ROMANIA | Wednesday, 26 Oct 2011 | Views [987]
It has taken a while but I have finally gotten my arms around religious art, especially the icons of the Greek and Eastern Orthodox Church. For centuries the Bible has been the source of stories throughout the Western world. But until recently only ... Read more >
ROMANIA | Sunday, 23 Oct 2011 | Views [1792]
The woman at the ticket office in Sofia was apologetic. She confided that our train was Russian,
headed for Moscow. Our cabin, she
warned, was the last in the car, next to the toilet. But the tickets to Bucharest cost half of what it would ... Read more >
ROMANIA | Sunday, 23 Oct 2011 | Photo Gallery
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BULGARIA | Saturday, 22 Oct 2011 | Views [975]
We turned in the rental car, booked our overnight train to
Bucharest, and are waiting in the lobby of the Dedeman Princess Hotel. We have covered quite a bit of
Bulgaria, from the neglect of Sofia to the charm of Veliko Tarnovo and from the
forested ... Read more >
BULGARIA | Friday, 21 Oct 2011 | Views [905]
Our first impression of Bulgaria was of disappointing
Sofia. Our last will be the
wonderful town of Veliko Tarnovo.
We followed signs for the Comfort Hotel, 200 meters at a time, into the
narrow, twisting, cobbled streets of the old town, ... Read more >
BULGARIA | Thursday, 20 Oct 2011 | Views [1105]
I didn't know anything about the Stone Churches of Ivanovo except that they were part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To quote Yogi Berra, in fact, "I didn't even suspect anything!" But the frescos in the Church of the Virgin Mary were ... Read more >
BULGARIA | Wednesday, 19 Oct 2011 | Views [2548]
What a difference a day makes! The sun was shining, the snow had melted and the Thracian Tombs of Sveshtari were open. There are hundreds of tombs of noblemen dating from 2500 years ago near Sveshtari. Their earthen mounds are easily visible but ... Read more >
BULGARIA | Tuesday, 18 Oct 2011 | Views [1091]
To everything
there is a season. But October is not the season to be on the Black Sea
in Bulgaria. Nessebur's old Byzantine city is a UNESCO World Heritage
site but was pretty much deserted this weekend. Maybe, probably, it was
the bitter cold, ... Read more >
BULGARIA | Saturday, 15 Oct 2011 | Views [1571]
At about the same time Pericles was building the Parthenon, King
Ostrusha ruled in Thrace, north of Plovdiv. All that remains of his kingdom is his tomb in the “Valley
of the Thracian Kings.” Yordan,
the man with the keys, was waiting for us ... Read more >
BULGARIA | Friday, 14 Oct 2011 | Views [1027]
Happy St. Petka's day! According to pagan rituals, the mating of the sheep should take place on this day. Women are not allowed to do any work today; not even knitting, sewing or washing. Once the rams have done their work the women prepare fresh ... Read more >
BULGARIA | Thursday, 13 Oct 2011 | Views [893]
Sometimes Bulgaria feels like Colorado, only greener. A better comparison would be New
England, maybe Maine. The
mountains top out at just over a mile, much like Mt. Washington. They have gotten their first snow and
the resorts are preparing ... Read more >
BULGARIA | Monday, 10 Oct 2011 | Views [780]
In all honesty, I probably haven’t given Sofia a fair
chance. But then, the lady hasn’t
exactly shown her good side, either.
It has rained ever since we arrived and it is so cold that Connie has
taken to wearing gloves!
Sofia was never ... Read more >
BULGARIA | Saturday, 8 Oct 2011 | Photo Gallery
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BULGARIA | Saturday, 8 Oct 2011 | Views [908]
Friends will be relieved to hear that we have left the troubled nation of Greece. All of their emails cautioned us to avoid the riots which have dominated the news lately. But the unrest is mostly in Athens, and only around the government buildings, ... Read more >
GREECE | Saturday, 1 Oct 2011 | Views [1654]
We went to Pesca Lakes to see the Dalmatian pelicans. And we found so much more.
Someone once said, “There is no there, there.” They may have been talking about
Prespa. You have to be careful driving here. A wrong turn and you ... Read more >
GREECE | Friday, 30 Sep 2011 | Views [1078]
It always seems to start with a hermit - monasticism, that is. Sometimes he sets up shop in a cave; other times it's on a hilltop. The next thing you know, someone decides to build a monastery. And another. Then before the votive candles have melted ... Read more >
GREECE | Wednesday, 28 Sep 2011 | Views [1807]
Zeus, the story goes, released two eagles from different compass
points. Their paths crossed over
the center of the world, Delphi.
Apollo soon took up residence there and Greeks (and later Romans, too)
would journey to Delphi to receive ... Read more >
GREECE | Monday, 26 Sep 2011 | Views [1348]
No, the circus hadn’t come to town. In fact, there is no town. A tent has covered the Temple of Apollo at Bassai for 15 years
to protect it from frost and the elements while it is being restored. This is the most remote sanctuary in
mainland ... Read more >
GREECE | Sunday, 25 Sep 2011 | Views [1103]
Olympia is extremely quiet today. It is the end of the tourist season. The cats that wander from one restaurant
to the next meowing for handouts will have to find a new con when they close
next week for the season.
All of the archeological ... Read more >
GREECE | Friday, 23 Sep 2011 | Views [1800]
Or Sparti, or ∑πAPTI, was the main rival to Athens in antiquity. The two cities could
hardly be more different. Athens
lies on the Aegean Sea in Attica, Sparta sits high in the Peloponnesian
hills. Athens was the preeminent
naval power ... Read more >
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