Romania and Bulgaria

Aug 26-Sep 5, 2016
AC872 YYZ-FRA, LH1426 FRA-SOF, LH1429 SOF-FRA, AC873 FRA-YYZ

We really enjoy visiting Europe and like finding new areas to explore.  Bulgaria and Romania are somewhat hidden gems of Eastern Europe that have traditionally been more popular with Russian tourists.  We were just a little bit intimidated with getting around, but for the most part it was easy.  We flew into Sofia and the modern subway made it easy to get in and explore the capital.  We then flew to Bucharest and picked up a rental car to explore the Transylvanian mountains and castles of Romania.  Driving was a little scary with some very aggressive drivers and a few rough roads.  While we were in Romania, we pushed the agenda a bit and headed to the Black Sea before heading to Bucharest.  After checking out Bucharest, we took the train into Bulgaria and ultimately a bus back to Sofia.  For our last full day, we braved a second car rental to get out of the city and used it to catch our early morning flight back home.

Aug 27

After our overnight flights and connection in Frankfurt, we take the subway into the city and spend the day exploring Sofia.

St. Alexandar Nevsky Cathedral, a large Orthodox city in the town center

Different perspective on the incredible building, one of the largest Eastern Orthodox churches in the world, capable of holding 10,000 worshippers

Ruins under the capital buildings give a view of the surrounding government buildings

Former communist party house (Largo)

More layers of ruins under the modern city

Monument of 1300 Years of Bulgaria, originally built in 1981 to commemorate 1300th anniversary of Bulgaria, built quickly with poor quality, and has been in disrepair since the early 90s. 

Natural Palace of Culture

After a long day of walking and some remaining jet lag we had an early evening.

Aug 28

After breakfast and a morning flight to Bucharest, we picked up rental car and headed north into Transylvania.

Beautiful Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș, reconstructed on the monestary grounds in 1885

The beautiful valley below is part of the reward for climbing 1500 stairs

Poenari Castle, ruins of the 15th century fortress of Vlad III the Impaler (aka Dracula)

Romanian flag flies proudly over the castle ruins

Well maintained wall on the far side of the castle 

Walking down the 1500 stairs is a little easier than the climb up

Surrounding mountain and Lake Vidraru created by the damning of the Agres River

Hard to capture the impressive scale of the 1965 Vidraru Dam

Looking back on the very impressive Transfăgărășan road that we just climbed to the mountain pass of the Carpathian Mountains

Incredible scenery and The Transfăgărășan DN7C highway

The road going down the north side is equally windy, but a little better paved

Looking down into the valley in the last stretches of the highway

After finishing the scenic drive, unfortunately we get stuck in some construction so it was pretty late when we finally arrived in Sibiu.

Aug 29

After breakfast, we got an opportunity to actually explore the town of Sibiu by daylight and then continued our journey.

Entry to the picturesque hilltop old city of Sibiu

Bells on our way up the tower of the Lutheran Cathedral of St. Mary

City view from the tower

Looking suspiciously at Tom on the other side of the tower

Medieval fresco in the Lutheran Cathedral

Fortified Saxon Church in Biertan (constructed by 1486 and 1524)

Stairs leading up to the fortified cathedral

Interior of the church

Surrounding countryside

Looking back at the walls protecting the church

Stone sidewalks winding through the surrounding village

Clock Tower in picture perfect Sighişoara Citadel

Close up of the Clock Tower acting as main gate to citadel

Holy Trinity Church in modern lower Sighișoara

Sighișoara City Hall

Statue of Vlad the Impaler in the old town

Cross and hotel at the mountain top in Piatra Fântânele

Countryside around Piatra Fântânele including common haystacks for the area

From the top of the cross we get a good view of the new church and countryside 

As the day winds down, we head back to Bistrita where we have a nice dinner on a patio in the old town square.  

Aug 30

Before continuing on, we explored the small town of Bistrita by daylight, retracing some of our steps from the night before.

