We landed at Bucharest, in Romania, at dusk and went to pick up our 7-seater car, only to find that there were no 7 seaters and they wanted to upgrade us to a 9-seater bus! A big bus was the last thing we wanted but there was nothing else so we gave in and took it. It actually turned out ok providing we had 2 pairs of eyes watching the narrower roads.
The next day we hired a bloke with a tiny speedboat to take us out to an island on the adjacent lake to see the monastery there. The boat ride was fun and the monastery was interesting.
The next day we drove on to a town called Sinaia in Transylvania. It was amazing! We loved the gorgeous old houses with their pointed roofs and mysterious attics. It was all very Adams Familyish and very much what you would expect to see in Transylvania on a dark and stormy night!
There were heaps of places for sale all over Romania. Not sure what a place like this would cost but the maintenance would be a nightmare!
Sanaia is the base for some great mountain walking. Courtney wasn't feeling well (She has a bug of some sort and is going straight to the doctor when she gets home) so we had to leave her in our hotel. Being left in our hotel was not such a bad thing though - it was awesome! Think grand staircases and old paintings. It was also located right on a gorgeous park - it was fantastic!
Anyway, the remaining 5 of us caught a chairlift to the top then walked for a few hours. It was a fun ride.
The alpine country was spectacular. Vast open spaces filled with craggy rocks, surprisingly high hills and plenty of grass. Shepherds and cowherds grazed their stock and the sounds of cowbells echoed up the valleys.
We came across a group of horses. Some were hobbled, which is common in this country with few fences. Some of them were really friendly.
Maddy wins the prize for the cutest photo! Awwww!
We crested a hill and were somewhat surprised to see this running track in the middle of nowhere! There were people training on it. We can only assume it's a high-altitude training track although, like many things in Romania, it was in need of repairs. By the time we reached it, the people training had gone, so Maddy slipped through the fence (also in need of repair) and did a lap. She was surprised at how hard it was in the altitude. We were at about 2,000 metres.
Most of the animals were well used to being close to people. We loved the cowbells!
We found good places to eat here. The food is quite meat-focused but the three vegans had little trouble finding food. Variety was more of an issue - will it be grilled vegetables or grilled vegetables today? Alanna scored well with this enormous grilled capsicum.
We timed our departure from Sanaia around the opening hours for Peles Castle, an amazing castle in the town. However, when we got there, we found that it didn't open til later on Wednesdays. There were lots of unhappy people around! Anyway, we had a good look at the outside. It was spectacular!
The castle was set in a forest. Romanian forests are stunning - so lush and green.
But in Romania, where there are forests, there are also wolves and bears!
This reads something like - "Danger - bears!" This was right in front of the castle.
We then had a lovely day's drive exploring some rural areas. This area was very much like Switzerland with its flower-covered chocolate-box houses at the base of steep hills, but it was much more basic. The hay is all cut by hand with a scythe and is hand stooked and stacked in a unique way.
They always make the haystack around a pole but the pole isn't usually still alive!
Horse-drawn vehicles are a common sight around most of Romania.
We went for a short walk in the forest. It was lovely.
This needs no explanation really!
We then moved onto Bran, home of the famous Bran Castle. It's supposed to be Dracula's Castle, even though Dracula didn't actually exist. It was great to explore though.
We had fun discovering secret passageways.
We could understand the Dracula t-shirts but seriously, Dracula menus?
We drove off into the country again and were delighted to find more horse-drawn wagons and storks perched on street poles.
Gypsies were around in many places. They are descended from Indians and this still shows in their bright sari-like clothes.
We arrived at Sighisoara, a gorgeous town of pastel-coloured houses. It was bloody hot though!
The town still had some old guard towers around it. We loved this one - it looked like it should be a witch's house!
I was going to try to put all of Romania into one blog post but there's just too much! Tune in very soon for the last instalment.....
Hooroo!
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