Hunedoara: Cold Stone & Whispered Stories
okay, so hunedoara. it’s…a place. i wasn’t exactly planning on hunedoara, romania, to be honest. it was a last-minute detour after a gig in cluj-napoca fell through. i’m a touring session drummer, right? always chasing the next soundcheck, the next dimly lit stage. and sometimes, that leads you to places you’d never expect.
first impressions? grey. a lot of grey. the *castle is obviously the main draw - corvin castle, it’s called. seriously imposing. like something straight out of a gothic novel. i just checked and it’s…damp, with a wind that feels like it’s trying to steal your soul. hope you brought a good jacket. i’m shivering just thinking about it. the weather data said 2.06 degrees celsius, feels like -1.83. yeah, no kidding. the air pressure is kinda weird too, 1003, and the humidity is practically soup at 93%.
but it’s not just the castle. wandering around the old town, you get this…feeling. like the stones themselves are remembering things. i overheard someone in a cafe - a tiny place called “la vatra” (apparently good for mici, which are like little grilled sausages, i haven’t tried them yet) - saying the castle is built on the site of an old roman fort. and before that? who knows. the locals are…reserved. not unfriendly, just…watching. if you get bored, timisoara and deva are just a short bus ride away.
someone told me that the castle is haunted. naturally. apparently, a woman was wrongly accused of poisoning the lord and thrown into a well. now she wanders the halls, looking for justice. i didn’t see her, but i definitely felt a chill in the dungeon.
gear-wise, for a trip like this (impromptu, cold, potentially haunted), you need:
a really good *waterproof jacket (seriously, don’t skimp).
comfortable *boots. you’ll be doing a lot of walking on uneven surfaces.
a portable *charger. because your phone will die from taking too many pictures of the castle.
earplugs. not for the ghosts, for the surprisingly loud street dogs.
a phrasebook. my romanian is…limited, to say the least.
i’ve been checking out TripAdvisor (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g675834-Hunedoara_Hunedoara_County-Vacations.html) and Yelp (https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Restaurants&find_loc=Hunedoara%2C+Romania) for restaurant recommendations. honestly, the reviews are kinda sparse. i heard from a guy at the bus station that the best food is at people’s houses, if you can get invited. which, let’s be real, isn’t happening with my romanian.
apparently, there’s a local legend about a hidden treasure somewhere in the castle. a bunch of tourists apparently spent weeks digging around in the courtyard last summer. they found nothing but dirt.
there’s this weird little antique shop near the market. the owner, an old woman with eyes that have seen everything, just stared at me when i walked in. didn’t say a word. i bought a tarnished silver spoon* anyway. felt like i was supposed to. you can find more info about the area on this local forum: https://www.hunedoara-online.ro/.
so yeah, hunedoara. it’s not glamorous. it’s not postcard-perfect. but it’s…real. it’s a place that feels like it’s holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. and honestly, after a life on the road, that’s kinda nice. i'm off to find some mici. wish me luck. and maybe a ghost.