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Blogs from Romania, Europe - page 8
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September 19th 2011
When we last left you I had been pulled over and fined for passing a horse drawn wagon. The official explanation went like this, "speeding - 63 - points to 50 he has written - shows the fine he has written 67 lei (sounds like lay) thrusts the ticket in the window and walks away after telling me to pay at posta. The car is equipped with cruise but, it is different than in cars for the North American market. I learned to use it very quickly after this experience as we found that labour is cheap and police are a dime a dozen. The national road shown on the map is a two lane road that has been undergoing resurfacing for the last 3 years through this region. The speed limit changes within 50 to ... read more
September 17th 2011
We were up at 7 for our last morning in our own personal "People's Palace", packed up, enjoyed breakfast and one last bit of free wifi ... and we were on the road by 9:30 It's a short walk (less than one mile) to the train station, so I argued against a cab. Carrie (she of the heaviest suitcase) said she would only walk if I would trade suitcases with her. We got our exercise for the morning, three of us carting heavy suitcases down Strada Aurel Vlaicu. Leslie was in the lead, with her light duffel bag :) We got to the train station with plenty of time; bought our tickets (now that we are about to leave the country, my Romanian is getting better), and managed to get seats all together. We proceeded to ... read more
September 17th 2011
Exposed beams of brown wood held the ceiling and brown wood made the floor. Neither small nor large the room accommodated neither light nor ventilation. Rather it was musty, dull and brooding. Bats could have lived in it. There was almost no furniture, although centuries ago it might have been a place of small medieval gatherings, that modest space inside the castle at Bran, first built by the Saxons of Kronstadt in the 1370s under the privilege of a Hungarian king. The old lady, I can’t tell of her face: it was years ago and she may have been slightly stooped in her posture. But she was shrunken and seemed to have all the ages and upheavals of Romania within her. Despite it being summer, she wore an odious light cardigan in an unfortunate pea-green. Conspicuous ... read more
September 16th 2011
A day with no Florin means we got to sleep late. Still up by 8:30am, and hit the road at 10am. I did not do any yoga this day. The plan was to take a cab to St. Bartholomew's church, then walk to the nearby bus station to catch the number 20 bus to Poina Brasov. We found a very friendly cab driver who spoke English. He said he would wait for us while we were at the church, then would take us to Poina Brasov for 30 lei. We decided to take him up on that plan. No sign of life at the cable car, so we thought our plan was not going to work out. Enjoyed a very tasty lunch on a deck at the base of the ski slopes, gorgeous views. Noticed a ... read more
September 15th 2011
Got up at 7am, hit snooze which cut into my yoga time; did a bit of stretching and we were ready when Florin got here at 8am. Only Carrie and I for this trip ... we are the only ones who feel up to 1480 steps up (and back down) at Poenari. As Florin promised, the scenery was breathtaking, Bran valley ... mountains surrounding lush green fields with farm houses. Sometimes a single lonely house up in the mountains. Then through gorgeous little towns with pretty houses, chicken next to tombstone, cow next to a porch overflowing with flowers, women with scarves on their heads working in the yards. A woman walking a cow down the street on a leash. Families harvesting grass and assembling the haystacks. Families working fields of vegetables. Donkeys herding sheep. ... read more
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September 15th 2011
I arrived early morning from Belgrade after a dismal overnight journey. Had so many scary moments. I started the journey sharing with a reasonably pleasant Romanian girl. We exchanged a few pleasantries but I didn’t realize how lucky I was to have her rather than the next Romanian that entered the cabin until after she left. When she left I thought ‘score – a cabin to myself!’. My happiness was cut short when a creepy fat Romanian bloke with a trilby hat on decided to come in. I was trying hard to sleep but every time I opened my eyes there was Mr Creepy staring intensely at me. I had to tell him in no uncertain terms to stop fucking staring at me and thankfully he left and found himself another cabin. Phew. Scary moment number ... read more
September 14th 2011
We have each settled into a morning routine. It's nice to have separate bedrooms and two bathrooms. Only one shower, tho. And what a shower ... it is a tiny stall shower installed in a corner of a small bathroom. It is a removable shower head, and we discovered that the reason it's removable is because it's otherwise impossible to get far enough away from the shower to rinse off. The shower stall also leaks very badly, so that when you are done showering there is half an inch of water on the bathroom floor. Conveniently there is a drain built into the floor for all this water. After returning I spoke to a friend who was in the Peace Corps in Bulgaria and stayed in similar but non-updated accommodations ... she says that in the ... read more
September 13th 2011
I was up at 7, feeling quite good -- considering how many empty wine bottles are in the kitchen. Short yoga routine, then breakfast, then shower, then got organized for our first day trip. We met Florin outside at 8:30; we had a surprise guest along for our tour. She was a very quiet young woman from Japan. Sadly, none of us can remember her name. The car is a smallish car but with a third row of seats. The Japanese girl was in the front passenger seat, three of us in the regular back seat, and one in the “back back”. Quite cozy. Today's tour is the “three castle tour”. We drove through a few small Saxon villages, and Florin explained how to differentiate the Saxon buildings and the Romanian buildings. Saxon buildings have a ... read more
September 12th 2011
I slept very well; woke up a few times, but only enough to check the time then right back to sleep. I got up at 7:00 and did some yoga in my room; room is a bit cramped for the yoga mat, but workable. Leslie went to the supermarket, I wrote for a bit (yesterday's journal entry), and Linda and Carrie followed their usual morning travel routine; now that it is 9am, it is time to head out for another Brasov day! We walked to the old town, about a ½ hour walk --- it was already getting very warm even though it was still so early. None of us expected it to be so warm on this trip; beginning to realize I won't need those long-sleeve shirts and sweatshirts. The sun is strong; the temperature ... read more
Train to Transilvania
Published: September 14th 2011Europe » Romania » Transilvania » Brasov » Brasov
September 11th 2011
Rooming with Leslie means early rising. :-) She woke up at 6:30 and opened the drapes. I got up at 7, and did some yoga while she went for a walk. It's a very pretty day, warm with blue sunny skies, so I started on the balcony, but the concrete was a bit hard -- I moved inside for floor poses. Leslie came back and at 8:15 we headed out together. We walked to Old City, which was completely deserted except for some unhealthy looking street dogs cleaning up after last night's revelers. It was fun to see the same place again, in the light. We explored a few more blocks than last night, and found an old Greek Orthodox church at the dead-end of a torn-up street. Today is Sunday so there was a service. ... read more
