From Pennsylvania to Transylvania

Palace of Parliament in Bucharest

So many times while traveling when I’ve said that I’m from Pennsylvania, I’ve been asked if vampires live there. Yes, people all too often confuse Pennsylvania and Transylvania, which has always amused me. For this reason, going there should have been a no brainer.

Actually, similar to some of my previous destinations, Romania wasn’t originally on my “itinerary;” however, it was on the way to people and places I wished to visit so I decided to include it in my travels. The more I thought about it, the stronger my desire to go to Transylvania grew. The rolling hills and magnificent castles drew me in so I mapped out a tentative plan.

Bran Castle in Bran

I left my friend’s house in Chirpan and made the trek up to Bucharest, which, thanks to a lucky turn of events, wasn’t as difficult as I thought it was going to be. I arrived in the capital rather late at night, but thankfully, my host was pretty flexible so it wasn’t a problem. I spent most of my time exploring the city with a new friend I had met in Bulgaria. I enjoyed walking around Bucharest, especially the old part of town. One of the most prominent structures there was the Palace of Parliament, which is the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon. Apparently when Michael Jackson visited Bucharest in 1992, he stood on the balcony…… and declared his love for Budapest, which obviously resulted in many people becoming upset.

View of Brasov

After spending a few days there, I officially entered Transylvania when I made my way to Brasov, a quaint city right next to the mountain. I took a cable car up to the top of Mount Tampa, where it was possible to walk to the location of the Hollywood-style sign. During my time in Brasov, my host and I visited Bran Castle, which is commonly referred to as the “Dracula Castle” but has little to do with the Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, and Vlad the Impaler, the actual person on whom the character is based. It was a bit disappointing to learn the association was more for marketing purposes than anything else.

"The eyes of the city"

From there, I continued to Sibiu, which I would probably say I thought was the most charming of all the cities I visited in Romania. One of the unique aspects about Sibiu was that some of the older homes from the 15^th-19^th centuries had tall attics with tiny windows, which were dubbed “the eyes of the city.” Unfortunately, I was there a couple months too early to experience the Transfagarasan Highway, a scenic drive that starts near Sibiu and is often listed as one of the most beautiful in the world. I would like to return later this summer because I feel like this is something I don’t want to miss, but I’ll have to see if I can make it work. While I was staying in Sibiu, I did a daytrip to Medias and Sighisoara, both of which were nice cities to visit.

Inside Salina Turda

Following Sibiu, I found my way to Cluj-Napoca, the second largest city in Romania. While I was there, there was a festival of some sort going on, which was interesting. There was a lot of music and people set up stalls around the city to sell traditional Romanian items, like clothing, jewelry and kitchenware. In addition to visiting Cluj, I did a daytrip to a nearby salt mine in Turda that has been around since the Middle Ages.

As far as natural beauty goes, Romania is definitely near the top of the list. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to visit such a stunning country, and I’m looking forward to returning later this year to drive along the Transfagarasan Highway.