists, go to a restaurant called Petica on Bravadžiluk 29, in the old part of the city. Not far from here is also Buregdžinica Bosna (Bravadžiluk 11), which is well known for it's magnificent meat pies.

ćevapčići 

You will not be hungry in Sarajevo!

Shopping:

There are a few shopping centers in the city but the selection is somewhat limited. The western European and US brands are present but the value is not good. However, if you are into some less-known brands you can make some great finds, especially clothes and shoes made in Turkey are great.

In general:

As the rebuilding of Sarajevo hasn’t been as fast as the people have been hoping it was, we recommend to pick a nice hotel.

There was a certain level of curiosity to travel to a country with such a colorful recent history with the days of glory in the 80’s which quickly turned into a long, dark war. It was our first time visiting a country that underwent such a bloody war during our life time, only 20 years ago. And it all happened right here in Europe! That was not the reason for us to travel there, though. It might have been a reason not to travel there, I guess that’s how it is for many people. But we challenge you to visit Bosnia, especially Sarajevo, and open your heart to everything it can offer. 

Destruction

For me it took a day and a half to get over this strangely emotional anxiety I felt seeing all the war scars on the buildings and to see beyond all of it. I felt devastated and heartbroken. Tony took it much better immediately. I couldn’t get over the fact that about half of the people we saw around us, people our age, experienced a war only recently and had such a tragic childhood while we were living a normal life only 2500 kilometers away. It was very difficult to understand how this could happen and how it could last for such a long time. 

In case you're like us and were a child during the Siege of Sarajevo, you might want to learn a bit more. Here's a few movies you can easily find on Youtube or Netflix. Note that as the topic is quite dark and heavy, these movies are not easy to watch either. However, especially two of the first ones were recommended by the people that lived through the Siege. 

No Man's Land
Welcome to Sarajevo
The Whistleblower

Sarajevo is one of the most memorable places we have visited. Even after visiting more than 50 countries and probably three times as many cities, Sarajevo is definitely number one.

Sarajevo today

Skopje, FYR Macedonia

Destination: Skopje, FYR Macedonia
Time of travel: August 2014
Duration: 10 days in total
Travel plan: Thessaloniki, Greece - Skopje, FYR Macedonia - Prizren, Kosovo - Sofia, Bulgaria - Skopje - Thessaloniki.

Stone Bridge and Archeological Museum of Macedonia

Some time ago I wrote about our epic taxi ride from FYR Macedonia all the way down to Thessaloniki, if you haven't read it yet, click on the link and read it now. This time let’s go all the way back to take a look at the time we spent in Macedonia itself. We did a multi-destination trip starting from Thessaloniki as there were no direct, reasonably priced flights to Skopje.  From Thessaloniki we took a bus to Skopje as our initial plan to rent a car fell through – turned out the Greek car rental companies don’t allow you to drive to many of the neighboring countries! The bus ride was easy and comfortable so it doesn’t really make much difference. From Macedonia, you can rent a car and drive to pretty much any country you wish (with some exceptions, i.e Albania)!

Blend in and explore!

Get lost in the old part of the city

We had no idea what to expect. The pictures we saw looked peculiar and didn’t seem to make much sense. Huge monumental white pillar buildings next to Ottoman style wood plank houses surrounded by soviet style apartment complexes? It quickly started to make sense when we walked through the beautiful yet small city center of Skopje. Our most favorite part of the city was the Ottoman part where you really get a sense of history and authenticity all around while eating some of the fantastic food! 

Sunset over Skopje

Like all over the Balkans, you get a great sense of east and west colliding which makes your experience that much deeper. It’s quite fascinating to walk in the Ottoman part of Skopje dining at the tiny eateries with the locals and then walk across the bridge to more modern part of the city to have a Mojito by the river. If you want to go local, try white wine with ice and a squeeze of lemon juice!

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The Warrior on a Horse, aka Alexander the Great statue

Skopje is compact and very pleasant to explore. It’s small so a couple of days is more than enough to see the sights and do some shopping. Make sure to take a trip outside the city to one of the smaller towns in FYR Macedonia or further away to the neighboring countries such as Serbia, Kosovo, Albania or Bulgaria. You can easily make a day trip to the south of Serbia or Kosovo and drive back to Skopje for the night. FYR Macedonia is a very affordable destination in accommodation, car rental as well as food. Leave space in your suitcase as you will most likely be able to make some great finds in Skopje, especially if you are into wine and shoes. Macedonia is also a safe destination and many locals speak English, Russian or German. You'll meet lots of authentic, warm people and many religions living side-by-side which makes it an easy and a friendly place to visit. 

Pillars, pillars everywhere!

The Macedonian roads were not in the best shape but they're not the worst either. Also traffic was most sensible in the region and no one attempted to kill us in one of those crazy overtaking frenzies. Make sure to reserve some time to enjoy the scenery!

