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Eastern Europe

Travel through Bulgaria, Romania and Poland with short visits to Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia Read more
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    🇸🇰 Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia
    AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler

    Day 64 Slovakia Stary Smokvec

    May 20 in Slovakia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Our accommodation was only 500m to the furnicular that took us to Hrebienok this morning. We bought a return ticket thinking we'll do a fair bit of hiking and would need the assistance of the furnicular to take us down the mountain.

    We chose a 11 km hike from Hrebienok to the Zamkovskeho chalet loop. The hike to the chalet was graded incline the whole way but we took our time and enjoyed the scenery. After a hearty lunch, we decided to extend the hike by 3km to find the Alpine Lake Skalnate pleso. Ruby found that she was getting light headed maybe because of the altitude and constant climb on difficult lumpy rock trails.
    I continued on my own to the Alpine Lake. It was a good thing Ruby did not come along because the incline at the end were very steep and it was above the snow line. The views from the top of the karst were expansive and scenic, with both views of the valley, towns, pastures and icecapped mountains.

    Ruby found flat rocks to sit on to look at the mountains whilst waiting for me. She also wandered off to a secluded spot away from the main track to answer a nature's call.

    We have stayed in villages with less in the entire population than people on the trail today. No chance of a bear sighting and no need to clap or shout. We were lucky to see a deer on the trail after lunch though.

    Towards the end of the hike, 600m away from the funicular station, we found a high fence across our path. We couldn't find another path except to retrace our steps for two kilometres to take another route back to the funicular station. This would have meant that we would miss our last funicular down.
    We decided to climb 30m of the steep embankment to get around the fence. We don't know why the path was fenced off because we were able to walk the entire 600 metres without any obstruction. Looked like the landslide had been cleared. Besides dirty hiking pants from the scrambling, it's saved us the extra 2 kilometres of incline.
    We got to the station with half hour to spare and were so relieved to see it because we were completely exhausted.

    At the terminal, the gift shop lady said the funicular was broken and she didn't know when it would be fixed. Her only suggestion for this problem was for us to walk a further three kilometres down to the village. Imagine my horror while she nonchalantly pointed out to us the track down. We could not understand why they did not just put a bus on to take the passengers down.

    We were supposed to walk to dinner which was a further one kilometre from the village but we were not going to walk another step more. We settled for a Vietnamese restaurant literally in front of the station.

    Hike on track was 15.73km. Total distance walked today was 18.5km    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Poppies!!Look at second item on the menu.Main : Wild boar stew with porcini, and dumpling noodles with sheep curd1Andrassy Kuria Spa Resort. Cave bathJacuzziEntree : Salad & Pig's seats with pickled vegetablesMain: Lamb parpadelle & Pork bellyDessert: Crepes & Panacotta

    Day 62 HUNGARY Andrassy Kuria Spa Resort

    May 18 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Sadly, we have left Romania and
    crossed the border into Hungary. This is the route via Slovakia into Poland by car. The alternate route which was shorter would have been through Ukraine. However that wasn't an option. As we didn't purchase a vignette permit into Hungary, we drove on the no toll, no motorway roads. It took us through a little restaurant in the middle of the forest about 11mins outside Debrecen where we stopped to have brunch. We had an unusual popular cold soup that tasted like melted berry icecream. It had some unusual items on the menu. ( look in photos). We settled for wild boar with porcini mushrooms and sheep curd noodles.

    We have been in budget to average accommodations so far with a few exceptions, namely Piatra Crailui, the other Spa resort in Gura Humorului. This one is our special treat for one night.

    We arrived at this very highly rated, Michelin recommended Andrassy Kuria Spa Resort.

    Apparently we could have left our bags in the car and the luggage service would deliver it to our room. That was just too difficult a concept for us, so we carried our one little duffle bag into a splendid lobby to check in, with welcome champagne at the salon and macarons in our room. In some accommodations we weren't even provided with shampoo or shower gels. Here we had L'Occitane products, a fancy Nespresso machine and mini bar.

    We spent an entire three and the half hours in the spa today. We went from a cave bath with seated booths of different jets and hydro massage, to three different types of saunas, steam room, salt room and jacuzzi.

    We have had a rather adventurous holiday. First we hired a car and drove for the first time in Europe. We've had hikes in snow with the threat of bears and wild boars. We had driven in all sorts of road conditions even in rather remote areas of both Bulgaria and Romania, but this was the most exciting adventure today.

