Hotel Natural Brasov

... pleasure of neighbouring vampires!

Anyway, aside from our mysterious, slightly dodgy, arrival, everything worked out for the best. The next day, we discovered we were close enough to walk into the beautiful town of Brasov, where there is a quaint little town square, and large white hollywood-style letters "BRASOV" hang over the city. Lots of gothic architecture, lit-up cafes and cotton candy by night, and gorgeous mountains all around.

... at the station are few and far between so the choices were KFC or McDonald's. So I ate McDonald's for the first time in years and years (I really wonder how they can get the "beef" patties so small - at least you know why it's so cheap). It was easy enough to navigate my way onto the train (which is saying something since I have no knowledge of Romanian and again never had time to learn any before I left). I even managed to secure a compartment all to myself ...

... low doorways as you went down stairs as well. So you're trying to not bump your head but you're also trying to not slip on the narrow stairway. Make it a challenge I guess. The third stop was Rasnov Fortress. It was a little bit more interesting than Bran Castle plus they did have little ropes across every room (unlike Bran Castle) so you could go into a room and explore or go down into a dark basement, which we did. That was the end of our 'tour' and we were back in Brasov ...

Junamatka Romaniaan ei ollut taas ihan niita parhaita. Matkaa oli tehty ehka tunti kun veturi laukesi ja sitten odoteltiinkin jossain Belgradin lahella pari tuntia toimivaa kapinetta. Taman ja muiden viivytysten takia matka venyi mukavaan 20 tuntiin. Jostain syysta ma saan aina matkaseuraksi puheliaita vanhoja aijia jotka ei puhu sanaakaan englantia. Joku romanialainen viiksivalluhan sinne tallakin kertaa tomahti juttelemaan. Aamulla sitten nappasin ensimmaisen mahdollisun ...

... the only other people in there were two groups of 10-12 people. One was a Christian group who all stood and joined hands for a fairly ostentatious and slightly spooky bit of saying Grace. The other was a gaggle of travellers, half of whom were appropriately dreadlocked and be-guitared. "Ha," we laughed, "at least we don't have them in our room". The dreadlocked rank up there with those carrying musical instruments and fire twirling sticks as Least Desired Of ...

... only allowed to move there if you have a degree so her husband cant move there with her. But even then, you cant practice that because it isnt officially recognised. So she can only work as a waitress or something similar. Most people here seem to think I'm in my early twenties and are shocked to find out that I am 33. Julia though i was about 24. I thought she was my age but she is only 27. She said that she knew I was more mature than the other girls though because my ...

... he also asked for soup but same story, didn't have it but brought it out after for other people... 2) Next restaurant, I ordered a salad, they brought me a different one, I didn't want to be difficult so I ate it, but then they tried to charge me the higher price of the first one, when I explained he said that it didn't matter and he still fully expected me to pay full price... Luckily for us, we had a kitchen at our hostel and so after that ...

... to dig! But the trip was worth it for the view alone. Atop the fortress there is a spectacular 360-degree panorama of the surrounding mountains and valleys. It was a wonderfully bright and sunny day; as Dave said, "California brought the sunshine" after a week+ of rain. Somehow, I always seem to get lucky like that (like finding parking no matter what city I'm in) as I have barely seen a drop since I left home. Topping the day off with that memorable view, our group headed home ...

... to find the visual beauty in Bucharest. Crosses mark the places where protesters were shot down as they demonstrated against Ceausescu and you can buy a postcard of the 20 storey hotel where journalists reported from, in safety, as they observed the carnage below. Old men and women sell bags of sunflower seeds on the streets which they measure on bathroom scales. Everywhere, stray dogs roam and occasionally a kind person will leave some food scraps on a doorstep. Along one wide and ...

Brasov is where all the tourists go in Romania, in the heart of Transylvania, Dracula country. So I spend a day doing that, walking through the old castle and all. But the real attraction for me was just seeing a country in the heart of Europe that is still village-based and peasant-based, with lots of arts and crafts ...