Just a few remaining blog notes from my brief stop in Romania:
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Aug 302010
Aug 292010
After experiencing a full day in Sibiu, I was a bit surprised by the feel of Braşov. I was expecting a similarly small medieval town, but Braşov was much, much bigger – with wide boulevards, huge administration buildings, and direct transit connections to nearly everywhere in the region. Even the surrounding mountains – the Southern Carpathians – were of a much grander scale, as was its bustling town square:
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Aug 282010
As Peder and I stepped onto the 6:30am minibus from Sibiu to Braşov – at 6:29am – we had exactly 42 lei between us. The price turned out to be 20 lei per person. Yet another very close call.
Unfortunately, by this time I was full-on sick – so despite my strong desire to watch the passing Romanian countryside, I knocked out and slept nearly the whole way there. My eyes just would not stay opened.
D’oh.
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Aug 272010
Sibiu, one of Transylvania’s three most famous medieval towns, left both Peder and I with almost identically positive impressions: a pleasantly relaxed feel, surprisingly pretty, and extraordinarily interesting. Dominated by a sprawling town square with two clocktowers and countless old, colorful buildings, Sibiu was full of young locals scampering about, even on a Tuesday evening. Add to that the same level of helpfulness and hospitality as I’ve observed throughout East Europe, and you’ve got yourself a place well worth visiting.
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Aug 262010
The itinerary from Serbia to Transylvania seemed simple enough. After riding direct from Belgrade to Timişoara, we’d catch a 10pm train to Vinţu de Jos, a small transit hub along the way. There we’d begin the final leg, a 2-hour local hop that would bring us into Sibiu somewhere around 6am.
Although time was short in Timişoara, all was going well – until around 3am when we pulled into Vinţu de Jos. The train didn’t even stop for a full minute.
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