More books to read here

I’ve updated the books page on this site with two new entries on the non-fiction page and an interloping entry on the fiction page. If you’re coming to Transylvania, or have been here, and want to read more, here are some cracking books to buy or borrow. Here’s the non-fiction page to start with.

New book about Magura

My new book, Fericita in Transilvania: drumul din Liverpool in Carpati, will be published by Editura All in mid-November. All about my life in Magura – how and why I came here, and why I’ve stayed – the book tells the story of why an English woman left a world-famous city for a remote mountain village in Romania.

Follow the book blog to find out about the book launch, events, signings, talks, offers, competitions and more.

If you’re searching for the right Christmas present, this might be the solution…

 

 

 

Typing in gloves

First mention of the forthcoming book in this piece, published today in Viitorul Romaniei…

Off on their flying carpet

Shannon May and Isobel Shaw-Pritchard were my latest volunteers, and were here for two weeks working like madwomen on my beautiful new attic, under the eagle eye of master transformer Greg Helm. Favourite spot in Magura: La Ciocolata, the high spot of the social whirl and architectural gem. At the third attempt they managed to achieve an ambition of seeing bears at close quarters – at the bear sanctuary in Zarnesti. Travel well, girls!

Is this very good news?

Bucharest’s English-language daily paper, Romanian Insider, reports this morning that taxis at the airport and the Gara de Nord railway station have been sorted out, with touch-screen bookings at both places and one firm winning the bid to take passengers at the station. (read more here)
If this means no more threats and extortion from the mafia cabs, who have fleeced visitors for years to the tune of €50, €60, even €80 to get from the airport to the city centre (the official fare should be about RON30 – certainly less than €10), this is wonderful news for visitors and travellers.
We’ll see. Will Meridian, the taxi firm who has won the bid, stick to its published fares, or will there be some unofficial pricing by drivers? Will it work well for six months then drift back to the bad old ways?
If anyone knows more about this, or has a good or bad experience to report, do please leave your comment here.

Hello world!

Looking towards the southern end of the village, and the Bucegi mountains

We are based in the village of Magura, near  Bran, in Transylvania, Romania.

Like many other villages in this lovely region, Magura is a nice place but needs more facilities, jobs for local people and the right kind of development. Magura / Transylvania does not need quad bikes, asphalt roads and loud music day and night. Nu, multumesc!

We’ll keep you posted on our activities and ideas. We hope to see you here one fine day…

Română: Masivul Piatra Craiului 3D. Fisier media realizat cu date SRTM furnizate liber de NASA si textura World Imagery. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)