Romania...You Were Good To Us

We spent the greatest number of days per country, so far, in Romania.  Our original plan never even took us into the country, but now that we've been...it's crazy to think we could have passed it by.  The car did give us some added flexibility and the Latin-based language made travel easier, but it's hard not to think this country isn't maybe one of the best hidden secrets of E. Europe.
  

It started when we spent a few nights in the smaller towns of the Maramures region.  Sparky (our tiny car) acted like a mighty warrior on the dirt roads that brought us into this part of the country.  I'm not sure if it was the horses and carriages or all the guys walking around with GIANT sickles, but I definitely knew I wasn't in the city anymore.  It was refreshing to see how self sufficient people were living there.  We saw people of all ages, probably ranging from 15-95, tilling the land and cutting hay grass to dry for the horses (sometimes doing this in nothing, but shorts and a bra).  It seemed like almost every house had some piece of land for agriculture and a small area for livestock.  Each of the guest houses ("Pensiones") had their own recipe for a traditional plumb schnapps, and took pride in the fact that their food came directly from their own backyard (and family milk cow).

We left with our bellies full of homemade meals and feeling pretty content, but little did we know there was a whole other world of fortified churches and castles yet to come in Transylvania.  It's pretty awesome morphing back into a kid and exploring these places.  Plus...like Christine mentioned in the previous post...having to find the local "key keeper" to open the door!?  I mean...how great is that?

The grand finale of the trip was our drive through the Carpathian Mountains on the Transfagarasan Road.  Being one of the only two people who drove manual transmission, and the only one who was ok driving on hills, I was designated the primary driver for the road trip.  I love driving...even at home in flat Florida...so I was happy to be chosen as the driver.  What I didn't know was that I was going to get to drive on one of the most amazing roads I'd ever seen before.  The Transfagarasan was pretty much all that and more. (Thanks to Dustin for encouraging us to go on this road.)

Oh and...on our way to the Transfagarasan Road, we saw a giant lake (Lake Vidraru) and got out of the car to realize that we were actually driving over a massive dam!  Sometimes it's the unexpected experiences that leave the biggest impressions.

It was good times in Romania and I think we all agreed that anyone who comes near E. Europe should take time to see at least a part of this unique country.