The name comes from the Neamt river which is flows at the footsteps of the mountain. The medieval fortress became a reference for me and for many other Romanians in school when we read the poem of Dimitrie Bolintineanu which tells the story of when Stefan the Great's Mom sent him back on the battlefield when, wounded he wanted to find shelter from the Ottomans in the fortress but his mother sent him back on the filed saying that she prefers him to die for the country  than to hide like a coward in the fortress. He ended up winning the battle, that's what i call motivation! ;)

As Brueder Grimm are for Germany or Hans Christian Anderson is for Denmark so is Ion Creanga for Romania the reference for fairytales and kids anecdotes. Curious? Read the most remarkable stories of Ion Creanga in EN :)

It's not a secret for anyone that the main attraction in Bucovina are the painted Monasteries, but what else is there here to do see and explore?

We spent a total of 3 nights in Bucovina around the monasteries, one night in Sucevita so that we can start our experince with Sucevita monastery and 2 in Gura Humorului to end our trip in the area and also do a bit of hiking in the around

 The Viseu de Sus forestry railway, located in the far north of Romania close to the border with the Ukraine, is an outstanding example of technical cultural heritage. The line is known as the "Vaser Valley Railway" - "vaser" comes from the local German word for water, in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Travelling over a network of some 60 kilometers of narrow-gauge track, you will still find wood-burning steam locomotives running alongside several diesels and railcars. CFF Viseu de Sus ("CFF" is the Romanian abbreviation for Caile Ferate Forestiere, meaning "Forestry Railway") is the last remaining forestry railway in Europe. (Source)

I love seeing and discovering people in their natural being and not changed by society. I love to see places where nothing changed with the pass of the years, it stayed as natural as always and it fills my heart of joy when I see all those people being happy about who they are. So it's been a long time now I wanted to visit Maramures, a place in the northern Romania at the border with Ukraine where traditions are still kept to this day.

Traditions are in my opinion some of the most valuable things a nation has and to be able to keep the same traditions over time is priceless. I was very happy to discover that there is this house in Maramures area Romania that offers it's guests a unique and traditional experience: Casa Traditiilor in Ieud. 

After having our first night right at the border in Oradea and taking some hours to explore the city, which I definitely recommend  we went towards the amazing city of Cluj-Napoca. From culture to nightlife, Cluj-Napoca is a pleasure to experience and you should not miss it whether you plan to visit Transylvania or Maramures and Bucovina. 

One of our favorite spot of our 2 weeks trip was the visit to the Turda Salt mine, which is located very close to Cluj. Why? well easy, because it is not just a mine, but also a museum and an amusement park! you heard it right, deep down under earth they created an amusement park.

Located only 10 km from the border with Hungary (Bors crossing point), Oradea ranks 10th in size among Romanian cities and is one of the most important cities in western Romania. Oradea is the capital of Bihor county and Criseana Region and it is divided by the Crisul Repede river in almost 2 equal parts.