Baile Herculane

Greek mythology says that in yonder past Hercules stopped in a small town called Baile Herculane in south west Romania to rest and bathe. At the weekend we followed in his ancient footsteps and spent a few days exploring this beautiful mountainous town with our friends from the dorm.
A few things should be clarified first, however. This is going to be a long blog so I'll split it into different categories, roughly in chronological order. Also, when I refer to someone as a 'gypsy' I do not mean it in a derogatory manner; it is simly a way of describing a particular ethnic group. So please don't think I'm being ignorant or rude when I say it.
Right, here we go then.

The Many Advantages of Modern Travel

Anyone who has read the previous post about our trip to Resita will know that Romanian trains are a unique nightmare that defies easy description. Since that trip my opinion of them has changed somewhat. Rather than seeing them as an object of terror I'm beginning to see them as more of a social event; a meeting place of characters and vagabonds.
There were nine of us at the beginning of the trip. All the seats on the train were taken so we decided to set up residence in the 'hall', if it can be called that. The trains resemble the kind that used to travel across the American continent, ones that people would hitch lifts from etc. If you can imagine that, we were sitting in one of those. It was reasonably comfortable and warm, which was a good thing because the doors didn't really close and it got rather chilly.
At the first stop a whole family of gypsies climbed on board. A small boy was carrying a wheel from a car and one man had a large cuddly toy snake wrapped around his neck. Within minutes they were clapping and dancing along to hummed tunes and yodelled singing. They noticed that we all had cameras and instantly they were the centre of attention. They posed with us all, they danced more, tried to sell us shoes (single shoes, not pairs). They seemed like genuinely pleasant and happy people. When they got off the train they wished us all a safe and happy journey and waved to us until they were mere specks of person off in the distance. It certainly passed the time until we got to our destination; Baile Herculane.

Baile Herculane: European City of Culture 33AD

At the station we caught a rickety bus to the centre of town. If anyone has seen the Borat movie they may recall the jaunty Eastern European jingle that plays throughout; as it turns out the same tune is often featured on the radio in Romania. There's something oddly surreal about listening to that song while driving past horses and carts in the middle of nowhere.
We stayed in a hostel of sorts on the outskirts of the town. It was painted bright orange, housed many exotic plants in the hallway and was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. The owners were delightfully helpful and gave us the use of their outdoor kitchen and barbeque as well. Unfortunately we didn't have time to use it, but it was very kind of them to offer.
I was led to believe that we were going to go and get something to eat. At this point I hadn't eaten anything for about 16 hours and I was exceptionally hungry. When we were halfway up a path leading to the top of one of the medium sized hills I realised that perhaps I had been misled. We wandered around for a while and took some lovely pictures of the sun setting between the mountains while trying to figure out where exactly in the world we were. On our descent we found a restaurant that turned out to be a fantastic place to dine. Dave and I struggle to find nice restaurants in Timisoara, one of the cultural hubs in Romania, yet up a hill in the middle of nowhere we found the best food we've had in this country. After a heavy meal of goulash for myself and spaghetti with an oyster sauce for Dave we walked back to the hostel and plotted our next move.
As I mentioned, Baile Herculane is a thermal town. This gives the whole area a distinctly sulpherous aroma and pleasantly warm breeze. Where there are thermal springs there are thermal baths, and this was where we headed next.
When we got the taxi there I expected to find a floodlit building with adaquate funding from the government and possibly a small plaque explaining the history and chemisty of the town. The taxi stopped on a country road with no street lights and gestured down a barely visible path that led into the darkest dark I have ever seen. This darkness was so dense it had an event horizon. The descent to the pool had no lights and was steep enough to thrown off your centre of gravity with every movement. The staircase had obviously been there since the days of Hercules and had seen very little renovation. The only light came from the flash on my mobile phone.
We groped our way to the pool and found that it was already occupied by a dozen or so people. We spent a few minutes dishing out the alcohol and discussing the absurdity of what we were doing. The thermometer in the taxi read the temperature as being 1C. Eventually we bit the bullet, stripped down to our various underwears and got int the water. The water was around 40C or so apparently, it was pleasantly warm. I cannot describe the next hour or so because I'm not entirely sure what went on. Everyone was drinking beer while Dave and I were drinking red wine. There was singing, chanting and laughing. I think something that will stay with me forever is being in a pool of sulpherous water with a thick haze of cigarette smoke floating on the surface singing Freres Jacque with my French friends, surrounded by darkness and the brightest light being the stars billions of miles away.
While getting into the pool was difficult due to the cold, getting out was worse. We hastily got dressed and caught a taxi back to the town.
What I've discovered about Romania is that alot of the people are willing to go out of their way to help you. It was 2am at this point and most places were in various stages of closing. We found one pub where the woman was willing to stay open for an extra half hour just so we could have a drink. That simply wouldn't happen in Britain; nobody is willing to bend any rules for the greater good or even to offer an apology. For her troubles the girl got a very generous tip and she cemented Baile Herculane as one of my favourite places in Romania thus far. Day one had ended and the thought of day two really did strike a little bit of anxiety into my sulpher ridden heart. In a good way, obviously.

