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Land of Children of the NightLand of Children of the Night
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A 15-day adventure by Jonny Read more
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  • TravelerLand of Children of the Night
    Day 2

    The Dacia Express

    September 4, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    It is 9 AM and my lids still feel heavy. A female voice is making announcements in an unfamiliar language outside while other passengers are roaming the hallway. The three people I'm sharing the cabin with are still asleep aboard the Dacia Express, 1000 cars long.

    Well, I don't know how long the night train to Bucharest is, but I do know we're deep in Romania, at the Cluj Napoca train station.

    Yesterday I had taken the early bus to Vienna, where after having dinner and getting some supplies for the approx. 20h train ride ahead of me, I found myself lending a patient ear to an octogenarian giving me an account of all of her aches and ailments. She had moved (fled) from Romania 50 years ago, now lives alone in Passau, Germany, since her husband died and was on her way to an apartment she inherited in Brasov.

    I only noticed they had changed the platform when I saw the blue-grey sleeper arrive at the track next to ours and we rushed as fast as her physical condition would allow, hopping onto the train just as the conductor was closing the doors.

    The cabin was surprisingly comfortable and had enough room to store the luggage. The six-berth ones further down the train did look a bit more cramped though. After getting a set of clean linen, I clambered up to the top bunk and made myself comfortable. I was woken up twice in the middle of the night as we left the Schengen Area and crossed the border from Hungary to Romania to get our passports checked - but resumed my slumber fairly easily. All in all I feel I had a good night's rest.    Read more

  • TravelerLand of Children of the Night
    3
    Day 3

    Bukarest

    September 5, 2023 in Romania ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    Bucharest, established by Prince Mercia the Old in the 14th century and first mentioned in writing by Vlad "Dracula" the Impaler in 1459 was located on an important commercial road connecting the Ottoman Empire and Central Europe. The principality of Wallachia basically was under Ottoman rule for many years. However, we couldn't find any traces of oriental architecture as you'd find in Spain.

    Instead, the city is characterized by a mixture of late 19th and early 20th century buildings from when King Carol I modernized the city taking Paris as a model (hence the nickname "Little Paris of the East" up until the World Wars), Bauhaus Modernism and the typically grey architecture of the communist era, marked by Ceausescu's megalomanic building projects such as the gigantic Parliament Palace.

    There seems to be an Orthodox church at every corner - which is somewhat of a contrast to the web of streets and alleyways that make up the center and are lined with restaurants, bars and night clubs. Soon, we jokingly concluded that there were so many churches so that you could redeem yourself of your sins if you succumbed to temptation between one corner and the other.    Read more

  • TravelerLand of Children of the Night
    22
    Day 4

    Roman Athenaeum

    September 6, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    The Roman Athenaeum - or George Enescu Philharmonic - was the only building (apart from museums and galleries) I was really interested in seeing from the inside and with a fee of 10 RON (€2), really didn't break the bank. Inaugurated in 1889, it was built to give the orchestra a permanent home, propagate musical culture and popularize classical music masterpieces.Read more

  • TravelerLand of Children of the Night
    Day 7

    Bran Castle

    September 9, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Sometimes you just have to be a tourist and let yourself be lured into a trap. Bran Castle has become one of Romania's top attractions because it "resembles Castle Dracula, as described in Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula (1897), in that both stand on rocky precipices and command spectacular views. But Stoker, an Irish writer, is not known to have ever visited Transylvania." Vlad the Impaler, the historical figure behind the fictional monster, didn't even reside in this castle, but was only held prisoner for some time in the dungeons.

    Nevertheless, a multitude of gift shops, restaurants and hotels plaster the foot of the hill and the castle is venue to a number of events, including a spectacular Halloween party that actually did sound quite enticing.

    The main attraction itself is a rather standard medieval fortress and the museum exhibits provide insight into the lives of Queen Marie and King Ferdinand. On the fourth floor, however, visitors get to encounter creatures and apparitions from Romanian folclore.

    A fun tidbit is the haunted house tucked away behind the many souvenir shops: An entertaining 15 minutes that only costs about €5 with the promise of live actors "trained to scare you". This live actor turned out to be some guy dressed up as a devilish vampire ready to scare the children and envelop women with his cape.

    Right before the exit, one of the mechanical creatures seemed to have malfunctioned - exposing visitors with the most terrifying sight of all: the local mechanic in a blue overall rummaging through the insides of a ghoul...    Read more

  • TravelerLand of Children of the Night
    Day 7

    Trees and Bears

    September 9, 2023 in Romania ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    I carefully shifted my weight to get into a more comfortable position - trying hard to be absolutely silent. By now, Ingrid, a guy named Sebastian and I had been quietly sitting in the woods - waiting - for about two hours. Our guide was a couple of meters away, staring into the trees or at his phone.

    He had picked us up in his old silver car from a parking lot behind a McDonald's a couple of hours earlier, led us into the forest and instructed us to sit, relax and wait.

    Looking up at the trees, I thought surely there are people in this strange world that pay much more than we had just to meditate. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the cold that had started to creep up my bare arms as the strip of gold from the setting sun descended the trunks of the pines around us.

    Eventually, the guide moved us to a different spot facing a clearing and we waited some more. Just before darkness fell and all hope was lost, it arrived:

    A bear appeared at the edge of the clearing and, after sniffing the air, slowly trudged into it, foraging for food. We were able to watch it for some time, straining our eyes in the growing darkness until it was barely recognizable as a darker shape moving about in the slightly lighter surroundings and disappearing into the absolute blackness of the forest on the other side of the clearing.

    (Photos and video by Ingrid Muñoz)    Read more

  • TravelerLand of Children of the Night
    1111
    Day 9

    Transfagarasan Road

    September 11, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Today we rented a car to make a day trip to the legendary Transfagarasan Highway. It is 90 km long (but it took us about two hours just to get to the starting point) and was built in 1974 under harsh, dangerous working conditions. So much so, that some of locals say it was built on the blood and bones of the workers.

    We didn't get through the entire highway as we only had the car from 10 AM to 6 PM and preferred to make a couple of stops instead of just driving through.

    Balea Waterfall involved an unexpectedly challenging hike. The sign at the trailhead said it would take half an hour to get up there but whoever came up with that must've had wings. The gravel path soon turned into a steep river bed and we had to clamber over rocks and roots on hands and feet. I was amazed to see a couple of senior citizens with walking sticks slowly (and shakily) working their way up... determined to see it through. I just hoped none of them lost their footing and tumbled down the mountain side. Eventually, everyone I encountered on the trail seemed to have made it to the waterfall and looked at least as happy and proud about it as I felt.

    The famous hairpin curves and turns through the mountain pass made for a fun drive up to Balea Lake, which is nestled in a small valley just off the road. We missed the exit at first and drove through the tunnel to the other side of the mountain before realizing our mistake.

    After a quick picnic and a photo session at the shore of the lake with crystal clear water and perfect reflections, we headed back to return the car.    Read more

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