Transylvannia 6-5000

Okay, you probably have to be an old fart like me to get the Duke Ellington riff, but, yes, we’re off to the land of Vlad the Impaler and dear old Count Dracula, he of the black cape with the red lining, which my daughter wants as a present. The Portland airport is the smallest airport in the US where one can fly non-stop to Europe and Asia…so a “quick” 10 hour flight puts us in Amsterdam and a short hop to Budapest begins our latest sojourn into the known and unknown of life…..the known part is meeting with dear friends in Budapest. We will stay with two different sets of friends who we met on our last trip to Europe two years ago, then board a river cruise down the Danube river to Bucharest, Romania…That will precede a rental car and a two week road trip around Romania and Bulgaria with a one day hop into Ukraine to get a small taste of a Ukranian village…I keep thinking of “Everything is Illuminated,” when I envision this area of the world…rustic villages where traditional ways are still the norm and not the exception. Finally, a short hop retracing our steps to Amsterdam and three days with our friends there before coming home at the beginning of May….