Romania and Sigisoara Travelogue and Photos
There are three major overnight express trains from Istanbul into Europe: the Balkan Express (Belgrade), the Orient Express (Paris) and the Bucharest Express. Another train goes to Thessalonika, Greece. A 2nd class ticket for Bucharest was $23 USD, not bad for a 20 hour train ride, I thought. Unfortunately it appears not a Turkish lire has gone to upgrade the 2nd class car's WC in the last 30 years. Plan on holding it for 20 hours or get creative. Better yet go first class….
I waited a few hours in the deserted station, passing time reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. Dracula is patterned after Slavic vampire legends of the Middle Ages and the Romanian prince Vlad Tepes, also known as Vlad the Impaler. When the Ottoman Turks invaded his land in Transylvania (part of modern day Romania) he ordered thousands of Turks to be impaled on a stick as a warning. I doubt this will be featured in Sigisoara's forthcoming DraculaLand theme park (co-sponsored by Disney)...
The approach to the outskirts of Bucharest is a mix of green beauty, poor villages, industrial wasteland, concrete block apartment buildings and the occasional nuclear reactor-looking tower. Kids wave at the train as it passes. Grungy farmers guide their donkey carts full of sticks down dirt roads. Old ladies sell brooms made of twigs…
The taxis at the Bucharest Gare Nord station are infamous for ripping people off. The Elvis Villa hostel brochure made this clear and warned not to get into one of the "fake" unmarked taxis. As I made my way near the taxi stand a guy insisted I go in his unmarked taxi. I refused. I saw another yellow taxi next to it and picked that one. 250,000 Romanian lire ($10) later I was in the middle of nowhere. Turns out there are unmarked taxis and there are semi-marked taxis, and then there are the marked official taxis. These are obvious after you've been ripped off at least once. 40,000 is the normal price from the train station to Elvis Villa, the main hostel in Bucharest (that and Helga Hostel). Actually the best plan is to walk a few blocks away from the station to get a taxi. I ended up getting close to the hostel then walking for a while, asking locals occasionally for directions. They were all very helpful and friendly. One of the things I like most about Romania is the people. They are inviting and are happy to meet you or talk to you for a few moments in English. Unlike heavily touristed areas like Italy, it is still a novelty here to met somebody from afar. They like America and Americans. It's common to see an Amercian flag on a shirt, a plastic bag etc. The US Peace Corp is active in rural Romania. I met a Peace Corp volunteer in Bucharest and he said loved working with Romanians. Another person told me some locals think the Peace Corp. volunteers are spies...
Elvis Villa Hostel is a converted house owned by an Aussie named Elvis. Elvis is a big bodybuilder guy with a white crew cut. If you want to find out about the Romanian scene (politics, clubs, business etc.) talk to him to get all the gritty details. The hostel is fairly central and within 10 minutes walking distance to the city center. It's a good place to stay for backpacker-type accommodations....
My impression of Bucharest is that it has a lot of potential although it is gritty and fairly rough around the edges right now. Perhaps it is 10-15 years behind Budapest in terms of renovations to the city. There are many beautiful buildings which for the most part are gray and in serious decay--no doubt Prague and Budapest would be the same if not for all the recent improvements. A long green promenade leads up to the People's Palace. The palace is the 2nd largest administration building in the world behind the Pentagon and was built on orders of President Ceaucesceu. The Pres and his wife were hung and shot a few years later when the communists were thrown out (1989). Next to the People's Palace is a spacious park with a lake and a lot of trees. It's nice to chill out in for a while, to get some cool shade (Bucharest can get very warm in summer)... A big economic problem and one reason why Romania is relatively backward still is the country took about 10 years longer than many Eastern European countries to open up to foreign investment. Only recently could a foreigner open a business in Romania. Another problem is corruption. Bribes (or should I say "tips"?) are common and expected as part of doing business or getting just about anything through the bureaucracy. This leads to some additional uncertainty/risk for a business owner....
Bucharest is good for a few days but the real Romanian treasures are in Transylvania. Transylvania ("through the forest")has lush forests, high mountains with snow, green countryside, curved spires and castles tucked away far in the hills. I started in Brasov and from there did day trips to Rasov, Bran Castle and Sinaia. Brasov is a bustling little town with a newly refurbished town square. The facades on the buildings look like they have been repainted recently. The gothic Black Church is the main sight in town and looms near the square. There is also a cable car going up one of the mountains. Although not overly tourist-infested, the town seems to be a jumping off point for many who are looking for Transylvania/Dracula lore. There are several nice restaurants where they speak English, for example. I ate twice at Bella Musica which served an odd mix of Romanian specialties and Mexican food. The steak fajitas were delivered on a sizzling iron skillet. It was the first time I had Mexican food in 5 months. Yum... It's strange that Mexican food appears to be popular in Romania. It seemed every place I ate at had some sort of Mexican element: chips and salsa, margaritas, burritos, "Mexican-style" hamburgers and pizzas...
I took a taxi along with two Italian guys from the Brasov Elvis hostel. First we stopped at the castle in Rasov...it is on the hill above town and in reality is a very plain fortress not a castle. It has been made into a museum though and it was interesting to see how it was used to defend against Turks invading the valley below. There is an incredible panoramic view of the mountains and valleys nearby. Next we headed to Bran castle, advertised as Dracula's castle. There are tons of tourists and tour buses at Bran. But the fact is Vlad Tepes probably never even visited it. The only mention of Dracula or Vlad is at the many tourist souvenir stands at the base of the castle hill. Bran is more impressive from the outside. It is only sparsely furnished inside. Once again there is a great view. The highlight of the excursion from Brasov was the trip Sinaia. We rode about an hour from Bran castle up into the mountains to get to Peles Castle. Peles Castle built by King Carol I is opulent both on the outside and inside. As a 19th century castle it is still in excellent condition and is fully furnished. The Medieval weapons and armor room, a collection from the Far East and and Europe, is particularly interesting....
Sighisoara, a couple hours train ride away, is much smaller than Brasov and has the feel of an old Medieval town, complete with winding cobblestone streets, a clock tower and a spooky cemetery on the hill. The town seems strangely deserted. Vlad's house (ie Dracula, son of Dracul "Dragon") has been converted into a tourist restaurant. I heard it was good dining but didn't feel like eating at Dracula's house. Call me superstitious but it seems a bit odd to eat meat goulash in Vlad's den. I didn't check to see if they served blood. There is a wooded hill next to town. Sighi's cemetary is on the hillside near an old church, crumbling town walls, watchtowers and a schoolhouse. It's full of gothic-type tombstones spread alongside a narrow path through the forest. A caretaker appears and disappears through an iron gate behind a thick patch of trees. A chained guard dog barks menacingly at me and the black cat creeping through the leaves... Muuhahhaaaa...a black cat. I look over my shoulder for bats. Then breeze down the steps of a dim wooden tunnel back to town....
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