This is a glimpse of Transylvania as I saw it on my excursion from Bucharest to Bran Castle in Transylvania. (see sidebar post RO Transylvania which includes Bran Castle, Vlad the Impaler, and Dracula Legends). I hope you can look past the dirty bus windows, glare of the sun, rainy mists, and oncoming dusk of my photos to see the colorful houses, rich green forests, majestic mountains, and fading gypsy wagons (in slideshow).
The Carpathian Mountains are the second longest range in Europe and form an arc that starts at the Danube near Bratislava, Slovakia, (see SK Bratislava post), runs along the southern border of Austria, then moves eastward to the Czech Republic and Poland, moves down through the Ukraine into Romania where it bends across and upward again, ending at the Danube River at the Iron Gates (see Danube River Iron Gates post). Transylvania, the western region of Romania, is renown for its forested beauty. The Bran Castle is near the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului Mountains. It had rained during our visit to the castle, but as we finished, the clouds started to lift off the mountains, and we had glorious views of billowy gray clouds with rays of sunshine fighting their way through.
Everyone seems to like Transylvania. It was once the Kingdom of the Darcians until Emperor Trajan defeated King Decebalus (photo--see Danube River Iron Gates post), conquering it for the Romans in 101 AD. But the Romans lost it to the Visigoths until the Huns, Bulgars and a few other groups successively claimed it. The Hungarian Mygars added it to their kingdom about 1000 AD and invited Saxons (Germanic colonies) into Transylvania to protect their borders. Then it was the Ottomans who took over. The Habsburgs of Austria claimed it after the Battle of Vienna and Transylvania remained part of Hungary under the Habsburgs until World War I. It wasn't until December 1, 1918 that the Transylvanian delegation decided to become part of Romania. There were the struggles of WWII and the communist era, but despite the armies that have crossed these mountain passes for millennia, Transylvania has retained a fresh vitality and country charm that is difficult to find these days.
We passed through the delightful town of Siniai which was named for a nearby monastery. This is a beautiful area near the Bucegi National Park where downhill skiing is a favorite winter sport. King Carol I, who helped defeat the Ottomans in the Russo-Turkish War, built the lovely Peles Castle as a summer home here, reigning from 1881-1914. The famous Romanian composer, George Enescu, spent time here as well.
Returning at dusk, I saw the perfect ending for my Uniworld Eastern European Explorer journey-- two old painted gypsy wagons loading up and heading off in the distance. My sixteen days down the Danube and into Romania had been a fascinating excursion to discover new sights and meet kind people. It has taken me 10 months to blog all I experienced. The next morning I left my new cruise friends and boarded a plane to Kyiv (Kiev), Ukraine. Check back shortly for my adventures in the Ukraine and Poland.Click link below for slideshow:
Transylvania and the Carpathian Mountains
Music: Bela Bartok, Transylvanian Dances for Orchestra: Allegretto, Bucharest Festival Orchestra
More Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transylvania
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpathian_Mountains
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