Transylvania (yes, it is a real place)

I’m starting to feel like I’m finally settling in here. Work, leisure, running, etc. have become routines instead of adventures, which is a very nice feeling.

Work has its interesting and its boring moments. A lot of work at an embassy is pretty routine and, like most work environments, involves a lot of meetings. There are certainly interesting days though. Like today was the 130th Anniversary of Romanian-American diplomatic relations, which involved a large conference, complete with speakers from the Academy, Romanian politicians, and American scholars and embassy personnel. I’m on week 3 of my 10 week internship, so things are moving along pretty quickly.

This last weekend I took my first trip out of Bucharest. Kevi had a meeting in a town in Transylvania, so Jeremy (another Embassy employee) and I went along. First, on Saturday, we stopped at Peleş Castle, which is a beautifully ornate castle that was once the summer home of the Romanian royal family. This castle and town, like most in the area, were originally created and inhabited by Saxons, so there is a solid German feel to the people, food, and architecture. Oftentimes, the people will even speak to you in German first, Romanian second (which I liked!). We then continued on to Braşov, the main destination for our trip. There, we wandered around town, took the cable car to the mountain next to the city, and saw a couple of beautiful old churches. Braşov survived the Communist period with very few scars, which was a welcome relief from Bucharest. We stayed the night in a ski resort town in the mountain above Braşov. It was a Dracula themed hotel, but by far the scariest part was the lack of air conditioning in the 90 degree weather. Thankfully, as the only guests in the hotel, we managed to scrounge up some fans.


Peleș Castle


The view of Brașov

The next morning, after a breakfast of what the Romanians claimed were omelettes, we headed to our next destination, a small town called Raşanov. The only attraction in this town was their massive citadel in the mountain above the town. After a quick stop, we headed on to my favorite stop of the trip, Bran. Bran is home to the castle that was the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Despite what you would think, the castle was not dark, scary, or gothic, but rather bright and airy. It was a bit sparse, because the Romanian state just recently returned the castle to its rightful owner after the Communists took it. There were also some beautiful markets at the base of the mountain.


Bran Castle

Overall, it was a very nice trip and I really enjoyed getting out of dirty Bucharest and into the beautiful Romanian mountains and countryside. However, it was also very eye opening in regards to the extreme poverty that exists outside of the capital. We drove past several villages made of corrugated metal and wood, in which a horse and wagon was the main form of transportation. Also, the legacy of Communism was obvious with the multitude of massive, abandoned factories.

My travels will be fairly limited in the coming weeks. Next weekend, I believe I will be going on a camping trip to Constanţa (on the Black Sea) with the Romanian interns from the Embassy. After that, I will be taking care of Kevi’s dog while she’s in Ireland, which will limit my ability to go anywhere. Then Stephen is coming to visit for a week, and then I’ll be cat sitting. I will definitely be going somewhere for the week between the end of my internship (August 6) and my departure from Bucharest (August 13), probably Greece or Turkey.

Hope all is going well in the good ol' USA! Happy Flag Day!