Among my more vivid memories of Romania are the mountains. I hiked in the Carpathian Alps, and marveled at the Transylvanian countryside. My heart, however, was claimed by the beautiful rolling hills of the Bukovina, or Moldavia, in the northeast of the country. Life was slower, absolutely focused on farming in the Bukovina. A hike through the majestic Turda Gorge was enhanced by the bounty of spring flowers. A hauntingly beautiful place was Sarmizegeteusa, in southwestern Transylvania. Here in 106 the Roman Trajan defeated the Dacians, ancestors of the Romanians. On the top of a low mountain that only may be reached by foot are the ruins of Dacian temples, walls and paved roads, testimony to a civilization long gone.
