Sighișoara, Romania [Post #16, Day 204]

For the last three weeks I have been exploring the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe, visiting Albania, Montenegro (for about 17 hours only!), and Romania. My three weeks in the Balkans have been filled with visits to many castles and historic towns, and hiking in picturesque mountains. I am currently in Sighișoara, a fairytale-like town in the Transylvania region of Romania. It feels like a place that would be created in Disney World, but it’s the real thing! There are towers, walls, and churches from medieval times, and I visited the home where Vlad the Impaler (aka Vlad Dracula) was born in 1431.

Magical Sighișoara. Turnul cu Ceas (The Clock Tower) in the back middle is a prominent symbol of Sighișoara. Construction of the tower began in the 14th century (around 1360).

The birthplace of Dracula!

Before coming to Sighișoara, I visited Bucharest, Brașov, and Sibiu in Romania, and before that my main stops in Albania were Gjirokastër, Berat, Shkodër, and Tirana. It has been great exploring these old, historic places and the surrounding nature is beautiful, but it is the people I’ve met that have made my time in these most recent places so special.

A view of Peleș Castle in Sinaia, a short train ride from Brașov.

While in Shkodër in northern Albania I signed up for a hiking trip organized through my hostel (Tia’s Hostel, named after Tia the sweet dog!) and was put together with the best hiking crew ever – Faye from Melbourne, Isa from Spain, Ola from England, and Bel, Lauren, and Jye from Perth! We had a super fun day traveling from Shkodër to Theth together, doing a bit of hiking, jumping in some freezing cold water springs (including one of the “blue eyes” of Albania – Blue Eye Kaprre), and having a delicious farm-to-table dinner at our guesthouse in Theth, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten fresher cheese! We talked about our favorite books, movies, and all sorts of other fun things. The next day we had to part as I was taking an extra day to hike across the border into Montenegro, and the rest of the group was headed for Valbonë, Albania.

I had an incredible hike to Vusanje in Montenegro, where along the way I met Andrew and Lois, a traveling couple from Missouri. Andrew and Lois are on a six-month world trip, and I really enjoyed meeting and talking with them while we hiked and then had a nice rest and some snacks after making it up a steep climb and over a high mountain pass. We have made plans to meet again in Kraków, where some of Lois’ family also originates from, so we are fellow Krakówians! A short time later on the trail I passed a hiker who had a Bunnings hat on, I said “I love Bunnings!” (Bunnings is like Australia’s version of Home Depot, I can spend hours in there) we chatted briefly and it turned out he was from Albany, Western Australia, a beautiful small town on the southwestern coast of WA where I lived for one year as a writing retreat to finish my thesis – what a small world!

Once I reached the mountain village of Vusanje in Montenegro I stayed at a nice guesthouse (Lola’s Guesthouse, thanks to Andrew and Lois for the recommendation!), where I was hosted by Melot and his mother and sister. Melot’s mother prepared a delicious dinner for me, then afterwards Melot sat down with me and told me all about Albanian and Montenegrin history as well as that of the wider Balkan Peninsula region. I had already picked up some details but had told Melot I was curious to learn more. It was really nice of him to spend the time with me, even getting out his laptop and showing me maps and other info, including details about the fascinating life and conquests of the military leader and one of Albania’s most revered national heroes Skanderbeg. The history about the Kanun, a traditional code of law once adhered to in the mountain region of northern Albania, is very interesting too. The book I read for Albania is all about the Kanun, and I write more about it here.

After a nice night in the guesthouse I set back out on the hiking trail, heading for Valbonë back in Albania. It was a really special day hiking from Vusanje to Valbonë. The path was only lightly trodden and not well-marked making it all but impossible to follow at times, but I had found an article online where a hiker had provided his tracked route. I was able to load the route into my Organic Maps app, which was super helpful and without it I wouldn’t have been able to find my way, it was a real adventure. I was hiking by myself, just me and nature, for most of the day, surrounded by a stunningly beautiful landscape.

When I reached my guesthouse in Valbonë I was happily reunited with my Perth friends Bel, Lauren, and Jye, who had stayed an extra day after completing their hike. We shared a delicious dinner together, then traveled back to Shkodër the next day, part way by ferry along the Drin River. Once back in Shkodër we had another very nice dinner at a traditional Albanian restaurant with a beautiful outdoor setting, complete with a talented Albanian singing man! It felt like home away from home being with them, and it turns out Jye plays footy (Australian rules football) for the same club where I had a go at it! – University Football Club, and as Jye pointed out, after playing at the same footy club and not knowing each other, we met each other in the mountains of northern Albania, what are the chances! And again what a small world.

Beautiful mountain meadow on the hike from Theth, Albania to Vusanje, Montenegro.

The majestic Albanian Alps.

