It’s been another full week of gloomy weather here in Germany. The government shutdown is still ongoing, but fortunately, we found out that extracurricular activities can resume at school, and homecoming has been rescheduled for next weekend. Matt and I are still working as usual, so not much has changed for us.
The Stuttgarter Volksfest is wrapping up, and since we still had some food vouchers left from our earlier visit this season, we decided to go out for dinner together on Wednesday night. The traffic getting there was brutal, but once we finally arrived, we had a blast!
Wednesdays are family days at the fest, so the rides were cheaper. Brooklyn and Ryan had fun taking one more ride on their favorites, and we had a delicious dinner of half-chickens at the Chicken Tent. We walked the entire festival grounds and covered the shopping area, where we were able to pick up a new piece of olive wood. I even found a Kräuter Langos! It was a late night and hard getting there, but we all agreed it was SO worth it!
On Thursday, I finally received notification that a spot had become available for me in the German class at the Volkshochschule, the local adult night school. I took the placement test back in February and have been waiting for an opening ever since. The class actually started on Monday and was full, but someone dropped out, creating an opening. They called me about an hour before class and said that if I could make it that night, the spot was mine. I had already missed the first two classes, and they informed me that I would need to catch up on what I had missed. The class meets for three hours, three nights a week, until December.
I only had about an hour’s warning to get there, but I made it—though without any paper, pen, or textbook. The first thing I noticed was that I’m now the only female in the class, since the other two dropped out. I’m also the only native English speaker, so I have no one to lean on linguistically. The class is about 25% Ukrainian, 25% Turkish, 25% Eastern European, plus one person each from Guinea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, and me. Everyone except me needs this class for their German citizenship test, and they all seem like hardworking people doing their best to build a life in a new country. It’s pretty humbling. I feel a little spoiled just being there for a hobby (although I am working toward my German certificate). The other students and the teacher have been incredibly kind, doing their best to help me get started, lending me supplies, and making me feel comfortable.
The class is taught entirely in German—even during breaks, the teacher only speaks German, although he does also speak English. So, you’re really flying by the seat of your pants the whole time, and I already feel a bit behind the other students. Still, I think this is going to be a great experience—both for learning German and for the cultural exchange. I’m really going to study hard so my spot doesn’t go to waste.
This weekend was a long weekend for us, and we traveled to Romania for a spooky, pre-Halloween trip. Our flight was in the late afternoon, so we had plenty of time to pack and get ready before heading to the airport, where we ran into lots of friends and familiar faces who were doing the same thing as us.
Because of the time change, we didn’t arrive in Bucharest until after 7, and it was almost 8 by the time we got to the hotel. We were starving, so we quickly dropped our bags and went to dinner with another family we’d run into at the airport (seriously, what is our life?!).
We had dinner at the Sky Lounge, located on the top floor of the Grand Hotel Bucharest. The food and cocktails were excellent, and the views were stunning.
On Saturday, we were up early for a bike tour through Bucharest. We met our guide, Lucia, who took us through the old town, the communist neighborhoods, to the parliament building, and back. The tour lasted over four hours, but we had a break for snacks along the Dâmbovița River about halfway through.
Lucia shared so much fascinating information about Romania’s long history—from the Romans and the medieval and Renaissance periods to the more recent communist era. She made it incredibly interesting, and we learned a so much!
I will say that Bucharest is not set up well for biking infrastructure. There are no bike lanes, and the heavy traffic makes the roads nearly impassable. We ended up doing most of the tour dodging pedestrians on the sidewalks. In post-communist Romania, everyone wants—and does have—a car, and they’re happy to sit in heavy traffic. I think regular bike usage is still a few years away.
After the tour, we had lunch at Caru’ cu Bere, a historic Austrian brewery in the old town. Once we finished, we headed straight to the Bucharest Therme, the largest thermal spa in Europe.
Bucharest Therme is a sprawling wellness and relaxation complex featuring indoor and outdoor thermal pools, saunas, and an indoor water park. It’s all set within an indoor botanical garden offering a tropical oasis with lush gardens and warm mineral waters year-round.
