Halloween in Transylvania

As a child and as an adult I've never really cared for Halloween, I like horror films don't get me wrong but the dressing up and everything that goes with it has always just seemed like a waste of time. I still kind of feel that way but at least I can say that being in Romania for Halloween this year has been an enjoyable experience. I have traveled a fair bit of Romania since my last update, from Cluj-Napoca I headed east to Sighisoara, a great little Saxon town which was the birthplace of Vlad Tepes. It's sights can be seen in a few hours and seeing I was with a Canadian I actually bothered to go in the museums for a change! the best of the 3 was the history museum which was set inside a tower. It had exhibits on each level all leading to a cracking 360 degree view of the town and surrounding mountains. In all honesty I could have done the town in a day trip but the 2 nights I spent there were well worth it for the people I met in the evenings. I went to the same local restaurant both evenings and then to the one bar that seemed to have any signs of life after 10pm, first with Florain from France and then Alexis from Australia the second night which ended up with a lot of beer being consumed and discussing the history of Romanian football for 4 local guys we met. The next day I stumbled out of my hostel, leaving my towel behind which annoyingly I've been unable to replace since. I went to Brasov which is meant to be the number 1 destination in Romania for tourists. The hostel I had booked had given my bed away to a large group of Serbians who were there for Halloween, which was rather annoying. They did direct me to another hostel nearby which was pretty cool, so I stayed there the 3 nights instead. The actual center of Brasov did not really overwhelm me. There were the usual pedestrian shopping streets, souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants and besides the excellent main square it didn't offer a lot. Brasov is known for excellent local hiking but I was feeling fairly rubbish and not really in the mood, so for the first time in the trip, I had a day off and didn't really do anything but watch TV in the hostel with Hannah from Australia who had the flu and no real other option and Judy the hostel cat! I got my act together the next day and visited Bran castle which is known as Dracula's castle even though Vlad Tepes only briefly stayed here. The first sight of it is pretty ominous and in my opinion the best thing about it, inside was quite touristy but still I'm glad I went and saw it. I did do a short hike when I arrived in Brasov, up to the Hollywood style Brasov sign in the surrounding hills. I left Brasov yesterday for Sibiu which is the third of the Saxon towns and my last stop in Romania. I have actually yet to visit the town and feel fairly lazy today. I have noticed that these days are creeping in a bit more now, which was always going to happen, in travelling as with anything in life, you need to take the odd day for yourself here and there. Last night was good though, I went out for dinner with 2 Australian girls and another from New Zealand. They all had a lot more travel experience than I did and were all travelling alone so it was interesting to hear their stories. We bought massive 2.5 litre bottles of local beer for the equivalent of just over a pound and this may explain my slight reluctance to shift my arse at all today, though the center isn't meant to be big and the sights can be done in a couple of hours. Last night I had these cabbage rolls filled with meat and rice for dinner and I've actually got slightly addicted to these since arriving in Romaina, they are cheap, filling and amazing. I have had a tricky week mentally, I won't go into detail on here but I feel as though I have been tested and come through the other side of it with the same massive appetite to carry on with this trip as I've ever had, I mean I'll be in India in just over 2 weeks for goodness sake and that is really exciting. This is my last night in Romania and I'd rank it second behind Croatia so far, the people are incredible, so warm and hospitable for people who have so little compared with Western Europe. The towns are stunning generally and the surrounding countryside on the train journeys has been among the best I've seen. Add to that great food, cheap beer, quality hostels and the awesome fellow travelers I've met and it has all been a wonderful experience. Tomorrow I get the train to Bucharest and then immediately get another train to Ruse on the Bulgarian side, arriving at around 2am. I have booked a private room in a bed and breakfast as I feel I need a couple of days to properly regroup otherwise there is a chance Bulgaria will be wasted in my hurry to get to India. That's about all I have for now, hope everyone had a great Halloween!