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My boyfriend and I are flying out to Kiev on April 3 with the intention of hitchhiking down to Istanbul and staying there for a few months. The route we're looking at goes through (roughly speaking) central Ukraine, central Moldova, southern Romania, western Serbia, central Macedonia, and northern Greece (Thessaloniki over to the Turkish border). We're interested in goons' suggestions of cool things to do in these areas! A few things: -We're not doing this with the expectation of seeing everything these countries have to offer, FAR from it. It's more like getting a taste of countries we might want to return to later and seeing some interesting things along the way down to Turkey. -I lived in Istanbul for a year and a half and so am not really looking for tips on Turkey, just the other places. -Our timetable is somewhat up in the air. We have a one-way ticket and no particular time we need to arrive in Istanbul, but we're thinking something like two weeks to a month to get down there all told. -We've both done a fair amount of hitchhiking but never in any of the countries on our route. Any tips on this in particular? -Might outdoor camping be feasible in all/any of the countries I listed? We have good cold-weather camping gear but would still rather couchsurf or get a hostel if the weather is going to be TOO brutal or if wild camping is frowned upon. -We're both really into hiking and things of that nature, day hikes would be great. Museums and historical buildings are something we're both interested in also. Any great local beers? Foods we should try? Thanks in advance for any tips or ideas! Edit: Also concerned that this might be WAY too much for a few weeks or a month, even without any expectation of seeing all these countries in any sort of comprehensive way. The shorter route we're also considering cuts out Serbia/Macedonia/Greece in favor of Bulgaria, and the only real reason we're more into this one is that my boyfriend really wants to see Serbia (if only briefly) and I really want to see Macedonia (if only briefly). hosed up my thread tag, sorry  Saint Rockhopper fucked around with this message at Feb 24, 2013 around 20:34 |
| # ? Feb 24, 2013 20:27 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 01:51 |
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I have a little experience with Serbia, having spent a night at a hostel on the north side of Belgrade at the recommendation of an underwear salesman. BB's House, the Belgrade hostel in question, was a sterling place to stay. The staff there spoke good English, free wifi was available if you asked at the desk, and the tapwater was even potable. The exterior of the place looked sketchy as hell (as do all buildings in Belgrade) when the folks I was with first checked it out, but the interior was fine. The manager of the place, Milen, is a well-spoken fellow who might offer you some homemade slivovitz if he's in a good mood, which he will be if you avoid talking about Serbian history with him. Regarding Belgrade itself, during the brief time the folks I was with and myself were there, the Military Museum and surrounding Belgrade Fortress were pretty interesting and fun to check out. The city as a whole was fun to just walk through, although I would discourage driving any more than necessary through there, as traffic was almost as fierce as Istanbul's in certain areas. This info, of course, assumes that you'd go as deep into Serbia as Belgrade in the first place. 
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| # ? Feb 25, 2013 00:41 |
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I've lived in Macedonia and traveled a little through Serbia. I could offer some advice on what to see in Macedonia and ways to get around. A warning i would share with you is that travel in Macedonia is mostly limited to bus as there is no train service that links the north and south together. some people don't know about this when they get there are get stranded at the capital thinking there is a rail line that links north and south or even to Greece, there isn't. and hasn't been since the war when it was destroyed but yet some travel sites ect will tell you there is one. That being said will allow you to get a taste of the country pretty easily and you can break your trip up there into segments. Check out Skopje Ohrid and Struga the last two are at the bottom of the south and are next to each other and have some cool sights. And you may just be passing through them on your way to Greece. Ohrid has 365 churches one for everyday of the year and a castle that has a really cool story behind it. Also the lake and the area there is amazing. As for camping I don't know where you would do that but the exchange rate is in favor of the USD its like 1USD= 45MKD or something around there. BUT there are wolves out in the deep woods along with bears and boars(ive seen them). camp at your own risk. for local beers there are some good ones but are mostly on the cheap side, one redeeming thing is the palinka or firewater that alot of local people make with fruits right from their own gardens. This is usually made at home and you will find alot of drunks drinking it out of recycled soda bottles and they will be MORE than willing to share it with you. in terms of hitch hiking you will be loved because you are american and most people above the mid 20's will not speak any English in Serbia and Macedonia. but they will still try and reach and and talk with you and be as nice as they can. Also I hate to say it being a national and all and having many family and friends there but its pretty boring there in terms of sight seeing but i love the people there. But i will share anything else i can that you may need to know about the country. zombieswithblenders fucked around with this message at Feb 25, 2013 around 01:18 |
