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Welcome to my travel log! You will find here a lot more than in the travel reports, stripped from political correctness. Enjoy! 
Sep 18, 2005 02:00 PM Sydney (AU) - the Opera House up and close
After I left Sydney last year, I kept thinking why I did not approach the famous Opera House from up close. I guess I was so fascinated by the sight that I thought it looked best seen from the sea or from the Rocks, or from the bridge. And I managed to take some great pictures from those places... and yet, I thought I missed the opportunity to stand right in front of the opera and admire it, feel it...
So, this time, I did. It was great and almost overwhelming. And surprising! The segments of the mandarin look so real and obvious from a certain angle, while the most famous views of the house make it look like a group of sails.
I loved to sit in a cafe at the Rocks and watch how the sun kept leaving different shadows on the roof as the day progressed. The beer was cold and there was so much sun to enjoy.
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Sep 17, 2005 02:00 PM Sydney (AU) - climbing the Harbour Bridge
Ha! I finally did it! The year before, I was contemplating the idea to climb the Harbour Bridge, but I woke up too late and the tours were sold out. This time, I planned it properly and I booked the tour before I left London.
Well, it was not so much a climb but a walk up the bridge. It was dead easy and not even close to scary. Well, I am not afraid of heights and the overly protective regulations make it more of a joke than a challenge. What I hated about the tour was that I could not take my own camera! The company organising the trips claimed that it was too dangerous, as the equipment might fall down to the traffic below. Sure that was the risk, but there are means of harnessing cameras to the belts, etc. Well, a pity. Fortunately, they do take a picture on top of the bridge, but since I opted for a sunset tour, when I got to the top of the structure, it was already completely dark and the photos did not turn that well.
But I do recommend the walk. It is fun.
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Sep 16, 2005 02:00 PM Sydney (AU) - a night out in Manly
Ah, I missed going out in Manly so much! The people there are genuinely friendly. Their friendliness is pure and they are all so much fun to party with.
As soon as I landed from London/Frankfurt/Bangkok, I embarked on a long night partying. It was superb. I think I ended up going to three of four clubs. One was almost immediately on the beach. This one closed quite early - probably at about midnight. It was great there, as it was large and the bar area was not crowded that much. Then, I moved somewhere nearby to a club on the corner. There was hardly any queuing and this club was a bit more trendy. It was packed. It had a few rooms, some with comfy places to sit down and chat.
I know that I will again be missing this loads and loads.
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Sep 15, 2005 02:00 PM London (GB) - Frankfurt (DE) - Bangkok (TH) - Sydney (AU)
A long, long trip this is. Since I hate London Heathrow airport to bits, and absolutely love London City airport (which all is like a business lounge), I opted for an extra change of aircraft on my way to Australia. I took Lufthansa flight from LCY to FRA and then Thai Airways International to BKK and on to SYD.
The trick was to adjust the body clock. Since I was scheduled to land in Sydney in the evening, it was best to get as much sleep as possible all the way to Bangkok and then on the last leg to Sydney, on the 10 hour flight, stay awake watching films, listening to the music, writing travel stories, eating, drinking, etc.
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Sep 11, 2005 02:00 PM Buchuresti (RO) - hmm... there were some great plans
It is quite obvious that Bucharest must have been a very stylish city in the 1920s and 1930s. Many grand villas and palaces come
from that period. They are dotted around the city and the only a little disappointing feature is that there is no tight historical centre and many modern structures, often of unfortunate architecture, obscure the urban gems. There are a few of those gems that I really loved. One of them is the Arcul de Triumf, which luckily is nicely exposed on a roundabout, similar to the one in Paris, France. It looks great all day, but the pictures look better when taken soon after sunrise or in late afternoon. The other, second favourite, was the Romanian Atheneum, the city main concert hall, built in Roman-classic style. Then, along the Calea Victoriei, there are other ones, which made me lift my heavy camera. Notably, the Royal Palace, Cercul Militar, National History Museum and the CEC building, which looks like it came from under Eiffel’s pencil. I would have to check.
