Īn Ceasescu's footsteps: Switzerland, Serbia and Romania via SQ346/345

[RedEyeflight]

Victory Square. Overlooked by the Metropolitan Cathedral, built in 1940.



Inside the Metropolitan Cathedral.



On the other side of the square is the National Theatre in Timisoara that opened in 1945.







Monument to those who died in protests against Ceasescu in 1989.

[RedEyeflight]

Pasta and roasted root vegetables at Calia Restaurant.

[RedEyeflight]

The next day it was onto the train. Trains in Romania are pretty bad and I was told that Romanians often avoid taking them. Alas, I could not travel to Romania without at least giving them a chance.

These trains are a far cry from the trains in Switzerland. Zero information.

I boarded my first train to Arad, 57km to the north, where I would connect to a mainline train going east to the town of Sibiu.



Timisoara railway station was really run down. Had to ask a conductor on the platform where my train was departing as there was no information whatsoever.



The journey itself was slow. The track was in terrible condition and intermediate stations were in bad shape.







Here's a shot of the cabin again.



Soon I arrived in Arad. This was our train to Arad. An electric locomotive and two carriages.

[RedEyeflight]

I had 4 hours to kill in Arad. I headed out of the station and to a building I saw on a youtube channel by a controversial British YouTuber who travels to the Eastern Bloc and ex-communist world.

A communist mosaic on a building across the street from the station. Part of it is covered with an advertisement. As I was crossing the street, a random stranger approached me and spoke Romanian and sounded quite crossed. I can imagine locals not being happy with this kind of advertising of their local area.


I must clarify I did not come to Arad to see this. I am in town because this was the connection the train company sold to me.

I call an Uber and head into town. Had lunch at Restaurant Transylvania.

Asparagus cream soup.


Wien Schnitzel.


Walked around Arad.

[RedEyeflight]

Back at the station, I am confused by the signs. My train number says the train is going to Cluj, but my understanding is Cluj and Sibiu are in different directions. I try to sort this out by speaking Spanish to the ticket attendant but unfortunately this does not help. I show my ticket to her and she says 'Da! da! da!'. Romanian is a romance language but the language is also heavily influenced by Slavic, German and Turkish.

I am back on the train, this time a Hungarian carriage pulled from Budapest.





The train eventually comes to a halt. And the carriages are split with one half going to Cluj and the other half going to Brasov (Via Sibiu). We are hooked onto a diesel locomotive as the line to Sibiu is not electrified. This was why I was confused.





The scenery becomes more mountainous as we approach Sibiu.

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I arrived in Sibiu to a packed railway station just before dark after a 5.5 hour train ride from Arad. The train blew its horn and off it went to Brasov.

I checked into Poet Pastior Hotel which wasn't that great and headed to a restaurant around the corner - Hochmeister Delikat'essen.

Beef dumpling soup.



Boneless ribs.

[RedEyeflight]

Welcome to Sibiu, a gorgeous Transylvanian town.

[yflyer]

What an amazing trip so far...quite an adventure!

Many of these are places I have never even heard of. Appreciate the food pics as well. Always interesting to see what people eat in different cultures.

Did you visit the markets or supermarkets? Wonder how the locals shop in these towns/cities.

Looking forward to the next installment...

[RedEyeflight]

What an amazing trip so far...quite an adventure!

Thanks yflyer! I've been wanting to go to Eastern Europe for a while, particularly to satisfy my own thirst for adventure that was unfulfilled by my inability to visit Latin America while I lived in the US.

Did you visit the markets or supermarkets? Wonder how the locals shop in these towns/cities.

Unfortunately, I didn't. But what I did notice was how similar the food in both Serbia and Romania were and how were they were, in turn, similar to Turkish food. Romanians also eat a skinless minced meat sausage called Mici which I had in Bucharest. Romanians also dessert on baklava. I did also see Romanian cooking incorporate pasta in some places. But otherwise Romanian food can be heavily meaty and sort of a mixture of Central European, Turkish and Balkan cuisines.

[RedEyeflight]

Bought a placinta, which is a flatbread filled with potato, for breakfast.



Sibiu īs an important town in the history of Transylvania. It was a military centre for the region and the capital before the region was ceded to Romania from Austria in 1918.







The bridge of lies.

[RedEyeflight]

Headed to the Brukenthal National Museum. This museum was established in 1817 and is the oldest in Romania and Southeastern Europe. The museum was founded by Samuel von Brukenthal the Habsburg governor of Transylvania who consolidated his art and book collection in the museum.







The museum also has an extensive collection of contemporary art.

[RedEyeflight]

After the museum, I walked around the centre of Sibiu some more.







Carpenter's Tower built as part of medieval fortifications.

[RedEyeflight]

At mid-afternoon, I headed to the main railway station to catch my train to Cluj, the second-largest city in Romania about 180 km northwest of Sibiu. However, it would be another 5 hours on the train, with a connection in a small town called Vintu de Jos. My connection was only 19 minutes and I was certain I wouldn't make it. So, I bought a ticket from Vintu de Jos to Cluj for a later train as well.

Sibiu railway station.



The Carpathian Mountains are visible from the city.







Diesel locomotive pulling my train to Vintu de Jos. The train is formed of 2 coaches. My first of two trains is a regional train stopping at every single station. The train will go past small villages stopping at stations demarcated by a mere pole and serving, sometimes, just 1 lonely home.





The train ride to Vintu de Jos was quite spectacular. We passed through gorges and rolling hills, passing small villages with just 1 house. At one point, we passed a farmer burning trash next to the trackside. Unfortunately, this was a very local train and I did not feel safe taking out my phone to snap pictures. This was the only photo I took.



Train at Vintu de Jos. We arrived on time. Bravo CFR Calatori!



My train to Cluj arriving from Budapest Keleti. Vintu de Jos, even though a small village, is located along the mainline from Hungary.

[RedEyeflight]

Īn Cluj.





Ssint Micheal's Church, a gothic style, Roman Catholic church.





Statue of Mathias Corvinus, King of Hungary, outside the church.

[RedEyeflight]

Alexandru Borza Botanical Garden. The park was founded by Hungarian linguist Samuel Brassai in 1872.