Bistrita

We arrange for Monica to give us a tour of the painted monasteries. She is trained as a tour guide. Public transportation to these remote sites is very limited and would take several days to see the top 4. We take a beautiful route through the hills. The monasteries are surrounded by farms. We visit Voronet, Moldovita, Suceavita, Humur. They were built around 1500 with their exterior walls decorated in extensive and ...

Before I leave the hostel, I get my laundry back. It has been 24 hours and the laundry is folded but is very wet. I am guessing that they had it had been drying outside when the rain hit last night. Yuck!

I am crossing the mountains to get to the Northeast section of Romania, apparently an uncommon path. There is only one mini-bus per day. The availability of such buses is difficult to ascertain until one is actually at the departing location. The hostel is able to ...

... chicken … I order soup (huge bowl full of meat, veggies) and cut pork loin in a sauce. Very nice. This plus a beer sets me back about $6.

The town is a few decades back in time (but well ahead of the countryside which is 100 years or more back). Horse drawn carts mingle with cars as they carry loads of produce as well as transport its owners. It is fascinating to watch young people dressed so modern walking next to their parents wearing traditional clothes.

... closed but I find the art museum open. Some of the paintings make me feel as though I am in Transylvania with portraits of people with white faces, coming right out of horror movies.

I spend the afternoon with the locals at a café, working on photos. Nightlife looks really good but I have to get some sleep for my early train.

Gustavo needs to return the car in Brasov by noon while I am moving North. He has a couple of hours so we get up early and do the quick tour. Great small town but has major road reconstruction under way. Tractors are digging everywhere.

It is a Saxon town which means German is spoken in many places such as sermons in the church. It has lots of pretty buildings, nice fortification. A climb to the top of the tower offers great views of the city ...

... order of 5 times the cost of the entry. This would appear to be a way of getting additional $ from tourist.

As we are leaving, a festival is just starting up. I overheard something about bringing sheep to market as the impetus. There are lots of booths selling cheese, meats and grilled items, and of course lots of beer and local alcohol. I view this as a great way to try some homemade stuff. I buy a smoky cheese that reminds me of Guda, another sharp cheese that might relate to ...

Located out of town, but close to the economic area of the city, BLACK TULIP, a four stars hotel, represents the perfect destination for those wishing to rest. I have appreciated the room atmosphere, the quality of the services...and the high degree of refinement of the cuisine.

Sibiu to Sighisoara. We took a secondary road. No construction, just horses and buggies. Sighisoara is really cute. It has a terrific 14th century clock tower, and is one of the few fully inhabited UNESCO world heritage sites. It is also the birthplace of Vlad Tepes. Walking through the houses in Sighisoara gave us our first indication of the colorful way rural Romanians paint the exteriors of their houses ...

... to work a bit, I spied a small smile coming from the lady. The man with her stayed silent and immovable. I made my way back to my original cabin and speculated whether the couple was married. My tourmate Bill quipped: "Were they talking?"...I said "No" and he said, "They're married!". Lots of relaxing this pm and tomorrow too is a free day. Get to see a UNESCO Saxon church in a Saxon village tomorrow evening...stay tuned!

... someone flips a light switch on and off in rapid succession. Dracula has been startled from his lair, and as we leave the room (after feigning surprise and terror with girlish screams) a hand gropes out at us from behind a corridor wall. We are ushered outside to where a really cheesy costumed monster in tennis shoes is pouring gasoline on a bonfire. It is really windy, so he has to practically throw an entire gallon of fuel on the fire before it finally catches. As ...