Transylvania

The sidetrip to Transylvania was well worth the time. When I had found out that Orsi, an old friend from Minneapolis, had moved back to Transylvania a few months ago I thought it would be fun to pay her a visit since I was going to be in Romania anyways. And I am very glad I went.

Saturday morning I left Tulcea. I took a maxitaxi to Bucharest, and then took a train to meet Orsi in the town of Sighisoara in Transylvania. I did not arrive there until about 10 pm and Orsi met me at the train station. She had found a quaint but nice hotel above a restaurant right across from the train station, so we figured we would just stay there for the night. We had some food at the restaurant and then wandered around Sighisoara a bit. It was dark out, but still obvious that the town was really cute and packed with interesting buildings and monuments.

Sighisoara is actually the birthplace of Vlad Tepes, who is the real Dracula. There is a bit of confusion amongst some about where Bram Stroker’s Dracula came from. Vlad Tepes’s name was given the name Dracula from his father, Vlad Dracul as it means ‘son of Dracula.’ He was a ruler of Wallachia for a years in the later 1400’s. Note that Wallachia isn’t even part of Transylvania, but just south of it. Though Vlad Tepes did not actually drink blood, but he did have cruel torture methods and killed heaps of people, therefore he was ‘bloodthirsty.’ The story of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the blood-sucking vampire, which is set in Transylvania, is basically completely fictitious and really not related to Vlad Tepes except for the name and roughly the location.

The next morning we wandered around the town and looked at historic buildings and things. Most of the interesting attractions were clustered nearby one another. Overall it was a very cute town with monuments dating back to the 1200’s. Probably my favorite of the places we visited in Transylvania

Sweet old lady in Sighisoara

Cemetary in Sighisoara

Dracula sign

Vlad Tepes (The Original Dracula)

Orsi and I

That night we took the train back to Orsi’s hometown of Odorheiu Secuiesc where she lives with her father in his two story apartment. Orsi had moved to the U.S. at the age of 7 with her family, but her father had moved back to Odorheiu Secuiesc several years ago. Though they live in Romania, they speak Hungarian and consider themselves Hungarian as they live in an area that was part of Hungary prior to World War 1. Walking into her father’s place, it seemed just like a museum. His extensive antique collection is displayed throughout the apartment including beautiful Hungarian paintings and statues amongst many other relics from the past, much of which he had restored himself.

The next day we took a maxi taxi to the town of Targu Mures. It was a 3 hour ride each way, which enabled me to see the beautiful countryside filled with little farming villages. The horse-drawn buggies were especially cute. Targu Mures was not as quaint and charming as Sighisoara had been. One of the main attractions there is a cultural museum, which was actually closed as it was as Monday! Overall the trip was still worth it though as there was some interesting buildings throughout it.

The next day we took a maxi taxi to the town of Brasov. I had read about a place to stay in the Lonely Planet that was owned by this old Hungarian couple. It was basic, but still nice. And the heat worked well, which was essential as Brasov was pretty chilly! Brasov is a fairly main point for tourists in Transylvania and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. The historic center was pretty cute also filled with historic buildings. We were going to take a hike around Mt Tampa, but the lift to get up there was closed, though we still got a pretty good view of the city from the foot of the lift. Mainly we just wandered around and looked at buildings, and had dinner in the cavernous restaurant.

 
Brasov Synagogue

Wednesday it was time to say goodbye. I had quite a good time seeing Orsi and catching up. It was nice to have an insider to show me around, though it also gave Orsi a chance to see places she normally does not visit. I took a maxi taxi down to the Bucharest airport and Orsi headed back to Odorheiu Secuiesc.

Overall I had quite a good time in Romania and am definitely glad I was able to incorporate it into the trip. Between the fairy-tale like landscape of the Danube Delta and the enchanting beauty of Transylvania it was an experience well worth it. Romania definitely has the same charms that other parts of Europe I have been to do, but without the masses of tourists that are in other parts. That said an increase in tourism would probably help Romania quite a bit. It is a poor country by European standards and many of the younger people leave Romania in search for better opportunities in other countries. There is definitely a diversity of attractions in Romania and perhaps with the recent appointment into the European union more efforts will be made to plan for tourism in the country. There are a few things that made it a difficult country to travel in though. Transit could often be confusing and finding English speakers was not easy. I didn’t have any problems with gypsies, the poverty-striken nomadic group, though many other tourists have reported having problems with them. Littering is also a major problem in the country. There is also an overpopulation of stray dogs, and as a result, a noticeable amount of dog-doo on the streets. But probably with time and investments these problems can be reduced and more people will experience the beauty that Romania has to offer.