Hotel 11 Euro Sibiu

... 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 ...

Sibiu is a delightful city, small - about 250 000 people, but ready to make your staying one of the best in Romania.
The city, on its German name Hermannstadt, was founded in the 12 century and in 2007 was Cultural European Capital.
The Bruckenthal Palace in the Big Plaza, today an art museum and the Evangelic Cathedral are worth a 2-3 hour visit.
Also, climbing all the way up in the Council Tower , the 12 century gate of SIbiu, let us see the city from above.
Great place!

... taste: the more local it is, the stronger it tastes and the more like rubbing alcohol it smells. But I'm a trooper and I try to take my share.

The next day we came to Sibiu, a larger city on the way to Brasov. The town square here is also really nice, and we did some standard tourist fare on the first day-- museums, clocktower, churches. Today was a full day of activities in surrounding towns, starting with a ...

... Only here would you also see two strays fighting each other and no one seemed to take notice. It got really nasty at one point and I couldn't watch anymore as it was seriously disturbing. I saw another disturbing sight before I came back to my hostel and it was a small child throwing stones at a cat. I started to yell at the boy "NO, NO", he stopped but mumbled something in a language I didn't understand. I can only imagine what he said! But at ...

... course to the dramatic view of the Fagaras mountain range (I believe it is the Fagaras).

Once I got to Sibiu it was a close walk to my hostel. The hostel has a really neat vibe to it and I was happy to see that I have a whole dorm to myself. It doesn't have security lockers so I am not too happy about that. At least I can lock my room. I desperately needed laundry done and I was able to do it here a few dollars.

Walking ...

Sibiu. This lovely little town, maybe even lovelier and more picturesque than Brasov, no, not maybe, was named the 'cultural capital of Europe 2007'. Although it is well into 2008, they are still milkin' it. Edmonton was named the cultural capital of Canada so we know what it really means. Sibiu is clean and pretty and has a substantial central square containing fewer pigeons than Brasov's and a walking street, Str Nicolae Balcesin, which ...

... quite a sight. My hostel is right in the ...

... 5 liters of semi-fresh apa minerale set me back about a 25 cents. Not too shabby. I said thanks and again surveyed the room. The "customers", who only seemed to be lingering about, were still staring. I would later remark insightfully that they, "looked kinda Amish." Indeed it was true, with their dated, worn, and conservative clothes. Their features were also dulled and I thought to myself, very unfairly I'm sure, that they appeared to be somewhat inbred. Despite how awful that ...

... encounter, but it was a good reminder that despite the influx of tourists, Romania is still a very poor country where many people live on the margins. We did not stay long, just long enough to view the citadel and take some pictures of Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impailer's) birthplace. Dracula kitsch was everywhere, much of it quite amusing though. After lunch we waited several hours for a train back to Brasov, (first class, as first class is still incredibly cheap).

so after a couple days on the beach it seemed the meeting wasnt going so well so everyone left and i stayed with alex and we were gona sleep on the beach that night but after wandering around for a bit and deciding that constanta totally sucked and i wanted to go back to vame veche. but we decided to go travel around romanina for a few days. so we walked to the main road to bucharest/brasov and tried hitchiking. now the thing is its night (12), and in romanina you usualy have to pay ...