Sunday, June 30, 2013

Good Bye Romania....

After 6 pretty awesome days in Romania, we said goodbye to continue on our journey through Europe. We head now to Budapest, Hungary where we plan to be until Thursday, June 27th. First...let me share a little about our fantastic time in Targu Mures, Romania and some of the surrounding areas. On Friday, the day after the graduation, Gary and I set out to explore a little on our own. It was blisteringly hot and humid so we didn't last long, but saw a town rich with Romanian and Hungarian history. There are colorful--some might call flamboyantly so-government buildings and churches of every religious affiliation. This is the Cultural Center in the middle of the downtown square and has a beautiful tiled, colorful roof and welcomes many fine arts; actually also housing the library!
This is City Hall and the Courthouse
On Sunday morning, we drove 168km (that is 104 miles to you and me) south to Brasov, where we found a breathtakingly beautiful town/city complete with a "Hollywood" sign high above the city perched on a mountain. We just had a minute or two to take all this in, before our tour guides (Robb and Helga) drove us another 40 minutes to Peles Castle. Peles apparently means Palace and my goodness...this was a place built for any King or Queen. See what I mean? This castle is nestled in a forest of trees and you must walk up a cobblestone street to get there. I guess it is only about 1/4 of a mile...but it seemed like 10 miles to me!
That bit of complaining aside, I am really glad we went because the palace is absolutely something to behold! The grand entry way that leads into the greeting room has very intricate woodworking and one can truly see why it took craftsman over 40 years to develop and build the palace. I am going to post this now because I am woefully late on my "blogging"...I have had some iPad issues! More to come soon...I still have to tell you all about Budapest, known as the "Paris" of Eastern Europe (and it is..it really is), and Vienna. We are now in Nuremberg Germany. I am feeling nostalgic, as I left here 32 years ago with an 18 month old baby...and return with that baby being a grown man with his wife! Everything has changed here as expected...but going to go out today to find some things familiar! Talk to you soon!!!

Friday, June 21, 2013

Targu Mures, Romania

Today is Graduation Day in Targu Mures, Romania! Our daughter-in-law, Helga graduated from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy with 600 of her colleagues. The graduation was all in Romanian language, so the token 3 Americans (myself, Gary, and Robb) could only sit, smile, and clap at the speeches; but we were happy to be there and very proud of Helga's accomplishment. It has been a long time coming for her. She and Robb plan to return to the US later this year so Helga can start to study for her board exams in the States. All very exciting. After the graduation, together with Helga's family (mother, her significant other, maternal grandmother, and paternal grandfather) went to a wonderful lunch at a local hotel.
We had brought Helga's grandfather a small bottle of Maker's Mark bourbon, which he thoroughly enjoyed throughout the meal!
After arriving in Romania on Wednesday, we were able to do a little sight-seeing yesterday when we went to Sighisoara...the birth place of none other than Dracula himself. It is a citadel town, meaning it is surrounded by a wall. Inside the wall is a massive clock tower, which dates back to 1280 and once housed the town counsel.
The tower is 64m tall that you can walk up steps to the top...stopping along the way to see rooms housing many history artifacts. Once you reach the top, there is a wonderful view of the city.
Tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday are going to present more opportunities to explore Romania!! Now that I have figured out this picture thing...hopefully I can add more regularly. Talk to you soon and again Congratulations Dr Helga Taylor!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Here we go....


Last Minute Stuff....

All the planning, working, saving, discussion, and excitement surrounding this vacation is going to be culminated in getting on an American Airlines jet bound for Dallas, TX at 11:50 tomorrow morning. When we arrive in Dallas, we have 1 hour and 15 minutes to change planes to a British Airways flight. Then Poof! 9 hours and 25 minutes later (about 1 in the morning California time) our odyssey will begin when we land in London (Heathrow) England. Gary has never been to Europe and his eyes are about as big as quarters...as they have been since we started talking about going. Me? I am nervous about being on an airplane for 13 ½ hours and will be glad when we land in London, even though I have heard that Heathrow is not a quiet, tranquil airport. I have never been a "nervous nellie" on a plane until about 3 or 4 years ago on a business trip to Baltimore...but yes, that is a different story. Now, Xanex will have to be the rule for me and my most trusted traveling companion (other than Gary of course:).

Have we done everything? I think so...Passports? Check. Food for the plane?  Check.  (Who wants to eat the junk the airlines give you for a price or pay an arm and a leg for food in the actual airport? Ewwww.) Small amount of European cash that the bank had to order?  Check.  Credit cards? Check. Aluminum wallets for the credit cards? Check. (But really? You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who told us these were a MUST for traveling to prevent identity/credit card number theft. So sad, people cannot keep their hands or scanning machines to themselves!) Paper envelope for Passport? Check. (Again to prevent theft...but $5 a piece? Super!)  Clothes, Shoes, and various sundry items packed?  Check.  Everything taken care of at home and office?  Check.  Various electronics to keep in touch and the converters to keep them charged?  Check.  Again, the Xanex?  Check...Check.

Our next hello will be from Across the Pond when we settle for the night (Tuesday) in Luton, England, before our flight early Wednesday morning to Targu Mures, Romania.  Wish us luck in London...hopefully we can stop in a pub and have a "pint" with someone local...maybe the Queen???  (I should have checked her engagement schedule...darnit).

Can't wait to tell you all about it!!!!  Bye for now friends, family and the United States...we will be back soon!     

 

 

Saturday, June 1, 2013













Decided to start this blog to document our travel to Europe this summer.  We plan on visiting London (England), Targu Mures (Romania), Nuremberg (West Germany), and Paris (France)...with a possibility of Prague or somewhere in Italy thrown in for good measure.

We have been planning this trip for over ten months and the primary focus is to attend our daughter-in-law's graduation from Medical School!  We are excited to meet her family, although somewhat  nervous as the language barrier will be very high!

With only 2 weeks to take-off, as plans move toward reality, I will document the funny, the sad, the frustrating, the beautiful, and the absolutely hiliarious as we go along.  Thanks for taking the trip with us...it is always more fun when there is a group!!