    We had the experience of Adventurous Showers( actually labelled so) with our Spa. There was rainforest shower, Niagara Falls shower and tropical storm shower, where water came from the top, the side, the bottom and the most adventurous shower of all was one button did all nozzles and jets of various intensities. Water came from everywhere. There were lights that mimicked lightning, birds chirping like in rain forest...

    After a totally relaxing afternoon we were treated to a three course meal as part of the package. Having food coma and totally relaxed from all the jets, heat and infrared red sauna, we collapsed and melted into a luxuriously large bed with six pillows.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Cake shop revisitedWith better photos of cakes.What we finally settled for.Brasov Stew and Toros ( pickled cabbage and pork) with grilled mushrooms

    Day 60 ROMANIA Oradea

    May 17 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Our last full day in Romania.
    We attended a Hungarian mass at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Oradea. Walked around the Baroque Centre.

    We then visited the Art Museum. The Art Gallery was housed in a large complex, housing the Natural history, Enthropological history, Art Gallery and and a small animal gallery. The ticket we had only allowed us into the Art Gallery so when we were finished, we couldn't wait to return to our cake shop.

    We went out for one more Romanian style cooking and ordered 2 mains thinking we could have our fill. The serves were so big, we hardly made a dent in the dinner. We have take away for 3 to 4 meals.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    1Oradea is so colourful even this Japonos restaurant is so colourful. We had ramen here.

    Day 59 ROMANIA Oradea

    May 16 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    For breakfast today, we cooked the polenta from the watermill. It had a bit more texture, fresh corn taste and quick to cook.

    Oradea is divided into a north side and south side by the river Crisul Repede.
    We had planned to only do south of the river sights today and north tomorrow. However we finished the south side by 12.30pm, so were also able to do explore the north side.

    Oradea is a literally a sweet city as it has buildings that made us think of buttercream icing on a cake, like lavishly decorated cupcakes. These Art Nouveau and Succession buildings looked like they belonged in a fairy tale.

     A couple who had returned to Oradea from Amsterdam stopped and spoke to Ruby. Ruby mentioned that we noticed a lot of restoration and infrastructure work being done and asked them where the funds for such works came from. They explained that the European Union were supporting vast rebuilding of Romania, project by project. They said that they had been away for 15 years and despite returning a few times a year, they notice changes with each visit.

    Having walked both South and North of the river, we covered just over 15km today. It did justify our detour to get cake on the way back to our accommodation from a place that must be cake paradise.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Timisoara from our window.
    1Central CFR Train StationYummy beans1Nela in the flower marketMarele Restaurant Chinezesc

    Day 58 ROMANIA Arad and Oradea

    May 15 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We left Timisoara for Oradea but stopped off at Arad to meet friends. They kindly drove us around the city, stopping off at special sights. Because the husband was still recovering from knee surgery, he would drive us, park and wait for us in the car whilst his wife showed us around.

    We went to the farmers' market, Central Train Station, a park, an Orthodox Cathedral and they pointed out special buildings during the drive through.

    The Arad visit ended at a beautiful and authentic Chinese restaurant called Marele Restaurant Chinezesc.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Romanian Orthodox Cathedral
    We went back a second time when the liturgy was on.1Strada Alba IuliaUnion SquareBridge from the vaporotoReform ChurchRiverview home.Liberty SquareDefensive walls that were once around TimisoaraCatholic CathedralBruck HouseSerbian Orthodox CathedralUnion Square

    Day 57 ROMANIA Timisoara

    May 14 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We had a walk around the Old Town of Timisoara. It's a town that has some famous individuals born here and some events of great significance started here.
    Jon Weissmueller, the original Tarzan, Illy coffee owner, and the start of revolutions all began here in Timisoara. Their claim to fame was that street lights also started here.

    Timisoara also had lovely architecture and interesting streets to walk down.

    We had a ride in the vapretto, public transport ferry, up and down the Bega River for 5lei ($1.60 AUD) each. Most inexpensive. There was a character on the ferry, an enthusiasts elderly lady who dragged the obliging conductor to different parts of the ferry to have her photo taken. She was travelling alone and wanted to post the photos on Facebook for her family and grandchildren.
    Ruby and I got honked at because we moved in front of the ferry waiting to disembark and obscured the captain's view. Gave me a great start but served us right for not thinking.

