Czeching out Central Europe: Prague, Budapest, and Romania
 

This does not begin well: a bad, overused pun and non-parallel construction just in the title. And to be honest, the trip didn't begin that well, either. But I do have to say that it went on to be a pretty awesome voyage of mini-discovery and massive amounts of charcuterie, so there's that.

Anyway, I don't usually go into flight details, but this one was...special. Direct flights from PHL to PRG just started, so I was delighted with my British Airways (fulfilled by American) projected flight of 8hr35. It wouldn't give me enough time in Prague, but at least I'd have four days. Well, after flying for about an hour and a half, the plane was diverted to JFK (longer runways, full fuel load) and made a careful landing (yay, it landed!) to the accompaniment of a full line-up of emergency vehicles. If you are conversant with the classic great movie Airplane you will understand that I was getting flashbacks: not only did the messages sound familiar, but the plane itself looked like it could be of 70's vintage. The AA folks offered us a hotel (over by LaGuardia) but were encouraging us just to stay at the airport as we'd have to be back by 5AM at the latest for our 7:00AM flight out.

I'm glad I took the hotel.
The flight out didn't leave until 3:30, which means I arrived in Prague on Friday morning, losing a day there.

I had contacted the staff at Botel Matylda to let them know I'd be late and they sent back a nicely commiserating email, just the start of really great service there. When I finally arrived in Prague, I took the bus to the train and then a tram to the botel: easy and cheap and direct, which is lovely. The Botel Boat Hotel Matylda - Boat Hotel Matylda is actually two boats, and the location worked really well for me in that it was a bit away from the Old Town but close enough to everything that it was easy to get around. The room was snug (it's a boat!) but quite comfortable, and the breakfast (and dinner) served by the restaurant boat was great.

I have to say that I fell in love with Prague pretty much straightaway, but actually I went to Kutna Hora for most of the first day, an easy train trip and then some walking (you get off at the first train stop in town for the ossuary, then walk/bus through for the other sites.) The ossuary is both completely mad and delicately beautiful, and I have to admit that I'd be happy to be a part of a chandelier like that once I shuffle off this mortal coil. The town itself is charming, and the eclair that I had for lunch added to the charm. I was waiting for my tour of the silver mine, an interesting and wee bit claustrophobic journey underground for which you're given white coats and protective helmets. I went into St. Barbara's church as well, making the acquaintance of some interesting carved figures, and found the Stone Fountain in my wanderings. It was a beautiful day, albeit a bit hot, but the town and surrounding countryside were gorgeous in the sunshine.

The train ride home was enlivened by the company of a young lady from Hong Kong who had been on the silver mine tour, and I got back to Botel Matylda in time for a late dinner at the Italian restaurant on the boat itself. It was quite tasty, but I have to admit that I was falling asleep quite literally during the serving of it! It was a good thing that I wasn't any further from my bed in the neighboring boat. Great sleeping on the river!

Nice start to your TR! Thanks! Looking forward to reading more. Prague is my favorite city.

Thanks, joannyc! Prague is wonderful--so much texture and color and flavor, beautifully shabby in spots but with something to see around every corner. I really did fall in love fast, and I don't actually with too many cities. (I appreciate them, don't love them; Prague was different.)

The next day I had booked the Taste of Prague food tour: https://www.tasteofprague.com/ Oooooh, my. Jan was the guide, and we experienced food bliss in the form of fried cheese in an old-communist-style pub (Czechs drink an amazing amount of beer!); meat of tremendous flavor and texture; sandwiches; soup made of fire roasted potatoes (soooo good); more meat and probably more meat than that (my brother the carnivore would have been ecstatic) and some soups and sweets as well. It was a really interesting tour of the city with emphasis more on modern life than history, and the food served me for both lunch and dinner. I love me a good food tour, and this one was terrific. (Not cheap, but worth it.) The group was largish, maybe 16 or so?, but there wasn't any lag due to this; it was really well planned out and serviced in the various stops. Jan got us all pointed in the right direction for where we wanted to be in the afternoon, and as I already had my three day transport pass (yes, it's probably cheaper to buy individual tickets, but hey, the pass was cheap enough and a lot more convenient) I went to Wenceslas Square. Because of course I did; I had to sing all of the verses, no? "Hither page and stand by me, if thou knows't it telling..." You might be happy to know that I sang them in my head, though. The "square" is quite large and a lot around is under scaffolding, but there was quite a buzz of activity and some great buildings. I am hoping that it is still true that Marriott is reopening the Grand Hotel Europa by 2020; it's way too great of a building to be boarded up as it is now.

