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Romania and Moldova
  • Dave Hippler
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  • Dave Hippler

Romania and Moldova

4 weeks in a far corner of Europe Read more
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    🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
    Dave HipplerRomania and MoldovaTraveler
    Inside my apartmentView from and of my apartmentkürtőskalács, or chimney cakesThe commercialization of Che Guevara is now complete.They're building a new cathedralThe pharmacy museumThe pharmacy museumSarmales (stuffed cabbage leaves) and smoked porkAt the Steam Punk MuseumAt the Steam Punk MuseumA Mutoscope at the at the Steam Punk MuseumFranciscan Temple Biserica FranciscanăSaint Michael’s Church Biserica Romano-Catolică Sfântul MihailPolenta, cheese, and pork cracklins'Alexandru Borza Botanical Garden Grădina Botanică Alexandru BorzaAlexandru Borza Botanical Garden Grădina Botanică Alexandru BorzaAlexandru Borza Botanical Garden Grădina Botanică Alexandru Borza

    Cluj

    Aug 22–25 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    Cluj is Romania's second largest city and home to a couple universities. It's about the same size as Madison, Wisconsin. I dropped the car off at the airport and took buses into town to an apartment near the edge of the Old Town. The outside of it looks like an ugly communist block building. But my 7th floor apartment is newly remodeled and it looks great on the inside. The elevator however, is a death trap. I'll post a video of it here.

    I have 3 days with no agenda. There are several museums and several pedestrian plazas. I was in luck because there was a large festival set up in the Piata Unirii, the main square. It was only a half mile away from my apartment.

    Saturday night there were probably over 5,000 people there to watch a concert and mill around the food stalls.. On Sunday night there was a Broadway-quality play being performed. Heavy stuff though. When I walked by, the scene was Nazis rounding up Jews and executing them. It was quite a contrast to last night's rock concert.

    On a brighter note, the weather was perfect and the two museums I went to were fun. For some reason pharmacy museums are big in Europe. I've been to a few but I find them fascinating. The one here was a good collection of medical equipment in the basement in addition to explanations of pharmacy throughout the ages.

    But the highlight of my stay was the Steam Punk Museum. https://photos.app.goo.gl/dgmZ7k2zwetFdny67

    There's only two of them in the world they say. I couldn't pass it up. I'll let the photos and videos do the talking but it was super fun and the staff at the museum were wacky comedians. I told a few of them that it reminded me of Meow Wolf in the United States. When I left, the guy taking my tickets had looked up Meow Wolf and told me how he wanted to go there now. (Santa Fe, Denver, and other locations in the US).

    I had a very interesting conversation with one of the museum guides. He visited Chicago for a comic-con convention and just loved the city. We talked about technology, art, and architecture. He mentioned that a lot of the antiques in the museum were from the late 1800s and early 1900s and from the United States. The owner is a really creative artist who blends his art with these steam and early electrical powered devices.

    I had several amazing meals and stumbled on a nearby botanical garden which had four huge greenhouses and lots of plants from throughout the world.

    The traffic here is atrocious and the two major pedestrian zones are godsends. While I had a decent time here, I probably spent one day too much. I would not recommend it as a Must See in Romania. But if I'd never been to Europe before and landed here I would say this is an amazing city. I think I was spoiled by visiting Oradea and Timișoara first.

    I can't wait to see Deanne. We are both flying to Chisinau, Moldova tomorrow where we will hook up and explore that country and then come back to Romania.

    More photos and videos are here.
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/QXWfryG34W8b7G1YA

    Steampunk Museum
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/PfFbsydZe2i9zEsq8    Read more

  • Dave HipplerRomania and MoldovaTraveler
    Pensiunea Marioara, where I stayed for 3 nightsThe poartă maramureșeană of Pensiunea MarioaraThe poartă maramureșeană of Pensiunea MarioaraMaramures is famous for its wooden churchesThat chain is made of woodFirst time eating the underbelly, top belly, inside, and outside of a pig. Not a bad way to start.Make hay while the sun shinesGoing somewhere?Making friends with palinkaI'm still waiting.The polinka up here is served in bottles with the wooden gates in them, like ships in a bottle.The original house at my pensiune.The unbelievable craftsmanship of Breb.Wooden Church Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel Biserica de lemn Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și GavrB-24s from the 15th Air Force bomb Ploiești oil fields.

