Our trip began with Dad and me in Istanbul. We traveled up the Thracian peninsula to medieval Plovdiv and then on to Veliko Tarnovo, a beautiful city perched on a mountain edge. From Bulgaria we headed north to Romania, where we met up with Jason in Bucharest and began our weeklong road trip through Transylvania, Maramures and Bucovina. We crossed over into Moldova, home of the world’s largest wine cellars. Jason left us in Chisinau, while Dad and I continued on to Odessa, Ukraine before a return to Istanbul on our way home.

Istanbul

It had been over 20 years since I had been to Istanbul, and over 40 years for Dad. What was initially supposed to be a simple stopover turned out to be a highlight of the trip in one of the world’s great cities.