We had a four and a half hour slot which we spent soaking in the qindoor and outdoor pools. We arrived in the afternoon and we were able to watch the sunset from the outside pool and then moved to the inside pool, which is also a huge botanical garden. The complex has several swim up bars and a restaurant that kept us occupied.
By the time our timeslot ended, we were exhausted. It was almost 10 o’clock when we left the Therme, so we ordered Thai delivery to meet us at the hotel just as our Uber arrived. We ate immediately and went straight to bed.
On Sunday, we were up early again, this time for a bus trip to Transylvania. We had to meet the bus at 6:30 AM in front of the Grand Bucharest Hotel, which luckily was only a few minutes’ walk from our hotel.
Luckily, the early start meant we were almost the first bus to arrive at Bran Castle, famous from the Bram Stoker novel Dracula. Although the castle has no real connection to the actual Vlad the Impaler, that doesn’t stop it from being Romania’s most visited site. The castle itself isn’t huge and has limited space to move around. It was so crowded, and the tour guide explained it was initially built to house only 60 people, yet thousands visit each day. We managed to get some good pictures before heading back out to the village, where we had langos for a snack. Then it was time to get back on the bus.
Our next stop was Brașov, the largest city in Transylvania. We took a short walking tour of the town before enjoying lunch at an authentic Romanian restaurant. We walked around the outdoor market, and then it was time to get back on the bus. The tour guide warned us that traffic was always heavy this time of day, especially going up the steep, winding mountain pass, and told us to expect about a two-hour drive.
After about an hour, he got back on the microphone with an update—it was now looking more like a four-hour drive, which meant we would miss the second castle on the itinerary, Peles Castle, which was supposed to be the highlight of the tour. Our only other option was to get off the bus, walk about 20 minutes to the next town, and catch a train that would take us to Sinaia, where Peles Castle is located. From there, it would be another 20-minute uphill hike. The decision had to be unanimous, and everyone on the bus agreed we’d rather take the train—so off we went.
We arrived at Peleș Castle only a little later than our originally planned time.
Peleș Castle in Sinaia is one of Romania’s most stunning landmarks, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Carpathian Mountains and built in the late 1800s as a summer residence for King Carol I. It ‘s a blend of Neo-Renaissance and Gothic styles. Inside, every room is richly decorated with intricate woodwork, stained glass, and treasures from around the world.
We were given a guided tour and found the castle much more relaxed and less crowded than Bran Castle. It was definitely the favorite of the two for all of us. After the tour, we had some free time to grab snacks before getting back on the bus for the two-hour drive back to Bucharest. The bus arrived in Sinaia about two hours after us, so our train journey was definitely worth it.
After our 14-hour tour, you’d think the day would finally be over—but not quite. We had dinner reservations at Hanu lui Manuc, the oldest inn in Bucharest and one of the city’s most iconic spots.
We settled into the rustic cellar for a traditional Romanian meal. I had the turkey leg cooked in red wine, Matt went for the pork ribs, and the kids had chicken kebabs. For dessert, we shared papanash—Romanian doughnuts topped with cream and jam—and pavlova, a cloud of cream-covered fruit. That Romanian cream was incredible! The only way I can describe it is as a sweeter, thicker version of whipped cream. Afterward, we headed back to the hotel, more than ready for some much-needed rest.
On Monday, we had an early breakfast at grand Café van Gogh with our friends before heading back to the airport. We all had either pancakes or French toast covered in salted caramel and more Romanian whipped cream- so good!
Once we were at the airport, we ran into no less than four other families who we knew from the Stuttgart. Some were on our flight and some were taking flights back to other airports. Last year we only knew of a few people who had been to Romania and now it seems like everyone is going; Romanian tourism is really picking up!
We all really loved Romania and I’m surprised it took us so long to get there. The country definitely has a complicated past but it’s moving past that and has a lot for visitors to do. I could definitely see myself coming back and exploring other parts of the country,
We had landed, picked up the dogs, and returned home by 4pm, which gave me a short time to change and eat before heading back to the German school. It’s definitely going to be a very busy couple of months until German school is over in December.
Gilcrests Abroad 