Last week we traveled to western Romania for my cousin’s wedding. He worked in Romania for a number of years, met a Romanian and though they live in Germany now, they had the wedding in her hometown.

We had a great time, despite an incredibly long day getting there (5 hour flight delay!). It was an amazing experience getting to take part in a Romanian wedding celebration, though it required quite a bit of stamina – the ceremony was at 4p, the reception started at 7p and the main course wasn’t served til 2a! The weather was gorgeous, though, and there was plenty of wine and dancing.

It was equally amazing to see and explore an area in eastern Europe not heavily trafficked by tourists. The city we flew into, Timişoara, was the site of the first demonstrations against Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu that quickly led to his overthrow and execution in December 1989. 20+ years later and many signs of the communist, Soviet-style architecture and infrastructure still exist. One of the cities we drove through, Resita, used to be a major iron producing hub (apparently iron for the Eiffel Tower was produced here) and the city is a mixture of high-rise Soviet-style apartment buildings and huge industrial factories, all connected by an elevated track. It looked like something out of a graphic novel.

We took a small road trip the day after the wedding with family, driving into the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains for some amazing views, swimming in a mountain lake and Papanași (Romanian pastry) at an old resort hotel nearby. Our last day in the country we spent wandering (and sweating – 90 degress F!) around Timişoara itself. It’s a very interesting mix of eastern European and old Viennese architecture and ambience. It has several large squares lined with baroque/rococo buildings, and these are surrounded by rather bleak and boring concrete buildings.

All in all a very interesting trip!