"My Most Unlucky Travel Day Ever" Rupea by Jetgirly

Or, why I went to Brasov twice.

So, this one time, I looked out the train window and saw the coolest fortress ever. "I have to find that fortress!" I thought. But then I went back to eating my dessert wine-flavoured croissant and forgot about it. Until a few weeks later, when I realized I had some extra time on my hands. "I know!" I thought. "I'll find that fortress!" Using a combination of excellent Google mapping and really crappy Romanian web searching, I determined the fortress was in Rupea. That was great, as Rupea seemed to be on the train line from Sibiu. So I packed up my forty-pound backpack and hopped on the train.

I watched anxiously out the window for The Fortress of My Dreams. I wasn't exactly sure where Rupea was, or if it had a hotel, or if the fortress was open to the public, but I didn't care. This was destiny! I started chatting with two drunk middle-aged men across from me, and they were excited that I was going to Rupea. They helped me find the stop, and when I jumped off the train they gestured wildly that I had to hurry. I wasn't sure why, but I followed the crowd to the front of the train station...

... where, off in the very far distance, I could see the fortress. But it appeared to be in a different city. You see, the train lets you off in RUPEA GARA, which locals will say is two kilometers from the town but Google Maps makes it very clear that it is SEVEN KILOMETERS. The three Romanian people who had also got off at stupid Rupea Gara became insta-friends and hopped in a passing eighteen-wheeler, leaving me alone at the side of the road in what is actually the middle of nowhere.

So, being the resourceful young woman I am, I literally opened the door of the next vehicle that stopped at the stop sign where I'd given up all hope, and asked for a ride to Rupea. The guy looked at me like I was crazy, but let me in. He drove me to the intersection three and a half kilometres away, but left me on my own for the rest of the trip. So, I walked. In the hottest sun Romania has surely ever seen, beside the highway, I walked. I tried to hitchhike, but nobody would even pick me up! I'm so sweet and innocent! And rich and foreign! I couldn't believe it!

I finally wandered into town dazed and confused, soaked in sweat, and pretty sure I'd grown twenty-five skin-cancerous tumors during the walk. Water. I needed water. I kept asking people where the store was, where I could buy water, and they just kept pointing off into the distance. I thought I was going to faint. For real. On the plus side, the citadel looked really close. I wasn't sure if I'd make it another step when I came across a car with two girls about my age sitting inside, smoking. "Where can I buy water?" I asked. "Are you ****ing crazy?" they replied. "Sit down! Let us take your bag! What the **** are you doing?"

And thus began a day marked by the kindness of strangers. My new friends informed me the citadel was closed and no visitors could access the site. Apparently rocks would fall on my head or something. They gave me some water, and then drove me to a mini-market where I could stock up on even more. Then, they said, "Do you want to drive around with us today? We've got some stops to make, but we'll be in Brasov by the evening." Ummmm... is Romanian pizza awesome? Is the Black Sea the worst resort development in the world? Are all Eastern European girls 5'10" and 115 pounds? YES PLEASE!

What I Saw Instead of the Rupea Citadel, Brasov

So, I hopped in their car. We waited around for a while and their coworkers emerged from a building. All five of us crammed back into the company car and off we went, through a forest, to some small towns, to a couple of industrial parks... I was in heaven. One- I wasn't walking in the thirty-five degree heat with a forty-pound backpack on. Two- I was seeing the most random, weird stuff ever. Three- I got some insight into Romanian business operations!

I won't name the company for which my guardian angels work, as I'm sure it's against company policy to pick up random backpackers and drive them around all day, but let me just say that I will never forget their kindness! Also, I will never stop hating Rupea.

And thus began Brasov, Version 2.0!

• Pros:Nice people from Brasov will save you from the firey pits of hell.
• Cons:Its fortress exists solely to taunt tired, sunburned backpackers.
• In a nutshell:Tell yourself it's a mirage and go back to eating your croissant.