Too Square to be Hip
A narcissist's guide to travel and culture
A lone traveller approaches a forlorn castle, overlooking a pass, located deep in the mountains of Transylvania. Lightning strikes and the rain is coming down hard, the man/woman is drenched and weary. Seeking refuge the poor traveller makes his way up the ramp to the castle door. Little does he know his host is lying …
One of the most recognizable regions of Eastern Canada, is perhaps its most overrated. In winters people flock to the Mt. Tremblant ski resort when much superior slopes exist in similar proximity, yet I find that the region still holds its charms. Geography The mountainous Laurentide region of Canada are located just north of the …
Sitting at the southern tier of Transylvania, hugging the Carpathian mountain on all sides, Brasov is surrounded by a sea of green hills. The city is located between Bucharest (along with the pleasant mountain retreat of Sinaia) and the Transylvanian Hinterland. For many, this will be their first (and sadly, only) stop in the province …
History Dacio-Roman Period Small clusters of civilization have existed in this part of Transylvania since the Stone Age, yet these would not reach a certain level of importance until antiquity. During Dacian times, the Daciens being the original inhabitants of Romania, small settlement existed at both modern Cluj and Turda. By 106A.D Emperor Trajan had …
History of Transylvania Dacio-Roman Antiquity Transylvania was the center of a civilization called the Dacians, the original people of Romania. That territory fell to Roman invasion in 106A.D by hand of Emperor Trajan. This region of Europe was known for its rich mineral deposits and it is easy to see why the iron hungry Romans …
Walking to my hostel from the train station in Sibiu, I could not believe the scene unfurling in front of me. The picture seared in my memory was the exact cityscape I had imagined in my mind before my visit, a Transylvania of old. The sheer marvel of the multicoloured Saxon buildings had drawn me …
After a night of little sleep with a merry band of singing Germans in Timisoara, I was off on an early morning train to the Romanian city of Deva to get my first glimpses at on of the most famous castles in Transylvania. I boarded the train at 6am, only half awake. I was in …
My interest in Timisoara, the westernmost city of Romania, was first peaked while I was watching a documentary on the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the brutal communist dictator of Romania. The revolution that brought him down started in this city, in large part due to the protests of a Hungarian priest. Learning about the ethnic …
My first introduction to the Croatian capital was acquired through the medium of film, rather than the typical tourism pictures found in city guides. It was a James Bond picture, “From Russia with Love”, to be precise. In the movie, Bond’s train departing from Istanbul briefly stops in a grim cold war Zagreb where it …
The most popular nature reserve in the expansive Croatian system, Plitvice offers something of a paradise to whomever visits. Within the narrow confine of its limestone cliffs you will find one of the most beautiful succession of waterfalls that I ever have laid my weary eyes on. One could call them a gem of natural …
