http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Romania , Transilvania en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:13:09 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:13:09 +0000 Well I now have another country to add to my list of places I have visited. I spent 2 weeks in Romania working. And I do mean working. During those 2 weeks I had about 120 hours worth of billable time Needless to say I was exhausted when I got home But I did have some fun over the weekend. So here are my impressions and thoughts of Cluj.The city is an interesting mixture of oldtime buildin http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Cluj/Cluj-Napoca/blog-456257.html The trip from Sibiu to Brasov was impressive. We left to a cool morning with sun emerging across the mountains jutting into the sky like a knife. It became misty as we approached the mountains in the private mini bus in search of the glacial lake known as 'Balea'. The ascent through pine forest gave way to barren tussock land then rock following a series of switchbacks that had an amazing view http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/blog-443014.html Last night we left Budapest and took a night train to Brasov Romania. I didn't expect things to be so different here but they really are. The night train was alright kind of cramped but the bunk beds were better than any of the hostels we've stayed at. Jessica and I were watching a movie on her minicomputer when the cabin door flung open and a train attendant sharply demanded something in anot http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/Brasov/blog-440506.html We found this cute little beach town on the border of Bulgaria and Romania called Vama Veche. After being inundated with offers of sub standard accommodation that were much more expensive than Bulgaria we found the perfect place. Vama Veche is a tiny place a few dirt roads and the main road through the town. Its full of hippies with dreadlocks and contrastingly flashy people in expensive cars wh http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/blog-439819.html Until a few weeks ago we had been riding through countries so massive that border crossings when they so seldom happened seemed interestingly quirky at worst. When we met with our dear friends in the Crimean we knew that one way or the other we would be crossing several international boundaries in only a few days. We thought this quite irksome as Julie and JP had to be in Bucharest for a flig http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/blog-436782.html Varna to Bucharest was an absolute missionI went to the train station in the day to get a seat reservation for the 10pm train. I was told by two people this wasn't necessary so went on my merry way to the beach.However when I came back at 9 I tried to get on and was told I did in fact need a reservation... However as it is during high season all of these had gone as Romanians and Bulgarians h http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/Brasov/blog-432346.html Way back in the 80's Steph as a little girl in love with gymnastics watched a movie called Nadia about the famous Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci. So when we first moved to Europe and made our hit list of 'mustsee' countries Steph put Romania on out of a Dracula curiosity I seconded it. I've been to Bucharest a bunch of times for work and since this time I was going on a ThursdayFriday i http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/Brasov/blog-431682.html Hi AllWe have had a great time since I last updated. We left Lake Balaton we went to Budapest Would have stayed longer but the English bloke we met had cabin fever and wouldnt piss off. Budapest was lovely and easy to get around......in bare feet. Just got into town and in the old section i.e miles from the shops and my flipflops thongs to any aussies broke. Luckily Scott was wearing my http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Mures/Sighisoara/blog-428315.html Budapest BrasovSo to finish up Budapest firstAfter a Sunday night of beers and Palinka at the hostel we stumbled out into the bright daylight of Budapest for a final exploration before taking the train away. Lunch was definitely order of the day oversized portions of Schnitzel and Chicken Kiev was deeeelicious. We then attempted to visit the Terror House Museum in order to take advantage o http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/Brasov/blog-425504.html Brasov day 9 June 15Another minibus ride to Brasov. Equally crowded. I think one woman had a number of dinner sets in one stripy bag that was placed in the aisle quite a few people sitting on luggage in the aisles. Brasov has a marketing slogan ldquoBrasov Probably the Best City in the Worldrdquo which is a play on a Heineken add. A bold claim but I liked the slight humility in the ldquo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/Brasov/blog-424983.html Sibiu day 78 June 1314A return trip in our van with the wooden bench seat to Sighisoura where we caught a local mini bus to Sibiu. The bus was packed but we arrived in good time our driver handling the crazy overtaking of other vehicles. A taxi took us to a hotel a bit out of town so we would need to relay on taxirsquos to get us around.A visit to the local art museum and a walk around the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Sibiu/Sibiu/blog-424714.html Sighisoara and Viscri Day 56 June 1112Train travel to Sighisoara which is a fortified town in Transylvania. Claim to fame being Dracularsquos birthplace but Vlad didnrsquot 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Mures/Sighisoara/blog-424611.html 72609AustinIt has been awhile since we last blogged and we have a lot to update on. We have been traveling through Romania for the last two weeks. We went to the Transylvania Alps near Sinaia and braved the weather to hike to the top in very windy conditions. We also spent a night in a freezing cold Cabana at the top of the mountain. The views are beyond words in the beauty of flat topped http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/Bran/blog-423900.html I have to admit that the only reason I was interested in visiting Transylvania was because of the Dracula movies. But Ill have you know that it wasn't because of Dracula but rather the castles and the mountainous scenery the movies showed. And although it wasn't quite like what I had imagined I certainly was not disappointed. The train ride through the Carpathian mountains was jawdropping moun http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/Brasov/blog-422247.html Brasov is said to be the most visited area in all of Romania but you would never know. The town is tiny and is easily explored on foot. The train ride from Bucharest to Brasov is pleasurable you wind in and out of mountain villages in the Carpathian Mountain Range. The mountains like back home are covered with trees but are relatively low because of their age. But there were still ice cream c http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/Brasov/blog-421996.html OK I think we left you in Krakow on last blog and it was a short one sorry about that but time and interenet access wait for noone. From Krakow we caught the overnight train to Budapest in Hungary we got lucky and had a 4 berth cabin to ourselves so great sleep. We stayed at a lovely hostel the Budapest Bubble google it with a lovely girl called Olga in charge.We had a great time at th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/blog-417140.html Greetings From Istanbul we caught a night train north to Bulgaria. We nursed a bottle of Raki Turkish Ouzo with our cabin mates before nodding off only to be woken by border guards at 3 a.m. and told we needed to walk to the far end of the station to have our passports stamped. As we exited the conductor pulled Jub aside stuffed 15 Euros in his pocket and asked for three cartons of cigare http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/Brasov/blog-413432.html Saturday May 23rd..Today we travelled Northwest to Sighisoara by a dirty old rambling train with lots of character. Our new friend Wieteke from the Netherlands took the train with us because she had also planned to stay a night in Sighisoara. When stepping off the train it had a distinct small town feel about it. Sighisoara was high and low. The main city was low in the valley in between two moun http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Mures/Sighisoara/blog-408037.html Tuesday May 19th. We took the 613am Ptrain from Gara de Noor in Bucharest to Brasov. We were so excited to get our first peek at the mountains. The train ride was very nice and quiet. We arrived at the chaotic train station and navigated our way by bus to the hostel. Unfortunately they did not get our reservations and the cheapest dorm room was booked. We had to stay in a private room which wa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/Brasov/Brasov/blog-405171.html We touched down in Bucharest and immediately noticed the heat It was lovely a dry 27degrees and not a cloud in the sky Once we cleared customs we found the bus we needed to the city and hopped on some random guy who spoke no English helped us with our tickets and stowing our packs we assumed he worked for the bus people... until we got to our stop and he helped us off again and then wanted http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transilvania/blog-404163.html