Through the Woods, Transylvania

I made it back alive from my journeys to the east and west of Hungary. Transylvania was a lot of bus time, a lot of gas station Cola Lights and Mexicorn, but also some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen.

Orange, yellow, and red broccoflower trees (as Jenna so creatively calls them) covered the mountains like a spread, sharp canyons that looked like they had been traveled upon by Frodo Baggins and company, and horses pulling carts of gypsies clambered up and down past our bus, sometimes almost being plowed down by it.

Jeremy and I take a break on a frosty mountainside

Jenna, Mariah, Harpswell, and Liz hitch a ride with the local transportation

Killer Lake looks calm. The water's iron oxide and calcium carbonate preserve the foliage beneath the water perfectly. Because of all the chemicals, no fish can survive here.

We learned traditional Hungarian dances from these friendly folk.

Some of us were not so successful (including me, in red)

We stayed with different Hungarian families each night (the Trianon peace treaty left Hungarians living in Romania when the borders were changed).

Above is a Hungarian village in Romania where we stayed.

The families met us with shots of palinka, a type of Hungarian moonshine that supposedly helps with digestion. We were certainly fed well in Transylvania...the families didn't want us to leave and tell everyone that there was no food in Transylvania. There was soup, stuffed cabbage, beef and a noodle type dish and pastries for dessert. Nothing like fried vampire bat wings or anything of that nature. We also did not get the chance to drink blood. Oh, and I did eat eggs in Romania and survive...at a time when the news makes the bird flu sound like the Bubonic Plague.

Dracula's supposed home-town: Sighisoara, was incredibly gothic and creepy. There were tall towers with miniature chimneys that made me wonder what went on up there. There was actually a bi-lingual school at the top of the hill next to a huge cemetery that sloped over the hill. I briefly thought what it would be like to teach there. The tombstones were covered in ivy, candles were lit, and the ancient stones with crooked crosses had nothing on the sandblasted stones of today. There was a bust of Vlad Tepes in the center of town. This was my favorite place in Transylvania even though it was the most touristy. The atmosphere was perfect for exploring, as it was Halloween and we spent much of our time wandering through cemeteries and down the cobbled streets imagining what the town was like under Vlad's cruel rule.