I wended my way through the crowded Old City, with a stop at the Apple Museum as our family has a long history of Macintosh; it's interesting and eclectic but a tad repetitive, of course. There was a lot to see and I even found the Lush (yes, it's British, but it's a little hobby of mine to find them wherever I go) and then wandered back to sunset from the bridge near the Botel. Being Saturday night the city was a bit noisy, as there does seem to be still some of the party tourism happening, and then of course there is all that beer...

Did you ever find out the cause of your aborted flight? Glad things worked out and you made it to Prague, albeit delayed. I too enjoyed my time in the city, although it's now 8 years ago. Looking forward to more.

There were reports of everything from "hydraulics" to "bent wing", but what I do know is that, while they were talking about repair and back up in the same plane, we were on a different one for our eventual flight out. So whatever was wrong must have been not too good. I'm glad they didn't take it too far over the Atlantic!

One of my favourite reporters!

Never been to Prague, so new ground for me. For whatever reason, overnighting on a boat in the middle of the city sounds clever and a lot of fun.

I'll be checking back in to read your impressions of Romania and Budapest (a combination of which I have fond memories)

Thanks, Cliff! You're the reason Romania was on my radar...although of course this year's trip was chosen by my students. But I was really happy they chose Romania!

I had decided to take a tour to Terezin as it seemed more practical. The tour company sent an email, however, saying that the tour wasn't on due to there not being sufficient people. So while I was sitting at breakfast the next morning, guess who shows up? Yup, the driver for the tour.

Terezin is, of course, sad and sobering; the town as a whole was part of the system, and there is a memorial museum in the old school. It was a work camp, but there was a great deal of illness/starvation involved, and it was from here that people were sent to the death camps. It's such an important reminder of how quickly things can escalate when those in authority forget their humanity and focus their power on those who are "others." It was originally a fortress, and served as a "model" camp for a Red Cross visit and a propaganda film. "Look what we've done to help protect the Jews!" Thousands died here due to the conditions--there were over ten times the number of people in the town than had been there previously--and the bodies were processed in the crematorium, but of course there wasn't the killing done as it was at places like Auschwitz. Nevertheless, this was an important cog in the Nazi killing machine and is a place of remembrance.

Never forget. That's become a cliche, almost, but so so important.

Amy,
I'm enjoying your report (hard to resist singing Good King Wenceslas). We'll be following in your footsteps in a few weeks on a TOP tour. I'm surprised by the size of your group since they promise a max of 10. Looking forward to any recommendations you have for food, drink and sightseeing. Keep up the good work!

I'm another fan of Romania. Signing on.

Greytop, it actually may not have been quite that many, but it was a largish group! Regardless, though, definitely well paced and well worth it.

An interlude for pictures seems to be in order: https://missalg.smugmug.com/Czech-Republic-2018/

Sunday afternoon I climbed up to Prague Castle, which is actually a complex with various buildings including a beautifully frescoed church and a small street with house museums including armor and, er, a bit of torture as well. It was quite hot but the views were stunning, and when I came back down to get my tram there was a very Instagrammable art installation on the old station across the street: the phrase "I will close my eyes and put my finger on the map" (in English) spelled out in yellow across the building.

Around sunset I went to Vysehrad, a fortress complex that was down the river on my side (opposite side of the castle.) Lovely views from there, as well, along with a few mosquitoes. Quite peaceful after the crowds at the Castle and on Charles Bridge!

One of my former students who just started working for the German National Bank emailed me to say that he would be in Prague Sunday night; we managed to meet up after his late arrival by train and had a wonderful walk down the river promenade and catch-up conversation. It's been quite a while since I've seen him so it was a great way to end my stay in Prague!

Early Monday morning I got my train for Budapest, about six hours. (And yeah, okay, I slept through a fair piece of it, but I did get to the dining car for some mediocre goat cheese dumplings and I did see the station at Bratislava; my TMobil merrily chirping that I had free texting in Slovakia, not that I needed it at that point.) There was some pleasantly green landscape and farms along the way, and I rolled into Budapest's North Station close to 3PM.

Following along, Amy. Your TRs are always worth reading.

