Transylvania, Romania

After we crossed the Danube into Romania it wasn't long before I was fighting Friday afternoon traffic in Bucharest. We parked and had a look around the old town and saw their massive parliament building, which has to be seen to appreciate its size. I believe it's the largest administrative building in the world. We stopped in a coffee shop near the parliament building and the owner was a friendly guy in his 30’s. I asked how far to the building and he said 500m. I told him I was just about to tell my daughter what happened there to Ceaușescu. (The communist leader and dictator) I told him why don’t you tell her since you’re Romanian. He said very loudly and proudly, “WE KILL HIM! Romania is only country who kill its dictator” Well then, let’s go have a look…

After the walk to see the enormous building we set off to the magical land of Transylvania and a night in Brasov. Now let me say something about how I plan trips. I spend a lot of time on logistics and what I want to see. Since I don’t have an unlimited time and budget interesting things get axed, it’s just how it is. I tend to lean toward more genuine places and find most overtouristed places irritating. You may have heard of this Dracula. He’s almost 100% fiction. There is a castle in Bran that is alleged to have been home to Dracula, but 1. Bran Stoker had never been to Romania and 2. Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad the Impaler lived in Sighișoara. Needless to say, I opted for Sighișoara and skipped the tour bus stop and the pretend castle based on a work of FICTION. If you have time, by all means, see both, but I recommend the Transylvanian cities of Sighișoara, Sibiu and Timisoara over Bran Castle.

As much fun as it was to drive in Bucharest at rush hour, the countryside was even more charming, the rural towns were very quaint and there was almost always a cart and donkey transporting several family members across their small village. Off to see if we can find another border crossing...