Blogs from Sighisoara, Mures, Transilvania, Romania, Europe

Vstávať sa nám po včerajšku veľmi nechcelo, ale museli sme. Do Sighisoary išli v tento deň len dva vlaky a my sme chceli stihnúť ten skorší. Pomaly sme začali plánovať ďalšiu cestu a odchod z Brašova sa nám prestával hodiť. Na stanici v Sighisoare sme sa preto informovali na možnosť nastúpiť do nášho vlaku späť domov na neskoršej stanici. Toto sa ukázalo ako závažný a nevyriešiteľný problém. Pani nám tvrdila, že musíme nastúpiť v Brašove a hotovo. Na svete neexistovala možnosť ako lístok prebukovať, dokonca ani za poplatok. Nejaký rumuni, rozprávajúci po anglicky sa nám pokúsili pomôcť. Po rozhovore s pracovníkmi stanice nám taktiež tvrdili, že zmeniť nástupnú stanicu je nemožné. Ako vysvetlenie uviedli toto: v Rumunsku to tak proste chodí a hotovo. Prišlo nám to zvláštne ale nechali sme to byť a vybrali sa do ... read more

Sighisoara and Viscri Day 5-6 (June 11-12) Train travel to Sighisoara which is a fortified town in Transylvania. Claim to fame being Dracula’s birthplace (but Vlad didn’t live here long). There was an a museum with old artefacts, especially Saxon which this area still holds a sizable population of. The museum was in a tower, and there was a great view over the area from the top, as well as being able to look at the clock mechanisms. We were glad to be sheltering here from the storm which had come over quickly. As it abated we headed up the covered stairway built to allow children to get to school out of the rain and walked around the local church. There were lovely little square where we had dinner. The following day we were collected by ... read more

It's finally that time of the year... = Yeah, yeah, I know not everybody gets into the Christmas & New Year spirit! So? What do I know? 1st of December it's always a great day for 2 reasons: - begining of winter holidays (for those who love snow, the sledges, traffic jams and so on) - and due to the fact that on 1st December we celebrate Romania's National Day (actually this year we are celebrating 90 years since the great union in Alba Iulia) ... as you guessed that means free day/no work and fortunately this year 1st of December was in a Monday = 3 days off work. During this weekend we also had elections (on Sunday - 30 November) and in my oppinion who ever thought of setting the election day then either ... read more

Sighisoara Tuesday 12th February 2008 Ecstatic we were as the night train pulled into Budapest Keleti station, ready and willing to take us to Romania. The 3-birth sleeper carriage was fantastic; we were like children, excitably claiming our bunks. Unbelievably we managed to sleep through the entire journey, bar the odd interruption from passport control as we crossed the border. Transylvania greeted us at 8am with mist, smoky chimneys, and the distant spires of Sighisoara. Stepping from the train the cool and fresh air gave us a tremendous welcome. We made our way from the train station to the centre of town. With the Sighisoara Citadel in the background I finally decided to contact the bank regarding my card troubles. My account had been passed to the fraud department due to the number of countries my ... read more

27/08/08 - A day in the life, and Ceausescu’s Mad Road Today we set out to drive along one of the highest roads in Europe - the Transfagarasan which borders on southern Transalvania. “The road was constructed between 1970 and 1974, as a north-south crossing at the historical border between Transylvania and Wallachia. It came as a response to the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union. Ceausescu wanted to insure quick military access across the mountains in the event the Soviets attempted a similar move into Romania. Consequently, the road was built mainly with military forces, at a high cost both financially and from a human standpoint—roughly 6 million kilograms of dynamite were used on the northern face, and about 40 soldiers lost their lives in building accidents” - Read more about it on ... read more