Weather and Other Stuff

Nearly two months, now.

The climate is definaetly changing. When I arrived in Europe, in Frankfurt, things stayed steadily sunny for a while; there were brief thundershowers in the montains around Innsbruck, but by and large things were generally pleasant.

Prague and other parts of the Czech Republic, though, started to bring slightly cloudier weather. I began taking my jacket with me whenever I went out, and abandoned my cap in exchange for my scarf. Things remained smply cloudly until my last days in Olomouc, when things began to get decidedly chilly. My brief stops in Hungary and Romania have convinced me to do some rearranging of my baggage.

For one, I have picked up some woolen undergarments for the nights that are starting to turn nasty, and a heavier, knee length coat for the icy wind and snow that I expect. When I was living in Saint Paul one of my biggest problems with trying to keep warm was the fact that my torso and arms were fairly snug but my extremities were not. I have made out a certain arrangement for the legs though, with the coat and multiple layers of pants. I exchange, however, I have sent some stuff back to my family, in particular my other, torso only coat and some books that were taking up space. Personally I think with this newer coat it would be better to keep the one I think I need and get rid of the other one. If I am wrong I suppose I could always sell the things I bought at a flea market, but I honestly thnk that things are going to definaetly be cooler from now on.

I am in a small town in Transylvania, at the moment, called Sighisoara or something. The hostel is right in the middle of the old town, and occupies a large basement near to some medieval sites. I'll be staying here until the first and then start threading my back to Berlin.

It is odd, though. So far Romania is the only country that fits my expectations of being a little less wealthy than the rest of Europe.

I kind of expected the Czech Republic and Hungary to be like that to, but Romania is definaetly different. Alot of the stuff here seems to be fairly old, and not have enough upkeep; streets are slightly pockmarked, pipelines are obvious and rusted over, and I am pretty sure I passed at least two nuclear power plants on the way here.

Not that Romania is bad, I have not sayed long enough for me to really make an informed opinion, but at least superficially it looks worse than the rest of what I ave visited.