    We had a conversation with the owner of the coffee shop we stopped at for me to have coffee. He explained his thoughts behind the setting up of this coffee shop, that his primary focus was about the coffee; not about fancy food, not about decor, and certainly not about being trendy. The coffee was certainly delicious. Somehow the conversation steered to his experience of the last days of communism and the years after. I had to drag Ruby away as we had a walking tour booked.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Our demountable that they call Glamping
    Train Station in OravitaAbandoned train carriagesA home in Anina that was King Ferdinand's home.Stuffed tofuBeef keluark soup and chicken curryKueh Dada, coconut pancakeOur second night out at Liberty Square.Public piano played by random people

    Day 56 ROMANIA Train Oravita to Anina

    May 13 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We went for a return diesal train ride from Oravita to Anina. We met a fellow traveller from Belgium and a chatty train conductor.
    Both very interesting to speak to.
    The conductor however got pretty carried away telling us about the history of the train through Google Translate and, his large antique collection. When the internet dropped out, we thought that it would stop him talking but he carried on talking with gestures and charade. He finally stopped when we each slowly moved away glancing out the windows.

    The train ride wasn't as good as the Mocanita as the windows couldn't be opened and the glass was old and had an uneven surface which reflected in photos.

    The drive to Timisoara was uneventful but dinner at Timisoara was a lovely surprise.

    We found a restaurant called Taste of Bali. Our first chilli hot meal in a restaurant after 2 months with the exception of the Sriracha sauce at the spa resort in Gura Humorului. I was having chilli withdrawals. ( Although, I did by a chilli jam at the markets in Bucharest which I've been carrying around with me to put on food that we cook in the accommodations.)
    Food was rather authentic with even keluark, a black nut, found in curries in Asia, in one of the dishes. The waitress was from Myanmar and she was bringing out extras like prawn crackers and sambal to augment our meal.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Just fogging upThe rain and the stormAfter the stormThis is supposed to be 1 serve of burger cut in halfDrive in the Danube GorgeEftimie Murgu WatermillBigar waterfall

    Day55 ROMANIA EftimieMurgu Bigar Oravita

    May 12 in Romania ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    Last night we witnessed from our bed,  a spectacular electrical thunderstorm that blew in suddenly causing the river to have waves like the ocean which made the pontoon rock as if it was going to break from its moorings. It rained so hard that we couldn't see the Serbian town nor the range in front of our window. We could not even see past the pontoon. Fortunately the storm did not last long, but the lightning continued for a couple of hours. There was no disturbance to our sleep.

    Today we stopped at a working watermill and at a tiny waterfall.

    The watermill at Eftimie Murgu was built in 1722 and is still a working water mill today. It mills cornmeal or polenta and other grains. We asked to buy 500 grams of polenta from the Miller. He generously gave us a kilo and a half for the price of 500 grams. We also bought yummy elderberry drink from him to a total sum of 10lei about AUD$3.

    The Bigar waterfall was located just off the main highway. We saw a very tiny waterfall but saw signs to a grotto. Following the sign, we found we had to scale the last 10 meters using cable and chains because of the vertical inclines and the rains made the rocks very slippery. It was quite exhilarating climbing but the cave was nothing to write home about.

    The accommodation we are in for only 1 night was called Le Jardin Glamping but we weren't in tents. We were in an upscaled containers with ensuite. Very comfortable with air-conditioning and heating as required. We were here to catch a diesal train tomorrow from this town of Oravita.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Our doggy guide waiting for us at the start of the hike.
    Dogs waiting for us as we took too long at a lookout. They never barked, nor even once.Had to leave this one behind. He couldn't keep up.Like kids, we were mesmerised watching vehicles enter and then emerging out of the tunneWe were concerned Incontinent Rug was dehydrated as it kept peeing.Duck with truffle mash1St Ana Monastery, OrsovaRelaxing on the deck of our accommodation late afternoon.

    Day 54 ROMANIA Orsova

    May 11 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We did a wonderful 5km hike that meandered along the Danube River on the ridge of the range which gave us an panoramic views of the river.

    When we began the hike a shaggy dog joined us for the first 100m then another brown dog joined our merry pack. They stayed with us for the entire hike mostly running ahead and then waiting for us to catch up.

    Even though there was a group of about 25 hikers walking in the opposite direction giving the dogs lots of cuddles and pats, the pair of dogs stayed with us. (Ruby would not deign nor dare touch an animal for fear of fleas or rabies or mere mangyness.)

    The black shaggy dog who we called Incontinent Rug was hilarious. It would pee every few metres, run into the bush and come back with all sorts of leaves, twigs, vines and dust caught in its coat. Then shakes itself vigorously and drag its bottom along the path for a good scratch. It gave us a lot of laughs. Unlike the dog at the hike after Sinia that freaked Ruby out, Incontinent Rug was great company.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Our purple speedboat
    Our accommodationFirst stopRestaurant CalypsoOne of the many dead fish we've encountered.

