Braşov's train station on an early morning. Time for another short #railway trip! This time I'm on the IR366, which starts in Braşov, loops through Romania via Miercurea Ciuc, Dej and Cluj to Oradea, where it crosses into Hungary and trundles on to Budapest. 
This area is called #Székely Land, and is where most of the Hungarian minority in Romania lives. In fact, in many places here they might even consist up to a full 100% of the local population. In Harghita province where I'm heading to, 85% of the population is Hungarian.
I'm getting off at Băile Tușnad, or Tusnádfürdő as it is called by the Hungarian majority of this small spa town. It's also officially #Romania's smallest town ("oraş"), having only 1,641 inhabitants!
Top tip: do not stand right under the edge of the station building's roof filming the train departure. Before you know it, a massive barrage of snow falls off and hits you on your head with great force, throwing you to the ground.. ouch!
Some impressions of Băile Tuşnad, which has a small artificial lake in the middle of town. It's famous for its mineral water and many spas. Especially away from the main road it's a cute town with lots of gorgeous houses.
Some more impressions of town. The railway line and river basically run right through it.
As a mountain town, there are some great #hiking trails from Băile Tuşnad. A thick mist meant no sweeping views from the top, but the forests were just as pretty (or even more pretty!) being blanketed by the fog.
After a night in Băile Tuşnad it's time to go back. First is the IR407 "Corona" running between Budapest and Braşov. It isn't named after the virus, but the Latin word for Crown (Braşov's original name!). MAV Hungarian Railways carriages, and I'm in @seatsixtyone for the ride!
Or as the Romanians would call it: "loc șaizeci și unu". The jolly conductor just gave a 10-minute lecture on how this Hungarian train is Romania's best, although that may be a bit of Magyar chauvinism talking. Comy comparment seats though with power sockets, USB charging ports!
At Braşov it's an easy change to another intl night train, the Budapest-Bucharest Ister (named after the ancient Greek name for the Danube). No @_DiningCar today (sometimes the Ister has a bistro car) but fortunately Brasov's Pyongyang-style station has a great coffee shop.
Some pics from the Braşov - Bucharest line, with the best part being the Bucegi Mountains on your right around Buşteni. Between, Sinaia and Câmpina, the Prahova River valley broadens and opens to the Wallachian plain. Ploieşti with its oilfields is the last stop before Bucharest.
Final stop: the terminus station of Bucureşti Gara de Nord. Like many other cities, much of the immediate area around is rather unpleasant. Take the abandoned Dunarea (Danube) Hotel on pic 2! Fortunately I don't have to stay there, and can walk the last 20 mins to my apartment.
And that's half of the welcome committee back in my apartment, the other one being asleep on one of the heaters. Travel is great, though arriving back home to this isn't bad either. Thanks for travelling along on Twitter on this little Romanian-(Hungarian) weekend trip!
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
