We stared out in Bucharest, which unlike a lot of the rest of Romania, is flat as the plains of Saskatchewan. When flying in from Brussels, I woke up to look out the window, and thought there must be some mistake. The plane could have been landing near Saskatoon! Fortunately, I had not been lied to, and there were indeed mountains in Romania.
From Bucharest, we drove north to Sinaia, a lovely resort town nestled in a valley and surrounded by mountains and several small ski restorts. We spent five days there, skiing in four different areas. From there we headed further north to Harghita, a predominantly Hungarian area east of Targu Mures. We spent two days there, skiing in the fog. We drove back to Bucharest and dropped off another one of our crew to fly back to the States. We also left our guide Addi behind, and were on our own. We travelled to Sighisoara, a lovely but somewhat decrepit medieval town. From there we had planned on taking a train to Budapest, but a train workers strike in Hungary caused us to change our plans. We spent another night in Sighisoara, and then took a 14 hour bus ride to Budapest.
We didn't spend much time in Bucharest, but we did manage a quick tour, including a drive-by of the world's second-largest building. (The first being the Pentagon in Washington, DC)
This was our first look at a gorgeous fairy tale castle in Sinaia.
The snow conditions were only OK, with some icy spots, but the mountains and scenery were breath-taking!
And of course, we were very well fed. But be forewarned, this is not the land for vegetarians!
And there were gypsies, tramps, and probably even a few thieves.
Sheep had the right-of-way on this main road.
This is the main "road" into the ski area at Harghita.
We had chains, but of course, they were the wrong size. Trying to keep them on with zip-ties met with only limited success. Getting up there was a bit of a struggle. After we finally got the van moving, Addi didn't dare stop, so we ended up walking most the last couple of miles to the lodge.
The Romanians are famous for their woodwork. Many of the farms and homes had ornately carved wooden gates and fences. Cool!
And the Romanians are certainly capable of innovation. This vehicle is not only a "car," but also a mobile chainsaw!
Most of urban Romania is very much like other parts of Eastern Europe I've been to, but once you get off the beaten track, real horsepower is still very much in vogue.
This shot was taken just off the town square of Sighisoara. Like the guidebook said, there were lots of stray dogs, but they all seemed friendly enough, and didn't cause us any trouble.
And yes, I did get some culture!. In Budapest, we saw The Marriage of Figaro, and I managed to stay awake through most of it. I was disappointed in that I had expected to hear more of the music from the early days, i.e., the Bugs Bunny years, of my music appreciation experience.
This is Budapest's Holocaust Memorial. It was quite beautiful and moving. The individual leaves of the tree represent actual victims of the horror.
This is the shore of the Danube nearest the Jewish Ghetto in Budapest. Near the end of the war, gangs would invade the ghetto, dragging out victims who were then thrown into the river. The bronzed shoes are a reminder of the victims.
Budapest in a beautiful city that needs a return vist. We only scratched the surface on this trip.
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