To start it off, though, let me lay the groundwork. My "significant other," my better half, Dana, is originally from Romania. She spent her first 30 years there before relocating to the United States, and I met her a short 2+ years later. As another development in a relationship that has been very steady, fulfilling, and enduring, Dana wanted to show me her origins (editor's sarcastic aside: I suppose ideally this would help me understand her better, but then again, she is a woman and I a man, and we all know how that works, don't we?). We were going to visit all her friends "back home" and she would show me as much of the country as we could squeeze in during the two weeks we'd be there.

To further colour the commentary I'll make further on, let me also explain that I'm a relatively untravelled American born guy, so the economic and cultural climate in Romania was a pretty big shock to me, even with all Dana's efforts to educate me ahead of time. In case the reader is also unfamiliar with the country's political background, it should be noted that a traditional monarchy was in control until the Axis powers divvied up Europe following the defeat of the Nazis in WWII, at which time Romania was given over to communism. The revolution that ended communism occurred relatively recently, in 1989, so the budding capitalist economy hasn't had much time. Indeed, the transition could have probably been managed a good deal better than it has been and the country has suffered badly because of the fiscal mistakes that have been made.

These facts aside, there are still good reasons to visit, but I cannot emphasize strongly enough how necessary it is for the traveller to educate him- or herself as fully as possible before heading over, as there are a lot of things you must know before you go (as much as many would like to think the most important is "bring your own bathroom tissue," that aspect was thankfully and surprisingly moot). I will remain eternally grateful I had a native guide with me, becuase as a tourist I would have been out of luck on many occasions without her knowledge.

We started within Bucuresti, where reside two of Dana's best friends from her days working at Rothmans (tobacco giant; this was one of the international corporations that took a serious interest in exploring the new market and boy did they explore! Although I've never been a fan of tobacco companies, they are damn efficient at marketing and promotion, and Rothman's eastern European divisions were no different.) We stayed at their apartment for a couple days, though they themselves were off vacationing at the Black Sea Coast, Constanta, to be specific(?). While there we walked around and saw monuments to heroes of various conflicts,

    some notable buildings,

  and finally the huge monument to communist rule, the parliamentery palace!

After this, we went to pick up the rental car we'd be spending the rest of the two weeks pushing to its limits. Due to the expense of renting in Romania, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we couldn't afford better than a subcompact, and the reservation with EuropCar was made for a "Honda Civic or similar". We expected to have something even smaller, but were blessed with the good fortune of:

  HOLY TOLEDO! You cannot plan on this kind of luck, but as it turns out, we'd have been up the creek, as it were, with a normal subcompact sedan because of the roads we needed to negotiate in much of our exploration. Thank goodness for gargantuan favours!

Car keys in hand, we set out for an overnight trip to Poiana-Brasov. At the suggestion of Dana's friend's brother's girlfriend [say THAT five times fast!], we took a route through Ploiesti & Sinaia, so that we could check out another residence of the royal family known as Castelul Peles.

        Upon finishing the tours of Peles & Pelesor (no photography allowed and we had to wear these silly little slip-on things over our shoes to protect the castles), we prepared to head out toward Brasov, Poiana-Brasov and Bran Castle, but on the way were treated to this spectacular mountainscape!

After spending a pretty wonderful night of dining and atmosphere at the resort area of Poiana-Brasoz (hint: If you want a good European ski vacation, I understand this would be the place for which to aim. For those living in more economically hospitable climes, Romania is extremely affordable, and from what I understand Poiana-Brasov provides skiing comparable to more traditional European destinations. Of course, since it was August when I was here, I could not test out this information), we struck out to hit Bran and the major tourist trap, Castelul Bran, which was made famous by Bram Stoker as Dracula's Castle, even though historically, Vlad the Impaler had nothing to do with it beyond perhaps a raid in 1460. In actuality, Bran served as a fortress to guard the mountain pass leading into Wallachia.

It's easy to see why Bram Stoker chose this castle as opposed to the ruin that remains of Vlad's actual capital (see Tirgoviste later on), as its every aspect exudes pure Transylvanian magic!

  It is full of odd, irregular stairways & passages, as well as a good deal of royal appurtenances.

        Only thing I can add from an artistic standpoint is it's too bad it wasn't foggy and overcast when we visited. It's indeed a very bright castle with white-washed walls that seem to contradict my ideas of a vampire's environment.

We took the scenic route back to Bucuresti, which was mostly breathtaking, alas our only moderate camera was unable to capture the full grandeur. Perhaps, though, a hint is suggested?

    I say only "mostly breathtaking" because there were also examples of some of Romania's less-positive traits. Many clearings along the pastoral mountainside roads are simply saturated with litter of all sorts. It's truly sad, but "environmentalism" is so far not practiced here.

The next order of the day was to head west and a little south and visit Dana's mother in Soimu (pronounced Shoy-moo), which is just outside Alexandria and perhaps 30km north of the Danube and the border with Bulgaria. Life in this countryside village is much, MUCH simpler than I expected.

  Dana's maternal grandmother bequeathed to her the family home here where Dana spent the first seven years of her life, and virtually every vacation thereafter, and now Dana's Mom stays here to take care of it for the Summer months. There is no indoor plumbing, but there is electricity and phone service. Much of Dana's maternal lineage comes from and still resides in Soimu. We spent a couple days eating, visting with relatives, eating, drinking, eating, and visiting the local reservoir where most residents bathe and swim. Then we ate a little more before we moved on. I must say that the hospitality of these people is beyond belief! And most make their own wines & tuica (pronounced "tsoo-EE'-ka", it is a double distilled brandy made from fruit) and they are very good at making it.

We hopped back into the HCos and headed west and a little north to take Dana's Mom and faithful dog back to the mining city in the mountains where they Winter. Along the way to Uricani, which is nestled into a valley with a couple other mining cities among the Transylvanian Alps, we stopped in at the Lainici Monastery.

Once we turned off the road from Tirgu Jiu to Petrosani and headed toward Uricani, the surroundings began taking on an eerie, somewhat gloomy aspect. These areas, whose veins of coal have been victimized since the 18th century, became a virtual disaster area under Communism. Accident rates remain appallingly high, and the rivers run black like fetid, chocolate milk. There are lots of vacant structures which have either been abandoned or were never completely constructed before money ran out. All these factors together lend a positively ghostly aura to the entire region. (to be continued! stay tuned.)