Bistrita evangelical church at the centre of the old town

13th Century Bistrita Orthodox Church

Rolling hills heading south out of Bistrita 

Orthodox Church and statue of Avram Iancu in our quick stop in Târgu Mureș

Primăria Târgu Mureș (City Hall)

Monument of the Unknown Romanian Soldier

Viscri fortified church, the payoff for a long drive down a very narrow, pothole-filled road

Interior of the cathedral at the center of Viscri

Looking at the city walls from the church tower

More of the restored fortified walls

Making our way down the rather basic "stairs" that lead to the tower

Supply chests on the outer wall

Cathedral exterior

Rupea Citadel 

Closeup of the citadel

Interior of Bran Castle commonly known as Dracula's castle

Bran Castle tower

Well and interior corridor

Broader perspective of the castle

After another full day of driving we made it to Brasov before dark and grab a quick bite near the hotel, just as the sky opens up with some serious rain.

Aug 31

We explored Brasov a little bit before the long drive to Constanta on the Black Sea

Brasov History Museum in the town square

15th Century Biserica Neagră (Blakc Church) 

Beautiful Peleș Castle nestled in the Carpathian mountains 

Long stretch Constanța beach on the sandy Black Sea coast

Museum of National History and Archeology in Constanta town square

Me looking down from the minaret of Carol I Mosque Constanta

Constanta Casino is a beautiful old building on the Black Sea promenade

After our walk through the town square we had a lovely dinner on a patio in the town square before checking for the night.

Sep 1

After a relatively early start, we drop the rental car in Bucharest and head into the city to explore.  Unfortunately, there was a little more drama than we wanted on the drop off as we ended up leaving Tom's camera in the back seat of the car.  Thankfully a very honest attendant called Tom's cell and we were able to circle back to the rental airport and continue touring the city.

Status of King Carol I in Revolution Square in front of University Library Bucharest

1911 Palace of the National Military Circle 

(1900) CEC Palace -- CEC bank headquarters 

Infamous Statue of Trajan and the She-wolf on steps of National Museum of Romanian History

Incredibly large (2nd largest in the world) Palace of the Parliament, the seat of Romania's parliament

After making our way to the Parliament, we walked back to the hotel and had a quiet evening.

Sep 2

After the morning in Bucharest old town, we returned to Bulgaria with a morning train to Ruse.  We then had the afternoon to explore the town and to test our ability to communicate in cities with limited English speaking resources.

The Old Court 14th century ruins within Bucharest old town

16th century Biserica Sfantul Anton amongst the ruins of Bucharest

Ruse State Opera

The Monument of Liberty, Ruse

Sandcastle competition along the Danube

One of the more interesting sculptures, still mostly intact

We had an enjoyable dinner in the old town town square before turning in for the night.

Sep 3

Having braved the bus terminal on arrival to secure our bus tickets, we were able to tour more of Ruse until late in the morning, before riding the bus to Sofia.  Although buying the tickets was difficult due to language skills, understanding the rules of riding on the bus also challenged our travel skills.  However, it worked pretty well in the end, and we made it safely to our hotel in Sofia's town center.

Ruse Palace of Justice 

Sveta Troitsa Church underground church

Artifact from National Archaeological Museum

Church of St. George Rotunda, the oldest building in Sofia nestled between our hotel and the presidential residence

Having seen the main sites of Sofia, we relaxed at the hotel and planned for our next day driving in the area near Sofia.

Sep 4

After breakfast, we made our way to the airport to pick up the car and drive to the Rila Monastery.  We were previously anxious about driving, but actually didn't have any real problems and enjoyed seeing the mountains outside the city.

Impressive tower in the centre of the Rila Eastern Orthodox Monastery

The upper floor residences of the monastery and crowded courtyard 

One of the many frescoes in the monastery

Hiking in the Centralen Rilski Reserve

We successfully navigated our way back to the city and found a nice parking spot near our hotel before checking in for the evening.

Sep 5

Very early in the morning, we drove to the airport for our flights to Frankfurt and on to Toronto and Houston.