The monastery is the tallest wood building in Europe, measuring over 40 meters. The next picture might tell you the height more accurately than meters:

However, it's not the monastery making the village famous, but the graveyard. It is a unique graveyard in the world. It is the only Happy Graveyard in the entire world. It may sound strange, but it's true.

The graves are carved in wood by the Romanian sculptor Ioan Patras using very bright colors and a bright-blue background. On the graves there are the last words of the people lying under them and a picture showing them in a very important or usual moment of their lives.

The lasts words are usually filled with fun comments or just words to prove the happiness of the person. The graveyard is filled with over 800 graves, each one being funny in its own way.

This picture might help you understand better what I'm saying:

Here you can see both new and old graves and their pictures and last words. I hope this document helped you to find out a new place to visit and inspired you a new journey perhaps!
Have a nice time until next time!

The graveyard has over 800 graves. All of them have a picture representing the dead person in a very important moment or a very usual moment of their life. The pictures are carved in wood by the Romanian sculptor Ioan Patras. They use bright colors and a blue called "Albastru de Sapanta" ("Sapanta Blue"), which almost looks like the popular "Albastru de Voroneţ" ("Voronet Blue"), who's name comes from the Moldavian monastery where it was invented.

Also on the grave there are carved the lasts words the dead wanted his friends wanted to know. Usualy these lasts words have a sense of humor. However they are written only in Romanian and have many gramatical errors.

The vilagers in Sapanta are very proud of their monument.

The Dracula Connection

Ok, so what is the first thing you think of if I say “Transylvania”? For many people it would be the blood-thirsty count of Bram Stoker's book of the same name. And Transylvania is full of castles claiming to be the Dracula's castle.

There is Dracula's Castle or Castel Dracula as it is known in Romanian: a 53-roomed hotel perched 1116m high, on the very spot where Bram Stoker is said to have sited his fictitious Dracula's castle. But there are also various castles said to have belonged to Vlad Tepes, the real-life blood-thirsty (not blood-drinking) fifteenth century leader on whom Dracula was based, one of which is Bran Castle (pictured). And to top it all, Bram Stoker never even visited Transylvania, so go figure.

Language

The language issue can be a little confusing. Transylvania has, throughout its turbulent history, been fought over and occupied by all of its neighboring countries at one time or another. As a result, each region seems to favor a different language, making Transylvania harder than ever to define.

The South of the region was at one time part of the Hapsburg Empire and speaks a mixture of Romanian and German. The West of Transylvania contains one of the largest ethnic minority groups in the form of a Hungarian speaking population of well over a million. Add to this mix a colorful population of Roma whose language is closer to Hindustani and it makes for a veritable Babel of voices.

If you are lucky, you may find yourself in a region where Romanian is spoken. Romanian seems to be a mix of all the Latin languages cobbled together and, as such, is far easier to learn and understand. It is also much easier to locate a Romanian phrase book. Very little English is spoken in Romania so you may find a little Romanian goes a long way.

Train Travel

Romanian trains are a real paradox. There is the strangest divergence between 1st and 2nd class compartments. If you book a ticket in advance, which is recommended, you may be tempted to automatically book 1st class, particularly if you have ever seen the interior of a Romanian train. However, this would in no way guarantee you a higher quality of carriage than the 2nd class option, particularly on the more rural lines. On the contrary, 1st class is often far inferior to 2nd; it seems to be a sort of lottery. One can only assume that, to the Romanians, the higher price keeps the riff-raff away.

You will, without doubt, need your phrase book at a train station as the staff rarely speaks English. It is also a good idea to write down the phrases you think you will need in advance: train stations are high pressure environments and people will always try to queue jump and generally get grumpy with the bumbling traveler.

The great advantages of trains are that firstly, they are cheap. A trip of 100km would cost you between 4 and 9 Euros, depending on the class of the ticket and the speed of the train. And secondly, despite the wildness of Transylvania, they are invariably on time.

Accommodation

Transylvania has a wealth of fabulous, affordable accommodation options. There are, of course, hotels and in some towns these will be your best option. But it is well worth being a little more adventurous and straying off the beaten path, particularly in rural areas. Some of the villages in the countryside have changed little since the medieval era and these really are “the wild West of Europe”.

If you can plan a little in advance, you may be lucky enough to find guesthouse accommodation that includes breakfast and dinner. It is worth checking places out on the web before you leave, and check out the Lonely Planet guide on Romania and Moldova. It suggests some very reasonable and welcoming guesthouses. Prices are generally between 15 and 30 Euros per night. For this, expect a large, traditional breakfast of bread, cheese and meat; and also some home cooking of indigenous dishes in the evening washed down with homemade wine and a chat from your genial host. It is a little like staying in someone's home and thus, it gives you a flavor of the real Transylvania.

Although guesthouses often provide the best value for money, there are also many hostels dotted around Transylvania. Often the price includes breakfast, and you can get a double room for about 30 Euros. This is perhaps better if you are just looking for a base to explore from.

However, hotels in Transylvania are really not expensive. You can get a double room with bath and all the mod cons, for less than 70 Euros. In some of the older towns such as Sinaia or Sighisoara, you can stay in a slice of history for the same price; the hotels there are often over a hundred years old and sometimes palatial.

On the whole, it s a good idea to stay in a mix of accommodations to get a taste of the real Transylvania.

Beyond all the negative aspects hunted sometimes by journalists or tourists who don't know and refuse to learn about the positive side of Romania, I would like to bring to attention some things that might draw interest to people. I'm also curious to find out why some people who visit Romania look only for negative and can't get the positive where it's obviously around the corner waiting timidly to be noticed and marked down in the sentimental diary.

