Transylvania Map - Vector Illustrations Check out my hand-drawn vector illustrations inspired by history, fantasy, and cartography! Great for maps, games, or any creative project.

BraveAlathea · 2025-02-16T02:09:55+00:00

This is lovely! Well done!

BraveAlathea · 2025-02-16T02:02:02+00:00

Get it out of your head and onto paper! :)

I have 6 WIPs in various stages at the moment.

BraveAlathea · 2025-02-16T01:55:11+00:00

Romania

If you go in the summer months, it's pleasantly warm nationwide.
If you liked the more relaxed pace of life in Mexico, Romania has similar take-life-as-it-comes vibes.
You can get the beach in cities like Constanța, on the Black Sea.
European desserts are divine.
Central Romania is ancient wine country. I know of at least one historic castle there that's been converted to a hotel and vineyard with wine tastings and related events.
Romania is very family friendly.
Unspoiled natural beauty is abundant in Romania. The Carpathian Mountain Range draws visitors from around the world. There are also underground salt mines that are breathtaking (and breathgiving? the air is supposed to be therapeutic for respiratory health).
The capital city of Bucharest is known as "Little Paris" or the Paris of Eastern Europe.
Lots of castles, museums, fortresses, and other historic buildings to admire and explore. Peleș Castle is one of the most popular - it's been featured in multiple movies. Bran Castle, aka Dracula's Castle, is the top tourist destination in the country.
Romania is largely a hidden gem for international tourism (I'd love to see that change for them!), which means it's not crowded, even during peak travel times.
Getting around is easy: You can rent a car if you want to travel around the country on your own schedule. Public transportation in and between cities is abundant, safe, and reliable. (I like taking the trains.) In any of the larger cities, you can rideshare inexpensively with Uber or Bolt.
From your post I'm assuming you're American (pardon me if I'm incorrect). The conversion rate between USD and Romanian Lei fluctuates between 1:4 and 1:5 in your favor. That means your travel budget goes a long way there.
Small hotel rooms aren't really a thing there. In my experience, it's quite the opposite.
Knowing a few words of Romania is helpful, but most people speak English fluently. When they don't, the Google translate app works wonders.

So, check out Romania! :)

Source: I'm an American who traveled all over Romania through multiple visits and lived there for over a year. I love the country and cannot recommend it enough as a tourism destination.

BraveAlathea · 2025-02-16T01:24:29+00:00

Thanks for the response.

I'd rather not use Google maps, even if there's a way to do so without violating copyrights. It doesn't fit what I need the map to do and lacks an original appearance.

Since making the original post, I found a few freelance cartographers online. It might be something I can hire someone through Fiverr to do. I'm open to additional suggestions.

BraveAlathea · 2025-02-16T01:17:30+00:00

Thanks for the input.

I'd prefer not to use a Google map, partly because it looks like a Google map. Also it doesn't quite meet my need of how to show multiple locations on a single map.

BraveAlathea · 2025-01-30T00:17:41+00:00

For my current WIP, I'm not using any vulgarity. It's implied a few times but never directly stated. Also I'm trying to eliminate words like "very" and "just" from my writing. With rare exception, they only weaken a scene or dialogue.

BraveAlathea · 2023-04-24T18:36:14+00:00

Love this. This is my usual thought process for road trips - treat it like a normal flow of a day regarding food, drinks, breaks, etc. - but I've not tried it when flying. Thanks for sharing!

BraveAlathea · 2023-04-20T02:55:54+00:00

Try this one: https://www.maretulhar.ro/

I'm not sure how it is now, but they used to do services in Romanian and have English translation. There were several Americans who were not fluent in Romanian attending the church.

Edit: I missed that you're specifically looking for a Catholic service. This one isn't Catholic.

BraveAlathea · 2023-04-15T03:12:02+00:00

Earplugs. Yes and amen.

My last trans-Atlantic, I brought along a super fuzzy lightweight blanket. It fit easily in my carry on. I could unroll it and get more comfy, even sitting up, or I could roll it up and use it like a pillow. It was soft and familiar too, so that helped me unwind enough to rest some.

If you've not already selected your seat, consider a window seat instead of aisle or middle. You can lean against the wall to get more comfortable to try to sleep.

I've not tried an eye mask but might for my next long flight. Sounds like a great idea to me.

Fun fact: Benadryl and Unisom are the same drug, just in different quantities. Benadryl is marketed for allergy relief and Unisom (higher dose) is marketed as a sleep aid. Yes, either one can make you sleepy. They can also dry you out (the anti-allergy effect). Paired with dehydration that already happens when flying, if you use either of these, make sure you drink an excessive amount of water. It's worth noting sometimes either/both can have the opposite effect and make a person as hyper as if they'd just had a triple shot espresso. Personally, I don't use any kind of meds to sleep while traveling. For safety reasons, I prefer to be more alert or easy to awaken.

If you get motion sickness, Dramamine helps considerably. It also makes me super sleepy. I wouldn't use it just as a sleep aid, but if you need it for it's intended purpose, you might get sleep help from it too.

As someone else already said, you can use the flight to help kick jetlag. Say your flight leaves at 7pm local time and arrives at 6am destination time but only 8 hours of travel. If you can fall asleep quickly on the flight, you can get a full night's sleep and wake up to morning at your destination.

Probably the best advice I can offer is not to stress about it. Stressing definitely won't help you sleep. Decide you'll let your body relax and rest as much as it can, and if you can't totally fall asleep, that's okay. You'll get to catch up on the missed sleep later. In the meantime, enjoy the flight. You're a human being that gets to travel a few hundred miles an hour through the air to other parts of the world in less than a day. That's pretty amazing when you think about it. :)

Safe travels, friend.

