How about Romania?!

Romania!!! 

   

Snowy mountain castles, beautiful architecture and most importantly some REALLY good food!

So its not Friday anymore so I cant say happy friday, but I can at least say I hope you are all having a great weekend.  This is my last day in London and I wanted to get this thing published before I left.  I will be doing a sum up blog for London at some point but I was too far along on this one to go back and start on London.  Plus 8 months is a heck of a lot to sum up and frankly I didn't have the time to do so.  That is ok though, a story for another time.  As of now, here is Romania!  Enjoy!

My journey begins when I caught a late night flight just as it was getting dark in London.  It took about 4 hours to fly from London to Bucharest.  This trip started as many other had.  I was looking at a map of Europe thinking where do I want to go while I am here.  Suddenly I remembered my 7th grade world history class and though hey why not Romania?

 I flew capital to capital but what drastically different capitals these two were.  I left London on a brisk but clear February evening.  Despite it being winter I had not seen any snow all year.  When we were about to land in Romania, however, the pilot comes on and says there is a snow storm down below so prepare for a bumpy landing.  Well, bumpy was an understatement. It felt like the plane was coming in sideways!  As we neared the landing strip you could feel the wind whipping the plane back and forth.  Rocking from side to side to the point where you looked out the window and would see the ground and then look back and be looking up at the sky!  I have no idea how the pilot landed this thing but he got a standing ovation from the entire plane and crew when we finally settled down.  

It was about 10pm when we landed and fortunately I had looked up the address of my hostel before I left.  I left the airport armed with a bus number, the name of a street that I could not pronounce, and a paper map of the city.

The snow was still pouring down when I got off the bus. The streets were not too busy since it was almost 11pm by this time and the buildings around me all had a very grey and uniform look to them and felt very barren.  I later learned that I had gotten out in an old communist block of the city.  I had a rough idea of where I needed to go but thought I would take a short walk around first.  (Glad I brought my winter boots!)

I walked down the street passing closed shops and apartment buildings.  I stuck to the main road to make sure I could find my way back, despite how much I wanted to venture down some of the cool alley ways.  Decided I would have to put that off until the next day.  As always after traveling I was pretty hungry so my exploration of the city became a hunt for an open restaurant.  I came to the sad realization that the only restaurant that was open at this time was the McDonald's I had seen on the other side of the street. I didn't mind eating there, however, since they have free internet, which is a valuable tool when in a strange new place.  Plus the inside of the Mcdonalds was quite unique.  It was decked out with graffiti just like many of the walls I had seen in the city so far.  I was able to look up the exact route to my hostel, which ended up being about a 30 minute walk.  It was, however nearly a straight stretch from McDonald's and I was full and happy and very bundled up for the walk.  

I pulled my scarf tight and headed out into the snow storm.  The walk was bitter cold and kind of eerie.  The street was dead quiet and lit up by old street lights bouncing off the grey snow.  All I could hear was the occasional crash as the wind blew something over.    

Finally, I walked around a corner and there was the gate to my hostel.  The Puzzle Hostel.  Almost midnight at this point but when I rang the doorbell and the gate opened there was a small group of shivering faces smoking by the doorway who smiled and greeted me with a friendly "Salut".

 I don't know why I was greeted in French because it turns out the clerk doesn't speak hardly any English, or French, but he was incredibly friendly anyway.  He knew enough to ask about my reservation and when I asked a question he didn't know he quickly dialed up his boss, despite me protesting and saying I could wait until tomorrow, and despite it being midnight, his boss was equally as friendly and spoke a little more English.  

The hostel felt a lot more like a large house than a hostel.  The bedrooms were on the second floor (first floor to the Europeans) so I walked up stairs into a loft like room with two beds and a couch where some zoned out travelers were staring unblinkingly at a tiny television as it was the only light in the loft.  I passed by them into my room where there were about 8 bunks half full of snoring sleepers.  Exhausted and still cold from the walk, I soon joined them in my own bunk and was out for the night. 