    Breb, Romania

    Aug 19–22 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    The village of Breb, Maramures is a popular tourist destination for a reason. A lot of the old houses here have been preserved and converted to pensiunea (bed and breakfasts). Many of them have elaborate oaken gates and fences on the front. They're called poartă maramureșeană, which would translate to Maramures gates. I've seen dozens of them now and they're mind boggling. Some of them have large chains hanging from the front, but the chain links are all made of wood.

    At my pensiune, there is the original older house in the back garden and a modern new building in the front. I booked at the last minute so I'm on the top floor of the new building. No complaints here as the old building is reported to be very creaky. The couple that runs the place are super nice and work all day. Breakfast is included and a huge group dinner is available for a small fee. They leave polinka out in the afternoon and evening for free and then provide wine at dinner also. I think it's $62 US/day for everything.

    I'm the only English speaker here which makes things a little difficult but I'm getting by. Romanians come here for a weekend getaway and of course there's the requisite German and French tourists. I ate breakfast yesterday with a retired French couple and the man was from Toulon, one of my favorite French cities.

    Dinner last night was a little more awkward as I was one of about 17 people and the only solo traveler and only English speaker. The two nice Romanian couples I sat with from Ploiesti did their best to communicate with me.

    In a very strange coincidence, just hours after that, my uncle Bob sent me a few articles about an American Air Force B-24 gunner who was shot down and crashed in Ploesti on the property of a Romanian princess towards the end of World War 2. I'd never heard of the city! My father and uncles are from Geneseo, Illinois and Donald Gene Wright, the gunner, was also from there. Earlier in the day I had mentioned to my family that I'm in northern Romania. Ploiesti is in the south.

    Donald Wright credits a Romanian princess named Catherine Caradja, the "Angel of Ploiesti " for saving his life and the lives of his fellow airmen. She insisted that they be treated well in the Nazi camp. She was apparently anti-nazi even though the Romanians had sided with the Nazis. Not long after that, Romania switched sides because they saw the writing on the wall. Wright was released, spent a two week leave in Geneseo, and then was sent back to war. He lived to tell the tale.

    There's a famous steam-powered train line (Mocăniță) over an hour from here. It goes up into the mountains into a logging region. I tried to buy tickets online but their website was crap and I couldn't do it. On a whim, I drove all the way there to see if I could catch a train but they were sold out. So I went to the Borsana monastery on the way back. That made the long drive worth it.

    Up here, the Romanian farmers still stack their hay in the centuries old fashion. They're very picturesque. The other villages along the road are not much to look at but the countryside is beautiful. Even though the roads are in perfect shape, they are very narrow and I'm averaging about 35 miles an hour along the highways. There's just no room for parking and there's no shoulder. So people park on the road or just stop to chat, deliver goods, or pick flowers.

    Today I'm actually going to take a vacation day and just chill out and walk around the village: no buses, no trains, no driving.

    The old wooden church in town is supposed to have the oldest church spire in Romania. A lot of men work in the lumber industry here. Life moves pretty slowly. Even though a lot of people have converted their houses to the pensiunae, a lot more haven't. They might have chickens, cows, horses, or sheep in their yard. This is exactly what I was hoping for, because tomorrow I head to Cluj, the second largest city in Romania. Sometimes it's nice to step back in time.

    More photos and videos are here.
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/c7TngDMunC1kLpfv9

    For more on the angel of Ploiesti, see
    Catherine Caradja - Wikipedia https://share.google/mcoaARslZQSKuLXIx    Read more

  • Dave HipplerRomania and MoldovaTraveler
    2

    The Merry Cemetery of Sapanta

    August 19 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    This little cemetery in the small town of Sapanta is famous because a local wood carver started making tombstones for everyone in the village who died. They are intricately carved and colorfully painted. And to top it off, he wrote a little poem for each person.

