Yeah… I hear that. I guess my question is, does HE have any realistic understanding of what it going to be like? It might be… pretty boring. I’ve also heard the general state of squalor is depressing at the best of times.
You might also (if you haven’t already) check out the Romania episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, which certainly didn’t stoke my desire to visit anytime soon.
It appears to be viewable on this site (which I can’t vouch for, but it appears to play at the moment).
He does understand that there never was and won’t be any Dracula the Vampire? That all he’ll experience is a bunch of tourist kitsch trading on the “legend,” like souvenir coffee mugs saying “I got bitten in Dracula’s castle” and “Vampire Tours” that cost, well, a pint of blood or more (couldn’t resist)?
Consider that you’re spending what will be a unique time in your lives (not to mention a goodly sum of money), and have your fiance ask himself, does he really want to spend several days in one of the most charmless countries in Europe chasing down a boyhood fantasy based on a fictional novel? A lot of locations used as settings for novels aren’t nearly as interesting as the novels themselves. In fact, in Europe in particular, they’re usually tourist traps.
I do understand, of course, that you have next to zero chance of deflecting him from visiting Romania, but that in itself reflects on him as you should be choosing destinations that you both are interested in seeing.
Hey, if you want any specific recs on Budapest, let me know, I lived there from 1998-2003. I can even put you in contact with some long-term expats there who I’m sure would be willing to meet for a drink or a bite. Chew.hu is a good English-language resource for local eating. It’s being revamped at the moment, so the “Top 33” restaurant list isn’t up, but definitely worth checking out for recommendations. Budapest in November can be a little dreary, but a trip to the outdoor Szechenyi Thermal baths will perk you right up.
As for Prague vs. Krakow. That’s a toughie. My parents are both Polish-born, and I have been to Krakow about ten times in my life. It’s a very pretty city, although not on the scale of Prague. Prague is definitely more “Disneyfied” than Krakow. But are beautiful medieval cities, so I think you’d be happy going to either. Based on the fact that you picked Budapest and Romania as main destinations rather than Prague and Vienna, I think you’d probably be more into wanting to visit Krakow, but I don’t think you can go wrong either way.
Budapest to Krakow is about 7-9 hours by train or bus, and about 7 hours by train to Prague, but there are night trains available to both cities. Vienna you can conceivably do as a day trip form Budapest. Only about 2.5-3 hours, depending on the train. Not to cloud the issue, but keep it in mind, if you have any interest in Vienna whatsoever. I personally find it a bit too manicured for my tastes, but it is a wonderful city.
Romania, especially the Transylvanian region, is quite beautiful. I would absolutely recommend Sighisoara, for instance, which does have the Dracula tie-in of being Vlad the Impaler’s birthplace. I seem to recall them having some Vlad the Impaler stuff, but it didn’t dominate their tourism. It’s just a beautiful small town, with a taken care-of walled old town. I totally dig it, and would whole-heartedly recommend anyone visiting Romania to make a special stop there. It’s probably only worth a day’s stop, but worth the stop.
Other stops along the way might include Cluj and Sibiu. I prefer Sibiu, but both are nice. I assume Brasov is your destination, but I’ve never been there so can’t speak for it or how they compare.
The Transylvanian countryside is stunning. The people are friendly and warm. However, it definitely has the feel of stepping back in time a bit. Once you transition from Budapest to Eastern Hungary to Romania, you will notice a marked drop in wealth. Romania, for me, is where things start to feel “different” in Europe. Budapest, Prague, Krakow all feel very Western European to me nowadays.
Thanks for the info…I’m interested in Transylvania, because it really is German (it was settled by settlers from Saxony back in the 1400’s). Anyway, are the Germans all gone now?
My experience there was mostly ethnic Hungarians (depending on where you were exactly) and Romanians. I don’t recall running into any Germans that were not tourists. According to Wikipedia, it does seem like the large majority of Transylvanian Saxons left and settled back west. Looking up
the 2000 population numbers, it’s about 76% Romanian, 20% Hungarian, 3% Roma, 0.7% German, 0.1% Serb.
Absolutely loved Prague on my many trips there. That was during the late 80s and early 90s, however. Loved Budapest and Vienna, too. Sofia and Bucharest were still fighting their way out of communist oppression when I was there, so any comments I might make would be irrelevant today. Have you thought of going to Istanbul?