Day 2

Snow, Snow and more Snow!!!  The storm had picked up overnight and there were about 6 inches of snow on the ground now.  I went downstairs to enjoy the free breakfast provided by the hostel and found that I was the only one there to eat it.  The same guy from the night before came down and sat out some breakfast stuff when I got to the kitchen and then left to go back to the desk.  I had a fine selection of orange juice, cereal, and some yogurt.  The yogurt had gone bad about two weeks before but other than that it was alright.  (do not let this turn you off the hostel.  It was a great place, just needed to shop for breakfast stuff)

After my elaborate meal I headed into the city to do some exploring.  The streets had not yet been scraped where I was walking so every step was a trudge through 6 inches of icy snow.  The buildings didn't seem as grey anymore in the daylight.  Many were actually quite beautiful in an aged but well built kind of way.  Much of the architecture was very ornate with small strategically placed windows, large columns, domed ceilings, and decorative balconies.  The city has earned the nickname "Little Paris" for good reasons.

When I got to the end of the street I was on, I found a beautiful mansion with huge glass windows that overlooked a large frozen park.  I walked down the path into the park and noticed a small group of people standing around a pipe that was producing the only non-frozen water in the park.  Each person had a 5 gallon bucket they were collecting water in for I imagine their own use back home but really I have no idea what reason. 

I wondered across the park, passing frozen fountains and an ice rink full of people enjoying the cold weather.  I found my way onto a main street, which was clear of snow and full of traffic.  I found out about a walking tour that was starting near by and thought I may as well go check it out.  I was a good fifteen minutes early so decided to find a coffee and bite to eat to make up for the not so filling breakfast from before.  This is when it really sank in just how great that exchange rate worked out.  My coffee and a delicious homemade doughnut came to the equivalent of a little over a dollar.  My hostel room was about $6 a day by the way and my round trip flight was about 40 pounds to get here.

So the tour was pretty full and had about 20 people from all over the world on it.  I met a couple girls from Ireland who had just flown out for the weekend like me.  Again I really love the cheap flights in Europe.  You can fly almost anywhere for the weekend!  I can fly all the way across the continent of Europe for the same price as a full tank of gas back home.  I also met a few Americans who were just traveling across Europe and a very interesting old Scottish guy who's story I will get to later.  

Romanian Parliament Building

The tour touched on a wide range of the history of Bucharest from the early beginnings of the city as a valley for farming, to the growth in ancient times as a trading place, to the communist party that lead to the development of much of the architecture in the city today.  Apparently when Romania was under communist rule the leader wanted to make the city as much like Paris as possible.  They would send architects to the schools in Paris and recruit them to redesign entire blocks.  This may have required the demolition of entire blocks as well but hey it makes the city look pretty!  The leader wanted a huge parliament building and he wanted it fast so he had workers work around the clock to build what is now the largest parliament building in the world.  The only problem is the leader died before it was finished and he was so hated by the end of his rule that the construction halted and it almost was decided to destroy it!  Fortunately the head architect was able to pitch the idea of how beautiful the building was and how it could bring in tourist so it was decided to at least finish the outside. Unfortunately he couldn't pitch the completion of the inside as well so the tour guide jokes that the building is like a Mario game where you can jump from floor to floor through the wholes.

Next stop, the oldest church in the city and beside it the remains of the medieval government building.  We stopped for a while and talked about Vlad the Impaler and how he was such an iconic and beneficial leader to the Romanian people.  Yes the man known for brutally impaling his enemies on spikes that lined the walkway to his castle was known as a great leader.  He ruled brutally but was feared by his enemies which helped to protect the people and made conditions much safer in the country.  He is considered almost like a Robin Hood type person who championed the poor.  It is said that a man could leave a bag of gold in the middle of the streets with out worry of it being stolen... because of course, everyone knew what happened to those who steal.  There are many tales of how he died but really it is not known.  Even the location of his body is a mystery.  Two separate monasteries claim to have the body buried but it isn't even known if the body was recovered since he was rumored to have been killed on the battle field. There is a small monument to the great ruler by the remains of the ancient government building that is now nothing but ruins in the middle of the city.  

