Romania Itinerary
For anyone who is interested in
the quick tour of Romania, this is what we did:
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| Suceava Train Station |
01/03/13: We crossed the
Ukrainian Romanian border from Chernivtsi—Suceava on foot. We took a taxi to the border, walked over,
and then hitchhiked to Suceava. Once we
got to Suceava, we got on a train to Cluj Napoca (70 lei) at 13:10 which
arrived in Cluj Napoca at 20:25. We then
walked around the town a bit and got some tasty pastries before our next train
to Sighisoara (58 lei) which left at 22:22.
We arrived in Sighisoara at 02:42 and got a taxi to our hostel (Burg
Hostel).
***Burg
Hostel was a cute little café where all the locals hung out. We were the only ones staying in the hostel,
but it was comfortable, quiet, and in a perfect location.
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| Sighisoara: view from top of Clock Tower |
01/04/13: Walked around
Sighisoara all day and went to Dracula’s house (a restaurant that was just ok….) Sighisoara was
definitely a must see, but could easily be done on a day trip.
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| Brasov |
01/05/13: Took a train to
Brasov at 11am (17 lei) which got us to the city at 13:59. We then took a tram to our hostel (Old Town
Hostel) and then quickly went about the town to find something to eat. Brasov was probably my favorite place overall
we visited. The city was very quaint
with a variety of things you could do.
It isn’t far from a lot of other touristy places to go to for day trips
like Bran’s castle and Rasnov. We walked
around the town, hung out at the Christmas/winter market and then called it a
night.
01/06/13: headed to Bran’s castle about a 45 minute bus
ride (6 lei). It was definitely a must
see, but it was pretty crowded, even on the off season. We then took a taxi back to Brasov and
realized we could have easily stopped at Rasnov to check out the fortress there
and the cave, but we didn’t…
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| Night view of Brasov center |
01/07/13:
In
the morning we walked alone the city walls before our train departed for
Bucuresti at 13:44 (58 lei). We arrived
at 16:10. This train ride was so
beautiful riding through the mountains. It
was snowing the whole time which was even more beautiful. All the trees looked like it was topped with
icing. It was mystical and a definite
plus to the trip. Glad we did that train
ride in the day time. We did find out,
though, that we could have gotten a train ticket around the same time for about
½ the price…. Ohh well, they
got us tourists.
Once we got to Bucharest, we
headed to our hostel (Explorers Hostel), which was not too far from the train
station. There we headed to old town and grabbed a bite to eat at a place
called The Barrel. After walking around town, we called it a night.
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| Bucharest |
01/08/13: Kristen and I went for a morning run to
the Triumph Arc and the Free Press building that was given as a gift from
Russia. There and back was a total of 7
miles. There was a nice walking path
right along all the embassy buildings and was a nice flat run. The people there were super friendly with us
running and would cheer or tell us to “go go go”. It was a great way to see the arc because it
is kinda far out there with not much else to do once you are out there. After we checked out the parliament building
and walked around old town some more. We ended up going to dinner at Caru Cu Bere which had a spectacular ambiance, with live performances, and really tasty food. They are known for good beer, but the beer was just alright.
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| Bucharest: Old Town |
01/09/13: Went to the museum of old books and maps
which was a museum of only maps… but it was very interesting. The oldest map we saw there was from the
early 1500s. If you have the time to go
check it out, I would. It is a small
museum, but definitely worth a look.
After the museum we walked until we wandered into old town again where
we went shopping in some really cute boutiques and finally retired at a nice café. That night, we took an overnight train back
to Suceava (85 lei) that left at 23:30 and got in at 06:24 and then grabbed a
taxi and walked across the border again.
** Taking a taxi with 4 people was
quite the deal and after splitting the costs, didn’t cost us too much.
Our Romanian friends all told us
to check out Sibiu, which we didn’t have time for…. But I guess next time I go back,
gonna check that out. Also, found out
that from the Train to Brasov to Bucharest, Peles castle is one of the stops,
so if you want to stop there and check it out, it is also apparently a must
see!
I was uncertain as to traveling to
Romania in the winter, but it was still beautiful as ever. I definitely want to go back when everything
is green and florally!
And to re-emphasize how beautiful
a country Romania is: It is
BEAUTIFUL! If you have the chance to
visit, I highly recommend it.
I never had any trouble getting around with English. It seemed that if they didn't know English, they knew French or Russian. All Romanians I encountered were super friendly, and always went out of their way to help. It was fabulous!
