Blogs from Romania, Europe - page 9

HE SAID... Today we were travelling south from Brasov to Bucharest. We were catching an early train to Bucharest, so we had a quick breakfast of muesli, yoghurt, toast, cheese, salami, scrambled eggs and tea. We grabbed our packs, jumped into a taxi and headed to the Brasov railway station. We wandered through the virtually deserted station, found our train and settled in for the two hour trip to Bucharest. The train was not overly comfortable – it was very hot with a strong smell of rotten eggs which we think was fuel-based and coming through the air-conditioning vents. However, once it chugged out of Brasov, the air conditioning kicked in (lightly) and the smell disappeared. We climbed through the Carpathian Mountains, with mist shrouding the tree tops, then sped along lush green agricultural plains which ... read more

HE SAID... Today we were travelling southeast from Sighisoara to Viscri. Our journey took us through the heart of Saxon Land, which many believe to be the real Transylvania. After driving for a short time on the reasonably smooth highway out of Sighisoara, we turned into a barely traversable road, and bumped and rocked our way into Viscri – a small fortified Saxon village surrounded by lush green fields. We dropped our bags in our very basic but comfortable homestay and headed out for a walk around the village. This was a very rural place, and the smell of cow manure hung heavily in the air. We made our way up to the whitewashed and tile-roofed fortified church, which had originally been a Catholic church until Lutheran reformists seized it for their own purposes. In a ... read more

HE SAID... Today we were travelling east from Debrecen in Hungary to Maramures in Romania. We arrived at the Hungarian / Romanian border mid-afternoon, where an austere young policeman came onto the minibus and took our passports. We then waited for an hour, not allowed to get out, until the passports were returned. At one stage we saw the young policeman come outside and have a cigarette, laughing and joking with his fellow police officers only a few metres from where we were trapped inside the minibus. Luckily, our bus driver left the air conditioning on, so we didn’t overheat. Our passports were finally handed over, and we continued our journey east towards Vadu Izei, a village in Maramures. While the landscape didn’t change much in terms of rolling flat agricultural fields stretching to the horizon, ... read more

Arad. Descoperim orasul, a doua oara. Se lasa descoperit. Dar parca tot Timisoara si Oradea atrage mai mult. Un punct usor de oprire cand pleci sau revii acasa. Cazare - pensiunea Alexander, o noapte 135 ron, camera mare, curata, AC, TV plasma, mobila clasica, multe flori pentru un spatiu rece, dar parca neprimitoare. Gazda nu s-a dovedit saritoare sau poate asa este obiceiul. Este perfecta pentru parcare, are ceva locuri, dar se ajunge cu taxiul in centru. Pentru masa de seara am ales o locatie pe malul Muresului recomandata, dar parea pustie fiind in afara sezonului. Predomina si un zgomot de amenajare deranjant atunci cand servesti masa. De remarcat ca in Arad nu exista un fel de centru vechi cu multe zone de servit masa, ci mai multe baruri.... read more

Last night's quick winter storm passed through and we awoke the next morning with everything covered in a beautiful blanket of fresh snow. Halloween in Romania! Never did I ever think I would be in Romania but here I was getting ready to celebrate Halloween at Dracula's Castle! But first, we got the chance to spend the morning exploring the city of Brasov. We arrived in Brasov around 10am and immediately headed out for a 2 hour walking tour of Brasov's Old Town. The bus let us out near the base of Mt. Tampa, a mountain overlooking Brasov's Old Town. Atop this mountain was a sign of Brasov that was similar to the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles. Had we more time, it would have been great to take one of the trails to the top ... read more