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Brazil

Recife, Brazil

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Recife (The Reef) is a major (just under 2 million) Brazilian city on the Atlantic coast, at the estuary of three rivers (Capibaribe, Beberibe and Jordão). Due to the abundance of waterways in the area, it has become known as the Venice of Brazil (Veneza Brasileira). Having been to both, I think that the Venice reference is a bit of a stretch.

Brazil has a terrible reputation when it comes to violent crime. The US Department of State claims that violent crimes, such as murder, armed robbery, and carjacking, are common in urban areas, day and night. Gang activity and organised crime is widespread. Assaults, including with sedatives and drugs placed in drinks, are common.

Our experience after the first two cities has been quite different. It must be noted however that the military and police presence on every street corner has been extreme. Whether they put on a blitz when a boat arrives or if it is standard is unclear. But we have walked around freely and un-harassed and at no point even felt insecure or uneasy.

We do tend to be alert and aware travellers, we watch our surroundings and do not take unnecessary risks. But so far there has been no point where we have felt threatened or uncomfortable. For those who have been reading along the feeling that we got in the Canary Islands was much more troubling than anything in Brazil so far.

But Recife is a major city. It is famous for its beaches, history, Carnival, arts, the cuisine and of course the cheeky bikinis.

Boa Viagem is by far the most famous of the beaches, stretching for 8 kilometers it is the longest urbanised seafront in Brazil. The nearby coastal reef calms the waves and helps keep the water at 25 °C.

While the beach is amazing, since the mid 1990’s it has been plagued by bull and tiger shark attacks. This started after the building of a new port facility (about 50kms away) that changed the sharks pattern. Between 1992 and 2021, there were 62 shark attacks with 25 fatalities. Some were attacked while swimming in water barely up to their waist. Boa Viagem is so dangerous that lifeguards no longer train on the beach itself.

National Geographic photographer Daniel Botelho managed to get a split-level image that showed the shark beneath the surface and the nearby skyline above the surface.

The photo was taken only 50 meters from the shore.

Having read all of this, we chose not to swim. So instead we wandered the streets of town and took in the colonial architecture that was on offer. There were police and military everywhere you looked but at no point was it uncomfortable.

We wandered along the waterfront and broke right, to take in some of the waterways and parks near the ports. We found bridges, statues and a massively cheap way of living. All of the restaurants that we passed had menus showing that the major price was about 22 Brazilian real (about $7).

Not really sure why, but we kept coming across a bunch of 3 meter tall chickens.

Our wander about was possibly not reflective of the others on the boat. We told a group from the boat where we had been and what we had seen and when they tried to replicate, they were turned around and sent back by the police who told them that it was unsafe. My ability to look like a local almost everywhere I go coupled with my size allows me to walk virtually anywhere I want without being approached. Jill just kind of tags along and is also left alone.

Our meanderings saw us running into the Basílica e Convento de Nossa Senhora do Carmo. This is a church and a convent.

The Basilica started in 1580 by Carmelite friars and in 1654 the Our Lady of Mount Carmel nuns arrived.

The Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue doesn’t look like much from the outside but is OK once you pop your head in.

It is the oldest Synagogue in South America (established in 1636).

We found the local markets and got to experience life in real neighbourhoods. There were large American Style shopping malls that others on the ship had gone to, but ours was more like the local neighbourhood shops and even included a wet market.

While we never felt threatened or in peril, there was a great deal of overt poverty all through the place. There were lots of people sleeping on the streets, bathing in fountains and using the local parks as their own private laundries.

Recife had a really nice feel to it and we look forward to coming back when time is not so much a factor.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria

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Bulgaria is a southern Balkan country bordered by Romania (north), Serbia and North Macedonia (west), Greece and Turkey to the south.

Bulgaria is renowned for its diverse terrain that includes the Black Sea coastline, a mountainous interior and rivers, including the Danube. Based near the European crossroads it has long been a cultural melting pot with Greek, Slavic, Ottoman, and Persian influences.

Before I get into the exploring, I need to talk about first impressions. This place is fantastic. We got off the plane and onto the Metro for a run into town for our hotel. A slight mishap with the ticket scanning saw me through the barrier and Jill stuck on the other side. Seeing the dilemma some random woman came up and swiped her card, letting Jill through and just wearing the cost.

We then got to our hotel and were met by the friendliest and most helpful dude that we have come across thus far (and that bar has been set pretty high). This friendliness was genuine and extended the entire time through our stay. So much so that on the morning that we were due to leave he even offered to wait around for us (after his overnight shift) and drive us to the bus station, so that we didn’t have to lug our heavy bags.

Our room had a fridge so we popped out to the shop on the corner and bought 4 large beers (2x500ml and 2×1 litre) and a soft drink each and got change from $12 Aussie for the lot.

I’m really gonna like this place.

Sofia

Sofia is the capital of the Balkan nation of Bulgaria. It’s in the west of the country, below Vitosha Mountain. The city’s landmarks reflect more than 2,000 years of history, including Greek, Roman, Ottoman and Soviet occupation. When doing our early research it looked a bit light on, but on arrival we were happy to see that there was much more on offer than the tourist blurbs suggest.

