Stop #20 Visiting Bucharest makes you realize what a tyrant can do to destroy what was once a beautiful city. Remanants of old mansions and nice looking buildings are hidden behind graffiti and lots of wear. Many historically significant buildings were destroyed by Caucescu and replaced with ridiculous looking Soviet concrete buildings. He tried to […]
Stop #19 Wow! Wow! Wow! This place makes you feel like royalty! I’ve never been this intimate with such gorgeous woodwork (all walnut, which is by far my favorite), Murano glass, marbles, expensive artwork and tapestries. If you visit one thing in Transylvania, this is your stop! Highlights: The beautiful Bucegi Mountains are in the […]
Stop #18 Bran Castle is the one everyone talks about when they mention Transylvania. My vote would be to skip it and go instead to Pele’s Castle in Sinaia. It was the true highlight or Transylvania. I managed to get some pictures of Bran Castle that look as though nobody is anywhere near the place, […]
Stop #17 I had really high hopes for Brasov. I saw great pictures of this place and expected it to be spectacular like Sibiu. But when we arrived, we saw a spectacular mountain in the background with the word BRASOV in huge letters (like Hollywood) on the side facing town. It was a turnoff. But […]
Stop #16 The Transfagarasan Road is Romania’s highest asphalted road. Everything you read about the road tells you that Top Gear rates it as the “world’s best road”. We made a last minute decision to start driving this road around 3:00 p.m. We ended up getting to our hotel at 11:30 p.m. Mind you, Google […]
Stop #15 We will some day go back to Sibiu because we loved it and didn’t have enough time there. Sibiu is one of the cultural centers of Romania and was European Capital of Culture for the year 2007. It is an important Transylvanian town with lots of interesting architecture, beautiful buildings, and a great […]
Stop #14 Corvin Castle is one of the largest castles in Europe, and definitely Randy’s favorite visit of the trip. The castle was was laid out in 1446. The castle is Renaissance-Gothic style. The castle also has a double wall for fortification and has both rectangular and circular towers, typical for Transylvanian architecture. Some of […]
Stop #13 As one guide book stated, the Medieval town is so pretty it should be arrested! Sighisoara looks like the buildings that Disney tries to emulate when drawing backgrounds for its fairy tales. Largely built in the 16th century, the homes have colored tile roofs. I didn’t get much sleep this night because I […]
Stop #12 Maramures is the most traditional region of Romania. With many Gothic wooden churches with steeples that rise to the sky, you feel like you stepped back in history as you ride through this region. Carriages pulled by oxen and horses pass by on the other side of the street. Farmers are dressed in […]
