Archives for February 2017

Romania Road Trip

February 22, 2017

Like many of my European summer trips, my trip to Romania was originally born out of a visa situation. As in, I needed to leave Hungary that day and stay out for a while, so I could come back again in the autumn (extreme simplification alert).

An acquaintance of mine had recently gone to Romania, and recommended I rent a car like him and visit the mountains, specifically Transylvania. I was so interested in Romania–especially since I was reading a book set in Transylvania (about 500 years ago, but still) at the time.

Then my husband learned how cheap Romania is, not to mention chock-full of gorgeous mountains, cute villages, tons of castles and ruins, and full of cultural heritage unlike anywhere else–well, he was on board, too.

Romania is actually huge, and since we were driving from Budapest, we decided to just stay in Transylvania, for the most part. Here’s our itinerary!

ARAD–One night

We chose Arad as it was right over the border from Hungary, and the main objective for the first day was just to cross into Romania. It as also on the route to Sibiu. It ended up being a really cute little town! Which I took zero pictures of. Oops.

SIBIU–Two nights

Although it poured pretty much the entire time we were in Sibiu, I didn’t mind–it was so cute, colorful, and walkable! We stayed in this Airbnb which was well-located, not to mention clean and charming. It was a brief walk into the center–not even far in the rain ;).

MAGURA–Three nights

We chose Magura purely due to the fact that this Airbnb is located there. It was E’s birthday and he wanted a retreat in the mountains–and this was certainly that! It wasn’t just a cabin in the woods, though– we made friends with the owners and their gigantic dog. The owners provided us with a lot of Romanian tuica, a plum brandy, and hooked us up with their neighbors who gave us cheese, milk, and eggs. Their fresh, smoked cheese might be one of my favorite memories of Romania. And that doesn’t even include the location of the place! We hung out enjoying the view or exploring the nearby trails. I would highly recommend staying in the country in Romania, to experience authentic village life that is hard to find in Europe.

day trips from Magura to: Bran Castle, Zarnesti Gorge

Of course we had to visit Bran Castle while we were in the area. While it remains the most touristy part of our trip, you can’t not see Dracula’s Castle when in Transylvania.

Nearby Magura is Zarnesti Gorge in Piatra Craului National Park. One of the most gorgeous, pristine spots we’ve found in Europe!

BRASOV–Three nights

Admittedly, I had really high hopes for Brasov–I kept hearing from digital nomads that it would be a wonderful nomad base. The internet in Romania is amazing but I just didn’t connect with Brasov like I hoped. However, it’s a really adorable town, and is the best spot for a base to exploring Transylvania. AND our Airbnb there was absolutely amazing! It also ended up being a work stop (mostly for my husband, who works online) which meant the apartment was great for that.

day trips from Brasov to: Peles/Pelisor Castles, Rasnov Fortress, Prejmer

Peles Castle is probably Romania’s most famous castle, after Bran Castle. Some have called it the Transylvanian Neuschwanstein and I can see the comparisons–it was built around the same time, and it’s in the middle of the mountains. Right next to Peles is Pelisor Castle, originally a hunting retreat. Both feel like you stumbled across a hidden, enchanted castle in the middle of the wild mountains.

Another little gem is the fortress of Rasnov, close to both Bran and Brasov.

Romania is also known for its fortified churches from their Saxon roots. We visited the one at Prejmer–half museum, half church. We ended up talking to the guy selling jam and brandy for about an hour, about his life and his craft. Romanians are so friendly and love telling you all about their culture!

SIGHISOARA–Two nights

Little Sighisoara is unforgettable as the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler. Therefore, it is fairly well-known (like Bran Castle, although not nearly as crowded). I liked staying the night there, however, as most people bussed in for the day–it was much quieter in the evenings. Again, the colors and the charm just blew me away!

So there you have it! Our 12-day trip to Romania. See the map below to help you plot out your own trip to Romania! Because if I haven’t convinced you yet…you should go.

Have you been to Romania? Would you go?

Linking up with Wanderlust Wednesday.

Greece

An Unorganized Day in Athens

February 15, 2017

Athens, true to the word on the street, is everything you expect: chaotic, sprawling, rather dirty, full of ridiculously amazing ruins, always running on its own timetable. And I loved it so much more than I ever expected, despite the fact that our day went nothing like we planned.

Here’s what our one day in Athens ended up looking like:

6 a.m.: Our flight arrived only four hours ago, but I am awake and ready to go! Unfortunately, E isn’t, but I drag him out. While he’s in the shower, I fall back asleep accidentally.

8 a.m.: Our first introduction to Greek food (in Greece) is our breakfast. I taste my first Greek yogurt and my life will never be the same.

8:30 a.m.: We climb to the roof of our hotel to get our first daylight view of the Acropolis.

9 a.m.: We grab a map from our hotel, who informs us that due to the holiday (that I thought was happening the next day…) and a transit strike, the only form of transportation is buses, taxis, and our own two feet.

9:15 a.m.: After sussing out our options, we decide to buy a fare for a Hop-on-Hop-off tour, since we only have one day and Athens is hugely sprawling.

