Time in Transylvania

On the last leg of our trip to Eastern Europe.  We had the option of doing an extension in Transylvania or Istanbul - and chose Transylvania!  What an experience!

We left Bucharest and traveled through the Carpathian Mountains to

Bran Castle - the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Yes, we spotted Vlad the Impaler - and learned that he is NOT Dracula, but was a count, a crusader, and fought against the Turk invasion of Translvania.

A climb up to the castle, but worth the trek!

We had a great tour guide...who had the best diabolic laugh, which was perfect for this tour!

We had a great lunch with "Dracula Beer"...they make the most of the Dracula legend.  After lunch we traveled through Transylvania to the city of Brasov...with a beautiful preserved medieval old towne!

Our hotel - a Radisson Blu - was great, and right across from a lovely park and just steps to the historic district.

Our Viking Guide took us on a walking tour so we would be familiar with the area...

The next day we had the option to take an optional tour for Panoramic Transylvania - 8 hours on the bus with stops for visits and lunch.  We felt we were on the bus most of the day before so decided on a late breakfast and wanted to explore on our own.  Then I remembered an app called

FREETOUR

You can read more about this on the link above...we looked at the app and found a tour in Brasov - 2 hour walking tour and we booked it.  We were to look for the orange umbrella at the market square fountain - and we found our guide!

Radu was amazing!  He was born in Brasov, an artist who carves dragons out of wood he finds in the forests ( he had a show in Miami the week before, and was going to be at Burning Man, too) and is a ski instructor in the mountains in the winter.  He just LOVES telling people about Brasov.  There were 6 of us on the tour and we learned SO much!

The city is filled with history - this cathedral was the only gothic one between Istanbul and Bucharest and he showed us where the crusaders sharpened their swords as a blessing on the way to battle.

The little walkways, the history of the Turks/Saxons/Transylvanians over the years, more information about Vlad and the Saxon girl he fell in love with - even though it was forbidden.

And after a full two hours of history he turned around, opened his backpack, and said tip what you wish.

We gave a big tip because this was such an amazing tour. He then walked us back to the town square and gave us restaurant recommendations for lunch and dinner - 

We took his advice and had this delicious potato and sausage soup, with great bread and for me, an Aperol Spritz!

Almost everyone speaks English, which makes it easy to order - students start learning English in first grade!

We wandered around the town...saw this stuffed bear - there are bears in the mountains and yes, they have been coming into the towns!

Sat in front of the fountain and people watched...then strolled back to the hotel for a nap.

The town has a rich German heritage, too - so we tried this place for dinner - 

Wonderful Weiner schnitzel with potato salad...and beer - 

then apple strudel with a warm vanilla sauce - yummy!

The next morning we left to return to Bucharest, but stopped on the way at the summer palace of Romanian royalty.

Located in the resort town of Sinaia - where the air is so clean and fresh.  The resort town is famous for hiking and skiing - and lots of great places for lunch!

Then it was back to Bucharest - and this -

Our luggage had to be out by 4:30 AM the next day, and we were leaving for the airport at 5 AM.  That made us realize we needed to stay in the beautiful Marriot for dinner and get an early bedtime.

What a great decision -

The special dinner that night was parmesan mushroom pasta with truffles - and when I ordered it I never expected the waiter to roll out a wheel of parmesan and prepare the hot pasta in the cheese!  It was AMAZING.  Our waiter was so nice, and when he learned it was our last night he brought us some complimentary after dinner drinks.  Perfect way to end our adventures.

This was our view from our room that last night...the big Orthodox Cathedral that is still under construction.

Well, we made the early wake up, then the flight to Heathrow and on to home.  We were awake almost 24 hours with the time change

 (7 hours ) and the flights.  It took us a few days to feel normal, but we will always remember our wonderful trip to the Capitals of Eastern Europe!

Thanks for following along on our adventures...and Happy June!

Hope the coming summer is full of fun times for you.

Thanks for stopping by Our New Vista! 

 

Bulgaria to Bucharest 

As our trip down the Danube continued we stopped in Bulgaria...

First stop was a town called Vidin

This castle and fortress was right along the river

Fun to explore, but those cobblestones were slippy!

Our tour guide told us that Bulgaria tried to protest the Jewish residents during WWII.  The king, who had German roots, pretended to go along with the deportations but delayed them so people could hide the Jews in that castle, in homes, caves, basements.  Sadly, once the war was over and Soviet system took over the Jews were not welcome and emigrated to Israel.

Our guide talked about what life was like under Soviet rule and how many homes were take over by the Soviets.

The old buildings were ornate and beautiful!

On to Plevin, Bulgaria - Bulgaria is famous for rose oil used in perfume making.  I bought some to use in my lotion.

A huge battle took place near this town during the Russo-Turkish war 1877-1878 and there was a great museum explaining the battle.

Last stop on the cruise was where the Danube flows into the Black Sea in Constanta, Romania.  Beautiful pedestrian walkway and buildings along the sea!

Then on to Bucharest by bus...

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the oldest restaurant in Bucharest and had traditional dance and music entertainment.

Beautiful buildings and old friends enjoying the sunshine...

We strolled around and enjoyed the street music.

Last stop on the tour was the  Palace of the Parliament Building - started by  Nicolae Ceaușescu, the dictator executed in 1989.  It is the largest and heaviest civilian administrative building in the world

Our hotel in Bucharest was gorgeous and in a great spot to explore the city.

We were located right near this new cathedral under construction and not far from the Palace of Parliament. 

It was Orthodox Easter Monday and everything was closed...but our Viking guide in the hotel called a friend who worked at the Parliament and arranged a tour for us...we needed our passports and Romanian money - 

We stopped at the ATM in the lobby and we were all set...but we walked 10,000 steps trying to find the entrance where we were to meet the guide.  All around the building, until we finally found a guard to let us in...

The main office was large enough to accommodate tanks - and there are 15,000 chandeliers in the place!

This young man was taking us on the tour and explaining things until we met up with the guide...we were late because we could not find a way in!!!

A stunning building - so sad that an entire neighborhood of homes and businesses were demolished to build it.

Our guide, Serena, and her twin sons - we were so lucky to be able to get in to tour this marvelous building.

We passed by the cathedral on our way back to our hotel...

tired, happy, and ready to enjoy dinner in the hotel and rest up for our journey to Transylvania the next day!

Thanks for continuing on this journey with us...it was such an educational trip.  Transylvania in the next post - until then, thanks for stopping by Our New Vista!