Hostel life "ain't" just for kids

 

Where does a PC member stay when they visit the city? We surely don’t have money for hotels (though some use $$ dollars for hotels) hostels are the thing to do – hostels, most of us associate that word with college students, but that is not so, there are people of all ages. This is the favorite one of PC members. It’s called the “Funky Mamaliga” . Because, well, it is kind of funky. There are no signs, you find it by looking for spray painted words on the sides of buildings on their gate. THIS I don’t need, it is hard enough for me to find a 50 story high building, never mind a tiny building behind a rusty gate. Doesn’t matter how often I’ve stayed here, getting back is like math, 5 streets up, 6 streets over, dress shop on that corner, store on that….still….at night it is rough. Well who am I kidding, it’s hard for me in the day.  Can’t count how many times I have walked past the rusty old gate.

But the outside is deceiving, it's very cozy and cute on the inside.

The people here are wonderful, the place is comfortable and very clean, it has 2 bathrooms with flush toilets, a shower with LOTS of hot water with great water pressure, the beds have real mattresses (at home most of us sleep on fold out couches with a crack down the middle that caused me so many backaches I finally got the family to give me another one). Bunk beds at the age of 53, who could have imagined…..oh… how could forget to mention a WASHING MACHINE! But no driers. I have never seen a drier in this country, in fact, a friend in Serbia said no one has them.... didn't know this. I have seen spin dry contraptions, but that just get's the water out, you still have to hang clothes to dry.

 

Different PC members (as well as others) come and go each night. They have a great kitchen to cook in, here is a group of us having dinner.

 

See? Not just for teens! That's Warren on the left, he has just become engaged to my former site mate Sylvia - a PC love story. Lots of that going around, especially the 20 yr olds, as you can imagine.

Paula, she is always great company, she is a Health Educator. Here she is bringing in food from the grill. When these guys have parents visit, they're my age. Paula's mom, sister and brother stayed at Funky. Very fun.

I laugh so much around him. For some reason we hit it off and make each other laugh. and anyone else staying at the hostel, if they have no plans, cooks a fun dinner, he is a great cook.…. My personal favorite, taco salad WITH nacho chips and salsa (only available in the city, I think about bringing them home but figured they’d crush along the way). He loves the music from the 80s and early 90s from his "parents" generation, "classic rock " he calls it (oh brother.....) 

 

I have also had a good time with his mom and dad, I told him to go ahead to a party, I will take them out.... it's so nice when I have people my age to talk to.

 

As you can see, there are several upsides, but another great one is you meet people from all over the world, mostly passing through on an Eastern European tour. Sometimes they are very odd.... very very odd, so you just try to stay away from them. My favorite PC moments is meeting people here and cooking dinners. I don't get that opportunity any other time. 

 

Now on the down side of a hostel, in the summer it is insane! There are beds crammed into small spaces, suitcases to step over everywhere. You have to be tolerant and patient,, which surprisingly I pretty much am, but you also need to be fast to get into the shower, if you wake up early in the morning? Better to not go to sleep again, just get up and take a shower before the rush begins. There are groups of kids in Moldova for specific reasons, such as volunteer work through their college. One time I was in the shower and twice they turned the light off leaving me in total darkness. "who's in there?" they said, me: "DOES IT MATTER TURN ON THE #$@ SHOWER". This after a long day of travel to get home from vacation, NOT funny people. They stay up all night keeping us all awake, staff ignores it, even though it clearly says QUIET time at 10pm. Pretty annoying. One time I had had enough, I went out and said (nicely of course)  “SHUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTT UPPPPPPPPPP, there are 2 other bedrooms here with 15 people you are keeping awake, if you need to make noise fine, you are young, but don't SHOT and sing Gilligan's island  song at the top of your lungs!”. Ahhhh they didn’t care, I ended up putting in my earphones with music, the rest of the year is quite and somewhat empty and used mostly be PC members.
 

So there you go, life in a Hostel. You really never know what your going to get with each visit, who is there, what is going on.... I head there this weekend, let's see what it brings.  Could I ever have imagined I'd be staying in a hostel at 53/54? Nope, but  "hostel life "ain't" just for kids". It is become the "thing to do" for travelers of all ages. Besides, I think another up-side, it's keeping me young, cooking dinner and laughing with a bunch of 20 year olds. I almost forget (almost) that I am so much older, until I get stuck having to stay in the top  bunk and figure out how to get down without falling.