However, Bucharest is an attractive city with wide tree lined alleys. There is also a south central district, which was completely rebuilt after a destructive earthquake of 1977. One can have mixed feelings about what has been built afterwards, and since I have never seen, what was there before the earthquake, I can only say that I quite liked the wide fountain-studded alley lined with large Roman-inspired sandstone (or similar material) buildings. The number of the fountains is rather unprecedented and the central fountain system at the Riata Unirii is impressive. I realise that the district had been erected in the name of the victory of socialism, and something tells me that building of historical, religious and architectural significance might have been demolished, I still found the area fresh and pleasant. Now, as the communism is gone, it has become historical.
One of the buildings should even make it to the Guinness Book of Records. It is the Palatul Parlementului (Parliament Palace), supposedly the second largest administration building in the word after the Pentagon in the USA, and the largest civil administration of the world. It is also the most pointless building in the human history, as it contains large empty halls and elaborative staircases. Nevertheless, parts of it are being used. It houses the Romanian Parliament (at least the name is not pointless!), conference centre and a few other organisations. The construction of this mammoth building started 21 years ago. Over 100,000 of workers have been involved in the project and it is still under construction. I still like it, and I believe it may be fully utilised. The number of governmental entities, and semi-governmental institutions, as well as European organisation is large enough not to be able to fit in this structure. So, is it not funny that I seem to complain that there is no tight historical centre, and yet I am pleased with the soc-real part of the city, which might have actually replaced it? Well, the city has a great potential. Give it a proper clean up, appropriately restore some of the historical monuments, maybe by using the large empty areas, and Bucharest might again be one of the most chic and pleasant capitals of Europe.
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Sep 10, 2005 02:00 PM Brasov (RO) - a lovely place!
I liked Brasov (historical name Kronstadt) very much! The historic centre is small, but neat and pretty. Brasov’s main square (Piata Statului) is very photogenic (picture below), and I would have taken many more pictures there, had an ugly temporary festival hall had not obscured half of the town! Unfortunately, I only managed to see a small part of the town – one pedestrians-only street, the main square and the Black Church with remarkably contrasting white interior.
Originally, I was speculating to have lunch there, and was looking for a restaurant serving Romanian food around the main square. Had I quickly found it I would have soaked the atmosphere of the town a little longer. However, I could not find any good traditional restaurants in the area, and therefore decided I was rather in a hurry to see the Peles Castle in Sinaia. Again, Brasov with its historical Old Town looks very civilised and pretty. The trouble is that if I showed the pictures I took in Brasov around, say in England, France or Poland, no-one would ever believe me that I actually took it in Romania.
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Sep 10, 2005 02:00 PM Sinaia (RO) - what a castle!
Sinaia is home of two royal castles: Peles Castle, where (if I am not wrong) the first king of Romania, the King Carol I of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family was spending his summers and Pelisor Castle, where originally his wife Elizabeth lived, and then King Ferdinand and Queen Mary resided. The Peles Castle is an elaborative piece of work, designed by two German and altered by one Czech architects in the neo-Renaissance style. Over the years, the castle has been meticulously brought to its glory to reveal how exquisite and slightly over the top it is. No doubt, it is a true royal residence. It is beautifully situated in green forest at the feet of the Carpathian Mountains. It sits on a green meadow, at the top of a small hill. Already from a distance, it looks great, with its main square tower and the front façade. It surely is an architectural gem in the historical Romania. I could not get my eyes (through lens) off it. It is not necessarily of the same unreasonably extreme glory as the Neuschweinstein Castle in Germany, but is also looks like it could easily be an inspiration for Walt Disney. It is arguably the most beautiful romantic castle in Europe. It was ordered by Carol I in 1873, and the foundations were laid on 22 August 1875. It took eight years to build. The castle, the first one in Europe, was powered by its own power plant to provide electricity, and had a central vacuum cleaning system, and even an electrical lift. The interior clearly shows that the Hohenzollern family loved excess. The king, who actually did not see the completely finished castle (well, it was completely built, but it was not fully decorated inside), managed to ensure that he was fully in line with the relevant fashion, and ordered the decor of many rooms in the Indian, Persian, Venetian, German and other styles.
