Romania and Transylvania - Pleasant and Vampire Free

Bucharest



Bucharest was a very pleasant city. It had some nice historical architecture, but it wasn't so over-the-top as Vienna.



Remants of the heavy-industry focused communist era still remain. Above is an an old, deactivated nuclear power plant.



Apparently law suit culture has not reached Bucharest. This is one of many open man holes in which an unsuspecting tourist, reading his guidebook while walking, could fall into and plunge towards an untimely death. Bucharest was modern (cars, wifi, iphones, etc were everywhere) but you could definitely tell it was a little behind, a little less polished, than the cities in the more western countries. My hosts told me that even in the last ten years Bucharest has modernized rapidly.



My host complained that the bands touring Bucharest were all washed up American bands. I saw posters for the Scorpions, Michael Bolton, Seal, etc. Despite his complaint, my host admitted that he had tickets to an upcoming concert from one of these bands.



This was the only size ice cream that the shop I stopped at offered. Perhaps this is why Romanians are so much less fat than Americans.

I wish Boston/Cambridge had cafes that were actually inside parks, where you could sip a beer or a cappucino while enjoying the greenery.

Brashov, Transylvania area of Romania

After Bucharest, I hopped on a train to the historic city of Brashov, in southern Transylvania.

Travel pictures always make it seem like every place other than home is more beautiful and idyllic than home. But the historic town center of Brashov was actually fairly small, and most of the city now looks like more dismal, modern-style sprawl.

This is a palace built in the late 19th century for the Romanian king. The inside was absolutely stunning.   The detail was so ornate you could just gaze at one wall of a room for ten or fifteen minutes and still see new things.  Unfortunately, it was forbidden to take pictures inside, so you'll have to google, "Peles Castle" to try and find some photos.