Imparatul Romanilor Sibiu

... was providing some insight. Eg, toilet paper was frequently not supplied since people would take the entire roll home, lights in churches are not turned on to save money, while constructing his home builders were not placing wallboard on the studs to save material. <br><br>One of the unfortunate situations with the wide bifurcation of income is that begging is very common. <br><br><br>We ride off to Sighisoara for the night, another 150 km. We have the cheese for dinner.<br><br><br><br><br>

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

... in a Saxon village called Viscri, but the rainy weather put a damper on our plans to walk around the countryside, so we went to the local church and climbed the clocktower for great views of the surrounding valley. <br><br>The main story here, and in almost everywhere I've been in Romania, is mealtime. We start with a round of cheese and vegetables, right now really delicious local tomatoes. Next, we have a soup, and I ...

... at this place and had more mamaliga (which I love!) and mititi (?) which is mincemeat and grilled. Very good and so cheap. No beggar kids during this meal! <br><br>I enjoy walking the streets here as there always seems to be something around every corner. There are these neat alleyways leading to small little squares and more and more of those cool eye lid houses. If tourism really takes off here, this place wouldn't be the same as all the ...

... deprived myself of a lot of water as I was scared what the washrooms were like. It is so incredibly hot and humid here (no air conditioning) that I stood in the hallway of the train with my head out the window. However, I saw so much incredible scenery and a slice of rural living! I swear I saw the very same village they filmed Borat in! I think I saw "Number 2 prostitute in all of Kazakhstan". I wonder if I would be #3? There are these ...

... dodging some gypsy hookers to pick up a couple of warm beers (hey, whatta ya want for a buck fifty?) and a bag of peanuts from the local mini-mart. The TV didn't even have a movie channel. I asked for a wake-up call that I didn't get and the visa machine didn't work. The very shabby train, very likely the worst in the Romanian fleet, with really stinky bathrooms that you could smell from your seating compartment actually left on time. My ...

... even more back in time than bulgaria, horse carts everywhere, men in felt hats with feathers and ladies in kerchiefs. trundled through town, a gypsy kid hit my bag with a stick and cracked up and the bus station turned out to be a bus shelter full of old ladies eating cherries. So, I didn't make it to my destination, had to spend a night in Petesti which is by no means a tourist destination, but of course there was a ...

... de Arges. On the right side there were mountains all the time of driving, and my thoughts were wandering somewhere between the legend of Dracula, superstition, home and a funeral. Yes, when we were leaving Rasinov, there were more people in the village than on the day when we arrived. The streets were narrow, covered with cobblestones, mud, horse **** and dust.Each house was dressed in different colour, with big wooden door, painted in the style of ...

... be further splits in the trail. We only had the hope that we could make it. Ignoring my instinctual fears of the wild Romanian wolves and the corn vipers that preyed on unsuspecting dopes like yours truly, we walked on. "This place looks like the Fire Swamp," I commented to my traveling companion (referencing the great movie The Princess Bride). She was too busy worrying about the thorns that still seemed to be lodged in her leg from one of our many pushes through the underbrush to ...

... 8 in total. We also took a photo of Vlad Tepes, who Bram Stoker based his book on, but I would never recommend this town at this time of the year. But I do have one lasting memory. As we had to get a train at 07:00, we arrived at 06:30, and the locals were sucking back beer at this time !!!!! Brasov Another walled town, another grabbing by a local at the station, and we were whisked away to grab the room in the centre of the town. We walked around, found the walls and followed ...