Day Two: Where Walking is the Order of the Day

The next day I still smelled like sulpher and I had condemned a few items of clothing to the bin; some things just aren't worth saving.
We consumed a quick breakfast of orange juice and croissants and then set off into the hills. The scenery was spectacular. Baile Herculane is surrounded by mountains on three sides and they tower over the town like sentries guarding their king. Communist hotels dominate the immediate skyline and almost spoil the quaint nature of the town. We set off pretty much at random and followed any path we could find. Once we ran out of path and we all decided it was too much hassle to keep climbing, we stopped for lunch. It was gloriously sunny; only whispy clouds in the distance disturbed the sheet of blue above us. We drank some beer, took pictures and constructed a small picnic. It was the most tranquil place I've ever been. Even the birds seemed subdued by the heat. We stayed for as long as we could before succumbing to the sun and began to head home.
After a quick stop at the hostel we set off once more in search of a dam that proved more elusive than we expected. We may well have reached it before the point we decided to turn back if we had stuck to the path, but Baile Herculane turned out to be too fascinating to miss. The buildings are oddly fairy-tale like with even moderately cheap hotels resembling the centrepiece of Disneyland. Many of the buildings in Romania lie dereclict due to a lack of funds to repair them and certain laws prohibiting renovation. One such building was one we decided to explore in a very Famous Five manner. One upon a time it was a courthouse; the marble staircases betrayed it as once being an important place for the town. Now it lies in ruins with beer bottles strewn across the floor and piles of bricks and wood lying at all angles in the corridors. There were four floors, all of which were identical. The third floor was slightly different in that it had a large archway that led out onto a veranda that curved around and connected with the next building. After following its path we found that at one point in history it used to be a casino and bar; a rather upmarket one at that judging from the beautiful murals on the wall and domed ceiling.
We found a staircase that we presumed led to the lower floors of the building. As it turned out, after exploring the enormous abandoned complex, the stairs led to a fully functioning and reasonably busy café. I wasn't sure what to make of it all, everything seemed a bit too surreal for me to take in. We ordered some of the worst coffee I've ever had and made a plan of action.
We walked for miles along the river past more abandoned buildings, all of which required exploration, and dozens of small caves that gave off extrordinary blasts of heat due to the underground springs. The only signs of life we saw for the hours we walked were the occassional car that drove past or distant figure on the other side of the river. We eventually conceded that we probably wouldn't reach the dam before nightfall and that it was best just to head home. We dined in a terrible restaurant with a fantastic owner who had the unfortunate business of telling us they had run out of pretty much everything. Still, we ate and we laughed and concluded that the whole weekend had been a remarkable success; one that we wouldn't forget in a long time.

Day Three: Homeward Bound

After a slight mixup with the train timetable we found ourselves at a loose end for three hours. We were rather rudely asked to leave the first class lounge (which was not first class by western standards, I might add) and thus decided to take refuge at the side of the river and enjoy some sun while we had the chance. We sat on the pebbly shore and skimmed stones, read books and whatnot. I was quite content to just watch the water rush over the stones and observe the curious red insects that looked like stylised ladybirds.
The train home was disappointingly modern compared to the one that brought us to Baile Herculane. At the time I was glad of the comfortable surroundings and the chance to catch some sleep before we arrived back in Timisoara.
It seems impolite to mention money after we enjoyed such a glorious weekend, but I feel it is worth mentioning how easy Romania makes it to enjoy the country. To get to Baile Herculane it cost us 17RON, around £4.50. £4.50 to travel around 400KM is remarkable. Getting back was pricier as we chose the express train which came to 43RON, or around £10. If it is that cheap and easy to travel around Romania I think I will see alot more of it before I leave. If only Scotland could do the same and encourage people to visit and explore the country; seeing Romania has made me realise that Scotland is also a place of outstanding beauty. I found myself flicking through the pictures on my camera of the trip to Connect some of us took and marvelling at the countryside and scenery we drove through. It's the sort of thing I want to share with the people I have met here, but getting to Britain costs a small fortune and once you are there they do very little to make your trip affordable. But I suppose that is one of the downsides of living in a country with adaquate healthcare and public funding.

Well, that was our trip. Surreal, enjoyable and unforgettable I hope that it will be the beginning of many other travels. I apologise for the length of the post, I wanted to make sure I didn't omit anything important or noteworthy. I should be heading off to the market to get some food for tonight. Someone is playing REM very loudly in the hall and I feel it is time to drown them out with a heady mixture of Fuck Buttons and Rolo Tomassi.
Don't feel bad if you've skipped to the end rather than read the whole thing; I shan't hold it against you.
Farewell for now everyone.