After Shkodër I had a short visit in the capital city Tirana then made my way to Romania, taking a plane from Tirana to Bucharest. I have been enjoying my time in beautiful and historic Romania but I have found it more difficult to work out how to do things and get around than in most other places I’ve visited so far. I can usually rely on the front desk person at the hostels to answer all my questions and give me useful information about what to see and do and how to get places, but I have found in Romania I have to figure much of this out for myself, which has been a good test of my skills! As in a few other places I have felt a bit lonely at times, and without an anchor activity like a Worldpackers volunteer position, I have had times where I’ve felt like I’m aimlessly drifting. I have also felt a language/communication barrier more so than in other places, and sometimes feel a less welcoming nature in some of my interactions, which all makes me feel like a bit of an anonymous outsider at times. But I remind myself not to take these things personally, as sometimes it can be due to different cultural norms or other reasons. And as a counter to this I have also met many very kind and helpful Romanian people too, who have greeted me with a friendly smile.

From Bucharest, I took the train to Brașov, then on to Sibiu. After reaching Sibiu I was feeling a bit down, and was having difficulty figuring out how to do some hiking in the Făgăraș Mountains, part of the southern section of the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, that I had planned to do. After some failed attempts at getting any useful information, I talked to a Swiss guy in my hostel who told me about a private van service that provided rides to and from the area where I wanted to set out for my hike. So I found the office and bought my tickets, then on the van ride the next day I started talking to a fellow passenger who was there with his family. We started talking about travels and it turned out he and his wife and daughter were also on a long term trip, and we had been to similar places like Tanzania! And so that is how I first met Shon, and his wife Elyshia and daughter Amber, who are from Taiwan and are traveling for six months with many of the same destinations as me!

Once our van reached the drop off point, we took the cable car ride up to Bâlea Lake, then I said goodbye to Shon and his family as my plan was to do a two-day hike to Moldoveanu Peak, the highest point in Romania at 2,544 meters. By that point the weather was not looking great and the forecast was calling for more storms, but because it was only lightly raining I decided to set out for the hike. The light rain started getting heavier and I was deciding what I should do. After continuing on alone for a short while I saw another two hikers up ahead. I caught up to them and told them my plan to try to hike to Moldoveanu, they were from Romania and recommended that I should not try to make the trip in the stormy weather and invited me to join them for a shorter hike. By that time it was very stormy with strong, cold winds and consistent rain. But I had a lot of fun hiking with Ciprian and Irina and we made it to Buteanu Peak at an elevation of 2,507 meters (so only 38 meters lower than Moldoveanu!). We made it safely back to Bâlea Lake, and even though I had my rain jacket I was quite soaked at that point. It’s amazing how fast the weather can turn in the mountains.

The Transfăgărășan mountain road as seen from the cable car ride to Bâlea Lake, a famous site for car commercials.

A stormy hike! I was glad to have the safety of hiking with my Romanian hiking buddies Ciprian and Irina.

The Lacul Capra mountain lake. There was a solo camper waiting out the stormy weather at the far side of the bigger lake, if you look close you might see the small lime green bump that is their tent.

After returning from the hike I met up again with Shon and his family, and we had a nice lunch together then took the van back to Sibiu. Once back in Sibiu, they kindly invited me to their Airbnb for dinner. I had a wonderful time with Shon, Elyshia, and Amber, they prepared a delicious dinner, similar to a meal they would have in Taiwan with pork, fish, vegetables, and noodles, and we had such a nice time talking and sharing our travel and life experiences. I asked Amber about her hobbies and interests and I discovered that she is an incredible cellist! I watched some amazing videos of her playing – I think I will see her center stage in a major performance someday!

Also in Sibiu I met Paul from the Netherlands at my hostel (PanGeea Hostel). Paul is a mechanical engineer and a competitive tennis player. We went to a local soccer match, where the local team A.F.C. Hermannstadt won with an exciting penalty kick, and had fun exploring around Sibiu together. It is festival time in Romania and there are many open air concerts, dancing, and singing at night in the town squares. The folk dancing is so fun to watch! My favorite was a group of Georgian guys, dressed in all black with big, fluffy black hats (after a bit of research I discovered they are called papakha hats and are traditionally made of sheepskin). They looked like swashbuckling musketeers to me with their amazing spinning and jumping with outstretched arms, dropping down to their knees then effortlessly popping up again! That must be hard on the knees!

Then just yesterday on the trip from Sibiu to Sighișoara I met Davide from Milan, Italy. He is an architect, he is 33 years old (like me) and his birthday is 14 days before mine!

Through all my travels I feel so fortunate to have the chance to meet, spend time with, and learn from such interesting, kind, and amazing people. It really is one of the best parts of this whole experience. And occasionally when I’m feeling a bit down, it is making an awesome connection with people whose paths cross with mine by happenstance that totally lifts my spirits and makes the whole travel experience very special again. So thank you all for all the awesome discussions and shared moments together that I will always remember and treasure.

The best hiking crew in all the Balkans (but missing Lauren who was taking the photo)!

Fun dinner with Bel, Lauren, and Jye at Hotel Tradita in Shkodër. Yay Perth!

My friends from Taiwan – Shon, Elyshia, and Amber at Bâlea Lake.

Paul and me outside the train station in Sibiu.

My Romanian hiking buddies Irina and Ciprian.

So now as my Romania trip comes to a close, I have one more stop in the university town of Cluj-Napoca left then it is on to Poland, with a short overnight transit stop in Budapest, Hungary. My first stop in Poland is the capital city of Warsaw where I am excited to meet and stay with my Polish friend and fellow geotech Adam!