I went with AirBnB for Budapest, mostly for the washing machine. When I'm toting my own luggage I like a washing machine available every now and then. The apartment was nice and spacious, but getting to it was a bit problematic: I'd arrived at North Station and couldn't find the tram that was meant to go right to it...came to find out that's because the street was torn up and the tram line being redone. (Things it would help to know ahead of time...) Anyway, a cab driver that I tried to hire told me just to walk it, so I did, but it was a bit of a hike in the hot sun, and when I got there I wasn't able to get in as the owner hadn't gotten my messages about the train. Sigh. Anyway, by the time I did finally get in there was pretty much just time to go out to the supermarket and put some laundry in. The apartment was on the very touristy Erzsebet street, in Pest; not a bad location, but one I wouldn't have chosen had I known about the transport issues.

The next day I decided to get my bearings through a walking tour and found my way to the meeting spot with just seconds to spare. The tour was really good, though, as I've found many of the "free" walking tours to be. Free Walking Tours - Daily tours in English - Tours en español Budapest is quite grand and shows its layers of history for sure; it put me in mind of Vienna (and Paris, too, to be honest, with the boulevards and big buildings.) I could have used more time there, of course, but at least I was able to get a good overview. Crossing over the Chain Bridge to the Buda side and seeing the Matthias church with its orange tiled roof was a highlight of the morning tour.

In the afternoon I made my way to the City Park. The Szechenyi Baths are there, but I spent my time wandering the park, sitting down by the water to have an ice cream, and just generally drinking in the sunshine. The "Victory Square" is there too, with quite an impressive pantheon of heroes.

I had taken the Metro, and saw (right next to me) what happens if you don't have your honor ticket properly stamped: you pay a fine on the spot of 8,000 forints (about $30 or so?). First time in many similar transport systems that I've actually seen this go down, to be honest. But I had my little validated Metro ticket so I held onto that with both hands.

So, halfway through Budapest, here are the pix: https://missalg.smugmug.com/Budapest-Hungary-2018/

The next morning I decided to join the same walking tour group for a walk through the Jewish Quarter. The main synagogue is beautiful and is open to visitors, but I didn't have time to go in. Theodore Herzl's residence was there, as well, and a "living tree" memorial. The tour itself was quite interesting and the guide didn't shrink from implicating Hungary in the enabling of the genocide. There are a few synagogues in the area, but now the Quarter is more known for its "ruins" bars and nightlife. The ruins bars use kitsch and vintage to decorate, and were originally started simply due to the availability of run-down places with lots of leftover stuff. There is also a lot of street art/murals in the area; in fact, they have a separate tour just for that.

After the tour I went to the big Central Market (the guide was very helpful in getting me oriented to get there) and wandered a bit through the impressive displays of meat, veg, and fruit. The upstairs is chockablock with souvenirs; I have to admit I got tchochtke fatigue pretty quickly. It's near the Green Bridge, one of the many that cross the Danube and connect Pest to Buda.

Lunch was a really good roasted duck/grilled Camembert salad at a sidewalk cafe: Magyar Ízek Magyar Háza - Budapest - Hivatalos oldal - Étlap, akciók - F?oldal The previous day I'd had the puffy fried dough with sour cream and cheese street food, so I thought I should be a bit more posh this time. I do have to say the atmosphere wasn't all that posh, unlike the Gerbeaud Confectionery that I tiptoed through. Quite lovely, but not in my budget for that day.

The day was warm and humid, which makes me less than ambitious sometimes, so in the afternoon I took the easy way out and went on yet another walking tour, this time the communist one. I had an interest due to the 1956 Revolution, and the tour was quite involving in its look at history, including the statue of Ronald Reagan, who is evidently quite popular due to his dealings with Gorbachev. There's a poignant monument of a bridge with a hero of the rebellion, Imre Nagy, facing toward the Houses of Parliament and away from the Russian memorial to the "hero Soviet soldiers." There's an even more poignant memorial nearby, the "Shoes on the Danube" installation, which honors those, about 3,500, who were shot by the Arrow Cross (Hungarian) fascists at the river's edge so that their bodies fell into the water and were carried away. There are sixty pair of iron shoes, very detailed and different from each other; it's so simple and moving.

I only had this one final night in Budapest, so even though it was threatening rain I took the rather creaky boat tour of the illuminated Danube. There are many of these boats, but each seems to have a different priority/concept; mine suited my purposes as it most resembled a ferry, not a party boat. It was a bit hard to find, though, and the lines for many of the boats were quite long. It's a beautiful sight, though, even in chilling rain and wind: the buildings and bridges are lit like fairyland (or, okay, Disney) and it is absolutely magical going up and down the river at that point. (The boat left at 10pm, so it was in full darkness.)