| # ? Feb 25, 2013 01:11 |
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If you can pick up a little bit of Russian now (minimum would be alphabet, cardinal directions, numbers and a few questions/answers) it'll go a long way--Ukraine and Moldova are extremely informal places and if you can speak some Russian, you'll be able to negotiate long distances and get useful assistance for not too much money. Keep in mind though that the concept of hitchhiking for free really doesn't exist out there--figure out where they're going, how far they can take you, and negotiate a price in advance. Usually people are pretty nice and they'll do everything they can to help you, which can include finding a backyard to camp out in or someone who will take you in for the night. Ukrainian truck and van drivers are not known for their english skills, and in Moldova it'll get even more difficult because such things as schedules and clearly labeled buses tend to not exist outside of the capital, so really do try to get some Russian down, or else be prepared to spend 10x more money on travel. Russian is not quite the linga-franca in the slavic world, but it usually has perfect non-overlap with english, so odds are most people you'll need to deal with will understand one or the other well enough to assist you. I lived in Odessa for awhile and I would definitely recommend you spend a few days there. There's a good couch surfing community there and all the hostels are pretty heavily discounted until summer.
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| # ? Feb 25, 2013 19:31 |
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Thanks guys, this is great info. zombieswithblenders, Macedonia sounds really cool and I'm excited to go there! We'll definitely check out Ohrid and see if we can get our hands on some palinka. Smerdyakov, that's some really helpful stuff there about hitchhiking in Ukraine and Moldova. I do know some extreme basics in Russian already (the alphabet, numbers up to a hundred, greetings, some scattered words) but I'll definitely brush up on it. I hadn't thought about cardinal directions, but those should be some good words to have handy.
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| # ? Feb 26, 2013 17:03 |
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Ukrainian-born here. Kiev is worth a day or two. Visit Lavra, monasteries, walk around the city center. After that I would recommend taking a road to Odessa (was born there), since it is probably the most active Ukrainian "highway". Pretty decent coach from Kiev to Odessa is about $50 one way, you can also catch "marshrutka", which is basically a minivan. In both cases you can negotiate fare with a driver if he has spots left and you stop him either in suburb or outside of the city. It's a good option to keep in mind in case of any emergency. It's 450km, so about 5hrs. Odessa is famous for it's French origin, beautiful Paris-like city center, sea coast, very good restaurants, night life and specific subculture and language. It's also famous for it's crime like any coastal city (think of Naples) but center and public places are safe. After Odessa you can head to Moldova or to Romania. Moldova is a nice country to visit, although in April there is nothing much to do. Kishinev is a small and quiet city with nice restaurants and bakeries, otherwise nothing special. Moldova is well known for it's wines, especially for Vermouth-like. You can arrange a visit to a winery with food and wine tasting. Also some of the largest cellars (underground) in Europe are located in Moldova, few of them are so large that you have to use a car to drive around. They started producing icewine recently and you can get a bottle of a decent one cheaper than in Europe. Also, depending on your route from Ukraine to Moldova you may need to cross Transnistria (or Pridnestrovskaya Respublika), which is a non-recognized state. People say that nowadays it is mainly used for money laundering by Russian oligarchs. You can cross it in 20min of drive. Technically Transnistria still has a war conflict with Moldova, so you will see military guys on both sides of the border, as well as UN blue helmets (at least that's how it was back in 2007). Filling all the documents at the border is a bit confusing process, but if you are traveling with someone local he will help