THE LAND OF DRACULA’S CASTLE — ROMANIA 🇷🇴🧛‍♂️🩸

hello zesties 🍋

spent 4 days in romania & loved my experience here! this was the first balkan country i went to, and the only thing i knew about it was Transylvania & Dracula 🧛🏻‍♀️ but there’s more to Romania than that (but read all the way for my dracula castle review 🤭)

funfact abt dracula that i learned in romania: dracu means dragon, and dracula’s dad used to alw wear a dragon pendant around his neck, hence villagers called him “dracu”. dracula (aka vlad the impaler) hence named himself dracu-la, meaning son of the dragon 🐉 also dracula studied overseas in turkey/middle eastern area, and he picked up the techniques (of torture) he learned there and brought it back to romania 🇷🇴 also… romania is split into 3 parts, 1 of which is called Transylavia, but vlad the impaler didnt even live there 😭 dracula 🧛‍♂️ is just a story written by some UK author ✍️

i went around bucharest for 1 day, then did 1 day tour of the castles & brasov via getyourguide, then did a day trip to constanta, followed by a last self-care day at the FAMOUS therme bucharest, a really cheap & amazing spa!

for more tipstricksreviewsitineraries on other european countries, check out #sarahineurope for more!

now onto my reviewstipstricks for romania!

first, ill be covering 𝙗𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙖

𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒!

Urban Fountains in Piaţa Unirii

⛲️ multimedia fountain shows at night (super pretty when lit up!!) but unfortunately i didnt have time so i just went in the day

⛲️ in the day its a rly big fountain w seating all around & they release mist which is nice cos bucharest is rly hot in the summer

Palace of Parliament

🏰 located in the area w the government buildings

🏰 need to book a tour to enter & apparently its really nice inside but i chose not to enter!

🏰 pretty building, reminds me of a more small-scale and less grand budapest parliament building

Biserica Zlătari

🔔 v unique exterior & small church

🔔 inside is all gold plated and red

Macca-Vilacrosse Passage

☕️ covered passageway! w little shops and cafes lining it so theres tables around & fairy lights decorating the whole area, really cute

Stavropoleos Monastery

🏺 small church! im seeing a common theme

🏺 really old ancient vibes & very faded old frescos everywhere as well on the exterior, i love it!

🏺 the alter is super gold & lavish in the old way, not the modern gold churches idk how to say

🏺 rly looks like its out of the 18th century LMAO

🏺 has a small lil courtyard! w several sculptures

Cărturești Carusel

📚 nice modern bookstore! several stories high w more than books! travel essentials, toys etc & also a cafe

📚 there are tables for you to sit & read also, its a wholeee vibe

📚 clean aesthetic w white walls & wood floors, which i actl really like

Saint Anthony Church

⛪️ similar patterned exterior (im noticing a similar trend ya!!)

⛪️ old dark woody interior w the similar gold decorations

Umbrella Street

☂️ colourful umbrellas dangling from above! super cute tbh cos it provides shade also from the burninggg summer sun!

☂️ cafes lined up around the area so u can eat under the umbrellas at the street

Revolution Square

▪️ js a square with some history to it

The Romanian Athenaeum

🏛️ nice architecture! did nt go inside tho

🏛️ is a concert hall but unfortunately nothing on the day i went

House of the Free Press

📰 initially served as communist party hq for their publication :o

📰 now used for diff press agencies i think!

Herăstrău Lake

🪴 wldnt say its a that impressive lake in general but its a nice area w the park & the ethnographic museum!

🪴 its a nice space away from the hustle & bustle of bucharest HAHA

The Triumphal Arch

🥶 another… arc… bro….

𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃!

Grand Café Van Gogh

🖼️ brunch cafe v famous for its van gogh themed decor! & really the wall is full of van gogh my favourite mentally ill artist & also the decor for the rest of the cafe is really damn nice!

🖼️ food is expensive, is europe average brunch prices & deffo not romania pricing… but the food i thought was just ok! like not thattt impressive to wow about (i had fruits on french toast)

🖼️ js go there for vibes! & make sure to reserve esp on weekends cos they can get vv busyy

Restaurant Bucătărașul

🍖 idk if it was meh or i just wasnt a fan of Romanian food… it was rated super highly at 4.5 tho!

🍖 got a mixed meat plate w some polenta & honestly it was wayy too meaty, felt some of the pieces were too tough & i wasnt a big fan of the overall taste

🍖 cheap tho!!! and a nice little terrace

Caru' cu bere

🤑 expensive romanian restaurant w long queues so i recco reserving! inside decor is nice, outside terrace vibes nice also but vvvvv crowded oml n i went when it was nearing closing…

🤑 got viennese sausages LMAO cos i wasnt hungry & it was all too ex… and a beer & the romanian donut WHICH I LOVED!! was such a big serving of it tho

secondly, i’ll be covering the 𝘾𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙇𝙀𝙎: read on for DRACULA’S CASTLE REVIEW!

𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒!

Peles Castle

👑 very old & grand castle dating back to a few hundred years ago! superduper crowded tho & full of tourists groups so idt ur gna get a good pic! the better one of the two castles

👑 very nice garden, w a view of the mountains

Bran Castle

🧛‍♂️ dracula’s castle except dracula is not real and also vlad the impaler did not even live here HAHAHHA its all just marketing yar…

🧛‍♂️ very very gimmicky w the vampire audios & cardboard cutouts of dracula

🧛‍♂️ overall very plain!! ntg much…

🧛‍♂️ deffo preferred peles castle

Brașov

🏘️ The Black Church

🏘️ Catherine Gate: behind some trees & is gated so ull never be able to take a good shot

🏘️ Piața Sfatului: nice little square! a lot of shops

🏘️ Strada Sforii: narrow street filled with graffiti

🏘️ overall, loved the vibes & colourful houses at brasov, wldve stayed longer for vibes but thrs a limit to what u can do thr!

𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃!

La Ceaun

🥙 we tried mici here! was not bad, literally kebab HAHAHA

🥙 sauce was nice, slaw was perfect & mici was nice, deffo deserved its high rating. not that expensive as well!! pretty reasonable prices esp for a restaurant in the most touristy area

lastly, ill be covering 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖, where the 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙨𝙚𝙖 is located! unless u rly want a beach 🏖️ or to see the black sea 🌊 , i recco skipping it or spending a shorter time here (i did a day, it was way too long cos i didnt go to the beaches for beachy activities — i was on my period rip)

𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒!

House with Lions

🦁 just a… house w lions… was a town hall or smtg so probably some historical significance but i cnt rmbr

Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul

🔔 a church that i didnt enter LMAO

The Great Mosque of Constanța

🕌 supposedly can climb up the tower for a view of constanta but i didnt cos need $ and i will probably be dress coded oops

Constanța Port:

🌊 views of the sea! against the breakwaters & seawalls & can basically sea the coastal area, super nice!

🌊 got chairs to sit around and for u to j stand and stare into d black sea!

🌊 personally my favourite place bc i love j sitting & staring into the sea!

Constanța Casino

🎰 supposed to be this really pretty art nouveau building structure by the sea but its undergoing construction :( so i didnt get a chance to see it

The Genovese Lighthouse

🕯️ hella small. smaller than pictures. not worth looking for idt i even took a pic of it HAHAHAHHAA

Modern Beach

🏖️ sandy beach! vv bigggg! hv umbrellas to rent ~ by the beach clubs there

Saint Mina Church

⛪️ hard to public transport to, i viewed it from across the lake and it was gorgeous w the reflection on the water

⛪️ superrr unique architecture, it gave it a bit of a dark eerie vibe

Mamaia Beach

🏝️ sandy beach furthest away from the train station, but i like the vibes at this beach btr!! unfortunately was on my period so i couldnt go into the water but it didnt look that clear and nice

🏝️ the boulevard had cable cars?? idk what for maybe j the view but me the friend i made were shitting on the view they would get cos it was so low down… the boulevard has little shops & fair games if ur into that which was v cute

🏝️ beach club galore! but we just sat at a random chair from a random beach restaurant, didnt pay anytg, and enjoyed the view & our coke HAHAHA

Luna Park

🎡 little fair! so cute i love reminds me of uncle ringo

🎡 went too early & it only opens evening ish time so take note, but then we had photoshoot around the park cos the rides were closed hehehe & thr was nobody

🎡 rides r like diff prices per ride, depends on how scary/popular the ride is

🎡 we took a roller coaster & a ghost ride; the roller coaster was really not that scary & a lot of sharp turns and mini drops but we enjoyed it anyway, the ghost ride was short n cheesy until we had a real jumpscare when the staff jumped out and touched our shoulders at the end HAHAHHA DAMN GOOD WE SCREAMED V LOUD

𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃!

Bistro Esplanada

🦐 classy restaurant, very pricey but good terrace view of platja modern! if ur solo u dont get the tables right beside the open space but the view where i was was p good too!!

🦐 craving seafood cos near the sea so had a seafood risotto! very very yummy and super rich, couldnt finish it oops… they did add a lot of seafood into it!

🦐 service was also p good, i was worried about having to tip or a high svc charge but they let me just pay as it is HAHAH thr was no req fr tip or anything

ok hope this helps hehehe romania is deffo worth visiting, i don’t know many people who went there during exchange & its sad cos its such a nice lil place (thats MORE AFFORDABLE than western europe)

#travel #exchange #hiddengem #travelrecommendation