I went to Paris and Brussels for a week with my parents and their colleagues. It was quite a similar itinerary I had the last time I went there 2 years ago which you can read about here. The only difference was that Paris was preppin’ up for the Paralympics so there were a bunch of road closures around the city. Nevertheless, it was interesting.
In addition to that, I saw this Emily In Paris-inspired restaurant near the Eiffel Tower and if you’re a fan of the series, then this is definitely a must-try!
(24SEP24) A month after that, I went on a 2nd round of solo traveling as part of my birthday escapades and it has led me to ROMANIA—one of the newest countries to join the Schengen zone. During the planning stage of this trip, I was really having second thoughts if I’m going to push through with it which I’m glad I did (Thanks to my dear friend who encouraged me so). I liked how the country was not as mainstreamed as other EU countries and that has built more of my confidence as a solo traveler. Other people said that it's unsafe, the language barrier is high and there are less Asians travelling there (but, so what?). However, I have to say that Romania has its own beauty and it’s another #EastSideStory for the books!
Here is my 4-day experience in my first Balkan country to visit with a short side-tour to Bulgaria!
FLIGHT
I flew through Wizz Air via Gatwick Airport. Both flights went fine for me as they arrived on time. Otopeni Airport is approximately 30-40 minutes ride going to the city center but Bucharest is always traffic so plan ahead of your travel time. For non-EU passport holders: they might ask for hotel booking confirmation and return flight tickets on security control.
CURRENCY (ROM Lei 1=£0.16)
HOTEL
I stayed at Hotel Forty One which is located literally at the heart of Bucuresti’s nightlife/food strip of the old town. I was a bit frightened (I arrived in the evening) when I was looking for my accommodation because the entrance was in between 2 resto-bars.
However, the ambiance on the inside and my hotel room was pleasant—a typical 3-star hotel. I’m glad that the outside noise wasn’t very audible from my room. This accommodation is perfect for those who’d like to experience the nightlife in Bucharest which is lively and vibrant—talk about vibes resembling Poblacion, Makati, Philippines! Yet it is advisable to remain cautious and vigilant when you’re in this area.
ITINERARY
I was part of a group tour throughout my trip for my safety though, I still had some short moments to explore the city on my own. In fact, you can stroll the whole of Old Town in just a day as most attractions in Romania are out of the city.
Cărturești Carusel is a must-see bookshop for its elegant ambiance. You can even read the books itself here but the place can be packed—-Mornings can be the best time to visit.
Whilst as for food, you should not miss eating at the famous Caru' cu bere which is the oldest traditional restaurant in Bucharest. I would highly recommend to book in advanced because they can get fully booked quickly; Their service can be a bit of a wait but it’s worth it. They hold traditional performances and the overall interior of this restaurant is something to be admired of.
I had a veal-knuckle with mash and Papanasi (Romanian doughnuts). One thing you should know with Romanian dishes is that they really have big servings.
But nevertheless, choosing where and when to eat wouldn’t be a problem here because the food strip is open as late as 2am!
So I joined a group tour to visit Peleș Castle, the town of Brasov and the Bran Castle. This whole activity was very time-controlled and fast paced as Transylvania is a bit far from Bucharest. Let alone, the traffic back to the city was horrible—we left the area at 5:30pm then returned at 9:30pm. And if you ever book this tour, take it as a preview of what Transylvania has to offer because generally, it takes about 3 days to explore it.
Peleș Castle is the summer palace of the Romanian royal family built in the 1800’s.
The front portion is currently under construction and take note: it is closed every Mondays and Tuesdays as of this entry is written. I like how minimalist it looked and its rooms are filled with armor and antiques.
Romania had 4 eras of monarchy and this place is still visited by the officials from time to time.
After that, we went to the town of Brasov known for its colorful town square with brown uniformed roofs. I bet this is another option to stay in Romania aside from Bucharest.
It’s cool that the towns in Transylvania have these Hollywood-inspired signs.
We had lunch in the area and this is where I tried another traditional dish called “mici”. They are meat sausages which you can eat with either bread or salad. This is very salty if you won’t dip it in a sauce in my opinion.
