Big transition going from the lowest ranking EU member country (Bulgaria) to the leading GDP percent growth country (Estonia). Obviously the societal changes are quite big but being this close to the Arctic Circle is also a pretty big change. I had already been to Lithuania and Latvia so I had a precognitive idea about what the Baltic country of Estonia would be like. That idea was completely and utterly wrong.
There is little to no Soviet influence here in Estonia. The Estonian language is a proprietary language that closely relates to Hungarian but bares no Slavic dialect. The culture is very much Scandinavian which is quite refreshing coming from a Balkan, post-communist country. Even though there's close to 2 feet of snow everywhere, the Estonian capital, Tallinn, is incredibly charming and welcoming. I am currently living right off of the old town square so walking right out of my hotel has been the same for over 200 years.
In the Old Town square is a market where fur traders are selling their Russian-style hats and roasted almonds. There's a 50 foot Christmas tree that overlooks a large stage where the festivities are taking place. Although it is usually around 10 degrees now, the city lights, people, and buildings make the city feel much warmer.
Some of you may remember my mafia-style winter trench coat that I had back at AU. Well, unfortunately I don't have that with me here which makes me deeply regret not bringing it. Everyone is bundled up from head to toe and the parents pull their kids around the town in tiny little sleds. It's quite amusing to see.
Probably one of my favorite things about this town is that most of the restaurants are built underground to help save heat. You'll walk down a winding staircase to a cool Estonian pub or restaurant carved into a cave-looking dwelling that just makes you want to sit by the fire for hours. The food can be somewhat expensive but always good and the service is always friendly. Practically everyone speaks English very well so it's really easy to get around.
One of the deals that I had last week was with an Estonian conglomerate of dairy farmers who invented a cheese that actually lowers blood pressure. He gave us a tour of the whole factory and how the cheese is processed into its final product. Quite a cool guy and really cool to see how they add a bacteria that actually helps our body's blood pressure. It was about a 2 hour drive out to the factory which was about half way across the country. Another 2 hours and we would have been in Russia--not that I would ever want to go back to Commi-land.
Overall, it's a very small country with less than 1.4 million people, but it's an amazing country that I recommend everyone should visit. I uploaded a few pictures too. Hope all is well.
Cheers.
Wyatt
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Lommel, Belgium
Well I'm no longer Bulgaria. My work is switching me projects and currently I am residing at the head office here in Lommel, Belgium. I arrived in Eindhoven, Netherlands this past Sunday and have been doing work in the office since then. Unfortunately I don't know where or what my next project will be. Obviously I have my hopes and dreams of where I'd like to go and what I'd like to do, but that's ultimately up to the company to see what fits best overall.
But! I would like to write about the incredible changeover from a post-communist country, who is also an EU member, to a well-developed country like Belgium. The biggest issue with countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and other Balkan countries is the infrastructure. I've never realized how the simple things around you create order and a sense of well-being. For example, in Bulgaria you can't turn right on red. This may not sound that significant of an issue but when the capital of a country has only 2 lanes down the biggest road, a simple traffic permission makes a world of a difference. Although in the States we absolutely despise everything related to traffic, our system actually works. In Bulgaria, if they even actually have working stoplights, they're timed at 15 second intervals where no one even can get through in time. All of these things combined with the lack of labeled streets makes and everyday drive take a lifetime.
Now with all those complaints about the Bulgarian transportation infrastructure aside, it is an amazingly affordable place to live. Bulgaria is not in the eurozone yet (meaning they haven't adopted the euro yet) but their currency, the lev, is pegged to the euro. This keeps the currency relatively stable and a simple 2 to 1 exchange rate for the euro. To put things in more relevant terms, the most expensive footlong Subway sandwich, fully loaded, will only cost $4.00. Now obviously the Subways in the States have the $5 footlong (as I start chanting the commercial) but keep in mind this an American franchise in a foreign country which typically means they always jack up the prices. To further elaborate, you can buy an entire rotisserie chicken for $4.75 or maybe you'd like a 20 oz Sprite for $0.65. So even though Stalin left plenty of Commi-blocks laying around, it's nice to be in a country where you don't break the bank.
Well, the next time I should be posting could be from Asia, Central America, or still here in Europe--who knows. Hope all is well.
Cheers.
Wyatt
But! I would like to write about the incredible changeover from a post-communist country, who is also an EU member, to a well-developed country like Belgium. The biggest issue with countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and other Balkan countries is the infrastructure. I've never realized how the simple things around you create order and a sense of well-being. For example, in Bulgaria you can't turn right on red. This may not sound that significant of an issue but when the capital of a country has only 2 lanes down the biggest road, a simple traffic permission makes a world of a difference. Although in the States we absolutely despise everything related to traffic, our system actually works. In Bulgaria, if they even actually have working stoplights, they're timed at 15 second intervals where no one even can get through in time. All of these things combined with the lack of labeled streets makes and everyday drive take a lifetime.
Now with all those complaints about the Bulgarian transportation infrastructure aside, it is an amazingly affordable place to live. Bulgaria is not in the eurozone yet (meaning they haven't adopted the euro yet) but their currency, the lev, is pegged to the euro. This keeps the currency relatively stable and a simple 2 to 1 exchange rate for the euro. To put things in more relevant terms, the most expensive footlong Subway sandwich, fully loaded, will only cost $4.00. Now obviously the Subways in the States have the $5 footlong (as I start chanting the commercial) but keep in mind this an American franchise in a foreign country which typically means they always jack up the prices. To further elaborate, you can buy an entire rotisserie chicken for $4.75 or maybe you'd like a 20 oz Sprite for $0.65. So even though Stalin left plenty of Commi-blocks laying around, it's nice to be in a country where you don't break the bank.
