Blogs from Transilvania, Romania, Europe - page 15

On my last day with the Singaporean boys, we decided to head out of Brasov to the town of Sighisoara. We got a driver from the hostel, and on our way out of town we had to drop off our hostel host at the local hospital (I guess he was undergoing some tests). He told us some very interesting facts about the health care system in Romania. He was carrying his own plates, utensils, towels and food, which I had first thought that maybe the driver had left them at his place and he was returning them. That was not the case. In the Romanian public health system, you have to bring all your own stuff with you to the hospital. Even though some people pay a little every month to the government for health care ... read more

Well after the bit of a shaky start of our Romania trip, we got on the train (1st class cabin) and arrived in Brasov. Brasov is very different from Bucharest; it felt safer, people were friendlier and less likely to take your money, and everything was green, clean and picturesque. I guess this is why every Romanian I've spoken to has said "DON'T GO TO BUCHAREST!" Brasov is located in the Transylvanian mountains about 2.5 hours by train from Bucharest. The mountains right in the city are very green and wooded; not too high. But beyond those mountains within the city limits are huge rocky mountains, and a bunch of ski resorts. Apparently a very cheap and popular place for European skiers. Brasov plays a part in the legend of the pied piper of Hamelin. Remember ... read more

En ce qui a trait à nos bagages, le premier gros défi que je me suis rendu compte qu'on allait avoir souvent est celui d'embarquer dans un train. 2 gros sacs à dos, 2 moyens sacs à dos, Nellie, puis une poussette pliée à transporter dans un petit couloir étroit avec des passagers de chaque côté, c'est pas évident. Je me suis viré de bord après avoir forcé mon passage à travers l'allée, puis j'ai vu un monsieur avec une ''poque'' dans le front, une madame qui se frottait la joue comme si elle venait de recevoir un jab de Lucian Bute, un ado qui était en train de rapiécer ses lunettes, puis une dizaine de personnes qui me regardait d'un air ''mais qu'est ce que tu fous dans mon pays conard?'' Il me semblait avoir ... read more

Wake up refreshed, and the hostel had cereal for breakfast so we went and helped ourselves. I always find it strange to drink milk out of a carton that is stored in a cupboard...just seems wrong. We were booked on a tour to see Bran Castle, Rasnov and Sinaia and our taxi arrived at around 9:30 to take us and an aussie boy Jacob around to the sites (80Lei each). Our first stop was Sinaia. Now it was Good Friday for us but not in Romanian so there were lots of school kids visiting everywhere. AT Sinaia it was mainly teenagers. We hiked up the hill and Sinaia was beautiful!. We paid 20Lei to go on a tour, but you aren't allowed to take photos. They have someone join your tour who is in non descript ... read more

Well it's been a few weeks since I updated this, and mercifully, Robbie's much better at uploading Fotos than I am, so now I've got about a million pictures to pull on for this update. Anyways, the past few weeks have been idly spent in Belgium, which is mercifully less interesting, and therefore less taxing on my writing skills. Short answer? I wrote a paper, and slept in sunlight for a weeks, it's been pretty good. So after Bulgaria, what happened (I know you're all keen to ? Well: Welcome to Romania! Say goodbye to your passport! Romania and Bulgaria rest outside the Schengen zone, and are accorded a special status in the EU slightly higher than "leper" but this meant we had to actually get our passes stamped when we crossed the Danube by train. ... read more