Hotel Bradet Sighisoara

... block away and found a cab that took me to the "Funky Chicken Hostel" for two bucks. The hostel was a dump and far from everything but I made the best of my accidental visit to Bucharest. <br> The next afternoon, I had an authentic lunch of more stuffed cabbage complete with a glass of Polinka (plum brandy). I went to the European National Art Museum displaying artwork by Renoir, Rembrandt and Monet, with some paintings dating back to the 16th ...

Had a terrible sleep as there were workers fixing the tile roof right beside my room and the walls are like paper. They started work at 7 am! Arggh. Got an early start to my day to say the least and did some more wandering around the old town. I went into the Historical Museum , the torture museum and an armory. The ticket for all three was very cheap (around 5 dollars) which was a good thing as besides the Historical Museum, the displays ...

... sign). The streets are clay with traces of old cobblestone. We spent two nights at a budget B&B run by a really nice Romanian couple. They speak very little English, but the husband's favorite word seems to be "maybe"! It's pretty cute and this B&B is in a 400 year old home. It is amazing to be in a place where by walking the streets one can easily imagine what life must have been like here 500 years ago. Romania sits ...

... 1648 and displays different wooden figurines which move. The tower has a great museum too showing a bizarre collection of medical instruments (even gyno stuff from a LONG time ago!) and Renaissance furniture. A covered staircase from the 1600's which has 172 covered stairs to Church on the Hill which dates back to 1345. We also wandered around a German cemetery for a bit too. We had a glass of red wine at Casa Dracula which is a restaurant where Vlad reputedly lived until the ...

... at the top just in time to hear the 12 o'clock chime. There are glass panels at the top so you can see all the cogs and wheels spinning while the bells are ringing. At this moment I remembered just how unique this journey has been. I've never even been in a clock tower before, let alone seen the gears turning as it strikes twelve. Wait a minute, twelve o'clock! I didn't eat breakfast, it's lunch time! We went back down the hill to a pub and split another BBQ sauce pizza. Then ...

... cand a scos doi adversari din joc si i-a pasat excelent lui Banel Nicolita, la mijlocul terenului, insa centrarea lui "Jardel" nu a fost interceptata de niciun coechipier. Polonezii au mai incercat o data poarta lui Cernea in minutul 71, printr-un sut bun de la 20 de metri, insa goalkeeperul stelist nu a avut nicio emotie. Minutul 80 sr fi putut aduce victoria Stelei, insa mingea expediata de Goian din ...

Left Monday 26 Nov to drive up to Cavnic, in the Maramures region of northern Romania. Known for wooden churches, ornate carved wooden gates, plinka (homemade hooch). And you can spit and hit Ukraine. Cell phones pick up Ukraine system. One of the wooden churches visited was built in 1364 (yep, that is 1364 not a typo). Churches built without nails - used mortis and tenon joints and wooden pegs. Painted on the inside, although since most lack heating (still ...

... salt on the wounds, boys. Nothing like a gloating victor. There were riots here in the early post-Communist period as well, believed to have been manufactured by Romanian nationalists (and encouraged by the then Iliescu government). In many ways, Hungary has still never gotten over the loss of the region to Romania either, especially this particular area, which is so close to the heart of Hungarian traditions. For all the past troubles though, people seem to get on pretty well ...

... meet the others for dinner. We ended up going back to the same place for diner. I had a yummy soup and then fish n a tzatziki style sauce. Expensive (what can I expect for it being Vlad Tepes birthplace) but tasty food. After dinner a few of us stuck back for one more and then headed back to the hostel for an early night. After the stupid o'clock start we were all pretty shattered.

... was...OK. Every 12-15 year old in Romania was present and most were wearing their Lord of the Ring rings. I'm sure it would have been better if I was in the mood. I ended up sharing a table with 5 local guys in one of the cafes. One of them had an extra arm band that meant free beers for me all afternoon! I boarded the 10PM train relatively sober for my trip to Hungary.