The only good part of this weekend, actually two good things, was a chance to hike uphill to some sort of Draco-Roman ruin and a drive to Hundedoura Castle which is where Vlad the Impaler was imprisoned. Hunedoara Castle looks exactly the way a spooky, gothic castle is supposed to look. Nothing fairy-tale about this place.

Vlad reputedly amused himself during imprisonment by beheading mice and impaling them (probably just to keep his hand in). This 14th century Gothic Castle was built on old Roman fortifications. It has three huge pointed towers, a drawbridge and the Castle wall was hewn out of 90-feet of solid rock by Turkish prisoners. On this sunny, hot day, many visitors were busy cooling off in the moat and river below Hunedoara. In 1974, the Castle became a museum.

On the drive back to Mosna, we stopped at this little very tiny church to see some ancient icons. There was a religious service taking place inside the church, crowded with local villagers. Three separate families in this village were commemorating the year anniversary since the death of their loved ones. These families had set up separate tables outside the church with bread and juices to serve everyone in the village. They refused to let us leave until each one of us had three loaves of bread in our arms (one from each family) and drank some juice from each table. We hated to take their bread and drink recognizing what hardships they face just trying to feed themselves, but it was impossible to refuse their hospitality without hurting their feelings. It was very good bread...

Sarmizegetusa was an important Dacian military center. Erected on top of a crag over 3,600 feet from the valley floor, this Fortress was the core of the Dacian defensive system in the Orastie Mountains. It was constructed on five terraces, and civilians lived around the fortress, down the mountain on man-made terraces. The nobility had a high standard of living with running water, brought through ceramic pipes, in their residences.

This was our last Romanian tour but here was still so much left to see. The painted monasteried of Bucovina, many UNESCO World Heritage sites; the Black Sea resorts; and The Danube Delta. The Delta wetlands preserve covers over 1,500,000 acres, loaded with migratory and permanent birds species, fish, plants, reed islands, lakes, marshes, and traditional fishermen villages. These are all on my wish list when we have a chance to return to Romania...

KLM