Romania

OK, this is not actually recent, but well worth including in the travels section. These are some of the places from our Romanian trip last year.

We started out in Bucharest, although Dan doesn't remember much of it except the unbearable August heat :)

Retezat National Park
We then headed for the Retezat Mountains with some dear friends. Camped for four days, two of which by Lake Bucura, the largest glacier lake in Romania.



The lake is at 2000m, with easy access to the highest peak in these mountains, Peleaga, at 2507m.


What is so beautiful about this place is that it is a nature reserve, so no cars are allowed, there are no mountain lodges, it's only the hikers with their tents, and some other mountain creatures. Here's a photo of two marmots on some rocks :)


Sarmisegetuza
Next destination: the village of Samisegetuza - the former capital of the Roman province of Dacia. We actually hiked from Retezat National Park to Sarmisegetuza, getting lost and trying to find our way in the scorching heat. There are quite a few things to see, the ruins of the amphitheatre, various temples, Roman baths. The open-air museum was under refurbishment but it was actually a cool opportunity to see a working archaeological site. No photos from here, but if you are overwhelmed with curiosity you can start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulpia_Traiana_Sarmizegetusa .

Hunedoara
Next day went to see a pretty cool castle, a very well preserved medieval castle and very successful at recreating a medieval atmosphere with the old furniture (the large throne hall was really good), decorations, and music. My photos really don't do it justice, but here's one of the interior.


Suceava
From one of the most important medieval castles in Transylvania, we headed off on the sleeper train for one of the other historical regions: Moldova. The citadel of the former regional capital is quite nice to visit


One of the regional attractions are the painted monasteries, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We saw a couple on our way south to the Ceahlau Mountains.



Ceahlau
Two days in Ceahlau Mountains, where we took a hike to Duruitoarea Falls. Stayed at the nicest B&B, where most produce is from their own farm. The whole region is pleasingly pastoral, here's a view from the B&B toward the national park mountains.


Bran & Peles
Heading on back to Bucharest through the Hungarian Settler region (not missing the opportunity to have some tasty goulash soup!), we stopped for another night on Prahova Valley. Although really good to visit, this region is flooded with tourists, not as quiet and pleasant as the rest of the tour. Two very cool places to see on the way are Bran Castle (left below), built in the 13th century by Teutonic knights, and Peles Castle, the residence of the first king of Romania.


Pretty cool tour overall! :)