Transylvania

michele-p

Great report, I'll have a read with a cup of tea when I have a bit longer to read it all.

PompeyPete

Some more observations:

- Self drive. Apart from in main towns, driving looked as though it'd be a pleasure. On the trains we took we often ran parallel to main roads, which were mainly either free of traffic or it was very light. However, parking in towns looked as though it could be a challenge, with pay and park being the norm. Everywhere you need to pay to park there were always 'keen' enforcement staff.

- Weather. It was very warm, sometimes hot, and occasionally humid. It also rained a lot, usually in the afternoon, but not always. Often the rain came in monsoon proportions, and went on for a few hours. But we never let the rain put us off. The low cloud often made wherever we were look a bit spooky. So best to get a weather check before setting off for the day, and even if the forecast looks clear, we tended to err on the side of caution and take a brolly.

- What to wear. Casual dress is the norm. I don't travel to impress anyone, and all I wore for the duration were cargo shorts, T-shirt, gilet [keep our money secure], and sturdy walking shoes. I think I wore a light fleece a couple of times.

PompeyPete

12,13,14, and 15 June - Sibiu

Getting from Sighisoara to Sibiu by train is a bit of a pain. I think there's one direct train at silly o'clock in the morning, and another one just after midday. So we had to get a slow train to a place called Medias, hang around for nearly 2 hours [people watched from a bar], and catch another slow train to Sibiu. First train left Sighisoara at 0936, and the 2nd train left Media at 1225 arriving at Sibiu at 1418. So just short of 5 hours to do 95 Km, probably shorter by road. I also checked the buses, but the difference was only marginal, and we prefer trains. The plus side was that the single fare for just over £2 each. The scenery for the whole trip was glorious, no mountains though, just green rolling hills.

Both trains were clean, no a/c though, so it did get a bit stuffy. Both trains stopped regularly, and the 2nd train stopped at one station for half an hour to allow a faster train to pass. Both trains were also practically empty. When we arrived at Sibiu, the trained shunted into a siding, and we literally had a jump to get off.

From Sibiu train station we had a straightforward 5 minute walk to our accommodation which was a gorgeous ground floor studio in a quiet area of the Lower Town. I'd contacted the owner a couple of days prior with our estimated time of arrival. She was there as arranged waiting to us, was extremely pleasant, and provided us with lots of useful info.

Sibiu was arguably the best place we stayed on the trip. The Upper Town is straight out of National Geographic, spread over three adjoining Squares [Piatas], Immaculately clean, flat [once you've got up there], lots to see and do. There was an Annual International Theatre Festival on for our duration, much of which was free and performed outside in the Upper Town. The architecture in both the Lower and Upper Towns is very impressive, and invariably beautifully maintained. Plenty of place to eat, drink and be merry, particularly in the 3 Piatas.

A must, must see in Sibiu is the outdoor Astra Museum [Muzeul Satului], which is basically a working recreation of a traditional Transylvanian old village, with a couple of lakes thrown in. We spent almost 3 hours there, it was raining for most of the time, but we loved it. Ticket is £3. There a decent restaurant onsite, and a couple of refreshment huts. Get there from a bus stop right outside the train station, bus No.13, takes about 25 minutes, get off at the final stop right opposite the entrance. We got the the 0947 bus there and 1338 bus back to Sibiu. Bus ticket is 2 Ron each way, buy from machine by the bus stop [don't forget to validate. as soon as you get on the bus].

We also had a morning run out to a ski resort called Paltinis high above the clouds, about 35 Km out of Sibiu. It's a lovely scenic ride up by public bus, which takes an hour. Sadly, out of season there wan't much to do. Bus No.22 from outside the train station. Pay the driver, 9 RON single.

Next stop, Brasov for 6 nights.

PompeyPete

16 to 21 June - Brasov

When we went to Sibiu train station to book our trip to Brasov we'd not that the service between the 2 places were infrequent. It was either catch a semi sleeper' train that had originated in Vienna at 1040, which took about 2 hours, or a slow train at 1155 which took 3 minutes short of 4 hours. The distance being 150 Kms! Obviously the former was the best, but damn it was fully booked, so the slow train it had to be. The cost of a ticket was £3.60 each, cheap as chips.

We decided to have a lazy morning and vacate the very comfortable Studio Mai at 1100, have a slow walk to the train station , loading up food at a bakery on the way. Note: The food from the bakeries in Romania are to die for. Each town seems to have it's Regional favourites.

The train originated in Sibiu, so there was plenty of room on it, and it was comfortable enough, or it would have been if there's been any a/c. There wasn't, it was a hot day, so we had to suck it, and manage by opening the few small windows there were, plus getting in air from the open doors during the many stops the train made in the next 4 hours. Those 4 hours went on forever, we almost ran out of water, but our supplies were delicious. The scenery was amazing, just as it had been on all our previous train rides in Transylvania. The train arrived a couple of minutes early.

