Budapest, Hungary and Slovakia

Despite my self-imposed rule against "stealth visits," Hungary only got two days... but they were fabulously spent on Budapest. The city is grand and sophisticated, and high holiday services at two different synagogues (including the stunning Dohány) were moving. Two nights at the Marriott right on the Danube in the middle of everything didn't hurt either.

Bratislava, Slovakia has a lovely old town, but the highlight was a hockey match where I happened to sit next to the father of one of the players. He was all smiles when the home team HC Slovan beat Zvolen two to zip. From there I headed East to Terchova (base for a day hiking in the Malá Fatra mountains) and Levoča (lovely town near Slovakia's largest castle and on the way to the High Tatra mountains bordering Poland).

Today I crossed into Poland where I plan to attend Yom Kippur services in Krakow. After that I am bracing myself for a look at Poland's dark history with its Jews including my own grandparents.

Bulgaria and Romania

I buzzed through Bulgaria in a few days en route to Romania, pausing long enough to meet some of my uncle Rudy's relatives in Sofia (sedate capital) and Plovdiv (quieter small town). The last stop was delightful Veliko Târnovo, a medieval former capital set on a hillside above a river, shadowed by a huge citadel.

Romania's capital, Bucharest, has an incredible array of architecture -- from the massive civic Palace of Parliament and its fountain-lined boulevard to art deco to 18th century brick churches to modern glass hotels. Some of the buildings look like they belong in Paris, including a copy of the Arc de Triomphe!

When you get to the mountains of Transylvania and the towns of Sinaia, Braşov, and Sighişoara, medieval castles and fortresses dominate. Romania seems to have more in common with Western Europe than Bulgaria. The castles and cable cars remind me of Switzerland, and the language sounds closer to Italian or French (whereas Bulgaria feels more "post-Communist" and they are still using the Russian Cyrillic alphabet).

Tonight I'm off to Budapest, Hungary to celebrate Rosh Hashana at Europe's largest synagogue.

Greece

It is hard to describe the way a country can smell so good. It's the hanging vines of jasmine, roses, the anise in the national drink called ouzo, thyme, rosemary, and other unidentifiable herbs.

I met up with Marion and Yiorgos in Athens (the Acropolis/Parthenon and archaeological museum are impressive) then took a ferry to Crete (the old port at Hania is adorable). From there I made my way to Santorini and the spectacular town of Oia perched on the edge of a volcanic caldera.

The week yachting around the Cyclades Islands was a huge disappointment, mostly because my captain turned out to be one of the most unpleasant people I met in the past year (that says a lot about him but nothing about Greeks -- he is French). Yiorgos warned me that I might not get along with the other passengers... I never dreamed that it would be the skipper who turned out to be a nightmare!

After Mykonos I headed back to the mainland, with stops in the lush Pelion Peninsula and breathtaking Meteora (monasteries built atop rock pinnacles). Now I'm at my final destination in Northern Greece: the second largest city of Thessaloniki. Tonight I head to Sofia, Bulgaria.