Our new favourite town: Cluj-Napoca!
Cluj is super-sweet! And lively! (it’s a students city) And sun was shining and we had lovely hosts.
Countries
Camping means freedom for the baby
After three nights which we spend on camping outside – we are sure that Hanna simply loves it. Sitting on the sun without diapers, playing with grass, sticks and bugs.
Crossing the National Park by car
After spending calm time in Oradea, we obviously needed some adventures. Visiting Bear Cave was not enough, we drove to Cluj-Napoca through Apuseni Mountains, National Park. With average speed 10km/hour. For 6 hours!
In Oradea
Oradea, and our friends there, welcomed us with ciorbă, mămăligă and palincă . And shower, internet and washing mashine!
Stop right now.
On holidays you have a lot of free time? Right? That’s why I took with me many old newspapers which I didn’t finish reading, small pieces of papers with notes about countries we are going to, few not-started-yet books. because during holidays there is time for reading. Nothing more wrong!
Making fresh cheese
On the way through the northern Romanian mountains a small camp of shepherds attracted our attention. First they tried to gather some runaway cows and then we saw that the obviously make fresh sheep cheese.
The Blue Merry Cemetery
Sapanta, small village 12km from Sighetu Marmatiei is known for two things: one is church, second is cemetery. But they are not ordinary church and cemetery.
The dark side of the Romanian communism
In Sighetu Marmatiei we discovered two things: Museum of Arrested Thought and placinta (turnovers with potatoes, cabbage or chocolate!).
The Summer says Hello in Romania
Real summer together with first night sleeping in the car. Night with adventures because maybe around 3am four young shepherds decided not to let us sleep, where lighting with torch and knocking on our windows.
The most beautiful border
Our last day of western Ukraine was very green. I have no English words to describe all those sorts of green! We crossed the most beautiful border I have ever seen: between Ukrainian and Romanian mountains, through “our” Tysa river (we met it on our trip to mountains, as a small baby river).
Empty Ukrainian ski tracks
Skiing resort which wants to host Winter Olympics in 2018? Sure we are going there! Village Bukovel, no to be found on any of our maps, can be a nice place, but difficult to become a heaven for skiing lovers with highest mountain only 1245m.
On the top of Ukraine: Mount Hoverla
National Park welcomed us with barrier and questions from the park worker “but why you want to go there?”. Was not so easy to explain that we just want to walk a bit and see highest mountains of Ukraine.
Weightlifting angles of Lviv
Two days walking through Lviv were kind of enough: On the old market square everywhere marriage couples with jumping around photographers and camera men. The old town is the only place where road is good enough that girls could run around with their wedding ultra high heels.
Hanna in the Kosmonaut Hostel
“The Kosmonaut Hostel is easily the most central, helpful, relaxed and convivial place in town. It’s all about atmosphere” – we read in the guide. Because it’s all about the atmosphere – we decided to go there. Reading more about washing machine and wi-fi – we were more and more sure that it’s place for Read More
Do not always trust Lonely Planet
Let’s go outside of the town! Lonely Planet recommends Kremenets castle and situated not far from there Pochayiv Monastery. So we jumped into the car, together with Neil, my British friend who came to visit us in Lviv, took chocolates with us and started.
Into the east: Welcome to the Ukraine
Because we decided not to make too long car driving every day – we still had one stop for night in Poland, in the middle of the way Cracow-Lviv. Visiting Zuza’s parents in Trzebownisko, near Rzeszow was like coming back home, under care of somebody calm and familiar. Drinking, like at home from Nescafe cups Read More
Bye Germany, bye Poland!
So… we are really starting our trip now! After busy weeks of preparations we are on the road. Still in Poland, Cracow but tomorrow we want to cross Ukrainian border and jump around from happiness that first of 9 countries around the Black Sea is reached. Amazing feeling to finally leave home towns (Berlin and Read More