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Day 3 - Traveling In Transylvania - U.S. Arts Envoy Day In the Life

Aug 3
2 min read

Traveling through Transylvania - A Tennessean's Perspective

Racovita Romania Arts Envoy Amanda Colleen Williams — rail tracks in Racovita, Romania

As a U.S. Arts Envoy from the great state of Tennessee, I felt like I had a lot in common with the Romanians, even before our visit.

For one thing, there are said to be 3 distinct parts of Romania, and our State of Tennessee also has 3 distinct parts, each with its own unique cultural differences, represented by the three stars on our flag.

Of the three regions in Romania, I was able to visit two, Wallachia, where we flew in and out of Bucharest, and Transylvania, where we visited two cities Sibiu and Cluj Napoca, along with glimpsing the glorious countryside and spirited roadways that grace the beautiful landscape.

Racovita, Romania
Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania
Racovita, Romania
Ciineni - Ciinenii Mari Romania
Ciinei - Ciinenii Mari Romania
Ciinei - Ciinenii Mari Romania
Calimanesti, Romania
Boita, Romania
Highway sign outside Bucharest

Also like Tennessee, Romania as a country has a lot of farmers and farming families, while the newer tech and service driven professions swing into gear alongside generations of people deeply attached to the lands.

In East Tennessee, where I'm from, we have the Appalachian mountains. In Transylvania, the central and west-central part of Romania, they have the Carpathian mountains.

Most of us have heard of Transylvania and perhaps the Carpathian mountains because of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but it is said that Stoker himself never visited here, perhaps something else we have in common?

It is my delighted impression that traveling in Transylvania is something like traveling in East Tennessee, but with a lot more castles.

Here are a few photos of sights, many of them snapped through the rain drenched moving windows of our Embassy transport. I thought they turned out very lovely and artistically pleasing, and are enough to give you a glimpse of the wonder that is Romania.