I'd read on Trip Advisor lots of negative stories about taxi drivers at Brasov train station, and that it was best to catch the No.4 public bus to the Historical Area. It couldn't have been easier, I never noticed any taxi drivers touting, and the bus ticket kiosk was immediately in front of us as we walked out of the main entrance, and in front of that was where we needed to catch the No.4 bus. Tickets cost 2 RON each, make sure you validate them as soon as you get on the bus. The bus left at 1600, and arrived at our destination 10 minutes later.

Our accommodation, Residence Piata Sfatului, was right in the Main Square, Piata Sfatului. It couldn't have been more central.

Brasov is dominated by the forested Mount Tampa, which sticks out with a massive BRASOV sign at the top of it, similar to the HOLLYWOOD sign in Hollywood. It's illuminated at night. There's a cable-car which runs frequently during the day up to the top of Mount Tampa, more on that follows.

We spent or first evening in Brasov wandering round , and having a few drinks. Apart from Piata Sfatului, the main tourist pedestrianised street it Strada Republicii, whis runs off the Piata. It buzzes at night, loads of outdoor restaurants and cafes, full of colour. Ditto on the numerous side roads that merge into it.

Brasov's historical area is mainly flat, the City Walls need a bit of physical effort, as does getting up to the Citadel. No need to visit the latter as it's closed, but the views from up there are pretty good. The architecture is or should be be easy on the eye, but there is a lot of graffiti, most it completely unnecessary.

Places we visited during our Brasov stay were...

- Schei Quarter. This area is a 15 minutes easy walk from the Piata Sfatului, and best accessed via the arched Schei Gate. Just before the Schei Gate is the Brasov Jewish Synagogue, but the Synagogue gate was closed everytime we were up that way. We went to Schei on our first day, and while it was an interesting walk, and there's a pretty church there, I didn't quite see much else of interest.

- The Citadel. The Fortress Hill Citadel is detached from the Historical Area, and sits high on a hill. We had an enjoyable hike up there on a hot day, and while it looked quite impressive from the outside, it was closed. No sign of any opening times, but the views from up there are pretty good.

- Poiana Brasov. This is Romania's premier ski resort, and is easy to reach by No.20 bus. Get the bus from the same place as the No.4 arrives and departs from. A ticket from the kiosk opposite costs 5 RON each single.....don't forget to validate the ticket. The buses are frequent, and the scenic 12 Km uphill ride takes about 30 minutes. We had a good wander around Poiana, very picturesque. Out of season it was quite quiet, but it was obvious why the place is so popular.

- The City Walls. The City walls are very interesting, quite lengthy, 3 bastions and several towers. Lots of description boards in English as you wander along, and places to sit and relax.

- Mount Tampa. It's impossible to miss Mount Tampa because of the big BRASOV sign at the top of the forested mountain. We made quite a serious miscalculation on the day we visited. It began alright, it was quite a walk to the cable-car station, ie lots of steps, didn't mind that that as lots of steps usually keeps old peoples tour groups away. It opens at 0930, we got there just before and thre was no queue. Cost of a ticket is 10 RON to go up or down, or 18 RON for a return. We got singles, with the miscalculated intention of walking down by path. Nice scenic ride up, takes less than 3 minutes. At the top there's a cafe and bar/restaurant. From there, there's a fairly dodgy path that leads to a viewing point by the BRASOV sign. It's only about 250 yards away and was a bit dodgy as it was slippery underfoot on the very uneven limestone track. We made it no problem, and the views were worth it. But after heavy rain, or if your mobility is questionable then give it a miss. In fact unless you're going to go to the viewing platform, and then intend walking back down to town there isn't much point in going on the cable-car in the first place because everywhere is forested with little to no views.

What was our miscalculation? Well, we decided to walk back down Mount Tampa. There were a few signs at the top, either red or yellow. For some reason I hadn't consulted Rough Guide well enough, and erroneously chose the yellow sign. Although the directions were clear enough with yellow signs appearing regularly on trees, the terrain was anything but straightforward with lots of clambering, often slippery limestone ground, steep at times. By the time we thought that this really wasn't a good idea we'd reached a point of no return. In hindsight we should have returned as we'd hardly got going. Reaching flat ground eventually, we'd been hiking, slipping and cursing for just short of 2 hours, and were shattered, sweaty and filthy. Fortunately we'd had plenty of water with us. What we should have done at the top was to follow the red signs, which form an easy zig-zag path all the way down. Lesson learned......until next time!