The next morning I got the to the train station--a different one than the one I came in to--where the bus to Sighetu, Maramures, Romania, was supposed to come in. As it happens, it comes in to a service station up the road from the station, so...thank you cab driver who knew that! Nobody at the train station had a clue (or cared, for that matter) and there were definitely no signs. It does seem like that little fact would be revealed when one buys a ticket, eh? But the mid-size bus was comfortable and the service station people were lovely in helping out as the bus actually arrived in a little parking lot beside the station. So, on to Romania!

Really enjoying this, Amy, haven’t been to any of these destinations, so glad you shared your photos, too.

Fabulous report, Amy. Thank you. Glorious pictures, too. I'm ready to go back to Prague and Budapest. Very interested in your impressions of Romania.

I am enjoying your report, Amy, particularly the section on the Hungarian uprising.

Thanks for reading along, everyone! Sorry for the delay; I just did another quick trip, but this one was just to Hollidaysburg, PA. :)

The little bus rode through a number of small towns and past lots of fields, including sunflowers--so that was great. The clouds were spectacular, actually, as well; lots of flat land so the sky was very visible. There was a little stop crossing the border for passport control, and then about six hours in we were in Baia Mare and switched to an even smaller bus to go on to SIghetu Marmatei (or Sighet for short.) Of course, I didn't know this switch was going to happen, but hey! When you're the last person left on the bus, you pretty much figure it out.

In Sighet I needed to get a taxi, but in order to pay the taxi I needed an ATM, so I combined the two by having the taxi driver stop at an ATM. I was only able to withdraw the equivalent of about $200, which remained consistent throughout the visit. (Yes, I had informed my bank, so...not sure why.) Since it was here that I had to pay a number of things in cash, this was a little glitch, but no big worries; there are a lot of ATMs, anyway. The taxi was to the village of Vadu Izei, where I was staying at Pension Ardelean. The Pension is a lovely warm place, where the hostess Ramona serves delightfully homey meals that are very much "farm to table" (without 2,000 miles of transport in between, that is to say. We all know that all food is farm to table.)

I began the next day--we're to a Friday, by the way!--with meeting my guide for three days, Teofil Ivanciuc. He's amazing. https://maramurestour.com/ This was my "splurge", albeit really not all that expensive for a 9 to 6 day of driving, guiding, introducing, teaching, and experiences. I knew that Maramures wasn't going to be terribly accessible by my usual methods, so I booked with Teo on the strength of his website. What did we do before teh Internetz?

We started that bright sunny day at a roadside market: adorable little pigs (yeah, pork is a large portion of the diet); horse carts in the parking area; the usual and unusual in textiles, household goods, and so forth. It was St. Elijah's day, so there weren't as many people working as usual, but the advantage was that a number of people were wearing traditional costumes, including an 86 year old gentleman with the nicest face and traditional foot gear. He told us that his wife had died and he had no children, but when Teo asked who took care of him, he simply smiled sweetly and pointed to heaven. Religion is a very, very strong influence in Romania, not just in the most rural parts, but it is so evident there. (And here's where I'll tell you a little secret: where much of what we did over the next few days would be pretty far removed for many Americans, I was having flashbacks to my childhood and church community: the woodworking craftsmen, the ladies in their skirts or dresses and scarves, the group preparing food by the short ton for a funeral the next day, the unquestioned acceptance of a stranger into their lives with a smile and warm welcome...it all felt very familiar.)

The most famous sites in the Maramures region are the multitudes of wooden churches, all of them frescoed and carved and lovely, but definitely a bit small for some of the communities, hence the open-air service at one that we visited on a Sunday. Those who repair and rebuild these edifices are master craftsmen, and we visited a few of the workshops as well. Another craft involves masks made for the winter festival; these leather and woolen assemblages are also found in museums around the world, and the bearded mask maker who now lives in quiet melancholy in a big wooden house with an untamed yard has been to many different places in the world. One of the constants of Maramures is that many of the people who once lived there are living in other places: you find a lot of grandparents with grandchildren, but not so many 20 to 50 year olds. The various ladies who were out gathering hay (literally making hay while the sun shines, as it had been unnaturally rainy for the weeks previous to my stay) were generally 60 plus.

I'm not going to do a day by day rundown, as it's more about the overall region, but there were a few things that really stood out: the shepherd's campsite up in the hills, where the cheeses were hanging from the cart and the measuring stick for the milk was wooden and marked with lines rather than numbers; the memorial service after the church service, for someone who had been dead for seven years; the fair that brought local talent in with their costumes and singing and dancing, plus the food tents and entertainment; the lady who was sitting on her steps embroidering the most exquisite work I've ever seen. She went into the house to show us her daughter's blouse, made by the mother by hand over a long period of time--she said she worked slowly. And later I found out that she told Teofil that he would need to be quick if he wanted to interview her again (he writes books about craftspeople and had never met her before); she is dying of cancer. One would not have known that anything was wrong by her demeanor, but I felt like I was losing a friend I had just made.

