Sighosoara - Days 122-123

I love couchsurfing because you never know what experiences will come your way. Well, yesterday I was privy to a traditional Romanian funeral gathering in a small village.

I'm couchsurfing (or in this case - bewelcome.org) with a German fella who is doing voluntary work at a local guesthouse. The owner/manager had to attend a funeral yesterday in a village about 25 km away and offered to bring us along. Luckily I had something black to wear in my arsenal.

Romania has a strong mourning culture, so the moment we stepped into the family's home, people began wailing and hugging each other. Meinhard and I just stood awkwardly to the side with the flowers we brought. Despite initially feeling totally out of place and invasive, the family quickly embraced us (figuratively and literally) and included us in their celebration of life. We feasted on roasted chicken, potatoes, olives, homemade bread, etc... and the mood turned rather jovial. It was a very international gathering too. In addition to the Romanians, there was a German, two French firefighters, and myself. There were all combinations of languages spoken, and I even tested out my pitiful high school French.

Brasov/Sighisoara - Days 120-121

I totally did the typical tourist thing and went to "Dracula's" castle. It's actually called Bran Castle; creatively named because it's located in Bran, about 30 km outside of Brasov.

The day was a bit overcast with moody clouds, so it seemed like an appropriate destination. Plus, it was one of the few museums that was open on a Monday. There was a public bus that leaves every hour for Bran, but to get to the station, I had to take the city bus...and had a bit of a tiff with the ticket patrol. It was entirely my fault because I didn't validate my bus ticket when I boarded, but four, FOUR ticket patrol officers came around for the checks and wanted to give me a huge fine for not stamping my ticket. I don't speak Romanian, they don't speak English, but we were all speaking at the same time and they blocked all the doors and refused to let me off the bus until I paid the fine. I suppose eventually they realized I was stubborn enough to never pay the fine and one guy created a tiny opening, just big enough for me to squeeze through and run away. That's right, I ran. Partly because I wanted to get away, but mostly because I was really late for the hourly bus to Bran.

Caught it just in the nick of time and arrived in Bran an hour later. The Bran Castle was built initially to defend the Bran Pass and the Transylvanian territory. Eventually, it was given to Queen Maria of Romania and the royal family used it as a part time residence until they were exiled. Either way, it has absolutely nothing to do with Dracula or Vlad Tepes (the historical figured on which Dracula is based).

I cut the day short because it was raining and bought pizza for my hosts and myself. This time, my hosts are a young Romanian couple who both lived in Copenhagen for a few years before moving back to Brasov for an extended vacation. The girl, Irina, is a sociologist and teaches here and there. Her boyfriend, Marius, is a visual artist and works in marketing/branding. His family immigrated to Canada when he was 12, so he's very much North Americanized.

This morning, I bid my hosts farewell and caught the 7:50am train from Brasov to Sighisoara. Like I mentioned before, Sighisoara is another medieval town in Transylvania, and some call it the "Pearl of Transylvania." It really is a gem. The town is smaller than Brasov and is an UNESCO heritage site. So a few years ago, they started pouring money into restoration and tourism and it shows. The old town is called the Citadel and is located on a hill in the city center. Perhaps because it's more closed in and on a smaller scale, you really feel like you're stepping back in time. I went a little shutter happy and took too many photos. Oh, and some gypsy kids threw a rock at me today because I didn't give them any money - quite a welcoming committee.

I'm staying at a guesthouse as a couchsurfer for the next couple of days. My host, Meinhard, is a German guy who travels the world and forms bases in different countries. He does freelance internet programming and other work in exchange for free lodging and also hitchhikes quite a bit. Very interesting fella. He was sharing stories about his time in London living in a squat and dumpster diving for gourmet sandwiches and pastries :) I, of cousre, had nothing to contribute, except when I inadvertently dumpster dove for Upper Crust pizza in Cambridge.