romania wasn't even in the plan. i was in sofia, bored out of my mind after three days, so i booked a seat on an overnight bus to bucharest. eight hours through roads that felt like they hadn't been paved since the soviet era, bouncing around at full speed in the dark. one of those travel experiences you survive more than enjoy. bucharest surprised me though. it was nice and had more to offer than i expected. visited the palace of the parliament, which is absurdly massive, and even found a water park that was a lot of fun. from there i joined a guided tour to transylvania. saw snow for the first time in my life, which was magical, until i realized i was wearing sneakers. the snow went right through them and my feet were frozen the entire day. explored brasov, peles castle (gorgeous), and dracula's castle. which honestly was disappointing. cool name, underwhelming place.