Curses, Transylvania.

So, after Croatia, I made what was supposed to be a quick mid-travelling day stop in Hungary....but, then I missed my train to Brasov, Romania...twice! First time I slept in, second time I got to the train station early only to realize that I had lost my visa....thankfully I found it, but it meant missing my train (again) and being ripped off by taxi drivers in my attempt to find my visa and catch my train.

I was only planning to stay a day in Brasov, but on day #1 I failed in my attempt to get to Bran and see Dracula's castle. Apparently Bus 50 and 51 are two different buses, and when they tell you to take bus 50, it's really not wise to take the 51.

Day numeros dos was more successfull. Made it to Bran only to realize that it sux, as does the lame castle. The highlight of that day was a hike I took out of Brasov and into some sort of wooded area. I was supposed to be hiking to a waterfall that the hostel receptionist informed me was about 2 hours away.....after 3 hours of walking, I found a sign that said 2 hours left to the waterfalls. It was already four in the afternoon at that point and I didn't want to end up hiking at night, so I headed back to the hostel defeated.

Day numero three in Romania involved the worst train rides and connections, and also the most tragic event of my trip so far: the loss of my black plants. I miss the days of punctual German trains, because apparently an 11:20 train in Romania actually means 12:40. We were also informed of a train that we were supposed to transfer to once over the Bulgarian boarder in Russe that didn't exist. This meant staying overnight in the train station and sleeping on a bench like a hobo with one eye open hoping no one would steal our stuff. I use the term "we" because I am now travelling with two Aussies....yeah, I know, I'm a racist against Australians and generally dislike them before getting to know them, but we were heading the same way.

So, why am I cursing Transylvania (the are Brasov is in) you may ask. Well, it's because during my stay, I lost my watch that I'd bought 2 days prior, twisted my ankle as I fell down steps because it's impossible to find light switches in any logical location, hurt my knee again, and lost my black pants. You know the ones, the pants that I'm wearing in almost 100% of my photos because I wear them over 90% of the time...tear....oh, yeah, and I lost my electrical converter. Before this, I hadn't lost anything....Oh yes, midway through my hobo sleep in the train station I woke up with a sore throat and a fever. Curses.