At some point Romania needed a new king and after searching far and wide they decided that they didn't want a Romanian king but opted for a German nobleman instead.  He promptly packed up and moved to Romania immediately to become a strong and well known leader.  Wait till you see his house...I would pack up and move to the land of vampires for this house too.  Fun story about his statue, though. Originally the statue was torn down during WWII because the communist party didn't like the idea of people idolizing anyone outside the party.  Well after communism crashed the people decided they wanted their statue back.  Only problem was the German architect was so mad that they had torn it down that he refused to give them the rights to produce another.  Fortunately it is easy enough to get around those copy right laws and they built a new statue with a slightly different pose (aka they lifted the tail so it looks like the horse is crapping now)  The tour guide says there is running joke about how it is now bad luck to stand behind the statue...

So, I mentioned I would get back to my Scottish friends story so here it is.  Well, I got to talking to this guy as we were going through the tour just passing small talk.  "What brings you to Romania" that kind of stuff.  Well turns out he was in Romania because he had just been to an international UFO convention.  I was thinking wow I do not hear that everyday, so when he asked if I wanted to join him for a Romanian lunch to hear more about it I was happy sit down and hear more.  So I had no idea at the time, but apparently this guy is actually considered one of the world authorities on UFO sightings and ancient alien theory.  He did not tell me this, I looked him up later.  His name is George Smith and you can find his documentaries on YouTube.  And wow that guy has some crazy and awesome stories to tell.  Don't know if I believe a word of it, but it was still fun to hear and think about.  (Also I gotta mention on a separate note I tried the sour stew at the restaurant and it is probably the best stew I have had ....probably ever)  But anyway, We talked for like three hours before I told him I had to get back to my hostel.  I asked for his contact details but he says he does not trust the internet or phones so that was a no go...

I spent the next hour walking back to my hostel just enjoying the scenery and thinking about all these crazy theories this guy had talked about.  I finally got back and went upstairs to charge my phone a bit when I met two of my roommates.  One is a football (soccer) player from Canada who is working on going pro and is living in the hostel for a month while he trains and teaches English.  The other guy is from Holland and came to Bucharest to trace his ancestry and live in a city that he loves.  He advised a restaurant for me to try out that night and I am very glad that I took his advice on it.

I had a delicious feast for around 8 pounds at one of the oldest and nicest German beer halls in all of Romania called Caru Cu Bera.  The feast included bread with tripe soup, which they make using a cow's stomach.  This is actually really good!  It had a buttery meaty flavor and the stomach kinda had a chewy consistency like a clam.  Again really good though, so don't let the contents turn you off of it.  I also had mecci which is a traditional Romanian sausage that kinda taste like spicier breakfast sausage and a couple of beers to round off the meal.  Full and happy I crawled back to my bunk for a good nights sleep which I got after an hour or so of enjoyable chit chat with the other hostel tenants.

Day 3

It was still bitter cold when I woke up but it wasn't snowing.  I left the hostel early to make it to a mini bus I was taking to go to Peles Castle, Bran Castle, and a small mountain town called Brasov in Transylvania.  The morning consisted of winding through the snow covered Carpathian Mountains as we passed a few small villages all built in traditional Bavarian cottage style with intricate lattice work.  Finally we arrived at the first of the castles, Peles Castle, which was the royal residence of the German Kings of Romania.  This is the place I would move to vampire country for.  The castle was secluded and kind of hidden in the mountains and really the it seemed more like a great Bavarian Palace than a castle.  It clearly was not intended for fortification despite the couple of cannons perched on the hillside.  Instead it seemed like it was intended purely to be impressive.  And impressive it is.  The entire place is covered in intricate carvings and beautiful lattice work. Unfortunately cameras are forbidden inside unless you pay a "camera fee".  Many people took pics anyway but I didn't really chance it.  I tried to snap a few but they mostly turned out blurry due to my lack of stealth photo skills.