    Day 53 ROMANIA Orsova

    May 10 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    The host helped arrange a speed boat ride from the private jetty of the accommodation to see the Danube Gorge with 6 special stops.

    It was beautiful, majestic and impressive formations.

    We finished the day with a meal at Restaurant Calypso which had traditional Romanian dishes. It was so good we plan to return tomorrow.

    We have been seeing a larger number of dead fish in the Danube. A quick Google of this reveled that it could be a natural occurrence with the increase in spring temperatures causing a decrease in water oxygen levels, or pollution.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Goat Jam
    Farmers' market in Caransebeș.Plants sold with soil but not green leafy vegetables.Băile Herculane Europe's most prestigious spa resort in the 1900 under the Austrian Hungarian EmpireThe catholic churchNeptune Imperial Baths. Still an extremely imposing statement despite the state it is in now.Brella restaurant in OrsovaWe found it interesting that the locals sit on the benches facing the road, not the Danube River.1View from our little bedroom. Actually from our bed as that's all the room has space for.Otter in the Danube

    Day 52 ROMANIA ORSOVA

    May 9 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We are more than halfway through our trip and it feels like it's going so quickly.
    Our drive from Rau de Mori to Orsova was uneventful.

    We went to the central markets first to stock up on keffir, yoghurt, fruit and vegetables. The only thing we didn't get were the leafy greens. They sold vegetables that you could plant but not for cooking and eating straight away. The vegetables came with a whole heap of soil like how seedlings were sold at Bunnings. One stall had a bag of spinach which we wanted but the bag was huge. We would have been eating spinach everyday for a week.

    We stopped at the Herculean, a town where, Emperor and Empress Elizabeth (SiSi), built a massive bath house because there were natural hot springs in that region. It's now a broken town where most of the buildings are in disrepair, abandoned and even the roads, very broken with lots of potholes.

    We found unexpectedly, torta cream cakes and lovely eclairs in a shop that's like a corner deli. It was very nice, though you'd never have thought that cakes were sold there.

    Our apartment is very well appointed with uninterrupted views of the Danube River and Serbia directly across the river.
    The iris here were in bloom with very varied colours. Most beautiful.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Spring water collection.
    Colt FortressRausor Waterfall trail11Saua Crilui trail11

    Day 51 ROMANIA Rau de Mori

    May 8 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We had so much left over from the Spanish Romanian PUNCT meal that we had our breakfast and some of for dinner too.

    After breakfast we set off to do a hike at Colt Fortress but when we got there because the fortress was perched above a main busy road, we weren't inspired to climb.

    We drove to Rausor and found a Rausor Waterfall hike that was two kilometres and graded as moderate. There were a few river crossings where we had to balance on very slippery rocks. Fortunately they were only a narrow crossing. Ruby could not resist dipping her feet in the freezing cold water but could only tolerate for 2s. She had numb cold feet but happy and refreshed.

    We found that we had more time as the first hike was short so we found another hike to a saddle of the Retezet range. We trudged through snow at 1445m and came to a stop where there was the fast flowing stream from the melting a snow, at 1,545 metres. We were unable to complete the hike so turned back around to descend.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Laksa made from packet mix that we carted from PerthView from the tiny house.1Ruby's new friend that she was trying to get away from.Tapas of lard spread, patata frittata and smoked troutOn extreme left is Zacuasa with a Spanish twistLocal Sausage and polenta with telemea cheese and slow cooked sheep.Croquettes with Romanian foraged mushroom.Beans cooked with Spanish sauce and local sausage with fermented cabbageTransylvanian Naked Neck Chickens also known as Turkens, not a hybrid

    Day 50 ROMANIA Rau de Mori Retezet Mt

    May 7 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We were full of enthusiasm for a long hike at Fundutura Pondului. After a 45-minute driving on four-wheel drive track we could not proceed any further because the pot holes were far too deep. And we still had another three kilometers of that track to go before the start of the walk. We abandon the idea of that walk and found the Lolaia Waterfall and Magdalena Waterfall walk instead.