Skopje Aqueduct

Bulgaria ahead!

Recommendations:

Buy spices such as paprika and chili powder from the Zegin Bit Pazar (local outdoor market). They are authentic and natural – and incredibly high quality and delicious! At the market you can also try locals hams, cheeses and vegetables. The vendors are very friendly and generous!

Eat local dishes such as kebapi, shopska salad or one of the ridiculously delicious meat pies. The food is very similar to the neighboring countries, so if you love the balkan food, you'll surely love Macedonian food also!

Walk along the ancient city walls and explore the old fortress (6th century) and get lost in the old town!

5 Things You Need to Realize to Lead a Happier Life Abroad

Even though every country and culture is different, there is something that never changes; the people. No matter where you travel, near or far people generally stay the same. It is true that in some regions people may be friendlier, more open, more attractive or maybe even funnier, but deep down, we are all the same. The expat life is generally very similar no matter where you end up. In some countries it is easier to live as a foreigner than in others, either due to spoken languages or culture and habits but eventually it’s human to human interaction that matters. Take a look at a couple of different forums, for example, to see what the most common subjects are and you’ll realise that the issues – good and bad – stay the same all over.

1. Making friends with the locals isn't easy anywhere but that's completely OK!: Making friends as an adult is the same everywhere. For most of us it’s not as easy as it was back in school or university where you were all in pretty much the same situation, trying to fit in and form your group. As a grown-up there’s responsibilities and routines to take care of, your career and relationships. Making friends with new people is probably not on top of your everyday to-do list. When moving to a new country you might want to grow your social network as soon as possible, form strong relationships and find friends you can trust but relationships take time. You often read comments about how people of your new country are not interested in making friends with foreigners but at the end of the day it’s not a nationality issue as it simply comes down to differences in routine. While you are busy growing your network and trying to make new friends, the locals already have their network, friends and family. Of course you’ll befriend locals, but it takes time. Like real, authentic friendships always do. 

2. Once a foreigner, always a foreigner: I often hear expats talking about how difficult it is to integrate into a new society because people treat you as a foreigner, yet the biggest problem is admitting that it’s really up to you to fit in, not the other way around. I say this from my own experience; no matter how fluent you are in the local language or how well you’ve integrated, you will always be a foreigner in the eyes of the locals, if they know that you come from another country. And that’s a good thing! You don’t need to change yourself in order to fit in, even less to be accepted. What is important is to admit that you are a foreigner and that’s how it will be. It’s completely ok for people to treat you as a foreigner because that’s how they see you and that’s who you are. You are a foreigner that has moved to their country and has now become a part of the society. You should do your best fitting in but never change who you are because those who like you will also love the fact that you come from another culture.

3. Bureaucracy is everywhere: People often complain about the bureaucracy they must go through when starting out their lives in a new country. No matter how easy it is, there’s always someone complaining. In Europe it is relatively easy, though. As a EU citizen you don’t even need a visa or a work permit! Depending on the country, there is always paper work to be done and documents to be filled but would you really want it to be otherwise? The paper work is there to ensure proper registration to make your life a little easier in your new society. The biggest difficulties are often caused by the language barrier as many countries still don’t have official documents in English. In the Netherlands, where we live, we only had to visit the city hall once to register ourselves and get the social security number which was then mailed to us and second time was the IND (immigration and neutralization services). That's pretty straight forward to me!

4. Finding a job is much easier when you know the local language: I stumbled upon a forum post complaining about how difficult it is to find a job in Finland if you are still working on your Finnish language skills! Well, that’s the case in most parts of the world! Unless you’re planning to move to an English speaking country, you most likely need to learn the local language in order to work. It’s quite logical. You cannot move to Lithuania and expect everyone to switch to English, right? However, there are  plenty of regions where you will be able to start off your expat life with minimal skills in local language. Search for regions with many international company headquarters or countries open for foreign workforce such as Amsterdam and Eindhoven in Netherlands, Sophia-Antipolis in France, and Malta, to mention a few. Many of these countries also have a special tax arrangement for highly skilled expats or retiring pensioners. A lot depends also on your line of work as many professions don’t really have a language requirement! Don’t get angry because the local language is something else than whatever it is that you speak. You’re the guest, after all. Learn the language, expand your horizons!

5. Moving for money? Think about the taxes first!: Before going anywhere, do your research on the cost of living, salaries and taxes in the country or area you want to live in. Dig deep, don’t just multiply whatever it is you’re making now to fit the level you think would be enough. You won’t be going anywhere if you form your salary expectation based on your gut feeling. Those moving to a higher economy often think they’ll improve their status in the new country, however if you continue doing the job you had back at home (assuming it’s on the same level in both countries), your income will most likely stay around the same level. For example, working as a construction worker in Poland won’t make you rich doing the same job in the Netherlands. The income is probably much higher, but so is the cost of living, food and taxes. Search for countries where your skill-set is needed, like nurses in Norway or oil & gas engineers in Saudi-Arabia! 

