Romania, Transylvania or the Painted Monestries.

I was in Transylvania last year and it was by far the highlight of my trip. I traveled to Sighisoara, Brasov and Sibiu. Never been to the Painted Monasteries though but I have heard that region is equally beautiful.

Kate, thank you for the reply. Did you travel independently or have everything arranged in advance? If independently was it easy to travel around? I get the impression transport connection in Transylvania don't allow too much sightseeing in one day. Any tips/info you can provide will be appreciated.

I traveled independently. it is very easy to get around. The trains are a lot more run down than in Western Europe, run slow, and i was hesitant to use the bathrooms. However i met friendly people on them and they helped me out. In Sighisoara I went to the information booth and they hooked me up with a tour guide that I used to see the town of Biertan (fortified church). The guide was Peter Suciu (wanderlust.tour@gmail.com). It was 20 euros for half a day and it was split with another man i met at the TI. Peter was excellent and he can design a tour to your liking. Small towns are hard to get to with public transportation. If you stay in Brasov, I highly recommend Casa Cristina. it is higher on a hill and i paid extra for the room with a view and it was amazing! I think it still worked out to $30/night and well worth it. I used a taxi to get from the train station to the old town. I was told what price I should pay by the owners and established it before I got in the cab. I felt that Brasov and Sibiu were not well traveled by North Americans and sometimes English speakers were hard to find, but lots speak German and i have an easier time getting by in German than English. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. i have traveled lots in Western and Central Europe and this region is my favorite. Anymore questions feel free to ask. I made a blog with pictures if you want to read it. www.travelpod.com and my user name is kateb75

Kate, thank you for your help, and the link to your wonderful blog. I enjoyed reading it, I will be visiting many of the places you visited in Europe on my upcoming trip; your blog is well written, very useful and an enjoyable read.

In July I rented a car from Avis and traveled throughout Transylvaniana. I visited several of the painted monasteries without any difficulties. I travel alone. Biertan is off the beaten path. I also visited Sighisoara, Sibiu, Moldovitsa, Sucevita, and Dragomirna. Not in that exact order. I made a loop beginning and ending in Bucharest. Many of the roads, especially in Transylvania are newer and beautiful because that crazy dictator whose name escapes me at the moment destroyed 8000 villages to improve roads among other things. This is why 200,000 dogs run loose in Bucharest. You will see the dogs all over Romania. Very sad. Enjoy the beautiful country. Ann