    After the walk we went to a PUNCT gastronomic restaurant where the cook is Spanish married to a Romanian lady who blends Spanish with Romanian flavors called Arturo of Nopsca Grill Restaurant. For 95lei, about A$35 per person, we had six courses for the dinner. 3 appetizers, 1 starter, 1 main and 1 dessert. Each appetizer had 2 to 3 different tapas. We spent 4 hours at this restaurant as Arturo and his wife took us for a grand tour of their property. They showed us the veggie garden, flower garden, their home that they built brick by brick, introduced us to the daughter, chickens and ducks.
    Ruby's favourite was the croquettes because it had a thin crust and a nice oozy middle. Mine was a lard spread made with paprika and garlic and a simple paella with just chicken, cabbage and spices. He said that traditional paella was only chicken and rabbit in Spain.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    All the UNESCO Heritage Listed Fortified Churches in Transylvania
    Corvin CastleSt Nicholas Church in Densus. Built from salvaged materials of Roman ruins.Repurposed columnsRoman lions that were put in the roof above the altarPUNCT owners animals

    Day 49 ROMANIA Sibiu to Rau de Mori

    May 6 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    First stop of our drive from Sibiu to Rau de Mori was Calnic Fortress. We didn't stay long as there was a very noisy and precocious little boy breaking the serenity and peaceful atmosphere of the fortress.

    Corvin Castle was the next stop belonging to King Matthias. There was an excellent app on the phone that took us through a tour of the castle.

    Most of the St Nicholas churches were always open for Ruby. With our third stop at St Nicholas Church in Densus, that was a UNESCO heritage listed Fortified Church, this was no exception.

    After the Fortified Church we went to a PUNCT gastronomic in the middle of nowhere, down a dusty dirt track to have very fresh trout with polenta. The meal came with an appetizer and dessert and free flow of a variety of flavours of palinca for 50lei, AUD$16 per person. That was incredible value and we were shown the trout farm and the accommodation that they had built for tourist.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Eyes from the roofs looking at you.Street in lower townSt Joseph's Catholic Church

    Day 48 ROMANIA Sibiu

    May 5 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We went on a free walking tour with a history teacher who is currently doing his PhD. He was so informative and so happy to answer all our questions regarding Romania's rulers, occupation by the Romans, Mongols, Ottomans, Hapsburg, Hungarians, and Ceauescu and how each affected the people. He also highlighted the historical buildings and significant events that happened there like executions and demonstrations, Christmas markets and festival locations.

    Sibiu is a lovely melting pot of all the cultures mentioned above with varied architecture and food.

    Walking in and out of old streets chalked up 13km today. No hiking, just incidental walking.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Turda gorges
    Zip line that we chanced on. We did not do it.Food trucks that just happen in the middle of nowhereUniform white houses with green shutters1Note the size of door!Best langosAlba Iulia Citadel

    Day 47 ROMANIA Drive from Cluj to Sibiu

    May 4 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We drove through Turda Salt Mines, the Turda gorges, Rimitea and had the best langos before arriving at Alba Iulia citadel . A remarkably well kept and maintained, star shaped fortress. It took half an hour to walk half the fortress between the second and third defensive walls.

    We visited the 2 cathedrals first then the Arch the Triumph monument that was erected when the treaty of the unification of Transylvania was signed, before we walked the walls.

    We did not embark on the walk until we had the best gelato, recommended by the tourist information centre lady.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler

    Day 47 ROMANIA Turda Salt Mines

    May 4 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Salt was such a precious commodity, Roman soldiers were paid their wage in salt, called sal or salè, where the word salary is derived from. There were 3 mines at the Turda Salt Mine but only 2 were open. The bell shaped Joseph Mine was closed but there Teresa Mine that was conical shaped and the Rudolf Mine that was trapezoid, were open.
    Absolutely impressive, it felt a little claustrophobic but the sheer size is unfathomable.
    There is even a lake at the bottom of the Teresa Mine. We wanted to ride the ferris wheel in the Rudolf Mine, but it was broken.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    The house where King Matthias was born in.
    St Michael CathedralMonument built to inaugurate the visit of King Ferdinand and Queen CarolinaKing Matthias monumentPalace of JusticeAvram Iancu, a revolutionary who is well loved.Inside the Orthodox CathedralHoia Forest with no trails markersPanko bread crumbed fried sushi

    Day 46 ROMANIA Cluj Napoca

    May 3 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We went on a free walking tour of Cluj and learnt that Cluj had a checkered history having Dacian, Roman, Hungarian, Ottoman, Saxon rulers. Transylvania was protected in the Ottoman period because besides paying taxes to the Ottoman, they were self governed.
    The much loved Hungarian King Matthias was born here.