Well, the next time I should be posting could be from Asia, Central America, or still here in Europe--who knows. Hope all is well.
Cheers.
Wyatt
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Bran, Romania
Happy post-Halloween everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their trick-or-treat season back in the States or wherever you may be. From what I hear though, most of the trick-or-treat'rs are too old to be going door to door. Nonetheless, I never had much of a sweet tooth to make it worthwhile.
So! On to my travels/job/European adventures. This past weekend I traveled north to the great country of Romania to spend Halloween. We left Sofia early afternoon this past Friday to start the 7-8 hour drive north of Bucharest to an area known as Transylvania, near Bran. Obviously you immediately think of vampires and scary things when hearing the word Transylvania. Surprisingly, the small village of Bran is quite charming--but in a creepy way. That's what I wanted though. I wanted the entire Halloween experience of being in a foreign country where terror crept around every corner. Our hotel was owned by an incredibly charming family that did not watch us sleep or perform any rituals--at least none that I was aware of.
On to the more important things at hand... castles. The first castle I visited was the ruins of an old castle where Count Dracula's wife threw herself off of several hundred years ago. It's near the Transfăgărăşan road that cuts through the Transylvanian mountains. Some of you may better know it as the "Top Gear Romanian Road." 1500 steps later up to the castle at very high elevation, I was able to stand where Dracula's wife took a nose dive thousands of feet off the side of a mountain. I haven't read the books, but being there sure made me want to.
Probably the most amazing thing during the trip--the road. The Transfăgărăşan is a work of art that any car enthusiast would love. Dozens of hairpin turns and banked curves to force you to smile while driving. Even driving our puny, little 5-speed Renault Megane was enjoyable. If you are wondering more about this road, or want to see it; simply click here to see the video from Top Gear they made in Romania where I drove. The supercars in the video make it worthwhile to see as well.
After I drove back from Dracula's wife's castle, we headed to Bran's Castle.. most commonly known as Dracula's Castle. I have added some photos that show how awesome this castle is. We went at night to take advantage of the whole 'Dracula/Halloween' experience. There are an incredible amount of rooms in that castle with endless staircases that lead to more and more rooms. I would absolutely love to live in a castle like Bran's Castle where you have a quaint little courtyard and overlook a small village. I just hope they wouldn't call me Count Wyatt the Impaler like they did Dracula.
Well, after Dracula's awesome castle I drove straight from Bucharest, Romania to Sofia, Bulgaria which was about a 6 hour drive. The roads aren't too bad but we got hung up at the border which is always a pain. The border police stamped over my Russian visa in my passport which didn't make me too happy. I best look at it as they're conserving pages because in this job you fill up passports in under a year.
Hope all is well your way. Feel free to look at the extra pictures I posted.
Cheers.
Wyatt
So! On to my travels/job/European adventures. This past weekend I traveled north to the great country of Romania to spend Halloween. We left Sofia early afternoon this past Friday to start the 7-8 hour drive north of Bucharest to an area known as Transylvania, near Bran. Obviously you immediately think of vampires and scary things when hearing the word Transylvania. Surprisingly, the small village of Bran is quite charming--but in a creepy way. That's what I wanted though. I wanted the entire Halloween experience of being in a foreign country where terror crept around every corner. Our hotel was owned by an incredibly charming family that did not watch us sleep or perform any rituals--at least none that I was aware of.
On to the more important things at hand... castles. The first castle I visited was the ruins of an old castle where Count Dracula's wife threw herself off of several hundred years ago. It's near the Transfăgărăşan road that cuts through the Transylvanian mountains. Some of you may better know it as the "Top Gear Romanian Road." 1500 steps later up to the castle at very high elevation, I was able to stand where Dracula's wife took a nose dive thousands of feet off the side of a mountain. I haven't read the books, but being there sure made me want to.
Probably the most amazing thing during the trip--the road. The Transfăgărăşan is a work of art that any car enthusiast would love. Dozens of hairpin turns and banked curves to force you to smile while driving. Even driving our puny, little 5-speed Renault Megane was enjoyable. If you are wondering more about this road, or want to see it; simply click here to see the video from Top Gear they made in Romania where I drove. The supercars in the video make it worthwhile to see as well.
After I drove back from Dracula's wife's castle, we headed to Bran's Castle.. most commonly known as Dracula's Castle. I have added some photos that show how awesome this castle is. We went at night to take advantage of the whole 'Dracula/Halloween' experience. There are an incredible amount of rooms in that castle with endless staircases that lead to more and more rooms. I would absolutely love to live in a castle like Bran's Castle where you have a quaint little courtyard and overlook a small village. I just hope they wouldn't call me Count Wyatt the Impaler like they did Dracula.
Well, after Dracula's awesome castle I drove straight from Bucharest, Romania to Sofia, Bulgaria which was about a 6 hour drive. The roads aren't too bad but we got hung up at the border which is always a pain. The border police stamped over my Russian visa in my passport which didn't make me too happy. I best look at it as they're conserving pages because in this job you fill up passports in under a year.
Hope all is well your way. Feel free to look at the extra pictures I posted.
Cheers.
Wyatt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)