....Apart from the above we just spent our time wandering in around, and enjoying Brasov. During the week we also got the No4 bus to the train station to buy our tickets back to Bucharest. There's a train at 0840, which arrives at Bucharest's Gara de Nord at 1105, which was ideal. Ticket including allocated seats were £9.50 each. Again o sign of any taxi touts wandering round, perhaps they've been banned from inside the train station and concourse outside. We also had a good look around the Brasov train station area, described as a drab concrete suburb, but we quite enjoyed the area, and spent longer in a bar than we ought to have.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Pete, made interesting reading.
I've been over to Romania quite a few times and to quite a few of the places you mentioned. Never to Sighisoara or Sibiu though.

Wife is visiting her parents in August, but too hot for me, so I'll be staying here.

PompeyPete

Sleazy wrote: »

Thanks Pete, made interesting reading.
I've been over to Romania quite a few times and to quite a few of the places you mentioned. Never to Sighisoara or Sibiu though.

Wife is visiting her parents in August, but too hot for me, so I'll be staying here.

It was very warm to hot when we were there, but it also rained quite a lot too, which was refreshing and cooling. Lots of thunder and lightening, particularly in Sinaia and Sighisoara, which added to the Transylvanian atmosphere. Time to eat, drink, enjoy the scenery, and people watch then.

PompeyPete

22 June - Bucharest

Up early, leaving our accommodation at 0715 for the 5 minute walk to the bus stop for the No.4 bus to the train station The train, which started in Brasov set off on time at 0840. We spent most the journey talking a very pleasant 25ish Romanian bloke who had recently finished University and was working part time in Bran Castle. Although he was very interesting and rhymed off lots of Romanian History including quite a lot about Vlad the Impaler, I'd rather have enjoyed the scenery. One other thing he did mention was that the Romanians in general aren't happy with the current ruling political Establishment, and that there could easily be trouble, maybe not on the scale of the Ceausescu era, but trouble all the same.

The train arrived at Gara de Nord on time, we had the short walk to the Ibis Hotel for the night.

That afternoon, our only afternoon in Bucharest, we planned on walking to Downtown Bucharest. The map in Rough Guide looked clear enough to me, but somehow we went badly out of our way, and then almost came to physical grief.

We'd just, by only a couple of seconds walked round a corner at a busy junction, when I heard the unmistakable meatallic shriek of brakes and accident about to happen.....fortunately we were facing away from the impending crash. A second later a 4x4 hit a solid wall head on, and another saloon car hit the wall side on. Immediate silence, loads of dust, and my wife shouting ".....somethings just hit me in the back". The only thing I could see that could have hit her was a lump of concrete on the ground close to her, about the size of two clenched fists. She was obviously shocked, had the wind knocked out of her, and sore. I told her to turn round, there was no sign of anything hitting her, ie her blouse was completely intact, and as bruises don't show immediately, her back looked aright. She didn't look [to me] injured enough to need to get to hospital, was still as steady as normal on her feet, and I didn't really want to hang around until the police and ambulances for the injured in the cars arrived. So we retreated, and slowly made our way back to the Ibis.....rested up for a while, and then went for a few stiff drinks and reflected on our lucky escape. It wasn't long before the bruise on her back came up, a nice deep purple, the size of a fist.....over 2 weeks later it still hasn't fully gone.

So I can't report much on how we found Bucharest:(.

23 June - Flight home

Our Tarom Air flight back to Heathrow was due to leave at 1230, so we caught the 780 bus to the Airport at 0900 from just outside Gara de Nord. When I tried to validate one of our [return] tickets it refused to validate, so on the way into Bucharest when we arrived I must have done a double validation on the ticket. Fortunately, no ticket inspectors got on the bus, and I avoided the possibility of a Fine.

The Checking-in Hall at the Airport isn't very well laid out, hardly any seating, and until the check-in desks for your flight show on the board you have little choice but to hang around. Our flight was on the board along with other Tarom fflights.....we waited and waited for the check-in desks to show on the board, and people were queueing, jostling and queue jumping. Little information, but we soon found out that the Tarom electronic check-in system had got a system failure. To cut a long story short, we were stood for over 3 hours before finally the system was restored, and we were able to check-in Passport Control and security.

The flight passed without incident.

Not the best way to end our thoroughly enjoyable holiday in Romania. We'll definitely be back next year, a few days in Bucharest this time, and then fly to a different part of the country.

Thanks for reading.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Pete, I've gone over to Romania for most of the past 20 years to see family and seen a lot of changes. My preferred airline used to be BA, but now it's TAROM because I like the flight times better and you still get fed! My wife if flying Blue Air from Luton this year because it suits better.

I went last year in september to help with the wine making. I might go September / October this year and help to make Tuica ...

Pyxis

If you want to make enquiries about this sort of holiday, do you ring Transylvania 6-5000?

hollydays

Sounds interesting . I'd never considered this part of the world