    What's really cool is that the tombstone carving reflects the person's personality or career. I was expecting I might be one of a couple people there but given all the cars and buses, this is a major tourist draw.

    The region of Maramures is especially known for its oak forests and wood carvers. As you can see in my other posts, the craftsmanship is amazing.

    More photos and videos are here.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/BoZdPNVMrHzJL3EZ9    Read more

  • Dave HipplerRomania and MoldovaTraveler
    This one will make you look younger.
    This one will make you look younger.Ciorba Burta (Tripe Soup) and mici sausagesSighet City HallMuzeul Etnografic al MaramureșuluiMuzeul Etnografic al MaramureșuluiMuzeul Etnografic al MaramureșuluiMuzeul Etnografic al MaramureșuluiThe Communist PrisonMemorial to the Victims of Communism and to the Resistance Memorialul Victimelor Comunismului și alTraditional clothing for saleI see these a lot. Stork's nests?Nobel winner Elie Wiesel is from here. This is his childhood home museumNobel winner Elie Wiesel is from here. This is his childhood home museumNobel winner Elie Wiesel is from here. This is his childhood home museum.

    Sighet

    August 19 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Sighet is right near the Ukrainian border, which is across the Tisa river a mile north of town. It's the hometown of Nobel laureate and holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. It's also the home of a notorious prison during the Communist era where the government imprisoned priests, liberals, radicals, and the usual suspects. Most of them didn't survive.

    They were a lot more women wearing head scarves up here. Life moves a bit slower even though I got caught in a traffic jam. In these villages and cities in Maramures there is usually just one main road through town. Given that Romanians are prone to just stopping in the middle of the road to pick flowers or talk to neighbors, this can be problematic.

    After my hike to the Cock's Comb, I found a cheap local place for lunch. I wasn't too hungry so I ordered soup and three mici sausages. I thought they were small sausages like Cevapi from Serbia. There were a dollar each so I ordered three. Boy was I surprised. Each one was as big as a bratwurst! I was able to finish two at least.

    I wandered around town and went to an ethnic culture museum and saw many interesting traditional costumes there. And then I went to the Communist prison. These are always depressing but I feel it's important to see them. It was a word-heavy museum and it was all in Romanian but I got a booklet with translations in English. I kind of skipped through a lot of it but I got the gist alright.

    One thing I learned is that the prisoners were forced to dig a canal that was to connect the Black Sea with the Danube. Countless thousands died on this project. The purpose was so the Russian Navy could sail up the Danube to invade Yugoslavia if needed. Tito kind of said "fuck you" to Stalin and that pissed him off to no end. But they gave up before finishing.

    Then I made a brief visit to the childhood home of Elie Wiesel. These museums are all within a few blocks of each other in the very walkable city center. My next stop was a very freaky cemetery just up the road.

    More photos of videos are here.
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/iUP4p41e8r8H4NYq9    Read more

  • Dave HipplerRomania and MoldovaTraveler
    Free dinner!
    Free dinner!A nice, modern roomIf I had more time...There's a nice bike and pedestrian path along the riverSmash Vladimir Putin?The Orthodox church in townOn the Cock's Comb trail (Creasta Cocoșului) of the Gutâi MountainsOn the Cock's Comb trail (Creasta Cocoșului) of the Gutâi MountainsOn the Cock's Comb trail (Creasta Cocoșului) of the Gutâi MountainsOn the Cock's Comb trail (Creasta Cocoșului) of the Gutâi MountainsOn the Cock's Comb trail (Creasta Cocoșului) of the Gutâi MountainsOn the Cock's Comb trail (Creasta Cocoșului) of the Gutâi MountainsOn the Cock's Comb trail (Creasta Cocoșului) of the Gutâi MountainsOn the Cock's Comb trail (Creasta Cocoșului) of the Gutâi MountainsThe Cock's Comb

    Baia Mare, Romania

    Aug 18–19 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    It was a long travel day from Timisoara. After a 6 1/2 hour bus ride, I picked up a car in Cluj and headed north out of Transylvania and into Maramures. It's probably the most remote region of Romania and sits below the Ukrainian border.

