Halloween in Transylvania

This past weekend I received another big reminder of why I love Romania. Myself, two other volunteers, and my Romanian friend Daniel all piled into a car Friday morning and set off for the city of Brasov which is located in the region of Transylvania. The drive took about five and a half hours and was actually quite eventful. At one point early on in the drive I noticed we were going pretty fast and asked my friend what the chances were of him being pulled over. His response was about 10%. Literally less than five minutes later we were being pulled over by an officer. It was at that moment that I knew the odds would not be in my favor this trip.

My traveling partners for this trip!

This proved to be true when later on in the drive we were cruising along the road when without warning a massive cow decided to casually take a stroll across the road directly where we were driving. Thankfully, there was no oncoming traffic or anyone right behind us so we were able to slam on the brakes and swerve into the other lane to avoid hitting the cow. As we all double checked to make sure we were indeed still alive, the cow barely even blinked and continued to cross the road.

Such a beautiful drive

We also stopped for a bathroom break at a chocolate shop (and obviously had to therefore buy lots of chocolate) and they told us that a bathroom was located behind the building. So myself and another girl went walking to the back of the building to look for it. The first thing we saw was a door-sized hole in the back of the building that was at the bottom of these broken stairs and honestly looked like the entrance to somewhere I never want to go. Then, we say a tiny shack located in the yard and decided to check that out instead. There was a homemade makeshift sink that involved a bucket and hose and duck tape on the outside so I knew we were in for a treat. I cant even remember if it had a door or not but we took one look inside and made the very wise decision to hold it and wait for the next stop. You can look at the picture and decide for yourself if my decision was a wise one. It is things like this that make me miss home. After a few more stops and some of the most beautiful country side views I have ever seen, we made it to Brasov.

Yeah. YUCK.

Having my friend Daniel come along on the trip was so nice. He spoke the language and had been to the area many times and knew where all of the cool secret spots to see were. We went up to a few cool buildings to check out some views of  the whole city at sunset which were beautiful. We also walked around the city plaza and saw Romania's narrowest road. The city was so cute and the tree's were all changing colors which made it the perfect spot to spend Halloween weekend in.

The next morning we got up and decided to take a short drive to the Peles Castle, also known as the Fairy Tale Castle. It was located in a gorgeous spot and the castle really did look like it came straight out of a fairy tale. We also found an adorable puppy wandering around the grounds and I couldn't help but get my puppy fix in and give it some love. After seeing the castle we drove to another cool spot in the mountains called "Canionul 7 Scari" which translates to "7 Stairs Canyon". We hiked through this beautiful Canyon to a hidden waterfall where there are seven metal ladders you climb along the waterfalls to get to the top. It was by far the coolest thing I have done in Romania.

Later on that night we traveled to a small town outside of Brasov where the Bran Castle is located. This Castle is also known as Dracula's Castle where Vlad the Impaler lived. There was a huge party/event thing going on for Halloween and so the grounds around the castle were covered with shops and food carts and drunk tourists dressed up in a wide variety of costumes. The wait to get into the castle was over two hours long and so we decided to return the next morning when it would be much less crowded, much cheaper, and light enough to take decent pictures. We did however find a haunted house nearby to walk through. It was my roommate Katie's first time going through one and although it was not the best I've been through, it was worthy of her first time.

On the way home from Dracula's Castle my friend Daniel decided to make a stop along the way to show us something cool. Katie and I were both sleep deprived. hungry, and overall exhausted and in a very weird mood. I could not help myself from laughing at pretty much everything happening in front of me and could not take anything seriously. If I had not been in this mood I may not have agreed to make the hike up a deserted, pitch black, bear infested, long winding road up a mountain. However, I am so glad I did. When we reached the top we found a huge empty castle that had the gates wide open. We went and climbed up a wall and sat on the edge overlooking the city. I have had a few moments in Europe where I have sat alone in a quiet empty spot overlooking an old beautiful city and they have been some of my favorite and most memorable moments. They are the moments where I get to take a break from the stress of travelling and language barriers and culture shocks and I can truly enjoy the fact that I am living in a completely different world than I am use to. I am experiencing so much and I think about how much I have learned and how much I do not regret. These moments are when I can truly feel how much I love this life that I am living.

Sitting on the wall pondering life!

The next morning we met up with a few other girls and decided to take a tram up to the Brasov sign that sits on top of a nearby mountain. It is similar to the Hollywood sign in California but much cooler because it is in Romania. After that we packed up our stuff and made our way back to Dracula's Castle to take the tour inside. It was a beautiful castle and the whole time I thought about how awesome it would be to actually live there. With the nearby bells ringing and a constant presence of big black crows, I  have never felt a stronger Halloween presence.

It finally came time to say goodbye to Transylvania and make our way back to Iasi. It was the best weekend trip I have ever been on and I was incredibly thankful that I had the opportunity to experience that part of Romania. Living in the city with limited modes of transportation, I have not had the opportunity to see many of the beautiful parts of Romania that exist. This trip allowed me to appreciate this beautiful country I live in and will make it much harder to say goodbye in 50 days.