They are both beautiful. If I had to choose one, I would go to Prague, although Krakow might be easier to see if you only have a short time. I have been to Auschwitz a few times. (I used to live live pretty close, so I ended up taking friends and family who came to visit.) Compared to most tourist sites, I think whether it is worth an extra day depends on how you approach the experience.
I will agree that Prague is the more sure bet, especially in November, when the crowds have died down. Krakow is good for the traveller who kind of want a slightly off the beaten path trip with some of the medieval majesty of Prague. I do think Prague is more immediately beautiful and tourist-friendly, even (perhaps especially) compared with Budapest (which is certainly beautiful, but a bit more rough-around-the-edges and sprawling.)
Do you really feel that way, or is this one of those things where you say how awful a place is because you don’t want too many people discovering how awesome it is?
I ask because I loved Romania, and have always wanted to go back. Charmless? It’s one of the most charming, interesting European countries I’ve been to. I was there 10 years ago so a lot may have changed, but back then you could feel like you were stepping into a different century: picturesque little walled towns with women drawing water from a well, geese wandering around the streets, pastel-colored houses. It was poor, yes, but rather magical - and very, very friendly. I would go back in a heartbeat.
I will grant you that Bucharest is just grimy and kind of depressing. And Romania is not a typical honeymoon destination - though given that the OP is considering going to Auschwitz on her honeymoon, it doesn’t sound like a typical honeymoon anyway. Krakow, Prague, and Budapest will have much nicer amenities if you want to enjoy fine dining or nice hotels. But Romania is a fascinating, beautiful destination in its own right.
Forget your earlier plans and stay in Prague for at least three days. Prague Castle (and the nearby art museum) alone will take up one of those. The Dancing House (a.k.a. Ginger and Fred) has a wonderful little bar on the ground floor and a spectacular viewing deck. See what’s going on at the Opera house! The Charles Bridge is a site unto itself. Hang around Old Town and the Jewish Quarter for a few hours! Charles Square has this awesome whorehouse that–um, you won’t be visiting, I guess. Hey, how about the Museum of Medieval Torture!? Wenceslaus Square has an awesome Irish bar. It’s huge, and if you’re gonna do the Absinthe thing, it’s a safe environment for it. Buy a marionette puppet; they are for sale everywhere! Buy a slotted Absinthe spoon, 'cause they are hard to find elsewhere. And enjoy!
If you decide to make Prague central to your honeymoon plans, remember: It’s halfway between Vienna and Berlin, just a couple hours by train.
Regarding Bucharest-can you visit that enormous palace that insane dictator Ceaucescue was building, before he was overthrown? I like “Commie-Era” mega ugly buildings.
Okay, now that we’ve been and have returned I feel I have a responsibility to set this shit straight. Romania is AWESOME. The people are really friendly, it’s cheap, and the Hilton Athenee gave us the straight up best service I have ever had in a hotel in my entire life.
(Note: there are no jaywalkers because traffic has Darwined them out of existence. But otherwise.)
Yes, it’s a little most post-Communist than, say, Budapest. But it’s more fun and more rewarding because you have to work for it a little bit. It’s way easier to see the “real country” there - Prague was nice and all but it was like Disneyland and we wish we’d spent more time in Romania, frankly. There’s no challenge in Prague, and it’s crammed with tourists. I want anybody searching the boards looking for advice about travel to really consider Romania, especially if you get a chance to leave Bucharest (admittedly not the most charming city I’ve ever visited) for the countryside. We took a 12 hour car tour to Brasov, Sinai, and Bran Castle and while there was some dumb-ass Dracula stuff by the castle it was absolutely a fantastic tour. The Carpathians are beautiful, and we saw some lovely fall color on the trees. We would absolutely go back - we didn’t see a fraction of what we’d like to have seen, and I kind of wish we’d just divided our trip between Romania and Hungary. But as our tour guide said, “There are no vampires in Transylvania. Transylvania is a beautiful place with nice people! If you want to see bloodsuckers, go to Parlaiment!”
I’m so glad to hear you liked it and completely unsurprised. But shhhhHHHHhhh!! Do you want the place to become Disneyfied like Prague?!
ETA: I’m also so glad to hear it’s still nice. As I mentioned above I was in Romania about ten years ago, and I didn’t know if its unique charm could survive long in the 21st century.