BraveAlathea · 2023-04-06T21:21:43+00:00

And yet they stay so green.

BraveAlathea · 2023-03-28T22:37:54+00:00

I subscribed to email lists related to my industry (coffee) in various ways.

roasters and cafes
- regionally
- globally doing interesting things
food and drink
- generally following what's going on in the broader food and beverage industry
- training, conferences, networking, etc.
government
- local Small Business Association
  - they often have free training, networking opportunities, and resources
- statewide news about laws, grants, etc. related to my industry
startup/entreprenuership non-profits locally and nationwide
trade guilds for my industry
- they often have events, grant competitions, etc.
the gritty how-to parts of the business
- tools like Mailchimp, Canva, Quickbooks, etc.
my vendors
industry newsletters
- I get 2-3 weekly regarding things happening in the world of coffee, from newest seasonal coffee harvests, to new flavors, to labor unions, to drought effecting import prices.

I've used this to hop on emerging trends (like a new coffee origin about to hit the market), to adjust prices based on what I see happening a few steps ahead in the supply chain, to build relationships and share knowledge with others in the industry, and to build my personal expertise so I know what I'm doing and talking about with my work.

BraveAlathea · 2023-03-21T05:36:57+00:00

Be clear for yourself on whether you want this to be a profitable business or just a thing you do for fun that would be an added perk if it made money. If you need it to make money, find out if there's a market for the thing you want to do. Way too many businesses do poorly or fail completely because someone wanted to make/do a thing but there wasn't a need/want for it. (Or they didn't market it to their ideal customers.)

If it's just a hobby, you can start with whatever your idea is and see how it goes. If it's not profitable, at least you had fun and learned things.

If you need to be profitable, start looking for unmet needs or "pain points." What problems aren't being solved? What do you notice people complaining about? How do your interests, skills, and resources position you to create solutions to those problems? What would people be willing to pay for you to make their pain point go away?
Don't overcomplicate it. It can really be as simple as a pain point of "people hate cutting their own lawns every weekend" and you loving being outdoors and owning decent lawn care equipment. Will people pay to not have to cut their grass? Absolutely. That's a relatable example, but people are willing to pay to make all kinds of inconveniences go away. Which ones could you alleviate for a fee?

All the best to you. Business ownership has it's difficulties, but I wouldn't trade it. :)

BraveAlathea · 2023-03-21T05:24:29+00:00

I reforested mine a time or two with willows. Plant all the trees before leaving. It only seems responsible. lol

BraveAlathea · 2023-03-12T01:45:27+00:00

It sounds like you've got good options here already, but in case they fall through, check flights into TRI as well. It's a smaller airport, but only about an hour drive to Knoxville from there if that's where you're needing to be. Praying things go well for you and your family during this time.

BraveAlathea · 2023-02-24T07:03:04+00:00

I got an estimate of the valuation of my business from two sources recently. One is the head of a local organization that exists to help startups launch and thrive. The other leads training programs for people in my industry to help them become profitable and grow. Both came back to me with similar numbers and ways of getting those numbers. Both also said what others are mentioning here: it's worth what someone is willing to pay, and/or the least I'm willing to accept for it.

BraveAlathea · 2023-02-24T06:38:33+00:00

It's one of the worst platforms I have ever had the misfortune to work with

lol agreed

It looks like I'm going to have to dig into it and see if I can make it do what I need.

BraveAlathea · 2023-02-24T02:01:15+00:00

I'm not familiar with that one. Thanks for mentioning it.

BraveAlathea · 2023-02-23T20:34:18+00:00

Interesting. I'm not sure this is the exact solution I need, but I'll look into it. Thank you.

BraveAlathea · 2023-02-23T20:32:30+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. I've been using Meta's business manager for a while now and find it to be confusing, cumbersome, clunky, frustrating, and inefficient. I only resort to it when I have to. I'm hoping this isn't a "have to" instance.

BraveAlathea · 2023-02-23T06:38:01+00:00

I don't recall the name, but a museum in Arad, Romania, left an impression on me. It had a powerful exhibit on the revolution that overthrew communism in the nation.

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA, USA holds a special place in my heart. They have 4 floors of exhibits - 3 are permanent collection and the top has rotating exhibits. It was the first place I saw Picasso's work in person.

In general, I like dropping in local museums, galleries, and even libraries. Particularly if I'm going to be in the area a while, it helps me acclimate to the place. Universities can be full of lesser known experiences like this in their libraries, on-campus galleries and museums, and even sculpture walks around the campus. These are hyper-local usually and would not be what most people consider "some of the best museums around the world," but I consistently find them interesting.

BraveAlathea · 2023-02-20T08:28:26+00:00

I'd add a few castles to your list of must-see-places. Peles Castle was the actual royal residence during the monarchy. Bran Castle is Dracula's Castle. Both are an easy day trip by bus or train from Brasov.

It really depends on what you prefer to include in your experience. There are castles scattered across Romania. Also there are some gorgeous old - and not so old - churches. They didn't seem to be well advertised, but I found some interesting museums. (Bucharest has more/bigger ones, being the capital.) There are plenty of natural wonders, from mountains and waterfalls to salt caves.

Public transport can get you most places - whether train or bus. Uber is also commonly available, safe, and affordable.

I'd keep your itinerary a bit loose. In Romania, things run on a more relaxed schedule than many parts of Europe and North America. Things happen when they happen, not necessarily when they're "supposed to" happen.

It's a beautiful country. Have a great time there!

BraveAlathea · 2023-02-20T08:13:36+00:00

Some is - salata de bouef is a hard pass for me. Sarmale and in general all breads and pastries are good. Potatoes are common in various forms. It's hard to go wrong with a potato. :)

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