Blogs from Transilvania, Romania, Europe - page 37

The pictures from Tirgoviste were taken the second to last weekend before leaving Ploiesti. Our gazda’s son, Ciprian, is an advisor to the archbishop of the town so we went for a visit and a tour. Tigroviste is a traditional capitol of Romania and is home to some beautiful churches and monasteries. The ruins of the old capitol itself (see Princely Court) house a beautiful church with an interesting tour guide. We were the only ones there at the time and he asked us “do you know why Romania is so messed up?” “No, why?” we asked, not having realized that it was “because everyone throughout history has come and f@#%ed us up, that’s why…” our cue to back away. In the middle is a watchtower erected by Vlad Tepes (aka Dracula, aka Vlad the Impaler ... read more

So today Jeff and I did the most unexpected thing ever. We fucking climbed down a mountain. Oh, ya, in the rain. Who does that?? And yes, I almost fell like 400 times on slippery-ass rocks. I even scraped off half of the skin on my side on a tree that I had to grab onto so as not to fall off the mountain. And then after not falling even once on the mountain, we get down to a set of stairs and I slip and almost fall on my ass. Stupid manmade structures. We've also visited the Black Church, which was burnt at one point, I think. Also saw this old 16th Century fortress atop a hill. And ya. We shopped a little, but I didn't buy anything. It was sort of a weird, not-doing-much ... read more

Alecia: It’s now July 16th, and we have 2 weeks of pre-service training left. At the end of the month we officially become Peace Corps volunteers, and depart for our new home. Last week we learned where that new home was: Odorheiu Secuiesc and we paid it a visit. Odorheiu Secuiesc is the un-official Hungarian capital of Romania. It’s a town of about 40,000 people (98% of which are ethnically Hungarian, or Szeckler as they call themselves) nestled in the rolling green hills of central Transylvania - - the bellybutton of Romania. The Hungarian connection is emphasized by three daily buses making the 12 hour trek from Budapest to Oderhei so Hungarian tourists can experience what they consider the best of Hungarian culture. At this point I have a lot to learn about what it means ... read more

So I eat lots of mushrooms in Romania. Because there aren't many vegetarian-friendly dishes. But there are lots of mushroom dishes. I can't complain. I really like mushrooms. Also, I could never live in Romania. There are too many stray dogs and I would just take them home with me. I would be like Ace Ventura Pet Detective, completely surrounded with dirty, smelly, mean dogs. How glorious, haha. Finally, my back is like an aligator's. I'm peeling like crazy. And. Two days ago I was oozing from my back. I think I had little blister things. It was gross, but I sort of secretly thought it was cool. But don't tell anyone: it's a secret. Anyway, we're in Brasov right now. We just arrived today from Sighisoara, which was a rather small town where Dracula was ... read more

Romanian computers and internet have up to this point proven to be a bit behind the times. this is my third computer and still the programs are too old to recognize my camera...as a result i can't upload pictures which pisses me off A LOT. nonetheless, i'll continue...and pretend i'm still in cluj...even though i'm still i'm not in sighisoara... after all of that frustration in budapest with travelblog, i did, indeed, go stuff my face with cake and ice cream. we headed to gertreaud, Budapest's supposedly finest cafe, having been operating since 1858. We got their signature multi-layer chocolate tort as well as this heavenly concoction with walnut, chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon ice cream topped with whipped cream, apricot syrup, liquer-soaked biscuits...all of that came in a chocolate drizzled home-made waffle cup. delicious to say ... read more