Blogs from Romania, Europe - page 11

Day 6 was a long slog (15 hours) on the train from Budapest to Bucharest. We had tried to figure out about the train, amenities, etc. before we left, but left things a little too late and couldn't get the info we needed about our train by looking online. Like: Is there wifi on the train? (No) Are there plugs to charge your devices (Yes) Is there a dining car? (No) is there a bar (No) and probably the most important one for a 15hr trip - Can you buy food on the train (yes, but you won't know that until after you start thinking maybe there won't be any snacks and you won't be able to have anything until after you arrive at 11pm and by then you'll be "hangry" and that's no fun for ... read more

A short entry this time (I hear many sighs of relief), but before my return to the daily grind there was time to fit in a last-minute city break, hmm, where to go? Rolling the dice of European destinations, the city of Bucharest was the winner. Although August in Bucharest is usually quite hot anyway, our visit coincided with heatwave covering a large swath of Europe, still I’d recently come back from the heat of the Gobi Steppe, so I was sure I’d manage. We flew out from Luton airport, not one I usually fly out of and I quickly realised why, it’s a bit of a shed, still we managed to struggle through (First World Woes) and arrive at our destination without too much hassle. We touched down at Henri Coandă Airport and caught an ... read more

Mention Transylvania and the first thing people think of is Dracula! In fact Bran Stoker never visited Romania and spun the best-selling story about the bloodthirsty vampire from elements he had heard about the life of Vlad Tepes, known as the Impaler, a warrior prince who held back the tide of invaders from the Ottoman Empire and had a particularly nasty way of dealing with his enemies! The Dracula bit comes from his father, another Vlad, whose moniker was Dracul which translates as "devil" and "little dragon" because he belonged to an order of knights which had a dragon on its shield. That is a preamble to our visit to Bran Castle, made appropriately in the lashing rain which leant a grey tinge to all our photos of that place. Built by those stalwart Saxons from ... read more

Wednesday 21stJune Vampire Camping Bran Romania customs after crossing the Danube was a slow affair as each vehicle was thoroughly checked and our passport and van documents thoroughly examined. We bought a vignette for seven days and headed to the mountains and the small town of Bran. Initially the landscape of the Danube delta was flat with fields of sunflowers in full bloom interspersed with wheat and other crops. At the pretty town of Campulung, the road started to climb and deteriorate. Road improvements meant frequent stops at temporary traffic lights. Then the storm started and road flooded with the torrential rain. Impatient Romanian drivers and huge articulated lorries added to the excitement as did the fact that the temperature had dropped dramatically from 32 degrees to 14 degrees resulting in a very steamed up windscreen. ... read more

Un oras frumos, bine pastrat in arhitectura lui, care merita uneori vara sa poposesti si sa il iei la pas. Am dat si de straduta cu umbrelutele colorate si evident centrul plin cu cafenele, restaurante unde este o placere sa servesti ceva, doar sa gasesti un loc liber. Cazare ceva nou asta dupa review-uri, Pensiunea Andronic, este un pic la periferie, pana in centru ai nevoie de un taxi, dar pentru liniste si oaza de verdeata chiar merita. Pret 120 ron=o noapte/camera. Ni s-au parut cam neprimitoare, reci gazdele care raspund scurt, nu debordeaza de ospitalitate si voie buna, desi spatii de cazare au din plin. Pensiunea avea aer conditionat, tv, parcare generoasa, curata, spatioasa, singura problema era gasirea unui taxi fiind zi de weekend-sambata. Micul dejun este servit in gradina, in foisor si este unul ... read more