Travel in an Uncertain World – Part III

On August 10, 2020August 10, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Blogging, Virginia11 Comments

When the world first shut down in March, it definitely created a lot of anxiety and uncertainty. First and foremost, we’ve stayed healthy and followed all of the appropriate guidance. At the time we had just gotten back from a quick trip to Acapulco, Mexico the month earlier and had finalized our trip to Turkey for April. We were hoping that things would calm down quickly and our travel plans could resume.

Obviously we were wrong and then in June we started to think about the possibility of some sort of travel, even if within the United States. We took a road trip to Telluride, Colorado and have considered some other road trips. We discovered that even getting on the road was difficult as many of the places where we would have stopped to use the restroom were closed to the public. Facemasks have also become a routine way of life. At the time we rescheduled our trip to Turkey to October, but that is definitely still only a hope and not a plan.

We have gotten so desperate for some sort of travel that we are starting to look at possibilities for November/December and hoping to perhaps get to do the safari that we had planned for our 30th wedding anniversary, which took place in April. Since we can’t get to anyplace new, we are going through some of our photographs from many years ago and scanning them into our computer. We will be talking about some of those trips in the coming weeks, but clearly those places might look a lot different today than they did decades ago.

We look forward to being able to share something recent and exciting as soon as it is safe to do so. We really miss the feeling that travel provides and getting to know people from other cultures and learning about their lives and country.

Presidential Box in Ford Theater in Old Town Alexandria

Riding Bicycles in the Ninh Binh Province of Vietnam

On August 7, 2020August 7, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge, Vietnam3 Comments

One of the things that was included in our tour of the Ninh Binh Province in Vietnam was riding bicycles through the countryside and along the rice paddies. Well, at least that was the description in the tour literature. We did ride bicycles, but it was not through the idyllic countryside, but rather through construction. Vietnam is known for it’s use of bicycles from the 1950’s, which aren’t as stable as modern bicycles. Add to that, we had to dodge construction trucks and ride over stones instead of a smooth path. It may be something that most tourists expect when visiting Vietnam, but we’d have preferred a quiet ride in the countryside versus a ride through a construction zone.

It Would Have Been Pretty Without the Construction

This is Closer to What the Tour Guides Would Like You to See

The City of Bucharest in Romania

On August 6, 2020August 6, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Romania2 Comments

Bucharest is the capital of Romania and was the first city that we visited during our trip to Romania before heading to Brasov. We were there in winter and the streets were covered with snow, but we still found it interesting. Bucharest became the capital of Romania in 1862 and was, at one time, considered to be “little Paris” because of its architecture and culture, but due to the wars, much of the architecture was destroyed. Although many of buildings have been restored, the city has evolved over time.

Like most historic cities, walking the streets of the old town area is certainly a worthwhile experience. You will find many restaurants, some old churches and buildings, as well as some modern shops and adult stores. Although there is a definite mix of utilitarian buildings as well as historic buildings, we definitely saw several very interesting buildings. It is certainly worth visiting the Galeria de Arta Romaneasca and the Central de la Universidad de Bucharest, with its statue of Carol I on horseback, has wonderful architectural features. The area is also known as Revolution Square and there is an interesting obelisk that is a monument for the anti-communist revolution of 1989.

There are several old churches that you can visit as well that are very interesting. One of the most interesting is the Church of Stavropoleos Monastery in old town Bucharest. With interesting murals inside on the walls and ceilings, its architecture is done in the Byzantine tradition. It is certainly quite a contrast to the buildings that surround it. We went to a couple of restaurants and found the people to be very friendly, but be sure to always have small change with you as the waiters are likely to tell you that they don’t have change in hopes of getting you to pay more than the actual price. We were fortunate enough to have musicians playing local, folk music at one of the restaurants that we visited.

In general, we found Bucharest to be a city of contrasts. It was our first experience in an Eastern European country and it was very fascinating. Bucharest is the sixth larges city in the European Union with almost 2.5 million residents, so it can certainly be busy. After leaving Bucharest, we went to Transylvania and the city of Brasov, which was quite different than the capital city and something that we would highly recommend. We will be visiting the neighboring country of Hungary and the city of Budapest in a couple of months and are anxious to compare our different experiences.