Then I would like to inquire why people who didn't visit or read about Romania too much are so tempted to believe only what media says and not filtering through their own mind.

I've seen movies about sadness in Romanian orphanages, street or abandoned kids, rude vendors, abusive situations, corruption but not too much referring to the old traditional culture and values.

I honestly intend to suggest travelers ,writers or journalists to try opening "the mind"s eyes' as Romanians say, so to be able to depict through studying the people's way of being, living, their mentality, to do a psychological investigation in the Romanian's heart. A professional journalist visiting any country in the world should be able to

notice first the cultural differences, then to have the desire and respect for the foreign culture he/she chose to discuss. Maybe it would require even more than these: a special sensitivity towards unknown, Eastern cultures, and communication.

Most of the articles with critics about Romania are written by journalists who explore for a short time the country as an old fashion country, strange place and picking only sensational negatives for bitterness and hurting the feelings, gossip that some people like to watch on TV news in the evenings .

Romania was under communism so many years and still struggles to get its "wings" for the political and economical transition; this takes time and maybe some generations for changing and rehabilitation. Only with severe critics and harsh comments I don't believe somebody can be helped….

It needs a special tone of voice and writing, a type of compassion, cross cultural understanding and desire of appreciation and honoring cultures outside the native boundaries.

The negativist journalists should rather contact humanitarian organizations and encourage them or getting themselves involved in helping the sadness.

Also, they should find time for knowing step by step some valuable things in Romania. This would be certainly a help for people around the world to look at Romania with more objectivity.

I've recently studied some discussing forums to find out about the tourists' and exchange workers' impressions about Romania after "89. They refer to the changes they"ve noticed after the democratic revolution. This in order to find out the good parts and make them popular to those ones who might be interested in traveling some day to Romania.

I have myself interest in cross cultural integration and experience of foreigners who worked and studied in Romania or came for helping in different fields of activity. Talking to people who visited Romania, I was curious to hear their voice and put together thoughts and impressions. I was happy to find that there are many good things to be considered and many tourists expressed their desire to come and visit again Romania.

According to a recent general survey, the tourists who visited Romania were impressed by:

• the people and their special hospitality of inviting guests in their house and offering the best even under very modest financial possibilities
• the Romanian children who are usually much more polite than in Western countries and struggle very hard in schools showing respect and consideration for adults and elderly
• the national treasures of Bucovina in the North of Romania: the monasteries of 14th and 15th century that are protected by UNESCO as part of world heritage
• the Carpathians and the large variety of natural resorts and valleys
• the Romanian food based on seasonal organic fruit and vegetable
• the special cultural traditions on Christmas where the carolers fill the heart with the real significance of this religious holiday
• the folklore and many various celebrations all year round: folk dances, songs, fairs, costumes
• the people's pride in preserving the cultural traditions and transferring to the young generation

These would make just a brief summary to motivate people for visiting Romania. To be more convincible, I will add a foreign traveler's opinion about Romania:

'It gave me the feeling that I belong there somehow and would like to go again. Then a type of being a part of the huge Romanian family going through everything together'.

There are many hotels and motels in Romania. From 2 stars to 7 stars, it depends only of the money you have. If you don't have money at all you could stay in a 1 star hostel. For a lower price are pensions from 1 star to 5 stars. But many of these are full almost all of the time. If you don't find a free room you could go at private houses because in touristy towns people make good profit from hiring rooms.

Transport

One good way of seeing the country is by car because you can stop anytime you like, anywhere you like and stay how much you like. But cars could sometimes be slow because of the traffic. So, another good way to see Romania is by train. Of course you don's have all of the facilities you have with a car, but trains are very frequently in Romania so this shouldn't be a problem. If you want to travel a long distance in a short time, the best opportunity is the airplane.

Sightseeing

You can relax surfing at the Black Sea or skiing in the Carpathians. You really have to see some monasteries such as: Putna, Voroneţ and Agapia. The Peleş Castle is also wonderful and impressive. The other touristy attractions are ruins like Suceava, Neamţ and Bran. But if you want to see al the country, you can go on a trip all over it.

People

Most of the people are nice. But nowadays there aren't any pure-blood Romanians. There are Hungarians, Germans, Turks and Ukrainians.

Food and Drink

Romanians have their own traditional food and drink. The most popular food is cabbage rolls with corn mush and cream. The best wine in Romania is the red one from Cotnari or Murfatlar, but you can also try the plum brandy.

Souvenirs

And at the end of the trip you have to take something to remember about it. The souvenirs are in every square: traditional embroidery on traditional costumes and rugs, hand painted pottery, wooden dolls, musical instruments or melancholy folk songs.

I am not saying more about Romania because I'm letting you to discover it. Welcome to Romania!

They love to share their culture with anyone. Any time of the year is a perfect time to go. In the winter, if you love the snow, you should visit the ski slopes. In the Fall, you should travel through the Carpathian mountains. In the Summer a perfect spot is at the Black Sea coast. There are always festivals to attend year round. The view is breath taking. Because of the elevation, there is a constant peek from any mountain top. History comes alive, with all of the castles that dot along the mountain edges.

If you like, I can also suggest a tour of any of the Orthodox churches. They are beautifully hand crafted & the painting is perfect. You simply must try the food! It is different, yet tasty! So, make a stop at one of the taverns. Shopping is just about anywhere, with the many little tourist markets. If you are interested in hunting the Count Dracula, you are in for a surprise! You will find a very different person here. I promise you, the Dracula you will find is much more interesting than any myth you have read about him.

So, come roam around Romania. You will find it to be well worth it!