    I chose this town because it was a larger city in the area. I just needed a place to bed down before moving on to a smaller village the next day.

    I booked a pensiune, which is a family run hotel in a rural region. It's like a pension in Latin America.

    I was checked in by the 18-year-old son who spoke English. I was the first American he had met, so he had no end of questions. His father did a shot of palinca with me upon check-in. Nice. That's the local pear brandy. I've seen that tradition throughout the Balkans with Raki or Rakia. Same stuff, more or less and same tradition. One for you, one for me. For every guest!

    Don't think for a moment this is in the backwoods with no electricity and I'm dealing with peasants. These are modern, educated Europeans in every way and the pensiun was a new building with all mod cons. When I pulled in, I thought I was in the wrong place. A large neon tooth sign lit up the front. Apparently they rent out the front of the building to a dentist.

    Breakfast is included with these type of places and when I mentioned that I can't eat bread, Daniel told me he was a celiac. I high-fived him and his father gave me another shot. Then I told them that I hadn't had lunch and I asked for any restaurant recommendations. Daniel ran back to the kitchen and brought me some homemade gluten-free bread and various slices of vegetables and sausages.

    He sat me down to quiz me on what I thought of Trump and Obama etc etc. He plied me with a couple more shots of palinca to loosen the lips. It worked and I gave him an earful.

    I decided to walk around the central part of the city since I'd been cooped up in vehicles all day. It's a nice little town with some bars and cafes and not a whole lot else to do.

    After a delicious breakfast the next morning I said my goodbyes and drove up to a mountain pass in the Gutâi Mountains, part of the Carpathians. Daniel had mentioned a great hike to the Cock's Comb. I didn't quite make it to the top but I went about 80% of the way and the hike was beautiful. Bonus: no bears or boars. They're both a problem in Romania.

    More photos and videos are here.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/X7igvTJLwZrnDAj76    Read more

  • Dave HipplerRomania and MoldovaTraveler

    The Gypsy Mansions of Huedin

    August 18 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    I passed hrough this town on a bus on the way to Cluj. I thought "What the hell are all these cool looking houses doing here?" At first they looked really nice, like mansions. But I saw several that were being built and they were really poor quality. We call that lipstick on a pig.

    A lot of them were falling apart during the construction phase. I've seen that before. It looked like some of the owners ran out of money during construction.

    People on the bus were pointing and laughing. The intricate metal work on the roofs looked really cool but then I noticed a lot of them were twisted and falling apart, even though they were not that old. They actually look like they're made out of aluminum foil. I definitely had to look that up.

    I found a blog by a Romanian woman who gave a little background. Between her blog and Wikipedia I found that they are called Gypsy Mansions. The BBC did a documentary years ago tying a gypsy pickpocket ring in England to this village. About 1,000 people in about 100 families were involved. Those numbers sound a little too rounded but you get the picture. And of course some of the money must have came from legitimate work abroad. Right?

    The mansions are a sign of status, wealth, and pride to the local gypsies. And a lot of them are left unfinished on purpose for tax purposes. Apparently you don't have to pay property taxes if the house is unfinished!    Read more

  • Dave HipplerRomania and MoldovaTraveler
    Some secessionist buildings on Piata Unirii
    Some secessionist buildings on Piata UniriiPiata Unirii1Who knew Tarzan was from here?Miksa Steiner BuildingMiksa Steiner buildingBanat Village MuseumBanat Village MuseumBanat Village Museum communism exhibitOne of dozens of secessionist buildings in TimișoaraTigale Picanta - pork neck, chicken, hot pepper, paprika, polentaLiberty Square Piața LibertățiiRomanian rapper keeping it real.Piano Libertati - yes they keep a piano out here all summerPiati UniriiPiati UniriiPan-fried mutton pastrami seasoned with butter, garlic, and wild thyme, Polenta with burduf cheeseRevolution Memorial MuseumRevolution Memorial MuseumRevolution Memorial MuseumRevolution Memorial MuseumTour boats on the River

    Timișoara

    Aug 16–18 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    I don't think I've ever seen so many people addicted to ice cream before. And I'm from Wisconsin. Oradea had an ungodly amount of ice cream shops and were doing good business. But Timișoara (TEE me show AH ra) is over the top. Granted its 33 today which is about 93 degrees Fahrenheit and it's Sunday.