There is so much more, but I'm going to stop here for a bit.

Really enjoying your report ( I always do). I admire the way you just take off on your own and explore.

Thanks, schmerl! I have to say, along with Blanche DuBois, "Ah have always depended on the kindness of strangers." It was, as always, a little scary but awesome how kind most people are and how eager to help when you need to, for instance, catch a bus that doesn't actually have a proper stop or find your way in a brand new town.

Along with the wooden churches, including a complex of buildings that had one of the residences of the Bishop of Maramures, there was also the "Merry" Cemetery, so called due to its brightly colored crosses with paintings and sagas, some of them humorous, some just purely sad, and all of them comprising one of the biggest tourist sites of the region. (Personally I preferred the lovely old cemeteries beside the small churches, but the Merry Cemetery does make for an interesting contrast.)

We went to another market, this one more permanent, and sniffed the dried porcini mushrooms (mmmmmmmm, I really should have tried to bring them home) and saw the varieties of honey and the butcher shop and cheese stalls and flower sellers and...So colorful and such a wonderful way to shop, but as I was eating dinner at Pension Ardelean I really didn't need anything. Plus, we ate sun-warmed plums straight from the trees that grew beside some of those magnificent gates that Maramures is also known for. We even saw one of the gates being built in place; they can be tremendously expensive (like 10,000 Euro expensive) and need upkeep, but they are quite gorgeous. Another stop was at an ancient mill, one of which made felt fiber, the other flour (and there was a distillery, too, I'm pretty sure.) It was pretty lonely there and the owner of the property seemed to feel it, unlike the tall gentle shoemaker who seemed perfectly content with his leather and tools and dovecote. Another soul who seemed to enjoy his work was the village photographer of Breb, yet another whose work has been exhibited world-wide.

We also managed a visit to the Sighet Prison, now a memorial to victims of communism, which has a fascinating exhibit space and somber memorial outside. As well, we visited Elie Wiesel's serene childhood home...which was sadly and horribly vandalized about a week or so after I came home. The varying currents and crossover cultures of Romania make it very vibrant and fascinating, but there are some darker sides to that, as well. (There isn't much acceptance of the Roma, for instance, who were, in Romania, the last slaves of Europe. Originally from northern India, they managed to keep their skills, particularly in blacksmithing and music, and culture alive through some pretty harsh treatment over 500 years of time.)

Services on Sunday were a highlight, with lovely call-and-response singing. We went in to the balcony of a larger newer church, and were on the outskirts of an outdoor service at one of the 18th century wooden ones. It was there, as well, that the memorial service took place as a seven year commemoration. This was a contrast to the village hall the day before where the ladies were preparing the cabbage rolls and the widow brought us cake. Her husband had been 47, she said, smiling and teary-eyed. Forty-seven is too young; I know just a bit how she feels.

A fair with singers, dancers, and costumes from all the nearby regions finished off Sunday. Some of the performers were very good, some not so much, but it was all genuine and most enjoyable. The sun shone on all three days of Maramures touring, and I feel like I've only begun to describe a taste of what it was like. Pictures might possibly help: https://missalg.smugmug.com/Romania-2018/

Great pics!

Thank you, Amy, such a good read. And your photos make me want to be there now.

Amy--I think your guide was well worth it. And did you plan to visit Romania during this folk festival, or was that just good luck on your part? The call-and-response part of the church service sounds lovely.

I am just blown away by many of your photos. The Merry Cemetery, wow. And the small shrine of with the rustic wooden crucifix. Curious if the room with the piano and wooden beams, was that all in Bran Castle too? I wasn't 100 percent which (if any photos) were of Elie Wiesel's house or of Sighet prison.

Finally, that face carved into the rock formation along the river totally reminded me of the river carvings in Lord of the Rings/Fellowship of the Rings. As I recall those were in the book, not just the movie. Wondering if that was Tolkein's inspiration because of course he was quite the medievalist and I would think traveled in Europe.

I have this curiosity/reserve about the Roma people, as I was pickpocketed in Rome by them. They did not get anything important but it was unnerving. Yet.side by side that reserve.. I have always been interested in the Roma's traditions of music and any skills or musical traditions that have survived. I remember reading an unusual novel in a freshman lit class that featured the Roma people, their music and craftsmanship of instruments extensively. By a Canadian author as I recall. Anyway it untapped a curiosity of mine and I am familiar with some of the classical pieces that used Roma melodies.