    After the walking tour we visited Hoia Forest, rumoured to be a haunted forest where a shepard and all 200 sheep vanished without a trace. We didn't find it creepy or spooky at all. We think the shepard and his sheep might have been carried away by mosquitoes. It was the descendentsof those mosquitoes that caused us to shorten our hike. Despite that, it was a very enjoyable hike, shady and not too hilly. Ruby did well navigating without trail markers and walking off track.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Peculiar radish, looked like radish crossed with daikon
    Flea marketBiggest bag of chippies we've ever seen.Mars Cafe with Mars the dogBreakfast at Cafe MarsBeautiful tulips as we were entering a car parkBaptism of this little babyChocolate dessert

    Day 45 ROMANIA Cluj Napoca

    May 2 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We are at the halfway mark of the Schengen region.

    We went to a huge flea market and then to a food market to stock up on our chefir ( kefir) and yoghurt. We were hoping to find breakfast but ended up at a cafe in town called Cafe Mars, named after Mars the border collie dog. Mars was friendly and loved the kids at the restaurant. Breakfast was different here. Ruby had eggs on polenta with a spinach sauce and I had egg on chips with cheese.

    Walking around Cluj Napoca old town we gate crashed an Orthodox wedding at the Dormition of Theotokos Cathedral and a Catholic baptism at St Michael's Cathedral. Both beautiful ceremonies.

    We did go back to Vibe restaurant, for dinner. We learnt that the Japanese restaurant served Nikkei cuisine which originated from a Peruvian Japanese fusion because many Japanese immigrated to Peru in the 19th century to find work on sugar plantations.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Rope detail symbolising the boundary between secular and spiritual world.Sculpt from one log.Choir stallsWomen sit in the back of the church, men sit in front where the altar is, even till today.A house we passed whilst drivingPlacinta Creata lunchBeef and truffle sushiNote the 3 large thick slices of pork in the ramen

    Day 44 ROMANIA Somcuta, Buciumi

    May 1 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We saw the tallest wooden church in Surdesti. Every other wooden church we had to call to get in but, when we arrived a lady was there as if waiting for us. We were the only ones there, had a good look around the inside and when we went out to look around the outside, she had locked up and was gone. We think she was sent by our Romanian travel angel from Perth.

    The church segregates the women at the back and the men in the front.
    Frescos since 1783. (Copied from Google). The churches were typically built from oak or spruce logs. They were set on high stone foundations to protect the wood from ground moisture. The walls were constructed using a horizontal log technique called "blockbau" or "blockwork." The heavy beams were laid horizontally and joined at the corners using intricate notches like the dovetail technique, which ensures stability without the need for metal nails.
    The Twisted Rope (Brâul): A prominent feature in the image was carved "twisted rope" (brâu) that circled the exterior. This symbol represented the Infinite Column or the "rope of life," served as a spiritual boundary between the profane world outside and the sacred space inside.
    The vertical and horizontal metal bands seen in the image were likely modern structural reinforcements added during restoration to stabilize the ancient wood beams and prevent further shifting or warping.

    We then drove through Somcuta Mare that was significant to this friend in Perth. She had arranged with a high school friend for us to call in to pick up a travel parcel in Buciumi. Her high school friend, was a chemistry teacher now married to a physics teacher, with 5 grandchildren. We had coffee with them and her husband even got out the violin to play for us. Such a beautiful experience. The travel package was huge and generous.

    We stopped at a restaurant recommended by the same Romanian friend to have placinta creata (roti chanai and gozleme crossed) at Valae Chioarlui. It was so much better than the one we had at the markets in Baia Mare.

    We finished our day at a fusion Japanese restaurant Vibe in Cluj Napoca. Delicious Japanese. We had a truffle beef steak sushi, ramen and torched salmon and sea bass nigiri. Might go back there tomorrow night.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Pickles seller who gave me free spinachPresented with a bunch of daffodils from the mushroom ladyThe cheese ladyEven the pigeon gets a tasteWe were tasting cheese for almost half an hour with this cheese manPlacinta creata makerThat's one and we ordered 2Stopped at a coffee shop for coffee and found these beautiful cakes sold by weight.Raspberry cheesecakeStreet in old townSt Stephens Tower