    I just spent a couple hours walking around town. People were eating ice cream in the afternoon. People were eating ice cream before dinner. And people were eating ice cream after dinner - over a thousand of them walking around the piatas with their partner, their children, their parents, whomever. The main takeaway here is that they were all eating ice cream at some point during the day.

    It was beautiful. It wasn't a festival or anything special. it was just a summer Sunday. And while I'm sure there were many tourists here, the vast majority were locals.

    Timișoara is as big as Madison, Wisconsin where I'm from - 300,000ish people. But because everyone is strolling in the central piatas (plazas) it seems so much larger. The Old Town is car free and it's about a half mile by half mile circle. It makes sight seeing so enjoyable.

    This is where the Romanian revolution began in 1989. My hotel is near the piata where it all started. The room is a modern, luxurious room for $60. It comes with air conditioning. In Europe you always have to look for that because it's not necessarily standard.

    I checked in and had lunch at one of the sidewalk cafes. I ordered Goulash and a local red wine. I'm right near the Serbian and Hungarian border so those cuisines are found in many restaurants. For $3 a glass, the wine was a steal. The menu translation said it was a "black girl" wine. I definitely had to look that one up! The
    Fetească Neagră is a local grape translated as black girl, as in a very dark grape that is considered precious or delicate.

    I took a bus to the north side of town and went to one of those traditional rural village museums. About 50 years ago some people started collecting old houses from the countryside, took them down, shipped them here, and rebuilt them. At the oldest of them, I couldn't stand up in either room. People were short! And as I went on and the houses were newer you could tell that the nutrition got better over the centuries because the ceilings and beams got higher.

    The next day I went to the Revolution Memorial museum. In December 1989 people gathered to protest the removal of an agitator priest. A couple days later it turned into a real revolution. Troops showed up and opened fire and even killed children on the steps of the cathedral. Within 2 weeks, Caucescu was dead and it was over. They're very proud to have been the flash point.

    Architecture here? There are many beautiful Secessionist buildings here, just like in Oradea. Timișoara is a larger city and the buildings are spread out a little bit and they're not quite as grand. Some still need a lot of work, even though Timișoara was declared a Cultural Capital of Europe in 2023. But there are some real gems here and in the Old Town most of them have been gussied up.

    So far I'm absolutely impressed with what Romania has become in the 37 years since that revolution. This is only my second city but I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the country. Color me impressed.

    More photos and videos are here

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/zK8bsznZw9bmmJoE9    Read more

  • Dave HipplerRomania and MoldovaTraveler
    A macrame tree outside of my apartmentMy apartment"Moskovits" PalaceCiorba BurtaGrand Hotel AstoriaThe State TheaterPiata UniriiThe Crișul Repede riverCity HallGrand Hotel Astoria at nightThey'll drain your account.Night and day difference of the Black Eagle PalaceCasa Darvas La RocheCasa Darvas La RocheCasa Darvas La RocheThe fortress museum13th century swordsCosplayWorld War I era portable army kitchen1960s communist era apartment exhibitOh dear lord they have the first computer I worked on in the museumInside the Black Eagle Palace atrium

    Oradea, Romania

    Aug 14–16 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    My Lufthansa flight from Munich only took 1.5 hours across Austria and Hungary. I checked into a small apartment near the center of the Old Town right away. What a great introduction to Romania! It's an absolutely beautiful city in the center.

    The Hapsberg's built a lot of the buildings in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the Secessionist style, which is known usually as Art Nouveau. And to quote the movie "In Bruges", it's like a fucking fairy tale.

