Exploring Romania: 9 days and 5 amazing highlights

There were three main reasons I chose to go to Romania: A chance to see the legendary Transylvania, I wanted to visit three amazing castles, and spend time in the Maramures region in Northern Romania where old traditions are still the normal way of life. And I discovered 2 other places just as awe inspiring, Salina Turda and Sighisoara. I had to drive 900 miles total to get to Maramures and back! A couple days were full of very long driving, but both the journey and the destinations were worth it. This is 25 minutes of mostly photos and music that tell the story of a nine day trip across Romania to spend time in those places. I find photos more interesting than videos when traveling, and when learning about new places. If you watch too much video about a place, it spoils the first-impression charm and amazement. Comments and travel-related questions welcome. Jump to timeline: Bucharest 0:49 Sinaia and Pele’s Castle 1:27 ‘Wednesday’s castle’ 2:08 Brasov 2:54 Bran Castle 5:13 Rasinari 5:46 Saliste 6:30 Hunedora and Corvin Castle 7:46 Salina Turda 8:28 Maramures 9:53 Sighisoara 20:48 Prejmer 23:28 All of the audio tracks are traditional Romanian music. I didn’t choose them for appeal, but for Romanian authenticity. In order: Traditional Romanian Folk Song - Leliță Săftiță Valurile Dunării - Iosif Ivanovici Lonely Shepherd / Pastorul Singuratic - Gheorghe Zamfir playing the pan flute (Zamfir was a Romanian who popularized the pan flute in the 1970’s and 80’s) The Jiana Traditional Whistle Tune from Polovragi, Romania - Nicolae Sanda feat. Dan Panu-Misailescu Haiduci of Wallachia (performed by Farya Faraji & World Musicians) “Song from Transilvania” (performed by Stefan Stanciu) Romanian Train Song (2008, performed by Fiddler’s on the Loose) Doina De Jale (Light Of Experience) - Gheorghe Zamfir