Strange Day in Romania

Interesting day. Went by train from Bucharest to Brasov here in Romania in a snowstorm. Absolutely beautiful scenery of small mountain towns and villages, forests and rural homes all covered in snow.

My phone has been acting up lately, and it started to do it again on the train ride. Hard to explain but it kind of takes on a mind of its own and starts selecting things randomly, doesn't do what you tell it to do, etc. Major problem. So after searching around online a bit I decided to do a hard reset on it. But I didn't do my research thoroughly enough because I thought that meant it would erase me photos and apps I downloaded and revert it back to the default settings when I bought it. I did the reset only to realize that erases basically everything, wipes your phone completely clean. 
Fortunately I took some video of the problem I was having before that, which will hopefully help in explaining to T-Mobile that the phone had big problems anyway so that I can get it replaced somehow, somewhere. And although having a phone is super handy, it's not like I can't live without it. I traveled without a smartphone up until about a year ago.

Also on the train my GoPro started freezing up while recording. I thought it might be the SD card. I have another SD card, but I've had problems with it as well. I tried that one anyway and it seemed to be okay.

Arrived at my destination, a beautiful town in the mountains, the snow storm still going. Checked into my little $20 room, only to discover that my backpack is breaking in a serious way, a big piece of metal sticking out from the frame. Unpacked and then went out to explore a bit and find some food.

Filmed some more of the town, then found a restaurant called Leonardo da Vinci (one of my favorite people), an Italian restaurant but also with traditional Romanian food. Really cozy place, ordered a beer, broccoli cream soup and a big plate of Romanian stuffed cabbage leaves and polenta that was delicious. The total bill including a tip was just $13.

Went out and recorded the final clip for the video I was shooting today. Saw this magnificent cathedral and decided to shoot one last clip of it, only to discover my GoPro now freaking out completely differently from what it was doing with the other SD card. So I'm not sure if it's a problem with that SD card or with the camera itself. Will find out once I buy a new memory card tomorrow.

Another strange traveling day of ups and downs. Phone, backpack and my main camera all dying on me. I have another camera I can use, though I don't care for it. I guess it's a sign that this trip is coming to an end. Almost six months of traveling to twelve countries so far, and flying to the Czech Republic in a week. I'm feeling it all, wiped out and ready to be somewhere a little more familiar. But it's been an epic trip and a successful one. And it's important to remind oneself that there are lots of people around who don't have the luxury of a smartphone and an action camera to break down on them and a warm $20 room to sleep in.