Many people want to know where, specifically, we are going. While we have a general idea where we are headed, we purposely purchased one-way tickets so that the flow of the trip seemed less constrained. Below are the countries we hope to visit as well as a general map of our intended path. This will…
No visit to Transylvania is complete without a quick stop at Bran Castle, the reputed home of Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, a member of the House of Drăculești, also known, using his patronymic, as (Vlad) Drăculea or (Vlad) Dracula and posthumously dubbed Vlad the Impaler. Regarding his nickname, Wikipedia has this to offer: As the…
One day, Erika and I made the long walk across town to visit Bellu Cemetery. Located in southern Bucharest, it is a massive cemetery that houses many famous Romanians, such as writers, musicians, poets, generals, and politicians. It was gorgeous. In Your Pocket, Essential City Guides, describes it this way: Founded in the 1850s, this is…
There are trigger words on brown road signs that always spark my interest. Foremost among them is “fortification.” Anything big and old, I find fascinating. Yesterday, while driving from Sighișoara back to Brașov (this time via the highway) we past brown sign after brown sign that said “fortificata,” but we were on a timeline, so without a…
Erika and I opted to avoid the highways as we headed out of Bucharest and, instead take a leisurely drive through Transylvania toward the smaller towns of Brașov (brash-ov) , a Saxon settlement, and Sighișoara (sig-i-shor-a), birthplace of Vlad the Impaler. Looking at the map, highways would certainly have been the faster route, but we wanted…
Since the larger photo album can be intimidating due to the volume of images, this is an experimental post to see if we can break down our travels a bit better. If this is suitable, look for additional updates that backtrack a bit through our voyage. Below are the photos we took during a quick…
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a brutal dictator that ravaged Romania during his reign before being overthrown and executed during the Romanian Revolution. During his time in power, however, he began the building of an incredible structure though he never saw its completion. Originally called “The People’s Palace,” the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania, is an…
My last post was written when we first arrived in Bucharest, when my enchantment with Romania was brand spanking new. Since then, my enchantment has deepened quite a bit. Thomas, too, is quite smitten with this country. Someday, perhaps, we will move here. I have read and researched about the history and social structure of…