Hopping off the Metro we landed right on top of one of the listed landmarks, the Lions Bridge.

Well that was easy.

It is a bridge over the Vladaya River that was built 1889–1891 and connects the Central Railway Station with the city centre.

It has 4 very large lion statues on it.

Just around the corner from our hotel, we randomly happened upon the Church of St Paraskeva which is the third largest church in Sofia.

It is a Bulgarian Orthodox church dedicated to Saint Paraskeva,

We were aiming for something else but sure enough this popped up and was pretty cool.

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was what we were actually aiming for. It is one of the 50 largest Christian churches in the world taking up an area of 3,170 square metres and being able to hold 5,000 people inside. Construction started in 1882 but most of it was built between 1904 and 1912. The cathedral was created in honour of the Russian soldiers who died during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 when Bulgaria was liberated from Ottoman rule.

Virtually across the road, you find the Saint Sofia Church which is the oldest church in Sofia. The floor of the church is covered with Early Christian flora and fauna-themed mosaics. 

Just down the hill a bit and you come across Saint Nikolas Russian Church (Tsurkva Sveta Nikolai).

It was built in 1882 on the site of the Saray Mosque, which was destroyed during the Russian liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire.

Having ticked those boxes we hunted for dinner but were rejected from the first place (Armenian) as I was dressed like a grotty backpacker. They claimed that they were full but really they didn’t want the likes of us in there. So we went somewhere else, got online and made a reservation for the next night, where we dressed similarly. Having done all of that, their snootiness did not translate into good enough food to justify the price (it was OK) and as a protest, they made sure that their service sucked.

A later check of reviews from other people found many similar experiences.

On our walk back from dinner (the first night) we stumbled upon the Opera House that we had walked right past and completely missed on the way up the hill (it was tucked around a corner).

Also on the walk home, we came across roving packs of teens and 20 somethings in the park looking for things to do. Some were drinking, but for the most part, they were just hanging out and discussing the issues of the day. Not protests as such, just exchanges of ideas.

National Museum of History is Bulgaria’s largest museum and was founded in 1973. Set at the end of a very nice park with some lovely fountains it was worth the short journey to get here.

St. Nedelya Church is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral dating back to the 10th century. It has been destroyed and reconstructed many times through the ages. 

The Rotunda Church of Saint George is buried in a courtyard behind other buildings. It dates back to the late 3rd and early 4th centuries.

It was originally built as Roman baths. It is the oldest surviving building in Sofia.

The Regional History Museum is another landmark in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It was built in the early 20th century near the former Turkish bath and was used as the city’s public baths until 1986.

Almost across the road you will find the Banya Bashi Mosque. This was built in 1566, during Ottoman control of the city. It was built over natural thermal spas and at times you can see the steam rising from vents in the ground near the mosque walls.

The mosque has a 15m diameter large dome and prominent minaret.

The Sofia Synagogue opened in 1909 in the presence of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria.  Buried away in a backstreet it is tough to get a good camera angle for better photos, sorry.

And just down the road and around the corner you will find the Gypsy Markets. The description that we got from our hotel dude was it was a bunch of gypsies selling the things they had stolen or found in the trash that day. He also suggested not eating there as the meat was likely to be cat or dog.

We were here on a Saturday and Sunday and for the most part, the place was closed. Shops and restaurants worked normal hours, none of this I must be open the whole time. It was an interesting throwback to when people had lives.

A little inconvenient at times but hey.

The only places that were always open were the alcohol and tobacco shops.

As with everywhere, the place had a bunch of statues dotted all over the place. But these ones seemed funkier and edgier than the usual ones that typically haunt big cities.

This is the Eastern Europe that we had been hoping for all along. The place is fantastic, cheap and friendly. The food is good and the sights are worth seeing without being mind-blowing. But mostly it is about the atmosphere. The place feels right. You could happily settle in and spend a month here just soaking up the culture and getting a sense of the place, and importantly you can do so without destroying the budget.

Hungary

Hungary

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Hungary is one of Europe’s oldest countries having been founded in 896. There is evidence of occupation in the area since 800BC.

Budapest

Budapest only became a city about 150 years ago when three cities (Buda, Pest, and Obuda) came together in 1873. Buda occupies the western bank of the Danube, while Pest is on the eastern bank (Obuda is a lump in the midst of all this). Once they came together there was a rapid advancement in both modernity and technology, however these were done under stringent town planning rules. 

Once again, we were blessed with perfect weather. Upon arrival, we headed out for dinner to a funky little restaurant that had converted an old railway car into the restaurant. It was a traditional Hungarian restaurant, unlike the abundance of pizza and kebab restaurants that seem to have overrun Europe.

Our hotel was at the bottom of the hill on the West Bank of the Danube (broadly) underneath the Fisherman’s Bastion which is one of the must-see attractions. The current version was built in the 19th century as a lookout tower for the best panoramic views in Budapest. On the bastion are seven turrets to represent the seven Hungarian tribes who founded the present day country in 896. There did used to be real castle walls but the present day structure has never served as an actual fortification.

