I don’t know about other travelers, but for me the best parts of a city are the back alleys and the least-vistied place. Of course I enjoy the main landmarks, but I avoid public transportation (yes, I did that even before Corona Virus) and I enjoy walking from place to place, habit that enables me to discover some hidden gems.
Vienna was my first international trip when I was a kid, and I have been there a couple of times since then, and even though the city center is by all means a beautiful place, I got bored of it pretty fast. This past summer I spent a month in Austria by myself and went to Vienna four times, looking for some fun places to hang out, and I discoverd the Donau Kanal and Prater Park. So if you are like me and try to find places with street art, young people and amazing nightlife, look no more. Just by taking a walk on the Danube Canal (Donau Kanal) you are likely to meet some cool locals or find other tourist to hang out with. Also after you meet you new buddies you can take them to Prater Sauna for a night to remeber ( or forget, if you have too much fun). Pro tip: Take your swim suit as they have an amazing pool.
So that being said, let’s get to business. I decided to do a ten photo series of some of my favourite cities around the world, and less touristic places I enjoyed the most. As you might have gussed, Vienna will be the first one.
After years of solo traveling, I think I mastered the art of taking pictures of myself. This one I took on a walk on the Donau Kanal.The street art on the Canal is truly amazing. You can easily call it an open air art gallery.
View of the Danube Canal itself.
The crazy facade of one of the well known clubs in Vienna, Flex.Some street art around Flex Club.Colourful building near Erdberg Bus Station. My bus to Maribor was delayed so I explored the area and found this architectural gem. I must say the area is full of contrasts and surpises.Arena Wien is also a must-see if you wanna visit something autentic. They have concerts, theatre performances and during summer an open-air cinema. Other side of the Arena. It was part of the industrial sector in Sankt Marx district and used to be an abattoir before it was turned into a cultural center.The pool at Prater Sauna, people chilling before a unforgetable psy party.I can not stress it enough, but if you want to have fun in Vienna go to Prater Sauna. I went to the party there at 3PM, got a tan, played volleyball with strangers, danced to some dub music by the pool and then danced all night inside to some psy music, and left next morning.
So I hope you enjoyed this off the beaten path, alternative, guide to Vienna.
Romania even though might not be on your Europe bucketlist, has a lot to offer. Most people might have heard about Bucharest, Dracula’s Castle or Transfagărășan Road, but this is not what we are going to talk about. Today we go off the beaten path to my gradmother’s village, JupâneÈ™ti, ArgeÈ™ County.
Why should I go there?
There are some touristic villages, mostly in Transylvania, but the traditional southern romanian countryside might be worth a short stop. But why? And my answer to this is because of the raw beauty. There are no souvenir shops, no turists, not even a supermarket, but you can see cows walking slowly on the dirt road, old ladies sitting and chatting in front of their house and if you are lucky maybe a dear or a fox will come your way.
How do I get there?
The village of Jupâneșt is pretty remote, so it is hard to get here if you do not rent a car. But if you plan on renting from Bucharest and you wanna go to Transylvania via Transfăgărășan Road, you should take this route: Bucharest-Pitești-DN73-Jupânești- return to DN73-DN73C- Transfăgărășan . So if you plan on going north, this is a perfect stop for a few hours, maybe for a picnic or just a walk in nature .
Picture taken on a short walk along Doamnei river.
Is there anything to visit ?
Yes, there is! Here we have one of the most important wooden churches in southern Romania. Built in the year 1742 on the place of an even older church, dated in 1636. The church has two unique paintings of hell and heaven to the left and to the right of the entrance.
The church entrance, heaven on the left and hell on the right. Picture from wikipedia.
One cenury later a porch was added to serve as meeting place for the villagers and it also served as school where the priest was teaching the childeren how to read and write. For the history geeks out there, next to the church there are also two grave stones written in chiliric alphabet, in contrast with the other graves in the cemetery that are marked with a cross and the inscription is written of course in latin alphabet.
The front of the church with the porch and the bell tower. On the right next to the church you can see the two small grave stones written in chiliric.
Also just by walking around you will have the chance to see some traditional southern romanian village architecture. Sadly the owners tend to demolish and build something new rather than restaurate, but some houses did survive. For now there are still enough houses standing to make an idea of what it used to look like.
Our holiday house and the multitude of dandelions in our yard.
Last, but not the least, and arguably the most important: Festivalul Țucii (Romanian Plump Brandy Festival). It takes place in an area called Valea Păcurarului where the local producers showcase their drinks. Also you will have the chance to see traditional pottery and costumes from this area. Normally the festival takes place at the beginning of October.
So today we went off the beaten path to see the raw beauty of a remote romanian village, but keep in mind that Romania has a lot of hidden gems, and if you plan to visit it, make sure to stop once in a while and visit something wilde & unique.
Nomad Blood 