Mar 16th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Castles originated in Europe over a thousand years ago. These fortresses were one of the original defense systems, and erecting the structures on hills or just beyond moats was a functional choice. Castles were built to house rulers, impose power, and above all, spurn would be attackers. Conforming to these basic principles of utilitarian design, the strongholds now appear solitary, majestic, ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Romania posts
The ten best castles in Europe
Mar 16th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Castles originated in Europe over a thousand years ago. These fortresses were one of the original defense systems, and erecting the structures on hills or just beyond moats was a functional choice. Castles were built to house rulers, impose power, and above all, spurn would be attackers. Conforming to these basic principles of utilitarian design, the strongholds now appear solitary, majestic, ...Five ways to get more European stamps in your passport
Mar 2nd, 2011 at 10:30AM:
Lake Ohrid, Macedonia.
Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that European passport stamps have become harder and harder to get. The expansion of the Schengen zone has reduced the number of times tourists are compelled to show their passports to immigration officials. For most Americans on multi-country European itineraries, a passport will be stamped just twice: upon arrival and upon departure. ...Schengen and the disappearance of European passport stamps
Mar 1st, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Creative new use for border crossing posts at German/Austrian border.
In the late 1980s, an American spending a summer traveling across Europe with a Eurailpass would see his or her passport stamped possibly dozens of times. With a few exceptions, every time a border was crossed, an immigration agent would pop his or her head into a train compartment, look at everyone's passports, in most ...Romania may send witches to jail if predictions don't come true
Feb 8th, 2011 at 11:30AM: Yes, we're aware it's closer to Valentine's Day than Halloween, but the news that Romania has decided to impose even tougher regulations on its witches (yes, witches) is generating 'round the globe chatter.
Just one month after authorities began to impose a tax on their trade, the country's witches and soothsayers are fighting against a new bill that will impose a fine and perhaps even jail ...Weekending: Veliko Tarnovo
Oct 21st, 2010 at 2:30PM:
The best part of expat life for me are the travel opportunities, especially when living in Turkey, conveniently located where Europe meets Asia. Expat travel takes on a new twist as you seek out the new and unfamiliar as in any new destination, the newly familiar of your adopted home city, and the old and familiar of your original home city. You luxuriate in the things your expat home lacks, ...Flying Wizz Air, European low-cost airline
Sep 13th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
I just flew with Wizz Air, a major budget airline in Europe whose name and stunts I had previously only snickered over. It turns out in addition to offering low fares across Europe, they are also the largest carrier in Hungary (at least according to Wizz, Malev Hungarian would beg to differ) and a major player in Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. Last week I traveled to Bulgaria (look for some ...Gadlinks for Wednesday 10.7.09
Oct 7th, 2009 at 5:30PM:
TGI Wednesday! I am really craving some down time and am ready for the weekend already. Only two more days to go, everyone. Hang in there. To keep your week plugging along, here are the latest and greatest travel reads from around the web.
Need to buckle down and do some work in NYC? Check out these 10 NYC cafes with free WiFi. [via Nerdy Nomad]
I really want to travel to eastern Europe, and ...Hangover helpers by country
Dec 19th, 2008 at 8:00AM: National Geographic has a nifty little chart showing traditional hangover cures by country. You may have known, for example, that many Americans use tomato juice and eggs to cure the aftermath of a long night out on the town. But did you know that in Romania they use tripe soup? As in cow's stomach tripe? I don't know about you, but nothing makes my upset tequila bowels go away better than some ...Which European Country Works the Hardest?
Sep 5th, 2008 at 11:00AM: I have always been under the impression that Europeans worked fewer hours than Americans. However, a new survey shows that more than one country's population averages over 40 hours per week on the job. Romania and Bulgaria are home to the hardest workers on the continent. According to research conducted by The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), ...Talking Travel with Eric Nuzum, Author of The Dead Travel Fast
Oct 31st, 2007 at 6:30AM: I've never watched a horror movie from start to finish and I'm not a fan of haunted houses. Needless to say, I didn't have high hopes that I would make it through Eric Nuzum's new book about stalking vampires. But the title intrigued me enough to start it, and then, well -- when a book begins with someone attempting to drink their own blood, you just can't help but get sucked in. For Nuzum, it all ...Five endangered places you should see now, before they're gone
Oct 27th, 2007 at 10:51AM: If you knew a place was going to disappear soon, even if it wasn't one of your top must-see destinations, would you visit it just in case you regretted never seeing it later on? Our brand-new sister blog, the Green Daily, recently published this post on vacation destinations that are on the brink of being extinct. A word to the wise: see them now or you might never get a chance. Here's what made ...Which European Country has the Worst Drunks According to YouTube Videos
Sep 20th, 2007 at 7:28AM: Europe has a long tradition of drinking. While this may not be such a bad cultural norm, there are a few bad apples who embrace their love of alcohol just a little too enthusiastically. If you've been to Europe, you know what I'm talking about. Sure, my home country of America has its share of drunks, but for whatever reason I always see far more stumbling, incoherent, word-slurring reprobates on ...
My Bloody Romania: Sibiu, slippery when wet
Sep 11th, 2007 at 10:00AM: Dateline: Sibiu, Romania
Sun, warmth and temperature perfection; that pretty much sums up the first 48 hours of my Vladling road trip in Transylvania. At exactly 48 hours, one minute and 15 seconds, Romania suffered a freak, only-when-it's-me, inclement weather zap. The temperature dropped 20 degrees Fahrenheit, fog rolled in and it rained like hell. Parts of eastern Romania were under water in a ...My Bloody Romania: 'Vladling' in Transylvania
Sep 10th, 2007 at 10:15AM: Dateline: Târgu Mure?, Romania
The first incarnation of my online blogging presence was called Every Notable Patch of Grass in Romania. The title was apt, as I had already lived and traveled in Romania for nearly a year and was about to embark on my Lonely Planet research trip to canvas the more obscure tourist sites in the country normally frequented by truckers, drunken businessmen and ...Witchcraft in EU Courts?
Feb 27th, 2007 at 7:32AM: Just as soon as Romania has been let into the EU, there's double, double, toil and trouble brewing. A Romanian judge has been fined and demoted for practicing witchcraft in her court.
Elena Simionescu is alleged to have splashed mud, water, "other liquids," as well as salt and pepper, on fellow judges' desks. Should one think it was a simple culinary event, she admitted to sprinkling "holy water" ...Romania to Buy Dracula's Castle
Jan 11th, 2007 at 9:55AM: The state of Romania has made one of its first announcements as a new EU member loud and clear: they want to buy the medieval fortress in Transylvania, Bran Castle (known also as "Dracula's Castle") back from the former royal family of Habsburgs, Reuters reports. The price tag? 60 million Euros.
The castle was confiscated from the Habsburgs by the communists after WWII and just last year the ...Photo of the Day (12/25/06)
Dec 25th, 2006 at 8:00AM: Here is one to Romania! It's hard to believe they will be a part of the EU in no time...
I have never been but the mountains (Piatra Craiului) are supposed to be great. A few of my friends have gone there to hike and ski and loved it. Here is a photo of the countryside from Marek Wagner for the Czech travel mag Koktejl.
Romania and Bulgaria are the new hot places to travel in Europe. Adventure ...
