Rimetea – Where The Sun Rises Twice
31 May and 1 June 2019 Rimetea is located amid a dramatic setting of lush meadows, encircling mountains and rocky escarpments. My simple Transylvanian inn overlooks Székelykő, a sacred peak. It is said that here, the sun rises twice as it crawls across the eastern sky at the edge of the mountains. The birds chirp, […]
Borgo Pass – Traveling In The Wake of Dracula
Our Return To Transylvania – 30 May 2019 Today is what travelers on a tour call “kick-back” day. We face a long drive across the eastern Carpathains, over a few high passes, and through the Transylvanian Basin. Our destination is Torockoszetgyorgy, a town I couldn’t pronounce no matter how much alcohol I consumed. Our drive […]
Charcoal Makers and Salt Mines
27 May 2019 Smoke coming from behind the trees hints of an age-old craft few continue to practice in Romania. It is the making of charcoal, a hard and dirty job requiring long hours and inhaling lots of smoke. Men rise in early morning to start the long process which creates the fuel for Romania’s […]
Hikes, Totems and Gates
Mt. Harghita and Énlaka Village. – 26 May 2019 The Transylvanian Alps are compact, rugged peaks that rise to a high crest of 8,346 feet at Mt. Moldoveanu just east of Brașov. But the eastern Carpathians, where I am currently, have an average elevation of 3,300 feet and exceed 6,200 feet only in the highest ranges. […]
Exploring Inner Transylvania
Saxon Villages of Biertan and Sighisoara. – 25 May 2019 This region of Transylvania is a national treasure. The landscape of oaks, beech, conifers and alpine grasslands is stunning. The villages architectural masterworks of colors and simplicity. The cultural heritage unique and of historical importance. Within its borders are at least 130 fortified churches to […]
Exploring Inner Transylvania
Saxon Villages of Prejmer and Viscri – 24 May 2019 This morning, we motor further into the Transylvania region of Romania. The countryside is peaceful and verdant, the villages quiet with the rustic feel of what I would expect of rural Romania. Mountains surround a flat valley of rich green fields and expanses of bright […]
Visiting Saxons and Knights
Brașov and Râșnov, Romania 23 May 2019 Brașov lays within the loving southeastern curve of the Carpathian Mountains and its location is breathtaking. Its oldest traces of human activity and settlements date to the Neolithic age (about 9500 BC). Brașov is an important Saxon city and its architecture, fortifications, towers, churches, town square, and history […]