Romania

So Miri and I spent a week on a walking tour in Romania with a Christian UK company called Oak Hall. Pretty cool and I highly recommend them if you're interested in doing the tour thing. Our Romanian tour guide did not stop talking so I often tuned out automatically and missed information. Here's a brief summary of the trip.

Day 1:
We are staying in a small village (can't remember or spell the name). It rained all day. Miri and I decided not to join the others as we were tired and it rained all day. We explored the village we are staying in. Bought some snacks at the local road stalls and found an apple and pear tree by the side of the road that we raided. Was very wet so didn't take our cameras with us.

Day 2:
We visited some churches and hiked along the road walking through small villages. At the end of one of them we walked up a hill and got a great view of the Carpathian mountains. Had dinner in a farmhouse where they served us a traditional Romanian meal (including an alcoholic drink which I think you could sterilise surgical instruments in).

An orthodox church and monastery we visited 

Miri and I sat on the edge of a tombstone and ate our lunch. Pretty good view!

At the top of the hill we climbed

Day 3:
We spent most of the day in the mountains today, hiking for 6 hours. Stunning views, met some local shepherds along the way, found some wild alpine bluberries which were a delicious snack. Great day and minimal rain!

View of the Carpathians

This is my happy hiking face

Romania is a land of stark contrasts...farmers still use horse and cart while luxury European cars pass them by

A shepherd's cottage

We still like each other after almost 4 weeks together

Day 4:
Today we went to Bula Lak which is an old ski resort. We had to ride a gondola up the mountainside and then hiked up a very rocky mountain. It was pretty precarious and I'm not such a fan of heights, but I did it! Once up the top it was freezing and we weren't able to make the summit as the clouds had rolled in and the wind had really picked up. We had lunch by a lake and then made the descent, where we bought hot chocolate to warm ourselves up. Wish the clouds hadn't been so low as I'm sure the view is spectacular and there is an amazing waterfall we couldn't really see.

Kinda felt like we were disappearing into the clouds on the gondola

This is my 'trying to look happy while really feeling like I could get blown off the mountain at any second' face

This road is more like a snake. Top Gear drove cars at ridiculous speeds on it for one of their shows

 

I was SO cold up there

Day 5:
We explored the history and German/Saxon influence on the town of Sibiu. Got some free time to wander around. Miri and I have seen a lot of old stuff lately so we decided to order a pizza, stock up on grocery supplies and then find good coffee. In the afternoon we found a road to hike along. It rained heavily the whole time and became very muddy. Was interesting trying not to slide around it. The road led to a small resort so we stopped to dry off a bit and have a hot chocolate (only they ran out so I had a few sips of Miri's instead).

A church - we saw a lot so can't remember the significance of this one

Streets of Sibiu

As you can see...very wet beside the river.

I can jump puddles

Day 6:
We traveled back to Bucharest via visiting some churches...again. Spent most of the day on the bus. Our last night together we were treated to a fancy meal at a restaurant that featured some traditional Romanian music and dance. Was a lot of fun with some really great food!

Outside another church with our friends Sarah and Clare who we met on the trip

Last night dinner with (L-R) Miri, Jane, Sarah, me and Clare. These girls are fantastic. Love new friends!

Traditional dancers

Day 7: Miri and I waved goodbye to the group as they went on a tour of Bucharest. Our flight left earlier than theirs. We went for a run (Miri left me in the dust) and then caught a taxi to the airport.

GREAT trip with some spectacular views of the Carpathian mountain ranges and was great to see a lot of Transylvania.