Transylvania Romania

 This year for Halloween we decided to do something a bit different then the usual Halloween Party.  We joined Ramstein Trips and Tours (RTT) on there annual trip to Transylvania.  Transylvania is one of the three regions of Romania.  This was a 3 overnight tour that took us through a number of cities in Romania.

After landing in Bucharest we took our bus to the city of Brasov about three hours from the countries capital. 


 Our first hotel stay and dinner was in a beautiful hotel in this city.  All our hotels were very modern with great accommodations.

We were in the city very early so there were very few people in the area and it was probably the coldest part of our trip.

 This photo show the city center of Brasov.  This city is known for the Black Cathedral.  We were unfortunately not able to go in to see the church but did see a Greek Orthodox church and part of a service. 

 

I snapped a picture of this at a bank in the city center of Brasov.  

 Following our stop in Brasov we jumped on our bus for a ride to Bran Castle.  The two photos above are of the castle.  This castle is famous because it is known as Dracula's Castle.  Queen Maria of Romania was given the castle as a gift. Today the Castle is owned by the descendants of Queen Maria and is open for tours. 

The Carpathian Mountains seen above with the snow caps are the only mountain range in Romania and we spent much of our driving time going through these mountain ranges. 

Taken in Sighisoara, where we spent our second night in Romania and Halloween.  We had dinner in the house that Dracula lived in as a young boy.  

 During the communist time in eastern Europe, Romania was greatly affected by this rule.  Our tour guide gave us a lot of information of how times were during the communist time in Romania.  Everything from the housing to the shopping.  The way of life has changed dramatically for so many in this country and continually changing.  To the right is a picture of one of the building that was built during this time.  Additional buildings such as factories and a number of block housing buildings were seen on our trip through Romania. This was a very interesting part of the trip to learn about this time period.  During my trip to Ukraine, we heard very little of this part of the countries history, so a very big difference in information that is given.

Additional info on Communism in Romania: Before Collapse - Global Museum

We spent the our last morning in Romania in the capital city of Bucharest.  We were able to see a Orthodox church a number of sites around the city and the Parliament Palace pictured above. 

The Parliament Palace was built by Communist ruler Ceausescu and is the second largest building behind the Pentagon.  This building was built where a city community use to stand.  With 12 floors its original intent was to be a building for the dictator to work as well as live.  It took 5 years to build and was never lived in.  The building was completed in 1989 after the collapse.

Today it used for a number of conferences held in the numerous halls throughout the Palace.  We were given a tour and saw eight of these enormous halls.  One today may also be used for weddings with the price of 10000-15000 euro. 

Overall it was a pretty good trip, we both were not the most excited about the long hours that we spent on the bus traveling, but did see quite a bit.  This was defiantly a trip that we would have never done on our own, knowing very little about the area and what actually to see.  It was also very convenient to not have to worry about hotels and meals included.

To view more of our pictures from the trip Check out the Picasa link below.

Picasa

Baden Baden

 October 23 we went on a day trip to Baden Baden.  Approximately hour and 45 mins from our area it was a beautiful day to enjoy a new city. 

It was at bowling the previous Wednesday that Svetlana and I decided we would like to see Baden Baden.  Our trip there took us through a small part of France and then back into Germany.

 Baden Baden is known for its thermal spas that are throughout the area.  This area lies at the foothills of the Black Forest.  Our trip though did not take us to any of the spas but, enjoyed the beautiful sun and city












 Many street performers were throughout the old city.  We spent most of the time in the old part of the city where there were many shops and restaurants and was filled with people everywhere. 

Brooklyn was also able to join us on our Journey to Baden Baden, she slept most of the way there and the way back was curious about everything while we were there.  

 We stopped at two different places, one to have a glass of wine and the second to have our lunch.  Our lunch mhh was not the best food out there but tolerable.  All the joys and experiences of living in Germany. 

Oh the Shopping, we didn't leave with anything at all but there was a lot to see, these hats were one.

Thanks Rich for the Photos.