(i just typed up this ENTIRE entry, and the computer ate it. literally. bastard computer. *sigh*, i guess i'll type it again..)
soo, the 4 of us, 2 other american guys, and a british girl, took the night train from brasov to the extreme northeast part of romania, gura humorului to be exact, in search of some supposedly spectacular monasteries. like most, it was uneventful train ride, sleepless, but uneventful, the 4 of use had a compartment to ourselves, but really, even if you had the whole thing to yourself, you wouldn't be able to sleep very well.
the plan, according to the internet train timetable, had been to take the train north, and then transfer at some random town to another train destined for GH. after looking at the map however, and the fact that it involved a 2 hour layover, we decide to ride the first train a bit further, and catch a cab from there for the last 30 miles or so. rich, one of the american guys, the self-proclaimed cab-haggler, rounds up a cab, who takes us the 30 miles for just under $2 per person. freaking romania never ceases to amaze.
we arrive, and after the standard group-indeciveness, manage to secure a place to stay in a decent hotel-esque place. no hot water, but heck, its romania. NOWHERE has hot water, and only fancy places have toilet paper. and it was $7 per person.
the other 3 stayed to take naps, but me, being fine with 3 hours of "sleep", i decided to head off for a little walk around the town. it was larger than i had expected (i had visions of a post office and a bar along side of a winding, crappy romanian road). large enough to walk around for some time, but still small enough to have horse-drawn carts and cows roaming freely. and DOGS. freaking stray dogs were EVERYWHERE. probably 20 or 30 in the 4 block stretch that was the center of town. nice enough little town though.
they wake up, and after more indecisiveness about where to eat, we FINALLY are able to head to some monasteries. 2 of the half a dozen or so of the "painted" ones, lay just outside of this town, hence why we chose to stay there. the others are a ways away, with no public transport, but for this first day we were going to concern ourselves with the two closest to us. after turning down 6 or 7 taxis, (for price differences of MERE CENTS), rich manages to find us a good one, who will take us to the first place, wait, take us to the second place, wait, and then bring us back, for about $1 per person. quite the tour for a buck.
to say the first to monasteries were a dissapointment would be an understatement. we had traveled quite some ways, with visions of grandeur in our heads, but on arrival, found two measly churches really, painted on the outside. sort of a letdown, they were neat nonetheless. painted with biblical (and non-biblical) scenes COMPLETELY, both inside and out, it was interesting to figure things out, and really, it was interesting just to see them. these two just weren't quite what i had pictured.
we returned to the town, and seeing how GH isn't really a hotspot for nightlife, the 4 of us sat outside the selfserve minimart with the locals, and had some beers. at one point we went wondering, as some girls from the hostel were supposed to meet us there that night, but they were nowhere to be found. pretty much, we sat there, surrounded by stray, scraggly dogs.
the next day, more taxi cab adventures. the two monasteries that we wanted to visit next, were both about 30 miles from town. rich manages to land an italian-speaking cabbie, a young guy, who will take us to them both, and wait, for something like $5 per person. unlike our first two cabbies, this guy was talkative. though he didn't speak a lick of english. we had some laughs though, as he would honk at all the girls walking along side the road, and at one point stopped for us to visit some friends of his out in some random village off in the middle of nowhere. fun guy.
and the 2nd round of monasteries were FANTASTIC. the first, quite a bit larger, more well preserved paintings, and surrounded by a large wall, seemed much more monastery-ish to me. wonderful from inside the grounds, the real treat was when i spotted a large hill just out back from the monastery. the 4 of of then grulingly climbed to the top, for a glorious view of this painted monastery, set amongst the surrounding countryside and villages. simply stunning.
the next one was quite the same, sans the view from above. all in all, a MUCH better experience than the day before, and made the trip up there completely worth it.
we say goodbye then to chaz, the other american guy, and the three of us get on yet another night train bound for bucharest. the WORST train i've been on, our compartment starts out empty, where i would have been able to sleep a little, but quickly fills up.. with big people. there was NO ROOM. and the seats were the most uncomfortable things imaginable. i don't think i slept more than 8 minutes the whole night (not all in a row even).
but now, i'm here, in bucharest. just arrived. and i had a kebab, which i have missed greatly since being in rural romania, and drank a questionable romanian mountain dew. so even though i haven't slept at all, i'm doing quite well.
i think i'm off to see the sights now, as much as i can squeeze in today, cause if i can find a decent guide book, i'm leaving for turkey tomorrow. mmmmmmmm, turkey.
oh oh! and ALL of my pictures, from the last time i posted them all (which i think was just after the running of the bulls), through HALLSTATT, AUSTRIA, are now posted here:
ALL PICTURES, THROUGH HALLSTATT...