I've been in Romania for seven days now, currently in Brasov, in Transylvania and am headed for the capital of Bucharest this afternoon. I have really enjoyed my time here, it is a beautiful country full of greenery and mountains.

I have spent time in Cluj-Napoca, a university town in the western edge of Transylvania and Sighisoara, a small town on a hill fortified by a citadel "walled city" which was the town that Vlad Tepes "Dracula" was born in. I moved on to Brasov, a mid size city of a few hundred thousand which is a great place for day trips. I went to Bran Castle, or "Dracula's Crib" if you will. It was extremely touristy and kind of disappointing to be honest. Built in the 14th century, most of it has been remodeled in the 1920's when it was a summer home for the Romanian King. My favorite site was a beautiful Palace called Peles Castle high in the mountains in a town called Sinaia.

It is actually very easy to get around and I haven't had any more difficulty then I've had in other countries. Romania is clearly not as developed as the countries further west, but there are glimpses of it's development popping up everywhere. Unfortunately, there continues to be a growing desparity between the urban and rural areas, though neither live a peticulary wonderful lifestyle. It is quite common to see people still getting around by horse drawn buggy in the country side while most city folk live in cement block communist style high rises that go on for miles.