    The plazas are newly repaved, the buildings have fresh paint jobs, and the lighting on them at night is astounding. As a bonus, there's really not too many tourists here. I'm noticing lots and lots of local Romanian families out and about. I heard some young Hungarian tourists today. The Hungarian border is a short drive away. I see the occasional tour group, but those are seemingly Romanians.

    It's just such a nice treat to not be in a city with hordes of toursists, yet it's everything a European city should be.
    I came here for the architecture and it's mind blowing. The city hall here looks as nice as Paris' Hotel Deville.

    I spent my day and a half walking all over and taking lots of photos. I went to a couple museums, including the fortress museum on the edge of the center. It was falling apart and ready to be torn down in the 70s but it's been totally rebuilt. The museum had a little bit about every period of Romanian history.

    There was even a room with a collection of old calculators and adding machines and computing technology all the way through modern computers. I'm so old that the first computer I ever used, the Mac SE, was prominently displayed.

    The highlight was the Darvas-La Roche House, a Secessionist house full of period piece furniture. Wow. Just wow.

    I'm trying Romanian food for the first time. My introductory meal was Sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls). Delicious. Another meal was a chicken dish with a mushroom cream sauce. And I just had to try the tripe soup. Amazing stuff.

    More photos and videos are here.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/NDgWJtxcmjjvNAav8

    And if you're into Art Nouveau, here's photos from the Darvas La Roche house.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/UYayLS68YiwxSGbs8    Read more

  • Dave HipplerRomania and MoldovaTraveler
    The glockenspiel at the Rathaus
    The glockenspiel at the RathausMy Albanian uber driver to the airport was so happy that I'd been to Albania he gave me these.In CharlotteAsam KircheMunich's Hauptbanhof- it's undergoing a major renovationKarlsplatzCelebrating the Reinheitsgebot , a 550-year-old German beer purity lawBeer garden at the Viktual marktAt the ResidenzA saint's bone? Hmmmm. Hard to tell.1Creepy Michael Jackson tributeAt Augustiner restaurant and beer hallThe Nazi document museumLet it be LowenbrauNurembergers!Augustiner KellarA condiment stand or Dave's new career?A helles beer and a fried pork knuckle. I'm with my people!

    Munich

    Aug 12–14 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    I'm headed to Romania but I got a cheap flight to Munich and decided to spend a couple nights here first. It's my third time in Munich so I'm going to try to hit some spots that I haven't seen before.

    One thing I noticed immediately is that there is a LOT major construction going on. The biggest project is the redevelopment of the main train station. It's looking pretty sad right now but soon it will be as nice Berlin's, which is a massive and modern complex built within and underneath the train station. It looks like that's what they're going to do here.

    Munich has a few great pedestrian shopping streets so I did a fair amount of walking around and gawking at the sites. I went to the Residenz, a sprawling and grand palace of the Bavarian Kingdom. The treasury was worth the price of admission alone.

    And I had to visit the NS-Dokumentationszentrum München. It's a document museum and library which details the rise of the Nazi party. What a fascinating museum. The Nazis started in Munich and spread out from there.

    And what would a visit to Munich be without going to the Augustiner restaurants/ beer gardens in town. Fortunately my hotel near the train station is also near two of them and I hit them both on the same day. I had a fried pork knuckle (Haxe) at lunch at one and then I went to the sprawling beer garden at Augustiner Kellar for dinner. It holds 5,000 outdoor seats and is one of the largest in Munich.

    I was seated at a table with another gentleman and we made fast friends over Nuremberger sausages and a liter of helles. He was quite the interesting guy - Palestinian born but emigrated to Germany in his youth. He got a PhD in physics and then a medical degree. He works for a company that developed the lasers for Lasik surgery. We talked about travel and politics and he insisted on buying my beer.

    It was only a short stay, but it was well worth it for the stopover. Tomorrow I fly to Oradea, Romania. It's near the Hungarian border and it's known for it's Art Nouveau architecture called "Secessionist. " These buildings were built in the late 1800's and up to the start of World War 1 when it was part of the Austro- Hungarian empire.

    More photos and videos are here.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/SmhNLKknxnyK9s1QA    Read more

    Trip start
    August 10, 2026