you. I crossed it few times back in 2005-2007 and no bribing was required, just that the process was a bit unclear. Transnistria is a home to one of the best post-Soviet brandy (or cognac if you will) called "Suvorov". It used to cost about $150 in Transnistria and was selling for $500-600 in Moscow. You can buy it only in one or two shops in Tiraspol though. Safety wise I don't think you will have any issues, just use your common sense and needless to say that you don't behave like arrogant foreigners. You may have problems with hitchhiking though, as someone above already pointed out. Transportation is cheap anyway. Edit: I realize that this post is too food and drink oriented... There are definitely a lot of historical places in Kiev (2,000 yo) and Odessa (200+ yo), but less so in Moldova and Transnistria. Let me know if you have any questions. Exergy fucked around with this message at Mar 1, 2013 around 00:52 |
| # ? Mar 1, 2013 00:40 |
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Saint Rockhopper posted:My boyfriend and I are flying out to Kiev on April 3 with the intention of hitchhiking down to Istanbul and staying there for a few months. The route we're looking at goes through (roughly speaking) central Ukraine, central Moldova, southern Romania, western Serbia, central Macedonia, and northern Greece (Thessaloniki over to the Turkish border). We're interested in goons' suggestions of cool things to do in these areas! Since you'll be in Kiev why not visit Pripyat/exclusion zone around Chernobyl NPP? It's a really interesting experience to see what it would be like if people just left one day and never came back. http://romaniaandmoldova.com - This has a ton of good advices and guides on stuff to see in Romania and Moldova, I can't remember anything significant that isn't on those(I was born in Moldova and lived there until about 6 years back btw). It also has solid info on getting around and his advice on hotels/hostels is probably good too(as a local I wouldn't know). My top recommendation for hiking and old stuff in Moldova would be Saharna and Old Orhei(Orheiul Vechi) but you'd need a sunny day, April weather is often a cold nasty drizzle all day long, not exactly ideal for hiking. Can't recommend any local beer, it's a wine country - the local wines are quite good but buy them in winery's own stores as bootleg is fairly common. It's worthwhile to arrange a tour of cellars in Cricova or Milesti Mici. Now these may be called "cellars" but they're actually repurposed limestone mines, too big to tour on foot so you drive your car inside and guide gives directions. Romania has a heap of medieval castles and monasteries to gawk at, and mountains would most likely still have snow at this time if you're into skiing. West Romania Apuseni mountains are good for hiking, there also are some great caves. South of that, almost on Serbian border, there is a resort at ancient roman baths on natural hot/mineral springs. Bran castle is probably most famous internationally castle there because of Dracula(it wasn't really his castle, though it's a cool castle still worth seeing). The actual Dracula's castle is Poienari, but it's fairly small and more of a ruin now than a castle. 'Muddy volcanoes' are advertised as natural wonder but those are really unimpressive. Danube Delta is a giant swamp, it may be a preserve for hundreds of bird species but it's also a preserve for billions of mosquitoes. Pyromancer fucked around with this message at Mar 6, 2013 around 15:44 |
| # ? Mar 6, 2013 15:40 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 01:51 |
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Pyromancer posted:Since you'll be in Kiev why not visit Pripyat/exclusion zone around Chernobyl NPP? It's a really interesting experience to see what it would be like if people just left one day and never came back. I did the Chernobyl tour thing when I was in Ukraine two years ago. It was pretty drat awesome to see it. Basically like a complete time warp, and moreover you really got to see a neat picture of the USSR because nothing had been demolished/updated. Also, the facilities themselves look really bizarre since they haven't been maintained. The opportunity to see it may not be there forever also as they were in the midst of decommissioning it when I was there in 2011. Not sure when it'll be done. I remember it being non-trivially priced, but you got to eat lunch at the worker's cafeteria and it was AWESOME legit Ukrainian food. Another neat thing we did in Kiev was go to this place where you can shoot crazy guns. I'm Canadian so automatic weapons/guns in general were a pretty big novelty for me. I think it was <$40 and you got to shoot a Dragunov sniper rifle, AK-47, and a handgun. Juvenile, but where else can you do that? No background checks, no ID, just cash and shoot. Unfortunately that's all I can offer for the region. When we did this trip we did the Trans-Siberian immediately after (also highly recommended).
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| # ? Mar 8, 2013 04:46 |
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