The outside looks like some kind of doll house but the the inside is even more immaculate.   Upon entering we walk into a small entrance hall lined with armor, weapons, and portraits of the king.  At this point we are asked to put on plastic slippers so no damage is done to the fine carpets throughout the building.  This was understandable to me when I got to the next room and looked around.  The next stop is the grand entrance hall which lives up to the name one hundred percent.  This hall contained a great staircase lined with a red carpet and that is laced with gold.  To the left and right of the stairs are large alabaster sculptures of angels and Greek gods separated by ornate hand carved mahogany pillars.   We began to ascend the stairs and I looked up to see three or more landings above me each with carved balconies and a large eagle painted on the ceiling.  The top of the first landing had a square reception area where it seemed the entire wall was made of groups of carvings that left not a single space bare from the floor all the way to the ceiling at the top of the castle.  

I noticed the building had central heat and learned it is an original feature and among the first of its kind in the country!  The next room we entered was one of my favorites, the armory!  This was not an ordinary collection of medieval armor and weaponry.  Each piece in the collection of thousands actually came from the battlefield.  It had shields, armor, swords, battle axes, war hammers even a full set of horses armor with a knight on top.  Many were spoils of war from ancient battles in every corner of the world.

There were some other really cool rooms as well but for the sake of me not wanting to type 20 pages I'm just gonna sum it up a bit. Plus we didn't get to go to every room anyway since we had only enough time to see a small amount of it. There was a large library filled with leather bound books that were stuffed into mahogany shelves up to the ceiling.  The sewing room was kinda like an 18th century living room with windows overlooking a grand scene of the mountains, Must be what people stared at before there were TV's!  The castle also had a theater room with Romania's first cinema screen.  so there's that to stare at too...Pretty nice place.  Oh yeah, and somehow a twenty foot tall mirror managed to be shipped across the black sea and through the bumpy mountain passes by horse in the medieval ages without a single crack just so the castle could have a really big mirror.  Now that had to be a tough job.

After exploring Peles the bus moved on into the mountains, headed for Transylvania.  Best quote of the trip from the tour guide, "Dont worry about vampires, the only ones left in Romania are living in the government buildings!"

We drove for another hour and I tried to catch up some on my travel log but the roads got a bit to bumpy.  I decided to catch up on some sleep instead and drifted off for minute.  When I woke up we had left the mountains and entered a vast snow covered valley that seemed perfectly flat right up until it reached the foot of the mountains off in the distance.  As we grew closer to the mountains a small village could be seen at the foot of them and as we got close to the village a small castle could be seen perched on the mountains beside it. And there, overshadowing the city and guarding the mountain pass that lay behind it, sat Bran Castle better known as the home of the infamous vampire himself, Count Dracula




Ok Important Sidenote: I gotta give it to whoever did the marketing for this place because Bran Castle has managed to acquire the reputation of being Dracula's castle..... despite the fact that Bram Stoker never visited Romania so couldn't have had a specific castle in mind for his fictitious castle and old Vlad only stopped in for about 3 nights when he was being imprisoned there.   Yet good tourism is good tourism and it does at least strongly resemble the castle in the book,....I mean add a couple wolves howling in the mountains around it and make it instantly night time and you got it.

Before heading to the castle we stopped at a restaurant for another great Romanian meal.  I had some cabbage rolls and a bread bowl full of stew.  The village was small but bustling.  I imagine tourism has done wonders for the area.

We walked from the restaurant up a steep icy path to the gates of the castle entrance.  You enter the castle through a small door at the top of a stairway and walk under and arch into the courtyard.  The castle does not feel very big from the inside really.  It has a small well in it and defensive walkway surrounding the courtyard from above.  It was only really intended as a garrison for a small group of solders.

The rooms inside were also fairly small but every one of them had a great view into the valley below.  The top floor was only accessible through what was once a hidden doorway behind a fireplace.  (Because every good castle needs hidden passageways.) The top floor had a large master bedroom with a bear skin rug and a door that led to the walkway surrounding the courtyard.  This is cool since the only way to get to the walkway is through the secret door and enemy solders who found there way into the castle would be surrounded by fighters with no way of reaching them!  I do not know if this scenario ever happened but it was definitely planned well.

