ROMANIAC
Trip Start
Feb 05, 2008
1
56
70
Trip End
Ongoing
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Sibiu,
Transylvania,
Romania
Saturday, August 2, 2008
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 is lined with an excellent array of sidewalk cafes and some of the best people watching I've had since Thailand. It does have an arty feel somewhat befitting of a town with its title. The women look fantastic. In bars and restaurants 'Romanian service' was the order of the day. So don't mind waiting. The quality was always good.
There are only a handful of hostels Sibiu as it has only found its place on the backpacker trail in the last few years. I picked up a brochure for mine while in Bucharest and have no idea what it was called or how much it cost. I didn't write it down. It was new and very nice and its pricing was comparable with the others in Romania. I'm not even sure why I went to Sibiu. Its listing in Rough Guide made it sound pretty good and it is on the way to Belgrade. I just took it easy, wandering the town and partaking of two dollar cappuccinos, cheap and delicious pizza and a couple of days of people watching and looking at beautiful old buildings.
I saw the cops arrest some gypsy kids who had attempted to snatch a tourist's purse.
Sibiu Piatti
I met a crazy-ass American, ex military guy (a medic) from Detroit, Drew, who signed up so he could get a free education and did two years in Seoul where he actually ran the military hospital at the base. He was only 24. He volunteered to go to Iraq but oddly, they didn't have a spot for him. When it came to drinking beer, I could only just keep up with him. I had a headache the next day. Timisoara
When it was time to move on, I learned going to Belgrade via Timisoara wasn't the smartest route. Trains go directly from Bucharest but from here I would have to go to Timisoara, Romania's most westward-oriented city and the place that played a critical role in the overthrow of the Ceausescu regime, and from there catch a train to Belgrade. Unfortunately this could not be done in one day. I would arrive in Timisoara at around 22:00 where I would have to take a $62.80 room at Hotel Nord, a bit of a dive across from the train station, because there are no hostels in this town and then I'd have to get up at 05:00 to catch a 06:03 train to Belgrade. After checking in I hit the street in search of cold beverages and a snack, stumbling over some glue sniffers and 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 car was filled with a bunch of folks who we later determined were smuggling goods to be sold at the market at the first main stop on the Serbian side. One of the ladies in the group was running the show and when a few of us backpackers boarded, she began to shuffle us around to different compartments, spreading us out. I think we were like decoys. Turns out I was in 1st class. I wouldn't have guessed. When we arrived at their stop, stuff, as in packaged merchandise, lots of it, started coming out from under the seats and a variety of other nooks and crannies. They had a real system. I'm pretty sure the conductors and customs officials were well aware. I was a little dazed by the whole thing and then I was told to move to 2nd class. Christ, I thought I was in 2nd class! If this is 1st class, what must 2nd class be like? I couldn't wait to get to Belgrade. We were over two hours late.
