Corvinus Castle, Dacians, Romans and an unplanned detour to Serbia
July 2021 – Summer holidays have finally started and we are (almost) ready to go. After doing some last minute shopping and spending a whole day on packing we were eager to get going. Usually we do plan the various stops in detail before leaving and book some kind of accommodation (camping site, apatment, hotel room). The bookings are more of a safety net to us. Even though, we mostly stick to it, we sometimes change it while on the road. That’s why we try to keep a low budget and why we always keep an eye on cancellation policy. Even before the pandemic, which made it kind of obligatory. We did a road trip this summer, but we are experienced backpackers and interrailers too. Travelling with kids is simply easier if you have your own car and due to the current situation we wanted to have the option to get home earlier and quickly if necessary.
A delayed start and how did we ever manage to cram everything needed for 9 weeks into two backpacks?
We started on the 8th of July and spent 6 weeks travelling around Southern Europe. There is one thing about travelling with kids that is much more complicated than it used to be. Packing! I usually start by writing a list. In theory that should help us not to forget anything. In the end of course you forget to write stuff down which means you have to add it to the list or just throw it in one of the bags and wonder if you ever actually put it there. Happens every time! Or you tick something off without actually putting it into your bags and do something else (like look for your kids special pen so they do not forget to bring it!). As soon as you arrive at your first stop you look for it and remember. Nevertheless, I do think that the pros outweigh the cons here and I would be totally lost without my list :
As usual, we started packing the day before leaving (yeah I know more organized people probably start way earlier) and tried to do all the shopping still necessary two or three days before. As I was trying to limit everybodys luggage to two small suitcases for the kids and our two large backpacks I just kept asking myself: How did I ever manage to get everything I needed in one backpack and have room for things to buy? Even in India where we spent two months my backpack was enough! Well long story short we ended up with three small suitcases and 2 backpacks and felt like there was no room for anything to buy on the road. Based on the things we did buy that was not true of course. Raod tripping makes it so easy to take way more than you need with you. We finished in the evening and planned on being on the rod by 6 a.m. the next day.
As you might have guessed we did not make it 🙂 It was more like 9 a.m. Luckily for us border controls where not that strict. We are both fully vaccinated. That made controls rather easy to pass and we did not have to wait long to cross the boarders of Hungary and Romania. It took us about 7 hours to get to Hunedoara (Eisenmarkt) in Romania. We started in lower Austria and drove for 653 km (405 miles). We usually don’t make many breaks on the road and had breakfast in the car. The drive was rather uneventful to be honest and it worked just fine. Usually the kids occupy themselves. They used to sleep when they were younger. Now the usually read books, play together and we listen to a lot of podcast or music. Normally I make special mix tapes for the drives. I just didn’t get around to doing it this time. That’s why we listened to a lot of podcasts on the way.
not a morning person 🙂
Arriving at Hunedoara
We arrived around 4 p.m. and stayed at an apartment. Our host was waiting at the apartment. We texted her like 30 minutes before arriving. In general we do prefer apartments to hotel rooms. In this case it was a really good choice. The apatment was clean, spacious, came wiht a parking spot and was well equipped. If you ever look for a nice place close to the city center for a reasonable price (€ 25 per night for the whole aparmtnet) this really is a valid option.
After a short rest at the apartment we were ready to explore the city center and we were hungry. We found a nice place for dinner. Our first impression was that the city is not that touristy and kind of laid back. There are enough restaurants and cafés to choose from and prices are pretty low. But it really is a nice place.
Exploring major sites
9th of July – The next day we set out to explore the major sites like Corvinus castle and the miniature train museum. We came acourss a pretty impressive piece of graffiti on our way to the castle.
I really liked this little butterfly. Nice pattern, interesting idea and beautiful.
We stopped at the tourist information. That was quite helpful! Regarding the castle itself I have to say that I found it quite impressive. Compared to Bran castle (which will also be featured on the blog along with Bucharest) I found it nicer to visit and more interesting. There are fewer tourists which helps too. We had time to look at all the rooms in peace. Everything is explained in English. There are a lot of ravens as the raven with a ring in its mouth was the symbol of the Corvinus family. The castle entry ticket grants access to the castle, the torture museum, a museum on early local history and a museum on guilds and their development. We did not go to the torture museum as we were unsure about viisting it with the kids, but we had alook at the others and they were quite nice. The gallery below gives you a small overview.
Corvin Castle is among the most beautiful and well preserved castles in Europe. The Gothic architecture is amazing. Most of the excepitions inside focuses on everyday castle life in medieval times and the Corvin family. Prince Ioan of Hunedoara and his son King Matia corvin of Hungary are regional heroes and important historical figures. Their memory is kept alive in the castle. Their stories will be told in the next blog along with the Dacians.