Beginners guide to visiting vineyards and wineries

Beautiful Alsace, France

Let's not get too serious. Even though there's rules and etiquette you should know about your wines, you don't have to be a wine expert to visit a vineyard! It helps to have basic understanding of wine tasting, grapes and regions but you'll be completely fine by just having genuine interest in what you drink. However, visiting a vineyard can raise lots of questions if doing so for the first time.

Port wine barrels in Porto

How to find the good ones?

There's plenty of information available online but also in books and food & wine magazines. Many online guides have wine routes you can follow and pretty much every region even has a website for the regional vineyards with addresses. We've been using Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine book which has been ok for our purposes but there are also other similar books around. Choose the book depending on your level of wine knowledge and don't buy a pig in a poke as the books tend be quite different and often targeting certain type of audience. 

A few links to popular wine routes and other information:

Alsace, France

http://www.alsace-wine-route.com/ 

http://www1.vinsalsace.com/en/spip.php?page=route_des_vins&id_article=1278&id_rubrique=708

Mosel, Germany

http://www.decanter.com/features/great-wine-route-mosel-247837/

Piemonte, Italy

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/aug/07/piedmont-wine-route-top-10-guide  

Amalfi Coast, Italy

http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-costa+d'amalfi

http://www.marisacuomo.com/en/1034/tastings.htm

Spain

http://winetourismspain.com/wine-regions/

Taylor's, Porto, Portugal

If possible, attend tastings before your trip to find local gems. Wine tastings are often arranged by wine shops, wine tasting courses or bars and restaurants in your region. You might not like the wines of the most popular and hyped vineyards at all, so do a bit of research (if possible) and find the ones you'd genuinely enjoy the most. 

If you really want to become good at this, attend a wine course to learn all the ins and outs of wines, wine regions and tasting. It's a fascinating world!

We always like to taste the local wines even in regions not widely known as wine producers. There are some great wine regions in the Balkans, for instance in Croatia, Romania and FYR Macedonia, to mention a few. This is a fantastic way to explore wines you would normally not be able to buy where you live, therefor we highly recommend always asking for some local wine recommendations when traveling.

In case you already have favorite wines from the area you're visiting, make sure to visit the vineyards! You'll surely love your wines even more when you know where they're coming from. 


Let them know you're coming!


Preparation is the key! Even though most vineyards and wineries are open on business hours and Saturdays, it's good to give them a call or send an email about your visit to make sure they are open and accepting visitors. Some of them are even open outside of the normal hours if you plan your visit in advance. When first visiting Alsace I was a little nervous as we don't speak any French but every vineyard I called spoke English as they get a lot of visitors from all over the world. We've never come across a wine maker who wasn't thrilled to have people over so give them a call and plan your visit! Most vineyards accept visitors even without making an appointment but it's always nicer to let them know in advance, if possible. However, if you stop by unannounced only to find the doors closed and fences locked, make a plan B and drop by another nearby vineward/winery.

We have normally informed the vineyards about our visit with an approximate time but have also popped in to some larger ones while driving by.

One of our favorite wines, Marisa Cuomo Furore Bianco, is made in this beautiful scenary on Amalfi Coast, Italy

Planning and scheduling

You can either just buy the wines you already know you like (without tasting, even though tasting is always highly recommended) or taste and buy the ones you enjoyed the most - or not buy at all, really depending on how you feel about the wines. Every vineyard offers tastings so you know what you're buying. If planning several visits in one day it's a good idea to spit majority of the wines. You can really consume quite a lot of wines during one visit, getting tipsy really doesn't help your taste buds.

Wine events and festivals are great source to find great wines. Budapest Borfeztival is a popular Hungarian wine event held annually.

One visit takes roughly one to two hours depending on what you're doing there. Tasting and buying is about an hour but if you're visiting a more touristic place it might take more than two in case you're taking a tour. I guess a fair estimate of three vineyards a day is a good pace when considering driving and tasting. Be prepared to wait for your turn in tastings and buying if it's busy.

Riquewihr, Alsace, France

Storage and transportation

Storage and transportation is important when traveling with wines. If you are traveling by car, make sure the temperature stays around the same level the whole time without any temperature peaks, don't park the car in the sun or let it freeze as this will affect your wines in all the wrong ways and ruin it! When flying, make sure you pack your wines properly to prevent a small catastrophe. We've successfully flown with about 5 wine bottles in each large suitcase. Most wine producers offer shipping at reasonable prices which might be a good option to consider when buying more than a few bottles.

Trier in Germany is famous for it's wines. And they are good!