Oh the places I've been!

This past week, I took a week off to travel around Romania and see some amazing things! The trip was fun filled and relaxing at the same time, but I was definitely ready for some little toddler kisses when I got back. A few months ago I hardly knew where Romania was located on a map and now I consider myself an experienced Romanian native :) Okay, maybe not native, but I have gotten very familiar with traveling across the countryside and many cities of Romania.

It started with a train ride. In Europe, everything starts with a train ride. Through the better and the worse, we arrived safely everywhere we needed. After the 4th train ride that week, I felt pretty at home sitting amongst my newly found Romanian acquaintances, nodding my head and pretending to understand our conversation.

Yay for attractive train-ride outfits...

There we had an incredibly difficult time finding people that spoke English so I ran around the Train Station for an hour asking everyone "vorbiti Engleza??". After lots of trial and error and some prayers, we walked past two young men dressed up in ties and name tags. You guessed it, our very own LDS missionaries saved the day! Transfers were just about a week ago so one of the Elders that was serving in our branch was transferred to the Bucharest branch. His train was delayed so him and his comp were waiting for their next train right at the moment when we needed help figuring out what we needed to do. Can you say answered prayer!

First stop: Bucuresti (Or Bucharest in English) 

Capitol of Romania. 

Pictures will describe the trip better than my hands can type, so here are a few of our adventures!

First place we stopped was a beautiful park

Reenacting statues is one of our favorite things

The night we got in we found out about a free walking tour around the city,. Luckily it was in English and it was wonderful! There is so much history in this city and there was no other way to find out than going and experiencing each place. The tour guide was awesome and we met some great people. I am getting more and more used to introducing myself from the United States rather than my State or City. I just feel so general saying I am from the United States, but when you are meeting people all over the world it becomes more normal.

Our tour group around the city! It was great to meet other travelers!

Bucharest is called "Little France" for a reason

The beautiful theater!

 Hostel Cozyness: Our hostel was AWESOME! It was my first experience in a hostel and a dang good one! There was a very fun and young filled atmosphere and they treated us very well! It didn't take us long to be known as the "American Mormon girls" and for that reason we ended up having several late night talks with travelers we met. I even found a better home for my Romanian Book of Mormon. 

Just hanging out in the Cozyness!

The Parliament Palace AKA the "People's Palace" (Ironic because they were Communist when it was built) was our next stop. Behind the Pentagon in the US, it is the 2nd largest building in the world. Our 2.5 hour tour barely even dented the amount to see there.

Me and Caroline trying to be as big as the building

Do we look like tourists?

One of the things we were looking forward to was going to the Hard Rock Cafe in Bucharest for some AMERICAN FOOD! It did not disappoint!

Can I stress how wonderful this meal was!

On the way back, we came across a little stand that was personalizing Coke cans for free!

And we stopped by a traditional Romanian village along the way!

And found some paddle boats!

Next Stop: Brasov 

Home of Dracula's Castle and Romania's vampires!

We spent a day visiting castles and fortresses in around Brasov. There were some unbelievable views and great hikes! 

 Sorry for the length, but it is nearly impossible to wrap up the trip in one blog post! Other things we did in Brasov include another walking tour, a hike to the Brasov sign (Like the Hollywood sign), and biking around the city!

Peles Castle

Bran Castle. Romanian's must have been short back then..

Me and Caroline at Dracula's Castles

Really cool fortress in Rasnov

Smallest street in Eastern Europe!

Rainy cold day in July + Hot Chocolate = Perfect!

Biking in Brasov!

BYU Study Abroad pride right there!

I love these girls!

And I love Romania

On the way to the fortress, there was a man playing the accordion. We stopped, gave him some money, and listened to him play. He stopped and asked us where we were from. When we said "America" he perked up and started playing "Oh Suzanna" as joyful as can be. We continued to dance and cheer him on for his American pride! {watch the end of the second video}

We went to the branch on Sunday for church. I always meet the coolest people there who continue to strengthen my testimony that the church is just as true in Romania as it is in the States.


It ended up being a great trip with some great girls! Just as it started, it ended with a train ride back home. Crazy how our definition of "home" can be so malleable sometimes. This city that was once so strange and foreign to me really does feel like a type of home for the time being. There has been lots of talk about returning to our real home and families back in the States, but that time will come. As for now, I am enjoying my experiences and soaking in all that I can!