I definitely need to get those photos labeled! There are a few of the prison/Wiesel's house, but the house particularly was not especially photogenic, as much of what was there was in fact enlarged photos of various events in his later life.

The face is King Decebalus, the last king of Dacia (Romania before the Romans, basically.) But it was only carved between 1994-2004, so...pretty new! Perhaps it was inspired by Tolkien rather than the other way about.

I, too, have had some unsettling interactions with Roma in various places, including here, but they do indeed have a strong cultural tradition that has survived tenaciously. One of my guides in Timisoara pointed out large houses with pillars that were owned by Roma but, according to him, they rarely actually live in them, preferring the old more nomadic ways. I do want to find out more from impartial sources, but of course one thing that I am sure of is that there is a great deal of variety within and among the Roma communities.

Oh, and yes, the guide was certainly well worth it and the festival was serendipity! There's a train ride that usually features on that day, but I decided to do the churches and fair and am quite glad that I did.

The bus (a full size coach, as it happens) to Cluj Napoca left at 4:30AM from Vadu Izei; Ramona, the lovely owner of Pension Ardelean, actually took me to the nearby stop and stayed with me until the bus came. It was a longish ride, but I slept most of the time. The complication happened once I got to the bus station in Cluj: the only bus from there to Brasov didn't leave until 9:15pm, and I'd been told (and confirmed online) that there were two at 2ish and 4ish. I made my way to the McDonalds (okay, I always do that once for the fried apple pie) and a nice lady there helped me out, with more help from a young man next to us. I was to catch the bus in yet another parking lot, and had a confirmed reservation; thing is, they overbooked the little bus. We all squeezed on, though, and wended our way to Brasov, including a detour around an accident that caused both lanes of the highway to be closed with traffic backed up for miles.

It was evening when I arrived in Brasov to Hotel Bella Muzica, Bella Muzica | Hotel & Restaurant Brasov ? Brasov, Piata Sfatului nr.19 | Tel.: +40 268 477956 a charming old place with a fair number of marble stairs to climb inside and fixtures that looked straight out of the 80's--and that's the 1980's, so not really historically accurate. It's right across from the main square, though, and the room was large and comfortable.

In the square the next morning I joined my guide, Tudor, and two nice folks from England for a half day trip to Rasnov Fortress and Bran Castle. Rasnov, to which you ascend in a little tractor-pulled train, is quite a picturesque ruin, with great views out. Bran is foreboding on the outside but rather charming on the inside, except of course for the continuous line of visitors. It was quite crowded, although less so when we arrived than when we left. The residence of Romania's last queen, Maria, Bran Castle has furnishings and various exhibits that are interesting, but again, hard to maneuver due to the crowds. The guide was good and efficient (he doesn't go into the castle) and I was back in Brasov in time to have lunch on the square at LeCeaun, a lovely cheese pie and some elderflower lemonade. I then wandered the city, going to Rope Street (one of the) narrowest streets in Europe; into the Black Church; past Katherine's Gate, and just generally wandering the lovely little city. It was hot and a bit muggy, so it was more of a ramble than a walk, but still I was able to see a fair amount and develop an appreciation of the city that led me to wish I'd had a little more time; I left on the 4:35PM train from Brasov to Sibiu.

It was, it must be admitted, a really slow and really really warm train, but I did get to see a rainbow!

I arrived in Sibiu train station and wended my way to Villa Rosen, my home for the next two nights. It's on a quiet residential street, and has a beautiful terrace and delightfully painted rooms; mine was in green and lavender, and was the greenest lavenderiest room ever. It's like you've gone to grandma's, but she's given everything a fresh coat of paint. The only thing missing was a toilet paper roll doll. (Not, come to think of it, that my grandmother ever had one of those either. But it's an aesthetic.) It's an easy walk from the Villa into town, but that first night I just ventured to the nearest restaurant that had space for me, which was Pizza Pomodore. They made up a nice cheesy plate of pasta for me which I enjoyed in that exhausted state that makes pasta the best choice as it doesn't require any particular attention to eat. Rain was falling as I wandered back and collapsed into the lavender and greenness.

