Romania, a large country in Europe with huge contrasts! Some of the cities are extremely modern and then you travel to some villages in the next region and you feel like you have been brought back to the Middles Ages. It has a very unique feeling with cultural similarities to other Balkan states and is mixed with Latin heritages and a Romance language. For most people outside of Europe Romania is famous for the legend of Dracula and his castles. Most Europeans know it for Dacia cars, the Danube delta, Carpathian mountains and Sinte & Roma.
The country is super fun to travel in, it is easy to go around (mostly with Hitchhiking and Bla Bla Car). Cities such as Cluj or Sibiu er super pleasant with beautiful old towns, villages different from all others you can see in Europe and you will find great natural beauty in its National Parks. Since Romania joined the European Union in 2007, the country has undergone rapid development (besides the villages).
I spent around 3 weeks in Romania, from which I spent the first 7 days with André, my friend from professional school times in Germany. We started our itinerary in Cluj-Napoca, the unofficial capital of the beautiful Transylvania region. The city has a very pretty center and great activities around. We climbed a hill, had good food and visited some of the city's bars.
From Cluj-Napoca, we went to our second stop Turda to hike the really beautiful Turda Gorge. We went by taxi to the beginning of the gorge, hiked our way through the full canyon, walked a couple of kilometers through some villages where we were chased by shepherd dogs (in Romania are thousands of them and they really can be dangerous because of their protection instinct) and hitchhiked back to the town of Turda. Turda had two more highlights to offer the next day: A very impressive huge inactive salt mine and salty hot springs where we enjoyed our time with the senior citizens of the region.
The next stop was Sibiu, a city with a beautiful Old Town Square and wonderful medieval charm. I spent a week there and André left back home after a couple of days. People in Sibiu were super friendly and we found plenty of good food options. The hostel we stayed in, was a little crazy, but still had a great time with good stories.
My way from Sibiu to Bucharest was terrible. I joined Florin on his Bla Bla Car ride and the full ride was supposed to be 4,5 hours for 290 km. In the end, we were sitting 9 hours in that car since there were some historical traffic jams on the way. We planned to watch the EURO final Italy vs England together at his flat in Bucharest but ended up watching it on his smartphone in the car.. The only benefit of that journey: I saw plenty of villages in Romania with the best guide ever!
Bucharest, the capital of Romania is one of the largest cities in Europe and was nice to see. But if I had to choose, I would definitely go with Cluj and Sibiu when it comes to Romanian cities. It's a booming city with tons of new investments and projects. The Palace of the Parliament, the Old City and the Revolution Square were among my highlights of the city.
After 3 weeks in Romania, I went on my way via the border town of Ruse to Bulgaria!
3 Highlights:
- Hiking in Turda Gorge and the National Park around
- Cluj-Napoca, my favorite Romanian city
- Exploring pretty Sibiu and its surroundings
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| Visited places in Romania from North to South |
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| The city center of Cluj |
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| View on Cluj |
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| On top of Cetățuia Hill, Cluj |
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| Romanian BBQ |
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| Beginning of Turda Gorge |
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| Amazing hikes in the National Parks of Transylvania |
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| The only not scary shepherd dog in Romania :D |
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| .. okay and this one |
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| Romanian villages at their best |
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| Hitchhiking in Transylvania |
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| Turda Salt Mine |
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| Salty hot spring |
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| Beautiful Sibiu |
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| Playing chess with locals in a park in Sibiu |
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| Hostel dorm in Sibiu |
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| Bucharest |
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| Parliament of Bucharest |