    Day 43 ROMANIA Baia Mare

    April 30 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We went to the local farmer's market in Baia Mare this morning. The vendors were very keen for you to try their produce. Even when you were walking past the stall but not engaging with the farmer, they drew you in by calling out to you to sample their cheeses, strawberries, sour cream etc. We saw some fresh mushrooms and stopped to buy some. After the purchase of mushrooms were finalised, the grower handed me a bunch of daffodils and said it was a gift. Then we found a dairy farmer who sold yoghurt that Ruby had developed an addiction to. To verify which animal the yoghurt came from we made "moo"and "baa"noises. The farmer shook his head vigorously and placed his finger around his head showing horns. So we exclaimed buffalo together. Happy with the purchase of buffalo yoghurt we were ready to leave when the farmer cut pieces of cheese for us to taste. Then continued cutting bigger and bigger pieces of different cheeses for us to taste. He gestured for us to wait, disappeared behind the fridge and returned with even more cheeses to taste. We even had to taste a large slice of the bacon fat we had been avoiding in all our breakfast and meat platters. It was smokey and melted almost as soon as it touched our tongues, like rich smokey butter. He then proceeded to show us on his phone pictures of his animals, cow, pigs, sheep and his wife. It felt like we were playing a game of charades and he was winning.
    When we finally peeled ourselves away from the dairy farmer we avoided eye contact with all other cheese sellers and quickly exited the dairy section. We headed to the vege stands to buy a bunch of spinach. I decided to give my bunch of daffodils to the spinach lady and she said with a warm tap on my hand that the spinach I got was complimentary because of the daffodils gift.
    As we were leaving the market I spotted a stall selling placinta creata (a gozleme crossed with roti chanai), that my friend in Perth had highly recommended. We ordered one each only to find that they were huge and had to take away the remaining ¾.
    We spent the afternoon in the Baia Mare Art Gallery and a little walk around the old town. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the art in the art gallery so I took pictures of all the ceramic heaters instead. We came back to the apartment to prepare dinner.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Poienile Izei (Church of St. Parasche) was closed
    Barsana Monastery ComplexBarsana Church was closedSt Nicholas Church was OPENDesesti Church Church of the Holy Paraskeva OPENTypical house in Maramures

    Day 42 ROMANIA Baia Mare

    April 29 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We weren't able to see 2 of the 4 wooden churches that we drove to. Most disappointing. At the first church, after ringing in WhatsApp 7 times, the key bearer said in Romanian that she was out of town. Before I could ask who else had the keys, she hung up and wouldn't answer further calls. We could not understand how the key holder for a UNESCO heritage listed church could be out of town and the key not be held by someone else available. We met different passersby and asked if they knew who held the keys and we were sent on a wild goose chase with no good outcome. A whole hour wasted. Frustrated, we reminded ourselves that this was all part of travel.
    The second church was at Barsana. It had a beautiful large monastic complex for nuns. When we arrived at the Monastery, all we could hear was what sounded like a team of power tools only to find that it was only one nun wielding one monstrous Sthil whipper snipper. There was a whole industrious team of nuns gardening. Somehow it detracted from the calm peaceful serenity of the monastery. We left quickly to search for the UNESCO heritage wooden church, only to find yet again that we could not get it in. Our eSims only allowed us data and we could not actually call the numbers listed at the church door unless they answered WhatsApp calls which they did not.
    With having two failures we decided to hunt for lunch at this much acclaimed Maramures local restaurant in Breb. We had been in the region of Bucovina for the last week and this region of Maramures has quite different cuisine which we were very keen to try. In keeping with the theme of the morning the restaurant was shut.
    It was with extremely low expectations and spirits that we made our way to the next church. St Nicholas saved us. It was his church, where the spell was broken. A car pulled up at the car park just after we arrived. It was an elderly English couple who could call the phone number at the door. The lady who answered said she would be there with the key in five minutes. The little boy and his granny appeared soon after. The church was opened and the boy very officially collected our 5lei (A$1.75) and handed each of us a ticket. The boy handed Ruby his phone and we had a 20 minute guide through the church from a lady on the phone with the boy pointing out the relevant features and frescos. We thanked the couple for making the phone call and they thanked us for giving them the encouragement to do so as they too had been unsuccessful getting into these churches.
    The key holder at the last wooden church answered the WhatsApp call and told us that the key was under the mat. He also said there was going to be service at 4pm. We waited for half an hour, and at 4.15pm when no one and nothing happened, we left. We were used to such miscommunication or Bulgarian/Romanian time that we did not mind. It was special having that quiet time in the church looking at the frescos. From the phone guide at Saint Nicholas Church, we learnt that the wooden churches had tiny little windows of about 20cm x 10cm. The larger windows were put in much later. We were glad for these larger windows as we could not find the light switch for the church.
    The drive to Baia Mare on DN18 route involved crossing the Gutâi Pass, which features winding mountain roads and steep serpentines.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Ruby being interviewed by TV RomaniaPot belly heater in our carriage.Kindy kidsTrain locomotive attached back to front.UNESCO Heritage listed wooden church, Ieud

    Day 41 ROMANIA Viseu de Sus

    April 28 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We went on the Steam Train Mocanita Maramures today. It's a single gauge train that takes 4hrs and ventures along the river, through the gorge and forest. Before the start of the journey, we were both interviewed by TV Romania doing a segment on this train.
    The train ride was nice but the stops were also interesting for people watching. The train ride back was disturbing because the locomotive in front was attached back to front.

