The word is a very exciting place

 Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Bucharest is a tale of two halves. With a cute little old quarter, surrounded by concrete, high rise and modern living, its a city that you could be forgiven for thinking as two separate entities. I found Bucharest frustrating. There was some sort of pubic holiday while I was visiting, meaning a lot of things were closed or on reduced hours, which is fine, yet none of the places I went to had website's with the new opening times or days, which meant two visits to places to find that they weren't even going to open while I was there. It was a shame really, because I would have liked to have done more there. I had planned to visit Constanta, spend a few days there, then head back to Bucharest. But once I got to Constanta, I realized that I had just over a week to get to Sofia for my flight home, and that I wanted to spend time in Bulgaria too. So I guess I will have to return to Bucharest at some point to finish it off (after the pandemic is ov...

 Both Bran castle and Râsnov citadel (or fortress) can be done in a day trip from Brasov. The busses pass through Râsnov on their way to Bran, and that was when I saw the fortress at the top of the hill, and figured that would be a good place to visit when I had finished at Bran castle. Castle Bran is busy. And when I say busy, expect to be shunted along narrow corridors and spend about twenty seconds in each room. And don't go there expecting what you think you are expecting if that makes sense. You arrive, and you see this beautiful and quite charming castle perched atop a rocky outcrop. It sort of shines in the sun. You then go to the ticket area, fighting your way through hundreds of people, both tourists and people trying to sell you tat. Magnets, tea towels, toys, all with Dracula or vampires on them. Someone was even selling stakes, imagine trying to get that through airport security!  And then you arrive at the castle. There was quite a big queue to get in, and there's...

 Sigisoara is one of those places that is very well known and hyped up. Prety much everyone I spoke to in the hostels across Romania had all either been there, or were heading there. It's a beautiful place, with brightly coloured buildings, and a charm factor that many other places just could never match up to. But aside from the beauty and charm, there isnt a great deal of things to do there. Getting there is easy. Pretty much every town nearby has busses every hour or half an hour there. Getting there from Brasov was easy. Just head to the bus station, and you'll be on your way in no time. The main part of the old town is just a short walk from the bus station at Sigisoara. While you're there, make sure you walk up the wooden tunnel up to the church at the top of the hill, it gives a great view, and some shade under the cool trees in the middle of summer. It's truely beautiful there, and worth a visit. Make sure to treat yourself to a piece of tat as a reminder from o...

 Brasov is a great base if you are wanting to explore some of the surrounding areas, particularly Sigisoara, Bran castle and Rasnov castle. Brasov has enough to keep you busy for an afternoon,  or if you like to take things really easy, a few days. The most well known thing to do is to visit the top of the mountain/hill that overlooks Brasov. To give it a feel of 1930s Hollywood, there is even a massive great big sign at the top. It really gives a feeling of importance to the town, wherever you are, you can see this sign. I must say, I took one look at the mountain/hill and decided that the cable car would be best. A few people in the hostel had walked up the hill, and then caught the cable car back again. I didn't think I would be able to make it! As with all cable cars, it was utterly terrifying. But thats just me, I really don't feel comfortable in them, but at least this one didn't feel like it was about to collapse and plunge us all to our deaths. When you're at th...