Suceava, Romania

Good: I was able to store my luggage for free at Irene’s Hostel in Suceava even though I wasn’t going to stay there for the night

Not-so-good: No buses from Gura  Humorului to Voronet Monastery so I ended up walking about 10km roundtrip to see the monastery which was barely worth it. I would have taken a taxi but the friendly staff at the tourist information office at Gura Humorului said the walk was “easy” and “many people do it”. On the way, I saw only two other groups of people walking as well, but it could have been due to low season. Interestingly, I didn’t see taxis making the trip either, but there were bus loads of tourists at the monastery on organised trips. I paid 2.50 EUR extra for taking exterior photos (for comparison, the student entrance ticket was 0.50 EUR), which I think nobody else did despite snapping away. I’ll have to remember to keep my camera out of sight of ticket counter staff in future.

Noteworthy food/drink: Mamaliga cu branza, a cornmeal mush generously topped with salty sheep cheese, for about 1 EUR at a self-service cafeteria. Portion was huge and heavy, and I could not finish everything despite taking a fancy to it. It’s like a mix between dry porridge and pudding, and the cheese gives the flavour for the otherwise bland staple.

Extra interesting fact: Suceava manufactures a nationwide ice cream brand called Betty Ice, but I’ve seen ads with “Betty Blue” so I shall remember it as Betty Blue Ice. After sighting the factory along one of my bus journeys, I just had to eat some of it in Suceava. I ended up having one ice cream cone (0.60 EUR) and one ice cream stick (0.40 EUR) within an hour of each other.