9:30 a.m.: Tickets bought! Success!

9:45 a.m.: We get lost looking for the nearest stop.

9:55 a.m.: We find the stop. We also find a parade.

9:57 a.m.: The woman with a walkie-talkie at our stop says our bus is stuck in traffic due to the parade, and that potentially the road might be closing, anyway.

10:15 a.m.: The bus arrives! We climb up and start listening. We drive past some favorite sites, but I have one in mind, that’s at the end of the line–the Archaeological Museum.

11:45 a.m.: We have just arrived at the Archaeological Museum. We realize if we stop, we can’t make anything else.

12:30 p.m.: Our bus seems to be seriously stuck in traffic. We get off at the next stop, thinking it looks walkable to the Acropolis from there.

12:32 p.m.: We immediately get lost.

12:40 p.m.: We stumble upon the Ancient Agora, and I realize we are on the right track.

1:00 p.m.: After a long hike, we reach the line for the Acropolis. It’s massive–we decide to hit the museum up first. We get distracted by Odeon of Herodes Atticus on the way.

I’m a little embarrassed with how badly I needed a haircut…

2:30p.m.: We are taking our time in the museum when we overhear someone saying the Acropolis itself is closing at 3:30 p.m. instead of 4 p.m. like we thought.

2:35 p.m.: We book it to the Acropolis. The line is still long, but E gets in while I grab us some drinks–we haven’t eaten or had anything to drink since breakfast, oops.

2:37 p.m.: I spontaneously buy ridiculous frozen lemonades (and a water, thankfully). Luckily it gives us something to do in line.

2:45 p.m.: Tickets are in hand! We immediately begin the climb up.

3:30 p.m.: We take a million photos and try to see every corner and every possible view before we get kicked out.

3:37 p.m.: I slip on the crazy-slippery rock steps and nearly die. But my camera survives, so that’s important.

3:40 p.m: We decide to walk to see if we can still get into see the Temple of Zeus, spotted quickly on the bus this morning.

4:00 p.m.: Sadly the temple is already closed, but I act obnoxious and get some pictures through the fence. We stare at it through the fence for a bit.

4:15 p.m.: We pass Hadrian’s Arch and walk back through the Plaka, where our hotel is and where we’re planning on getting dinner.

4:20 p.m.: We get distracted by the adorableness that is the Plaka district. We end up wandering much longer than planned–and shopping. I buy wooden spoons that are supposed to be a wedding present, but end up keeping them.

5:00 p.m.: We realize we have no idea where we are.

5:15 p.m.: We are inadvertently close to our hotel. We stop to freshen up, and can’t resist getting a drink at the rooftop bar.

6:00 p.m.: We are both starving at this point, so we decide to get an early (especially for Greece) dinner in the Plaka.

6:20 p.m.: We randomly choose a restaurant with outdoor seating.

6:25 p.m.: E immediately bonds with our waiter (he tends to do this with many strangers) who gives us some free ouzo to taste.

6:45 p.m.: Our food arrives! My souvlaki is absolute perfection.

7:15 p.m.: Our waiter convinces us to try dessert–which he then comps. He really liked us (or E, at least).

7:45 p.m.: We pay, and head up to the top of the restaurant for more views, as recommended by our waiter.

8:15 p.m.: We arrive back at our hotel, after getting a little lost again.

8:30 p.m.: We head up to the rooftop bar to watch the sun finish setting, and watch the stars come out above the Acropolis!My hair was definitely a little unorganized in Athens…

10:30 p.m.: We head to bed early, as we have a ridiculously early flight to Santorini the next day.

And there it is! Our very unorganized day in Athens, which, while chaotic, isn’t actually that different from a typical day when we travel elsewhere…although we haven’t encountered that much transit striking (but oddly, a lot of parades).

Have you been to Athens? What did you think?

Linking up with Wanderlust Wednesday.

Travels Writing

The Unpublished

February 13, 2017

As someone who loves to write, and loves to travel, it’s always surprised me that these two things don’t always go hand-in-hand.

I’ve been chasing travel since I was 15 and never could have imagined how much it would impact my life (both the actual traveling part and the thinking-about-traveling part). I love writing about my experiences, and helping connect with and support people all over the world who are doing the same thing (like you, maybe, since you’re reading this, after all!). I’ve loved experimenting with different ways to write about my travels, such as my letter to Vienna, my poem for Korčula, and my travel game, Imagine If I Lived Here. I especially enjoy reflecting on living abroad, such as how living abroad has changed my life, 30 lessons from 30 months abroad, expectations, thoughts on home, all about anxiety and traveling, and more lessons from living abroad.

Sometimes, though, I’ll start a draft of a post and when my fingers hit the keyboard, nothing comes out.

There is not one singular reason for this. Some of these travels happened years ago and the details are fuzzier. Sometimes the clearest moments from a trip don’t feel blog-worthy. Some of them don’t have any pictures. Some of them were such disasters, I don’t care to relive them. On the flip side, some trips were so perfect I can’t describe them by anything but “amazing, awesome, great, you gotta go” and how many times can I write that?

