Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: May 26, 2021

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews.  This week’s topic is: my fantasy vacation.

So, my dream is to travel through Europe one day.  Specifically, I want to visit both Germany and Romania.  Germany is on the list because my grandfather was born there and came over to the US when he was about seven, after his father drowned.  Romania, well, I’ve never really figured out where my obsession with the country came from, but it’s a gorgeous country full of history and culture so, why not, right?

I’m going to focus on Romania here today since I’m sure we can all think of places and things to visit in Germany.

First, there are so many castles!  Among them is the infamous Bran Castle – Bram Stoker’s inspiration for Castle Dracula.  You can take a virtual tour of it here.

There are also a ton of old churches, cathedrals, and religious sites in Romania. Densuș Church is one that clocks in at over 600 years old!

In Bucharest (or București  if you want to get technical), there’s also what was once the People’s Palace, now the Palace of the Parliament.  Built by Nicolae Ceaușescu, it’s the world’s largest administrative building.  There is some interesting information on it here.

Lastly, there is a ton of wildlife in Romania.  Approximately 60% of Europe’s brown bear population lives in Romania.  Plus there are foxes, boar, birds, and a lot of other interesting critters.  I randomly found this webcam that does a live feed from a forest in Transylvania.  Lots of animals to watch this time of year!

Sightseeing and animals aside, there is also the food!  Sarmale (cabbage rolls), mămăligă (similar to grits or polenta), and of course, țuică – Romanian plum brandy with an alcohol content that ranges from 40-65% alcohol.  I think that once will be enough with the țuică!

There are so many things I want to see, do, and eat/drink that I can’t wait until I have a chance to actually visit this interesting country.  And maybe hit Berlin on my way back home?