SKI Trip - the first. Europe 2024

A man taking his goat for a walk.  ThiT  Somewhat of a restless night, different bed, different sounds. Woke after 7, and Xaku had left for a doctor's appointment. He had left a loaf of bread and some margarine, so we had some breakfast and then Bruce and I set off to the village to find a supermarket. We had decided to buy sandwich fillings for the bread. We took shortcuts and got lost a couple of times but eventually found the place.  The cheapest drink is beer - 89 lek for a 500ml can. That's about 40c.  We bought some luncheon meat, cheese, snacks and fruit and then met Lydia and Ana at the door, quite by surprise. That saved us the trek down the hill, at which time we collected Selah and went back up the hill and to the castle.  We decided on seeing the history of Albania - there's two museums, the other one showing life in Albania in the 19th century, so we paid our 1000 lek (500 each for Bruce and I, Selah was free) and wandered around the museum. It was ...

We packed and repacked, weighed and reweighed our bags. Each bag had to be less than 10 kg, and we were allowed only one personal piece of carry on baggage. Finally we were ready to depart the apartment at 9.30 so we summoned an Uber, locked the doors and off we went.  Well, the Uber driver had scant regard for our ears and even less for our blood pressure as we wove in and out the traffic at high speed and I spent the entire time in prayer.  We finally breathed a sigh of relief and leapt with aclarity out of the uber and into the airport. Once we found the correct queue after a few false starts, we discovered the scales declared all our bags as less than 8 kg and they were whisked away into the body of the plane.  We finally relaxed and waited for our departure to Albania. This was without incident, though it was amusing to watch several passengers change their seats according to where they wanted to sit rather than the seats assigned to them. As Selah was seated a few r...

 The 4 hour tour started at 10, and maps said it would take 25 minutes to get there. We walked for 20 minutes and then maps said it would take 44 minutes! Oh no. Uber to the rescue, and Whatsapp calling to the guide. The guide had only one other participant so she was happy to wait ten minutes till we arrived.  So we set off on a very interesting bike tour of the effects of communism on Romania, and the different architecture from the late 1700's on. We saw old churches, and learnt that Bucharest is 90% Romanian Orthodox.  We learnt about the effects of communism on everyday life, and the causes and results of the revolution that occurred in November 1989, which eventually overturned the communist rule.  We went inside a fabulous restaurant and would have dearly loved to have had a meal there, but getting back there after the tour would have been a mission.  We did end up getting coffees a bit further on so that was a welcome respite. A wonderful tour, despite t...

 At 5 am I went up on deck to watch the docking of the boat, and enjoyed seeing the fishing boats going out. I had a last swim in the pool and chatted to a couple of friends in New Zealand.  Breakfast was served, our bags had their last packing and checking and at 8.30 we said last goodbyes and boarded the mini bus for Bucharest.  This 2.5 hour ride wound through a variety of landscapes, from small cities, to run down cottages and villages. Late spring is here, with its ripening plums  and cherries. Mulberries paint the footpaths.  We arrived in Bucharest, got an uber to our apartment and dropped off our luggage while we waited for check in. The apartment has 3 levels of security. First there is a gate on the road with a combination lock. Then there is another combination to enter the building, and finally a combination to enter the apartment itself. (This is the cafe where we bought coffee while we waited. ) On the way I'd bought a small bottle of milk as I was...

 We left the boat bright and early to do a scavenger hunt based around a time travelling king. This was lots of fun, though we ended up walking more than we needed to as we lost our way a lot.  Here's a  link to the game.  In the afternoon we headed back to the fortress because we'd spent $17 on tickets to go there. I think we would have all happily collapsed in our cabin as it was well above 30 degrees out.  Anyway, we got to the fortress, discovered there was no one there to take our tickets so we had the place to ourselves.  I made a long video which I'll have a go at stitching together, and we headed back for a gala dinner and farewell to the staff. It's an early start tomorrow with the first group of guests leaving at 7 am, and our group is last to leave the boat at 8.30.  So we are all packed up, and ready to say a sad goodbye. This was heaps of fun, a great cruise, and great memories.  Tomorrow - Bucharest!