Romania

October 2014: This may seem like a random European country to travel to...and it was. We had a week off and knew we wanted to go back to Europe, so we looked up flights and found a cheap one to Bucharest. We spent a bit of time in Bucharest, then headed out to Transylvania by train and found a few gems in this area...many of them related to Dracula (or Vlad the Impaler). Lisa needed a good book to read on the trip...so naturally she chose Dracula. And we watched the movie at least once on this trip.

highlights

. Transylvania . "Hollywood" signs . Carpathians .

lowlights

. Bran Castle . Vlad's birth home . 

bucharest

Bucharest was a lot of fun to see on foot. We wandered the streets for two days, and found a lot of beautiful parks, interesting people, big post-communist buildings, and the Old Town.  We stayed at the Hotel Berthelot at the start of our trip, and when we got back from Transylvania, we stayed at Resindenza di Carbasinni, which is an apartment close to the old city. It was also close to an escape room that we tried (and succeeded) with some friends.

palace of parliament

This is the most intimidating building I have ever seen. And that's precisely what it was built for back in communist Romania: intimidation. It's the second biggest administrative building in the world...after the Pentagon. This place is absolutely massive. For more interesting facts about this building, check out http://www.youramazingplaces.com/palace-of-the-parliament-bucharest/

Parks

Bucharest has many parks, so if you are wandering around the city you are bound to see a few. They have great walking paths, ponds, and are relatively quiet even in the middle of the city.

curtea veche

Curtea Veche is a museum we happened to walk past, and decided to go in. It was a house from the 15th century (during Vlad's reign), and has been turned into a museum. Very interesting art pieces, and really neat to walk around the old building.

transylvania

You really only need a couple of days in Bucharest, and then you should get out and head to Transylvania. The surrounding Carpathian Mountains are gorgeous, and many towns have their very own "Hollywood" sign up on a hill. The views from the hill are incredible, and the town squares are so charming and inviting. We took the train to a few tourist spots, and based ourselves in Brasov. If we were to do it again, I think we might rent a car. Trains were fine, but with the amount of traveling we did around the area, a car might have given us a bit more freedom. 

brasov

We took the train from Bucharest to Brasov, which is about 3 hours, then walked a ways to our hotel. Our hotel, called Casa Wagner, was right on the square, therefore it wasn't too cheap, but it was the perfect location with some really cool architectural features inside. Brasov was our base for the trip. It was in the middle of almost everywhere we wanted to go, and we loved just wandering and having a drink in the town square. We wandered around the Black Church just behind the square, then walked up the hill to the "Brasov" sign and got some good views. There is also a cable car that can take you up there, where there is a restaurant and bar. 

bran castle

We took a bus from Brasov to Bran, which is about 45 mins. The park around the castle is beautiful. The castle itself is nice, but very cramped and loaded with tourists. This isn't even the "true" Dracula castle (that's a lot farther away and more difficult to get to), so I found it alright, but nothing amazing. I loved the mountain views and the views of the castle from below the best. We had some time after the castle before the bus picked us up, so we just wandered the streets and had some lunch.

sighisoara

Sighisoara is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once you enter the old walled town, there is lots to see. The train journey from Brasov is 2 h 45 min, so we initially booked a room to stay in Sighisoara at Casa cu Cerb, but after spending a few hours wandering the town, we decided to head back to Brasov that night. Sighisoara is the birthplace of Vlad Dracula, and his house (father's house) is very well-preserved just off the main square in the old city. The house is now a restaurant (with garlic hanging everywhere...of course), and you can pay a small fee to go upstairs, where there is a cheesy room with a coffin and red lighting. It was funny, but not one of my top recommendations. After grabbing lunch at Vlad's house, we walked up the scholar's stairs (old wooden, covered staircase) to the Church on the Hill. Very nice inside, and it has a very peaceful cemetery beside it, which we also walked through. We had a great day just wandering around the old town, I highly recommend visiting Sighisoara.

sinaia

Sinaia is about a one hour train ride from Brasov. It has a beautiful castle called Peles Castle. The grounds around it are pretty incredible as well, and there is a walking path along a stream with little souvenir stands lining the way. The castle interior is gorgeous, and very detailed. There are so many rooms used for different purposes. For example, there was an Arabic room, a theatre, and a weapons room to name a few. We took a guided tour and had to wear little slippers so we wouldn't scuff the floors.