    After the train ride we visited the first of 5 UNESCO listed Wooden Churches. This was The Church on the Hill in Ieud. It was locked when we arrived. We had to call the phone number at the door that did not answer. So a message was sent. A reply followed with the message to wait 10 mins. Sure enough a man arrives with the keys to let us in. It was worth the wait as the paintings were magnificently preserved from the 13th century. Paintings were found on the wooden walls, ceiling and both sides of the doors in the interior of the church. Similar to the painted churches, the paintings were Bible stories and on the life of Christ.
    Whilst waiting for the church to open, we met a traveller from UK. After a brief chat we parted ways, only to meet her again as she was also a guest at our accommodation. We had a long 3hr chat exchanging ideas and travel stories before turning in for the night.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Farmer PaPa who lives on the farm behind green door where he has bed, kitchen and bathroom.
    Breakfast at Hai La Saivan. It's bacon lard on the plate with spring onions and cucumber.Imagine 2 old ladies sitting looking out the window.A modern church we passed whilst driving.Houses in CiocanestiRodna mountainsStart of the Horses Waterfall HikeSteep climbSlippery wet and icyHorse drawn cart with granny's day out.

    Day 40 ROMANIA Viseu de Sus Maramures

    April 27 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    Another place we were very sad to leave was Hai La Saivan. Their hospitality, gastronomic cooking and serenity will be hard to find else where.
    We drove directly to the start of the hike called Horses Waterfall in the Rodna mountains in Maramures. On the way, we passed some quaint houses in Ciocanesti.

    Horses Waterfall also known as Cascada Cailor in Rodna National Park is a stunning 240m high multi tiered waterfall in the Rodna Mountains, recognized as one of the country's highest. According to local legend, the name stems from a tragic incident where horses were cornered by a bear in a storm and plunged into the abyss.

    Whilst the hike was unremarkable at the start, when we got to the Falls, there was an absolute WOW factor. It ranks in the top hike destination for us. After climbing for about an hour, what appeared before our eyes was just magical. It is the tallest waterfall we'd ever seen and it had snow and icicles formed in and around the waterfall. Waterfalls are already mesmerising. The sheer height and spread, the size of Horses Waterfall with the formation of icicles in the falling water, ice and snow around its rocks makes it all the more breathtaking. We stood and stared for a long time before Ruby had to do her usual rock hopping and sitting in the middle of the lower falls.
    On most of our hikes, we had to work really hard to get to the destination. This hike was shortened by driving as far into the trail as we could, and decreasing the total elevation gain from 548m to just 467m. For such a relatively easy hike, we had a wonderful spectacle at the end.    Read more

  • AwesomesEastern EuropeTraveler
    Breakfast
    The Hai La Saivan Bioretreat FarmViews from our hike on the propertyResident CatHard steep climbHike path in redThere were so many lady birds inside the bedroom windows. It was a sign of good luckAfternoon teaDinnerA big stack of pancakes for dessert

    Day 39 ROMANIA Hai La Saivan Bucovina

    April 26 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    At the last PUNCT Gastronomical restaurant La Nuta Si Ionica, the host told us that stinging nettles (urzici) was a delicacy that was good for arthritis and high in iron, found only in spring in a 1 month window, that happened to be now. Our Romanian friend back home confirmed the good effects of urzici.
    While we were hiking on the property, we found some urzici so I picked one and showed it to the cook. Using Google Translate, and charades, she handed me a basket and said that she'd cook it with garlic when I had picked some. It was a prickly difficult process as only the first 4-6 leaves were picked from each plant.
    The end result was worth it when it was served at dinner, urzici cooked in a creamy garlic sauce.
    I had ciorba with meatballs for lunch because I could not resist soups even though we were both too full from breakfast. Ruby gave it a miss.
    The cook produced a bowl full of cookies she'd made, with coffee and tea served at an alfresco seating area for afternoon tea.
    Despite knowing we were expecting a big dinner, the cookies were irresistibly good.
    It's a good thing we weren't staying longer or we would leave quite round like the meatballs.
    We must have adapted to the slow paced farm life. Breakfast, a short hike, nettles picking, chatting via Google Translate to the farmer (hugs included), and afternoon tea filled most of the day. It was a very languid, quiet and restful day, which included a luxurious soak in an old fashion deep claw foot bath.    Read more

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