There are 935 bears in the Carpathians — someone counted — and weeks before we got to Sinaia, a ski village with a Romanian-Aspen feel, an American woman hiking with five others was mauled to death nearby. No safety in numbers. They are brown bears and ornery like grizzlies, if slightly smaller, which is trivial information if one is chewing you. We mustered the courage for a short hike. No bears — but plenty of wild dogs, birds, weird and colorful spiders, and delicious greasy sausage. In Romania, expect the wurst: it’s hard out there for an Eastern European vegetarian.
Around Peles Castle, Sinaia