The next morning I went to the main square to join a walking tour of Sibiu (9 euro). The square was being set up for a big rock concert, so the views were a bit obstructed, but the town as a whole is quite attractive. There's a strong Saxon feel as of course that's who settled it, and "prosperous merchant" seems to be the leitmotif. Many of the houses have roguish "eyes", which of course are actually vents in the upper story, which gives them a definite anthropomorphic feel. The tour was good; I was the only English speaker in a group of Germans, but didn't feel neglected by the cheerful and enthusiastic guide. There's a strong medieval guild feel, and some lovely churches and the city tower, which to be honest I didn't feel up to climbing later. The Bridge of Lies is charming, albeit crowded, and probably doesn't actually collapse if someone lies on it; Ceausescu managed to make a fairly lengthy speech from it. After the tour ended I wandered the town a bit but wasn't actually feeling the greatest, so I decided on a late leisurely lunch in the beautiful little side yard of a restaurant near to the Villa Rosen, a place called Max. Unfortunately the food and service didn't live up to the setting, although it is immensely popular; perhaps I hit a bad time. (By the way, I will say that the owner gets a bit petulant if one's TripAdvisor review isn't doting. But hey, dude, Italy comes and buys all of the Romanian truffles, tomatoes aren't supposed to be served cold, and fresh fish shouldn't smell fishy, eh?)

Since I was leaving the next day for Timisoara and wasn't feeling too inspired by the public transportation possibilities, I decided to book a car and driver from www.mydaytrip.com Their communication was excellent, and the driver was right on time with a comfortable car and actually really good driving, but I do have to say that it was a bit madly expensive--the trip (from 8 to 2, with a stop at Corvin Castle) cost more than a full day's guided tour with as much mileage. I am guessing that the pricing isn't particularly attuned to local situations as it is offered in many European areas, and it was certainly worth it to me to be coddled a bit for the day.

The Gothic Corvin Castle in Hunedoara is massive and impressively situated; it looks more like a castle of legend than most, as a lot of the 19th century restoration was busy making it into a legendary "medieval" castle (the pointy bits, for example.) But it is really atmospheric and imposing in a way that Bran isn't, and well worth a scout through. It isn't nearly as crowded as Bran, and includes features like a bear pit and a couple of Great Halls that are appropriately castle-like. To be honest, my main thought was that it would make a really awesome party venue, and as it turns out they do have parties here, especially at Halloween. There's a pizza stand across from the entrance road (you walk a bit to get to the castle) that's really pretty good, or maybe I was just hungry after climbing the ramparts.

I arrived at Central Apartment Timisoara smack on time, but due to some miscommunication the landlord wasn't there, so I waited on the step for quite some time. It was very green and peaceful, though, and the apartment was worth it when I went in: spacious, well-equipped, and with a washing machine, yay! I put in a load of wash and went out to explore Timisoara, which I found remarkable mainly for the prolific amounts of roses (I found out later due to a florist family; Wilhelm Mühle was a gardener and rose cultivator, and at one time florist for the Hapsburgs.) The city is filled with flowers, but the Rose Garden itself, much smaller than in its original incarnation, is the crown jewel. It was lovely and peaceful in the hot late afternoon sun, and even in July there were numerous roses blooming. Timisoara is also where the 1989 Revolution began that toppled the communist regime, and there are squares and monuments throughout. I found the city very appealing and could definitely have stayed longer if time had permitted.

My reason for coming, however, was to get to Bigar Falls, and I ended up on a private tour for that. To explain, this trip was chosen for me by my 7th and 8th grade geography class, and Bigar Falls was one of the places that they really wanted me to visit. As it turns out, there are few public tours there, and the one that I had hoped for wasn't going out as a public tour that day as there weren't any other travelers. So I bit the bullet and took the tour as a solo, and I'm really glad that I did. Ludovic of Timisoara City Tours Timisoara City Tours - Tours in Timisoara, Banat and Transylvania is an interesting guide with a passion for Romania, particularly the Banat. We started the day with a boat cruise on the Danube, past the relatively new river statue of King Dacebalus, last king of the Dacians (people who were in Romania before, guess who, the Romans, took over) and going into a cave that was used during war time; the small boat also went into a grotto. It was a lovely sunny day at that point, and we had a delicious lunch (trout, that didn't smell fishy at all, so there Max of Sibiu) at a waterside restaurant that may have been called Septiembre? We split the huge traditional fruit-filled pastry for dessert.

