Sadly the last day today. Breakfast was a treat of Cheerios in fresh milk! We packed the last of our things then presented our gift to Ibolya as a thanks for having us. Laszlo soon came to pick us up. It was very sad to leave Meresti! We drove to Odorheiu and settled down into our new accommodation for the one night. We were staying in student university halls this time. Laszlo left to prepare for a presenation which was taking place at the Town Hall. We met hi...

Woke up in the hay! Such a fantastic experience, even though it wasn't the best sleep I ever had. In the early morning I could hear the dawn chorus and the sunlight penetrated through the broken roof tiles. I was awake for a while before I emerged at 10am, reading my book and appreciating the surreal opportunity of sleeping on a massive haystack. We started the day with scrambled egg mixed with onion and cheese, cooked over the fire. At about 11am, we left to go...

Today is camping day! We started off well with a good breakfast of omelette and yoghurt. The boys came round for 10am to watch Ibolya make bread. She came from the outhouse and into the kitchen with a large cradle-like implement full of flour. It became Michael's job to gradually pour more water into the flour and yeast while Ibolya kneaded, pummelled and folded. She certainly worked up a sweat over this as it was incredibly hard work. This part of the process mu...

Breakfast a little later today, 9am, to allow for a rare lie-in! We had omelette for breakfast which set us up well for the hike we were to embark on. The hike began on a rocky slope which continued to ascend. Kate and I grew tired very quickly! A short time later however the exertion became worth it as we spotted a bird of prey. Then we hit the jackpot: a Cuckoo had landed on a bare branch only a few metres away. We crept towards it slowly, while taking photos...

Bran Castle day! Laszlo kindly drove us the two hours it took to get to Bran, which was mostly along the highway. During the journey we passed the town of Brasov, which had a rather distasteful Hollywood-esque sign announcing its name on the side of the hill. Driving straight past Brasov, we soon arrived at Bran. Laszlo whisked us straight over to the gate of the castle, where we embarked on a lengthy walk up to the castle grounds. Once inside, we could see the...