I never thought Dracula owns a set of Ferraris
Then our last stop is the highlight of the tour: the Bran Castle aka Dracula’s house. In fact, our tour guide told us the long story of this myth and why the Dracula author was inspired to make a haunted story of this castle. Emperors back in the days were known morbid to the point that they perform deadly punishments for their people. Hence, it became the inspiration for a blood-sucking character.
I couldn't take a full pic of this room but this was wholly decorated with garlic.
Although even if it’s not really a vampire’s home, there are still spooky areas inside the castle like having Dracula/Vlad the impaler’s room and an extra room for torturing equipments.
While on one hand, it reminds me of one of the castles I went at the Swiss Alps last year.
The castle top gives a great view of Transylvania. Besides that, I would also recommend to buy souvenirs here as it is cheaper and has more designs. They even sell "Vampire Tears" or in human terms:vodka. Though, if you aren't able to buy it in Transylvania, you can catch these in Romania's duty-free shops.
Once again, you can click here if you’d like to join this tour.
ONE DAY IN BULGARIA
The following day, I went to another whole day tour but this time, it includes a side trip to northern Bulgaria! Just like Romania, this country has newly joined the European Union so Schengen visa holders can visit here.
However, I was so scared and worried when we went through the security checkpoint. As a background, this was a small group tour but I’m the only Asian (with a third world passport) and since Bulgaria is a new Schengen state member, they are strict with border controls. At the back of my mind that time, I’m already thinking the cons of what if they don’t accept Schengen visa yet (and the road going back to Bucharest is 90 minutes); Yet miraculously, it did not have any problems despite my nerve-wrecking moments. If ever this happened to you or when solo travelling, remember to stay confident and have a back-up plan.
This has been the strictest that I’ve seen so far. Ideally, it was just a quick check but in here, the security will go inside the vehicle and stare at each passenger then they’ll check the passport again. Good riddance!
I had a cry of relief and had breakfast thereafter as we stopped in a Bulgarian petrol station.
Moving on, what made me thrilled to go to Bulgaria was it’s my first Cyrillic country to visit—and it’s a challenging adventure! More or less 80% of the signages are in Cyrillic so obviously, we went with our guide throughout the whole tour.
On the other hand, I honestly found some of the stops of this tour to be out of my interest. Like we went to this Orthodox monastery and saw where the monks used to live.
Then we head on to Tsarevets Fortress which has an Orthodox church on top.
Our whole time there was pretty much of a hike so if ever you go here, be prepared for it! The view of Arabanasi Village is simply stunning from above.
After that, we had a traditional Bulgarian lunch where I tried a dish called pork kavarma (pork stew) with garlic bread and it’s really delicious. the pork stew reminded me of a Filipino dish called afritada. The guide recommended another must-try Bulgarian dish (I forgot what it's called!) which looked like a cold cucumber yoghurt soup but tasted like tsaziki
Another similarity in Romania, their meal service could also take some time to the point that they might serve the appetizer and main meal together.
Finally, we toured around the artistic town of Veliko Tarnovo. This strip is filled with various craftshops from wood art, clothing and ceramics.
Bulgaria is also known for its rose industry so there are a lot of rose products here. I bought a rose sponge that I currently used for bathing and it smells good.
I enjoyed walking around here as it is very inspiring as most of the shops not only sells but shows how they make their art crafts. In terms of currency, they accept cards (with a certain limit) or Romanian Lei here but in general, they have their own which is the Bulgarian Lev (the conversion is pretty much the same to be fair)
Then we went back to Romania smoothly on a 2hr-drive. It was short but that was quite an adventure. This trip somewhat opened my eyes to explore more of the countries within that region which I hoped to embark again someday. Yet, we just need to be cautious! Likewise, if you are keen to learn new cultures that are not as mainstreamed as other European countries, then do visit the Balkans.
And as I’ve finished this blog in retrospect during my birth month, I can’t wait to share my 2-part blog about New York City!
‘til then!