One side of the Danube at that point is Serbia, so yet another country got added to my T-Mobil free texts messages, which was kinda amusing by that point. From there, we drove to a gently decaying and rusting mineral bath town (of which I don't know the name, sorry!) on our way to Bigar. The drive was quite lovely, and the long and winding road to Bigar is through a forest. The waterfall itself is stunningly beautiful, albeit small, but for some things size really doesn't matter. It was raining, and as the water came over the vibrant green moss the whole thing just looked like it was glowing. You can see the falls most effectively before actually entering the little park that's above it, but we dutifully climbed through there as well; it's not as spectacular as the fall, have to say. To a lot of folks the waterfall is overrated and not worth the trip, but I was really glad that I went. The Danube part was a perfect way to end a trip, as well, as what's better than being out in the sunshine on the water? All in all I definitely could have spent much more time in Romania very happily, but I'm glad I got to do what I did.

I left at 2:30AM (which was supposed to be 1AM, so there's that...) for the trip to Budapest Airport, as flying out of Timisoara would have been prohibitively expensive at the time I was booking. (Not sure if it ever isn't, actually; I could, however, have gone to Bucharest if I had more time, and those flights were pretty cheap from Timisoara. But I needed to be home by Saturday night, so, Budapest it was.)

I flew uneventfully into crowded Heathrow and then on to Philadelphia; I was happy to have an uneventful flight after the trip out! My souvenirs (two pieces of vintage textiles, one that is deep orange, pinks, and greens; the other white with lace and embroidery) are now hanging in the stairway to my classroom, and I'm looking forward to sharing pictures with the students who chose this trip for me.

Oh, and if you just like to look at pictures, they're here:

https://missalg.smugmug.com/Czech-Republic-2018/
https://missalg.smugmug.com/Budapest-Hungary-2018/
https://missalg.smugmug.com/Romania-2018/

Thanks, Amy

Amy,
Thanks so much for your report.
The report and your pictures are fantastic.

Both your pictures and the report are fabulous.

Great pics. Is that a butterfly on the flower? It seems huge! The countryside is beautiful. Love the piglets.

Tried to post last night, but my post kept disappearing. I haven't been looking at the Europe board lately as I don't have an upcoming trip. I forgot how much I enjoy trip reports.

What a beautiful report. I live for the "little," slice of life experiences at least as much as the grand sights. I loved Prague and am thinking of heading back that way to include Budapest. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, everyone! Nanabee, that's an Iphiclides podalirius butterfly as far as I can tell, and it really wasn't that big--the flower is kind of smallish. I did really love being in that meadow, I have to say. I would have liked to have more time to do some hiking, actually, but of course so much is weather dependent. I was very blessed yet again with sunshine--two of the three days that I was in Sighet the prediction was for rain, but...well, the pictures show what it was like.

I'm glad I waited to catch up on the report as it was great fun being able to sit down and read the rest all at once. Really enjoyed the bits on Maramures and wish we'd have spent a bit more time and stayed at pensione as well. (We chose a hotel in Sighet that we we're that impressed with).

A party in Corvin Castle would be awesome!

Interesting how things have evolved in little ways. It was so quiet at Rasnov years ago... and no little tractor train then. Had to assault the fortress on foot (yet another reason not to envy the medieval soldier). On the other hand, you could park right next to that wooden ramp that goes into Corvin Castle at the time.

Anyway, really enjoyed the report for the memories and to fill in the gaps we missed. Working on going through those photos now. You totally should have bought the bee pollen I can see on that market table with all the honey. Great stuff but usually so expensive!

So much I wanted to buy, but I was traveling light! The honey table belongs to the guide's sister, in fact; quite a variety there. How is the bee pollen actually used?

At Rasnov there is now a "Dinosaur Park" about half way up the hill, so things I'm sure have changed a bit! I ended up really enjoying Romania and I'm glad I spent the bulk of my time there, although I could have used more time in all three places really. As always, so many places, so little time...

I haven't had time yet to either read the thread or look at the photos.

But Romania is probably the greenest and cleanest country I've ever been to. We are D-i-Y, travellers,and every town had a different type of special atmosphere to it. Sinaia, Sighisoara, Sibiu, and Brasov were all well worthy of a few days in Transylvania.

Travelling by train is a great way to see the rolling countryside, even if they can be a bit slow, and the timetables slightly frustrating.

Really looking forward to returning to see another Region or two of a truly beautiful Country.....shame about the corruptness of the incumbent Government, which threatens to boil over.

Thank you again Amy. You helped shed light on a part of Europe in which I still don't know much about. Seems it's a country where you are able to find undiscovered places.

From everything I read, bee pollen is one of those superfoods now. Very good for you. But raw, it's pretty tasty (very floral) on granola. Smoothies, salads too (I'm reading a food site right now)

A dinosaur park? Yeah, that's different! About half the buildings in the fortress were restored when we were there. Very quiet. I just realized you didn't mention Sighisoara?