Archive for: November 2007

Our visit to Bran Castle today takes us 230 km north-west of Bucharest.  Approximately half-way along the journey, we stopped at Sinaia, an alpine resort town, nestled beneath the Transylvanian Alps.  Sinaia takes its name from the 17th-century …

Count Dracula is more than 100 years old .. and still alive!  We’ve all heard stories of Count Dracula during our youth, some more than others, but much less is known about the figure from whom Bram Stoker …

Driving around the city centre in Bucharest, you wouldn’t be wrong in sensing that the place has an air of French influence about it, for example the wide boulevarded streets and the Arcul de Triumf.  This is because …

Romania’s bloody revolutions of December 1989 and June 1990 remain some of the country’s darkest moments in modern history.  At Revolution Square this afternoon, we are reminded of the bloody murders of hundreds of people, hundreds of others were …

Romania’s most famous landmark is Paltul Parlamentului, or more commonly known as Casa Poporului.  It was built during the darkest days of the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu.  It is 12 storeys high and comprises some 5,000 rooms.  The …

This morning, with much relief, we left Sunny Beach and made our way to Bucharest.  We travelled along the same road that we did yesterday when we went to Balchik, passing through Varna again.  …

Balchik is a town on the Black Sea coast, some 36 km north from Varna.  It is believed that Queen Marie of Romania was so …

Varna is the third biggest city in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv.  On our way to Balchik, we made a lunch stop here, mainly in the town square….

The coastal drive from our hotel to Nessebar was an eye-opener!  Sunny Beach (Slunchev Bryag) boasts of being the largest holiday complex on …

This morning we bid farewell to Istanbul and head west towards Bulgaria, travelling through rich farmland, where the horse and cart is still widely used.  After an exhausting time in Istanbul, we were happy to have a restful …