From the Bastion, you get amazing views over the city and down to the Chain Bridge and the Hungarian Parliament Building. Which were both lit up nicely late in the evening after our meal. This is actually a little odd for us. We tend to do all of our sightseeing through the day and then bathe and head out for dinner, crashing or zoning out soon afterwards.

The Széchenyi Chain Bridge was built in 1849 and was the first permanent bridge that connected Buda and Pest.

The Hungarian Parliament building is home to Hungary’s legislative body and the Holy Crown, as well as serving as the workplace of 199 MPs and their support staff of 741 people.

The building took 17 years (1885–1902) to build and has become the symbol of Hungary and its capital.

The dome height is 96 metres.

The Parliament House is amazing if only for its sheer size, the width at its broadest point is 123 metres and the wing that runs parallel to the Danube is 271 metres long. The period when it was built coincided with an major economic boom that also saw the building of the Heroes’ Square, Andrássy Avenue, Nyugati Railway Station and several bridges over the Danube. During this time Hungary also opened Europe’s first underground railway (metro). 

A major attraction in Hungary is the existence of thermal baths. Budapest has the most thermal water springs of any other capital city in the world. 

Some of the more famous and well-known ones in the city are the Szechenyi, Gellert, and Kiraly Baths. Across the country, there are more than 1,500 thermal spas. 

High on the hill the Buda Castle can be found. The castle zone is huge and technically includes the Fisherman’s Bastion that we had explored the day before. It is home to the history museum, the National Gallery, Matthias church and much more.

Underneath the castle is an 800 year old labyrinth that is more like an underground city with narrow streets winding confusingly underneath the Buda Castle District.

The Great Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world.

The Children’s railway was set up in the 1940s as a way to train communist children and still operates today. It is a train that is almost entirely run by children ages 10 to 14.

The children must complete a four-month training course to learn how to be conductors, inspectors, and workers. The only adults working there are the station master and the train drivers. The railway takes you on a 45-minute journey to the Buda Hills.

Heroes Square was closed when we were here. We could see it high on the hill from a distance but were unable to make the trek to see it up close.

Construction of St. Stephen’s Basilica began in 1851, in 1868 the cupola collapsed due to defects in materials and craftsmanship, after which works paused for more than a year. Issues and problems plagued its construction but in 1905 the church was finally dedicated. The height of the building is 96 meters.

The Hungarian State Opera House is in the centre of town. Construction began in 1875, funded by the city of Budapest and by the Emperor (Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary) it was opened to the public in 1884.

Shoes on the Danube is a memorial art installation that was installed in 2005.

Wiki tells me that it was done “to honour the Jews who were massacred by fascist Hungarian militia belonging to the Arrow Cross Party in Budapest during the Second World War.

They were ordered to take off their shoes (shoes were valuable and could be stolen and resold by the militia after the massacre), and were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away”.

As is our way, we got chatting with the dude at the next table when we had dinner the first night in town.

His name was Akira (from Japan) and he had moved to Budapest, having studied in Prague and now worked in the tourism industry.

He offered to show us around (if we were interested) which of course we were.

So after we had done our day of sight seeing, we met Akira back at Parliament House and did a different version with an informed commentary. We saw some of the same things, but learned some important facts about them, we also saw things that we had obliviously walked past earlier that day.

As an example, after having coffee (well beer for us but coffee for Akira) at one of the two oldest cafe’s in town we wend down a rather unobtrusive and unremarkable set of stairs that we had ambled past. This was the metro line One, the first underground in Europe. It still ran and was heritage listed. While I knew that Budapest had the earliest underground, we had ridden them several times over the earlier days I just expected that it had kept up with the modern technology and did not expect the remnants to still be there let alone still functioning.

In doing my research I had also read about the stringent town planning rules but just accepted that they were and did not question why. Akira explained the importance of the dates. The city was founded in 896 (by the Magyars) and in 1896 Hungary celebrated the millennial anniversary of the Settlement with festivities held across the nation. As such 96 is an important number for the nation. If you think back to my earlier ramblings in this post, 96 is the height of the dome on Parliament House. It is also the height of St Stephen’s Basilica. The rules were set in place so that no building in the newly formed Budapest would be taller than these two buildings.

He also introduced us to the world of Hungarian porcelain, not a ususal pastime of mine but still interesting. We went to a smallish park near the middle of town that were the homes of the two most famous Hungarian porcelain makers (Zsolnay and Herend). Both of which had shops near the park and a fountain in the park highlighting their works.

We also meandered the streets and got the back story behind many of the buildings. But mostly, we got to chat to Akira about his life in Budapest and were able to get a real sense of what life was like living here and (previously) in Prague.

And in between all of the sights, there were the usual mix of very cool old buildings, statues, gargoyles and carvings that we randomly stumble across in our rambling.

We tried to offer Akira some money for his time and effort, but he would not hear of it. The enjoyment that we got from having a private tour cannot be underestimated and our gratitude was real. Let’s hope that he stays as one of our regular travel contacts an that at some point in the future, we may get to reciprocate.