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Sep 09, 2005 02:00 PM Bran (RO) - not a Dracula's castle
Otherwise known as Tuerzburg, Bran is a sleepy town, whose fame depends on the existence of the aforementioned castle.
It is a very nice castle, built and rebuilt throughout the years in many styles, perched on a hill amongst the Bucegi mountains. It has once been a royal residence of the Hungarian King Sigismund of Luxemburg, who then left the castle to become a military obstacle for the Tatar (Mongol) invasion, rather than home. Then, the fortress changed hands frequently (once it was a property of Draculea’s grandfather) and in the XIX century was again a summer residence of the Kings of Romania, from the Hohenzollern dynasty.
Bran is also home of a small museum, which boasts fine examples of rural housing. It is quite interesting to visit it, however the museum in Bucharest is much larger and better. One thing to avoid is the flea market at the entrance to the castle and the museum, as the merchants excessively focus on Dracula and vampire products. I almost forgot to say that people of Transylvania still do believe in vampires. If they believe that someone, who died in the past, might be a vampire, and is haunting and terrorising the neighbourhood, they would exhume the body and put a thorn in the heart. It is amazing that the authorities however reluctantly do allow for this practice.
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Sep 09, 2005 02:00 PM Rasnov (RO) - picturesque hill with a citadel
Rasnov is another appealing town in the Brasov County, which boasts a citadel erected by the Order of the Teutonic Knights in 1215, then known as Rosenau. It is being wonderfully restored and the quality of the place easily competes with similar places in Switzerland (the fortress is located among mountains – see picture on the Transylvania page), Germany or Austria. It is clean and authentic. It actually looks like it was a proper town rather than a military fortress. Well, after second thought...anything that the Teutonic Knights (real name the Teutonic Brothers of the Sword or rather Ordo domus Sanctae Mariae Theutonicorum) built was semi military. They were pain in the backside of many countries and societies, that it was absolutely necessary for them to build robust homes.
Anyway, Rasnov has been so solid that it was conquered only once – in 1608 by Gabor Bathory, the Prince of Transylvania, related to the great Polish king Stefan I Batory (Istvan Bathory), who elected a king on 9 December 1575, greatly strengthened Poland, and was the last Polish monarch who reigned entirely from the Wawel Castle in Krakow before his successor, Sigismund III Vasa, moved his court to Warsaw. I cannot believe that the last sentence is! There is a terrace right in the middle of the Rosnov within the citadel’s walls, serving wonderfully refreshing beer. There is not much to do in Rosnov otherwise. It is a great place to visit and to drop in for a picnic. The town of Rosnov, at the foot of the citadel’s hill, is a rather quiet place, too.
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Sep 08, 2005 02:00 PM Buchuresti (RO) - the first look at Romania
As I landed right after midnight on Friday, I had the opportunity to see the capital of Romania by night. Not much of it, because it was really late, but what I saw impressed me. En route from the airport, there are examples of fine architecture. A few of the palaces now are home to museums, government institutions or private companies. When I came back to the area on Sunday afternoon, one of the security guys asked me not to take pictures of one of the buildings, as my big sexy camera was swaying show-off-ishingly from my neck. At the airport, there are no parking ticket machines, and the ticket must be collected from a person sitting in a booth. All is based on man power in Romania. There was also a guy at the gate who would put the ticket into the machine to open the gate. Although I am being told that was unusual, and normally the driver would put the ticket in. This is not ideal. It is great for the people who find (unexciting) employment, but not too good for the economy with hidden unemployment.
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