We didn't really know what to expect from Romania, but we were happy to get off the train after 20 hours! The train ride wasn't so bad though actually, we had our own cabin which was nice and the scenery through Bulgaria and Romania was quite nice. We were woken up about 6 times in the middle of the night for passport control and customs though, that wasn't too pleasant. But we had plenty of time to catch up on sleep. We left Istanbul around 10pm and didn't arrive in Bucharest until 6pm then next day.
Once in Bucharest we searched for a hotel that took credit cards. Our ATM card hadn't worked since India so we were low on cash. We found one and settled in for the night. By the time we settled into the hotel it was dark and we didn't feel comfortable exploring Bucharest at night. So we flipped on the tube and watched some reality TV that has made its way all the way to Romania.
We probably didn't give Bucharest a fair shake because the next morning we headed back to the train station for a short journey north to Brasov in southern Transylvania. The ride north was spectacular and we were shocked to see snow capped mountains...who knew Romania had snow and even ski resorts! Certainly not us and it was a pleasant surprise. I even thought about going skiing!
Brasov turned out to be a great town. Several gothic sites to see including the Black Church, which got its name when it was torched by fire in the 1600s. We went to the nearby town of Bran to check out the Bran Castle. Legend has it that Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad the Impaler and the basis for Bram Stoker's Dracula, was once at the Bran Castle protecting the Bran Pass from the invading Turks. The Bran Pass was an important pass for the residents of southern Transylvania. The story goes that ss a youngster, Vlad's father had offered up his son as a hostage to the Turks where young Vlad learned some disturbing methods of torture. When the Turks tried to invade southern Transylvania Vlad was ready and ironically used some of the techniques he learned while in Turkey against them. Legend has it that he impaled around 20,000 of the invaders finally forcing them back south! Hence the nickname.
After 2 days in Southern Transylvania we headed back to Bucharest and caught another overnight train to Belgrade, Serbia where we would see familiar faces in my unlce Keith and aunt Chris who live there. We were looking forward to some home cooking, clean sheets, free laundry, and family hospitality! After over 2 months on the road, we certainly needed it! See
you in Serbia!
Once in Bucharest we searched for a hotel that took credit cards. Our ATM card hadn't worked since India so we were low on cash. We found one and settled in for the night. By the time we settled into the hotel it was dark and we didn't feel comfortable exploring Bucharest at night. So we flipped on the tube and watched some reality TV that has made its way all the way to Romania.
We probably didn't give Bucharest a fair shake because the next morning we headed back to the train station for a short journey north to Brasov in southern Transylvania. The ride north was spectacular and we were shocked to see snow capped mountains...who knew Romania had snow and even ski resorts! Certainly not us and it was a pleasant surprise. I even thought about going skiing!
Brasov turned out to be a great town. Several gothic sites to see including the Black Church, which got its name when it was torched by fire in the 1600s. We went to the nearby town of Bran to check out the Bran Castle. Legend has it that Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad the Impaler and the basis for Bram Stoker's Dracula, was once at the Bran Castle protecting the Bran Pass from the invading Turks. The Bran Pass was an important pass for the residents of southern Transylvania. The story goes that ss a youngster, Vlad's father had offered up his son as a hostage to the Turks where young Vlad learned some disturbing methods of torture. When the Turks tried to invade southern Transylvania Vlad was ready and ironically used some of the techniques he learned while in Turkey against them. Legend has it that he impaled around 20,000 of the invaders finally forcing them back south! Hence the nickname.
After 2 days in Southern Transylvania we headed back to Bucharest and caught another overnight train to Belgrade, Serbia where we would see familiar faces in my unlce Keith and aunt Chris who live there. We were looking forward to some home cooking, clean sheets, free laundry, and family hospitality! After over 2 months on the road, we certainly needed it! See
you in Serbia!The Bran Castle in Southern Transylvania
CJ overlooking the town of Brasov also in Southern Transylvania
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