Across the walkways you could go up the towers and see a 360 degree view of the valley below.  Perfect for watching who comes and goes through the mountain pass. With the whole medieval feel and all the snow everywhere it kinda felt like I was in the game of Skyrim standing on one of the watchtowers.  I mean minus the undead guards and stuff.

After walking around the castle for a while, we all gathered back in the bus for one final stop.  The village of Brasov.  This is a small town not far from the castle that is tucked nicely between two mountain ranges.  Reminds me of some of the small towns in West Virginia that are only as wide as the space between the mountains.  Except this small town also had some very colorful houses and a giant cathedral called the "Black Church" due to its burned walls.  The houses are all felt very warm and inviting compared to the harsh cold snow storm outside.  The snow was starting to really pour by the time we got there so we all opted for just a short stay.  When we drove into town you could see another small castle perched on the mountain above watching over the village but as the snow picked up it faded in the shadows until the mountains themselves were even just shadows looming over the city.        

After an hour of looking around the small shops I had acquired a small loot of ridiculously cheap souvenirs and was ready to jump back on the bus for our 4 hour ride back to Bucharest.  (I got a hand carved and painted wooden mirror for like 50 pence that I can use to shave on road now!  Woohoo!)  I slept through a good chunk of the ride since the traffic was so bad coming back..  Apparently Romanians travel to the mountains on the weekends and flood back to Bucharest all at the same time for work the next day.  The bus driver made it fun through.  He played music of every language for most of the trip and I even distinctly remember hearing Barbie Girl at one point.  I had to wake up for that one because the entire bus had joined in singing it!

I made it back to my hostel by around 10pm planning to get to sleep but ran into the roommates I had met earlier.  They were hanging out in the kitchen and asked if I wanted to join for beer.  I figure I am only in Romania staying in this hostel on this specific night once, so why not plus it was a day that ended in y and I only conveniently I will only drink on those days.  I told them about meeting the conspiracy theorist and we ended up spending half the night sharing stories and talking conspiracies!  (Hey Stel, if you are reading this, I really enjoyed our conversation but I still do not believe they are lizards.)  Really this is exactly why I enjoy the hostel life so much.  You never know who you gonna meet, but most of the time they are friendly anyway so it doesn't matter.  Just gotta enjoy being in the moment.    

The Final Day!

So the last day was pretty uneventful, mainly because I slept in until about 10am.  I grabbed some breakfast and coffee at the hostel and decided to hit the streets for a few hours before I had to catch my bus to the airport.  Of course, my last day there ends up being beautiful weather.  Clear blue skies and a nice brisk wind to wake me up.

I didnt really do much more than walk around and look at the city at this point.  I just picked a street and started walking until I ended up at the bus stop I needed to be at a few hours later.  Plenty to see down any street I walked.  I was able to enjoy the benefits of that exchange rate once more when I got an airport meal...for the price that a meal not an airport would cost!  Woohoo!  regular priced food at the airport finally!  I hopped on the plane and relaxed all the way back to London.

Well anyway that's pretty much it for now.  I have experienced only a small chunk of what this place has to offer but like many of the great cities and places of this world the inability to ever "do it all" is what makes it so great.  I look forward to seeing you again Bucharest.  

Oh and top 5 things I learned while in Romania!

1. The food is amazing!  Rich, flavorful, a bit strange, but really tasty

2. It is really affordable.  That handcarved mirror rocks!

3. You never know who you may meet just by saying hello.

4. The only vampires left are the government officials

5. Its worth far more than the 4 days I spent there.

Looking forward to coming back some day.  But that is all I can right about this for now.  I actually wrote this entire blog and it got errased, so this is the second time around for this one.

There may be  bit of a delay for the next blog since my next stop is to backpack across India!!  Not sure how much internet I will have along the way but I am going to try to write as I go.  As always thanks for reading world and feel free to leave some comments below!

Until next time, stay awesome world!