More times than I would care to admit.

Recently, I saw this post on the blog Daydreams of Summertime (inspired by this one from Paper Planes & Caramel Waffles) and it got me thinking of all the stories I’ve never written about.

So, in the same spirit, here are some travels that haven’t made the blog, also known as…

The Unpublished

Hvar, Croatia

This was one of those perfect stays at one of our favorite Airbnbs ever. We had a scooter and scooted around the island to our little heart’s content. Our host made us an amazing freshly caught fish dinner, and circled little coves all over the island for us to explore. We bought olive oil and lavender from the little stand right outside our tiny house, and watched sunsets and sunrises. And, I was so involved relaxing and enjoying the trip that I barely took any photos.

Edinburgh

Another one of those trips that is just long enough ago that I can’t remember much about it except that it was wonderful–and also kind of a hot mess. I remember E leaving his phone in the taxi, and tripping and scraping up my whole leg, and the fact that we stayed way far out-of-town accidentally, and throwing up on a night bus after my first taste of haggis (I’m not sure the two are necessarily related, although I just can’t get over the texture of haggis).

Ecuador

My brother and I traveled in Ecuador for a few weeks after I studied in Peru. My camera died early on in the trip (while I was taking pictures of monkeys, nooooooo) so that’s part of why I haven’t written much. It also happened before this blog, back in 2009 or something like that (ugh, I barely remember. I’m old).

Panama

We were only in Panama for three days, and truthfully I didn’t love it. I think I’ve avoided writing about it because I feel guilty, like I should have loved it. I wanted to love it!! And maybe I will when I make it back there.

Southeast Asia

I backpacked Southeast Asia with my cousin in 2010, and was keeping another blog at the time. That trip was so huge and full of so much, I barely know where to start.

Ha Long Bay

If you can’t tell, I have trouble writing about the really big, really famous sights. Ha Long Bay, to me, also represents my travel writing dilemma–so many moments are crystal clear, but are those the moments I want to write about for the world to read? The girl who threw a fit because we were promised jam on the trip, and didn’t get any? The karaoke on the ship? The rats we could hear on the boat? The weird cave with weird lights? The absolute breathlessness I felt when I woke up and saw the bay in the fog? The indescribable color of the water?

Slovakia

I’ve been to Bratislava and the High Tatras and have barely written about either of those. Why is that?

Booze cruise, Vietnam

Ah, yes, the time my cousin and I thought we were going on a snorkeling boat and got on a booze cruise instead.

Road trip with my parents

My parents came to visit when we lived in Prague and we took an epic road trip through the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany! I can’t believe I haven’t written about it at all. It’s one of those Where do I even start??? types of things I think. Funny how some of my most favorite trips never even make it on here!

Switzerland

My first trip abroad! Over ten years ago. I didn’t even have a digital camera. I’ve scanned a few photos in, though! For posterity.

Harry Potter Studio Tour

We went there for my birthday a few years ago and I never wrote about it! Partly because I don’t want to spoil the tour for anyone, partly because I took exactly two photos, and partly because I always have trouble writing about things like that. Is it really interesting for me to take you along virtually in each room? I’m undecided.

Christmas markets in Germany

I get in my head about Christmas markets because I always want to post them at a festive time of year–not in say, March–but when said festive period hits, I get distracted by my life. Maybe next year!

Mikulov/Czech wine country

We’ve traveled so much since we moved to Europe that sometimes I forget the smaller, local trips we’ve taken. One of the best was to Czech wine country–such a gem! Of course, the thing I remember most about this is the hellish train ride on the way there. I don’t even remember the name of the towns we visited, just that I loved them!

Oktoberfest

Oh yeah, I went to Oktoberfest last year. It was so much fun–but how do you write about a drunken fest where I stumbled around from tent to tent, inadvertently finding seats and shelter, and forgetting to eat?

Dublin

Oh, Ireland in general always stresses me out to write about, because I love it so darn much and I’m so terrible at explaining why. However, Dublin is a little different–it’s a great city, but I didn’t find myself connecting with it as much as I hoped. Looking back, I can’t remember much that we did there except see the Book of Kells and eat a lot of good food. Which doesn’t really sound like a bad trip, no?

Santorini

Another one of those places that is so amazing and so well-known that I find myself at a loss for words–what can I say that hasn’t been said over and over? I really loved Santorini, although it wasn’t exactly what I expected. Truthfully, I think I might have liked Athens more!

Eger, Hungary

Another little local trip I’ve mentioned but have never really written about. The little Hungarian city known for its wine deserves its own post–I’ve gone there twice in one year!

Norway

The thing that gets in the way for this one is the photos. I took a rather obscene amount of photos there and I’m tired just thinking about organizing them all to find the good ones. Norway is so freaking beautiful that most of my pictures could be considered “good” (although I also took a lot of my hand, because I got so excited and just started snapping).

I guess I have a lot of blogging to do…

Tell me–do you find it easy to write/discuss travel? Why or why not?

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