We spend around 3 hours there in total. That includes a small break, some ice cream and time to actually read the info in thre castle and the musuems. Afterwards we visited the miniature train museum (Muzeul Trenuletelor Valentin Banciu). It is a small museum consisting of 3 rooms. What I really liked about it was that it was obviuosly done with a lot of enthusiams and how much attention was paid to all the details. You can see that as soon as you spot it, because the whole entrance is a little train cabin 🙂 It is really nice for kids and they can interact with the trains by pressing buttons below the train tracks. If you are into trains or need to occupy your kids definitely worth a visit. There are other msueums in town and a zoo so we might come back again.
Sarmizegetusa Regia – religious and political center of the Dacians
10th of July – After having explored most of the sights within the city center we decided to do a day trip to Sarmizegetusa Regia (distance from ciity center around 45 km/28 miles). The site was incuded in the UNESCO World Heritage List and was the captial of the Dacian Kingdom. The archeological site consists of three main parts. The fortification, the sacred area and the civil establishment. Nowadays the remainms of the 2000 years old temples are most impressive. You can still see the ciruclar plinth that used to support the wooden or stone columns and the limestone pillars, that used to mark the area. you can choose between two paths and find info about the capital along the way. The walks lead through an old beech forest. We found it quite charming and walked both paths.
Personally I found it kind of curious that the Romans destroyed the temples so thoroughly and even started their own Roman Sarmizegetusa Regia a couple of miles away. That indicates a lot of dedication to eliminating the Dacians and a lot of effort to burry any possible source for resistance against Roman occupation. The next blog entry will go into detail on the relations between Romans and Dacians and give you some background info on the Dacians as well. I do think that they are not as famous as the Romans. I really do think that this is one of the most important archelogical sites in Romania and if you ever are in the area you should visit. It is really peaceful and unique.
We did not plan on doing anything else that day, but coud not resist visiting yet another castle. We changed or minds on the way back and took the road through Deva. We stopped at Deva Citadel. that impresisve fortress dates back to 1269, but the volcanic cone on which it was built was inhabitaed from the Neolitihic and Dacian period. The fortress is considered one of the most important medieval fortifications in Transylvania. The fortress was expanded in the middle of the 15th century. In 1849 the fortress was destroyed by accident. Austrian nationalist used it as a stronghold while being attacked by Hungarian natinoalists. An explosion in the gundpowder deposit left the castel in ruins. It is a nice castle with interesting stories to tell and the views from the top are nice. We took the stairs to the top, but there is an elevator too.
Roman ruins and a detour to Serbia
11th July – Originally, we planned to take a bout trip along the Danube and cross boarder to Bulgaira directly. However, we are not ones to stick to plans and as you might have guesse by now quite chaotic at times. Aditionally, corona restrictions did not help and friends of ours were in Serbia at the time and we were literally on the other side of the Danube. So we visited Roman Sarmizegetusa Regia (Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa Regia) before lunch and stopped at their house in Serbia on our way to Bulgaria.
The Roman ruins are well preserved. We did not expect much to be honest. We were suprised in a positive way. the archeological site is quite large. Remains of a Roman theatre, temples and the forum of the city are clearly visible. There are signs in English and a parking area right in front. Emperor Traian founded the city as indicated by the name. Due to the profits from trade and nearby gold mines the new settlement flourished and it was the capital of the Roman Dacian province for the most part.
Afterwards we drove to the Iron Gate National Park. The park runs along the shores of the Danube in romania and bulagari. We read about boat tours that you can take into the park. Due to the pandemic we decided to skip the boat tour. It would probalby be quite nice. If you want to see the famaous Dacian stone head on the river bank you have to drive the road on the Serbian side as the head is on the Romanian part and not visible from the road in Romania (yeah we didnt :-)). Boarder crossingto Serbia was quite easy, but controls were more extensive than within the EU. We spent a couple of hours at our friend`s house and continued towards Bulgaria.
Unfortunately for us not all border controls allowed for cars. Therefore, we had to take a longer detour than planned and drove some quite interesting roads in Bulgaria. If you want to hear more you have to wait for next month. Blog posts in October will focus on the first couple of days we spent in Bulgaria before going on to Greece. If you want to make sure to stay informed follow me on instagram (s_trek_blog) or subscribe to the newsletter. Instagram is usually a bit more up to date because it is easier to post on the road. I hope you enjoyed reading and please do follow us/sign up!
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