30 years on, the ink has dried on the history books, ending a long and perilous chapter of communist rule. 

Nowadays, Romania is back on the map and more likely to attract headlines for its gothic castles, blazingly fast wifi (what!?), and scattered Saxon villages. Oh, and some of the most untouched wilderness this side of the Atlantic!

A night or two in Bucharest will do, if only to see remnants of Art-Nouveau architecture, marked with poignant imprints after the fall of the Iron curtain. The city has an unexpected thriving café culture, too, with trendy coffee joints serving specialty beans and wickedly good cold-brew. 

The real magic of the country lays outside the capital, with Dracula's backyard, Transylvania and the Carpathians beckoning most travelers.

Prepare yourself though, a few days bathing in the beauty of Brasov and you might just…oops, accidentally lose that ticket back home :-)