::Title: Balkens Trip Greece, Bulgaria, Romainia, Turkey May 2000 ::Author: Steve Engelhardt, steven_t_engelhardt ::

Greece / Bulgaria / Romainia Turkey trip May 2000

Work in Progress

May 14: Sunday: Mpls - Amsterdam

At 9PM I leave Minneapolis on NWA 747 for Amsterdam Because the flight was full I had to wait for a bording pass and because there were 2 Steven Engelhardt's on the flight we had to jocky for the same bording pass. Fortunately he already had one. It is a 8 Hour flight and a 3 Hour layover.

Athens , Pathanon

May 15: Monday: Amsterdam - Athens

After a short 3 hour wait in Schiphol Airport and then onto Athens. At Athens a taxi driver takes me to Acroplis Select Hotel. There I meet my roomate Mario from Buffalo.

Athens , Olympic Stadium

Cape Sounion , Temple of Poseidon

May 16: Tuesday Athens

We have a city tour this morning and we visit Royal Palace, Olympic Stadium and the Arcopolis (top) or the Parthenon. Which is very ancient and continuosly being restored. In the afternoon we go on a tour of Cape Sunion and Temple of Poseidon.

Roman Ruins, Salonika

May 17: Wendsday: Athens - Salonika (Thessaloniki)

Today we leave Athens going north toward Salonika Area. The land leaving Athens is very dry desert like but we start seeing farms as we approach Thessaloniki. We are given some time to visit the city, I vist the Roman Ruins. We then procede north out of town toward our hotel on the coast. We pass the Airport and the Nato camp. Our hotel is the Sun Hotel on the Aegean Sea. The German army as occupied the hotel however they let us share it. They are here training for Kosov which is not very far away. This the first time German troops have been stationed in a forign country since WW2.

Rila Monastary, Bulgaria

May 18: Thursday: Salonika - Sophia Bulgaria

It takes 2 hours to reach the border and with some gifts from our tour guide we make it through. It is a short drive to Rila Monasary a UN Heritage site It is peacefull site tucked in a valley. After a short stop we proceed to Sophia. We stay at the Hotel Princess which includes a Casino. I am more interested in visiting the flea market we passed. Almost everyone has a stall, that is except old grand-mothers who sell head of cabagge, the police tolorate them, however there were Gypsies selling jewlery out of baby stroller and they were chasing them. There we gypsies living on the river bank not far from the hotel.

Sophia, Alexander Nevski Church

Sophia, River of Rocks

May 19: Friday: Sophia Bulgaria

Today we vist Sophia, It is the capital and it is still re-buiding. We visit the Alexander Nevski Church and other sites in downtown. Later in the afternoon some of us go on a bus trip into the Velisco Mountains to see the River of Rocks. Sophia does not rank at all on tourist destinations.

May 18: Saterday: Sophia - Bucharest

Veliko, Bulgaria

Today hwe head for Rommania, We stop for lunch and site seeing at Veliko Tarnovo and then it is on to the border where again gifts smooth the our way though, We pass over the Blue Danube river. It is a short drive to Bucharest. We stay at Hotel Lebada it is a old palace on an island that has been converted to an hotel, it is very nice.

Bran Castle (Drakula Castle)

Brasov Rommainia

May 19: Sunday: Bucharest - Bran Castle - Brasov

Today we head for Transylvania passing through Ploiesti famous for its oil fields in WW2. We reach the Bran Castle were Count Dracula spent one night. After visiting the castle we stop at the restored city of Brasov for a couple of hours. We return to Bucharest.

Parliment former Ceausescu Palace

May 20 : Monday: Bucharest

Today we visit many sites in Bucharest. This includes the opera House. You can see many of the building downtown still have bullet hole from the revolution. We have lunch downtown and then we go on a guided tour of Ceausescu Palace which is the largest building in europe and second only to the Pentagon in Washington DC. It is said to cost $3 billion and 2/3 of it are underground. Partly because of the tremdous cost the people revolted and Ceausescu was overthown and killed.

May 21: Tuesday: Bucharest - Burgas Bulgaria

Today we travel back into Bulgaria on the same bridge we came into Rommania on. We stop at Varna a sea side resort on the Red Sea we have 1.5 hours for lunch and visit the town. It is a popular place with young Bulgarians. We go down to the beach but since it is May the water is too cold for swimming. We contuinue on to Burgas where we spend the night.

Spice Market Istanbul

May 22: Wendsday: Burgas - Istanbul Turkey

Today we have about a 1 hour ride to the border. After crossing we stop at a small town in turkey for lunch. We continue on to Istanbul and at 5PM we reach Hotel Askoc we were are staying. After checkin I go and vistit the nearby Spice Market.

St Sophia, Istanbul

The Grand Bazzar, Istanbul

May 23: Thursday: Istanbul

Today we start our tour at the Bue Mosque then a Carpet Factory and finally the Grand Bazzar. It the afternoon I vist the church of St Sophia and the Topaki Palace. In the evening several of us to go to the Roxy Night club but at 9PM they are not open and want a large cover charge anywhy.

The Bosporus

May 24: Friday: Istanbul

This morning we go on a boat ride on the Bosporus. We sail on the European side and return via the Asian side. After lunch we go on a bus trip to the Asian side and visit the Sultan Palace. Our Turkish tour guide told us that her family came from the town that just got destroyed by an earthquake. And that here sister lost her husband and another sister lost a arm.