The prize for ….. goes to -
Basil Fawlty hotellier
The Bulgarian matriarch who shouted at us for daring to stay at her hotel
Being attended to Hand and Foot
Silk Road Hotel, Yazd. This hotel is like sleeping in paradise. It’s a restored old Persian house with the rooms surrounding a courtyard with a small fountain and a garden. The food and service was excellent and it was an oasis in the world of inhospitable hotels.
Worst night’s sleep
Sleeping rough, behind a mound next to an Iranian motorway. Petrified that the young children who had spotted us when we were setting up our tent would return with the whole village and we would be their ‘show and tell’ .
Although we tasted some fantastic cuisine throughout our journey, Bulgaria had the best variety especially for vegetarians; the salads in particular were fantastic.
Delicious dishes
Torten – any kind (Germany and Austria)
Spinach and Cheese dumplings (Austria)
Melted Cheese on a fried bread – Hungary
Paste of red paprika (Serbia)
Shopska Salad (Bulgaria)- A salad with grated feta cheese
Honey on the honeycomb for breakfast (Safronbolu, Turkey)
Gxf6zleme (Turkey): pancakes with different fillings – my favourite being spinach and cheese
Honey and cream with bread for breakfast (Iran)
Aubergine and garlic paste (Iran)
Rice with Burberry and saffron (Iran)
Best Restaurants
Several traditional restaurants in Iran including dinner (3 times) in a 400 year old caravanserai and a traditional restaurant in Esfahan
A restaurant with blacked out windows in Erzurum, Turkey: service with a capital S.
A great fish restaurant in Agva, Black Sea Coast Turkey. Tip: Never say yes to everything, the waiter suggests, unless you’re really hungry, otherwise you’ll end up ordering the whole menu.
A lovely Jugendstil cafe in Subotica, Serbia
Worst restaurant
An unpalatable fish dish in Austria, where the fish must have been genetically modified to include plastic molecules as this was the texture of it.
People most likely to spout poetry
Iranians: Some of the biggest heros in the country are not political or religious figures, but poets such as Hafiz, Ferdosi from upto 1000 years ago.
Mr and Ms Happy
The Turks – such a jovial and jocular bunch of people. I have to put it down to those copious cups of tea.
Buzzing city
Although, it cannot compete with Vienna and Budapest for grandeur, Belgrade has a certain buzz to it.
Must See Sight
The Shaking Minarets, Esfahan, Iran: you expect these minarets to wave gracefully in the wind. What actually happens is a rather plump Iranian gentleman in baggy trousers and a wollen hat clambers and squeezes himself into one of the towers and banged himself against the walls that the foundations of the minarets shake and cause the opposite minaret to sway gently. The Iranian crowd looks up, faces aglow in admiration, mobiles phones and cameras out videotaping this man-induced miracle. The plump Iranian, beads of sweat lining his forehead, clambers down to a rapturous welcome by the crowd awaiting an encore. 10/10 for entertainment.
Top tourists sights in no particular order
- Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
- Vienna, Austria
- Budapest, Hungary
- Subotica, Serbia – this gem of a city with Hungarian Jugendstil buildings is well worth a visit
- Amasya, Turkey – a city full of wonderful Ottoman houses.
- Iman Square, Esfahan Iran: the mosques around this square leave you in such awe.
- Hafez Tomb, Shiraz, Iran: the Poet who lived almost 1000 years ago and whose picture seems to be more present in public and private than those of Khomeni et. al
- Persepolis, Iran – the ruins of the magnificiant city of King Darius.
- Choqua Zanbil, Iran – A 3000 year old semi-ruined temple/pyramid in the desert
Great place for Biking
Anywhere along the Danube, but particularly Bavaria.
