Interesting Romanian, Hungarian, Bulgarian cities

I've two weeks in October to travel from Kosice to Istanbul, and am looking for suggestions from travelers on the forum for cities that i might check out along the way.

What interests me in particular:
- medium-small cities with old architecture and historical significance. UNESCO, etc
- especially vibrant areas of art and music. music festivals, arts communities etc.
- mountains for hiking. Carpathians.

I prefer staying in hostels in order to meet interesting people, so any recs on hostels would be appreciated. Will be traveling via train or bus.

There are more possibilities than I can count and will probably just wing it in the end, but if someone wants to share some favorites, i'm all ears. Er, uh, eyes.

Spent a week here last October (on stand duty, rather than travelling): Plovdiv

Can't say it was somewhere with "Wow-Factor", but if I guess there's enough there to fill a day if it's en route. But I must say I was most impressed with the Bulgarian joie de vivre... though the rakia and shopska salad will do that for you...

I rate Budapest highly, especially the Old Buda side of the city. Check out the labyrinth under Buda Castle and there's a park just outside of the city where they've collected together all of the old communist statues that they removed from the rest of the city. Bit of an arse to get to (end of one of the tram lines and then a bus), but I found it worthwhile. But with 1-2 million inhabitants, I wouldn't have said that Budapest was medium-small.

Plovdiv is on my list, it's close to Pirin National Park which appears to have some nice wilderness. I'm also thinking about Veliko Tarnovo.

I was more stressed than impressed when I last visited Budapest, though turning up in a big city can be a crapshoot if you don't know where/who/etc.

Hermannstadt/Sibiu in Romania was the European Capital of Culture in 2007 and is meant to very nice.

Also if you like the sea you can always stop over at the Black Sea. Bulgaria and Romania have some nice beaches and also spa towns

I went to Sibiu/Hermannstadt for a weekend and loved it so much i decided to stay for a month! Its a very beautiful historic town with a lovely atmosphere, very friendly people, lots of cafes, bars, clubs, restaurants, cinema, museums and often various cultural festivals taking place. Highly recommended! Its also a great base if you want to explore the Carpathians. For somewhere to stay, don't look any further than Felinarul Hostel:

http://www.felinarulhostelsibiu.ro

Brasov is not far from Sibiu and also a nice place and definitely worth a couple of days of your time.

I have been to both Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo and liked them both and would recommend them. Plovdiv has a very interesting history, a lot of Roman ruins and an old town with nice typical Bulgarian buildings, a very nice park and a relaxed atmosphere. VT has a spectacular location on mountains overlooking a river, with an ancient fortress and a fascinating old town. Its a university town too so if you go there in term time it should be pretty lively.

If you want any more info, let me know!

I would recommend Bansko as a destination in Buldaria. It is near (or a part of) Pirin Park. A very unique and beautiful place with a strong positive energy is Rila Monastery - 2 hours drive from Sofia, 2 hours drive from Bansko. Melnik - very small and interesting town is another option while you are in the southwest area of Bulgaria. See some links below.
Have fun!

http://bansko.bg/index_en.html
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=rila+monastery+bulgaria&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=JtizSsjBJY-I_Aax8ZQw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5
http://images.google.com/images

Big thanks to all for all the great tips. It'll be an awesome trip.

A quick glance at wiki and there is so much history to learn about ... Conversation fodder for beers with locals. Interesting that Sibiu is administered by the German minority political party.

... and Basko, yes, thanks danielata, I was wondering where to stay for hiking in Pirin Park.

I'm also thinking about visiting Cluj, it's supposed to be one of the more economically thriving Romanian cities. Any recommendations regarding Cluj?

Try to hit Cluj during the week. Its a student city, and pretty quiet if there aren't so many around. if you go at the weekend it may be quieter as the students go home for the weekend. Unless of course you want a quiet time...

cluj was great, a well-lived experience. i spent about 5 days there including going to a gypsy fair in a nearby village. i met some wonderful and unique people, saw some of the developing culture scene. i intend on returning to visit my new friends there. the hostel is called the retro and i'd recommend it highly to anyone heading to cluj.

sibiu on the other hand was so boring that i wanted to stick an icepick in my ear. well, not that bad, but i left after about 16 hours. sure it's pretty, but so renovated and antiseptic that it felt like a caricature of itself. well that was on a sunday, anyway, and since i'm not a church-goer i was sol, lol..

my first time in romania in general was a great surprise. full of contrasts.

though i did get some good hiking in the high tatras, i never made it to hike in bulgaria as the weather went to hell ... ended up in belgrade instead.

Wrong country for this thread, I know, but since you mentioned Belgrade can you tell us briefly what it was like?

Belgrade is an interesting, gritty city with a lot of soul. The bombed-out buildings from 1999 are still there, smack in the middle of the busiest district. I was told that a hotel bought the real estate but hasn't the funds to remove the rubble ... There is a variety of things to see with a day or two of walking, from residential areas with local joints to the best sort of shopping that Serbia would have to offer, all within a few blocks of each other, with some interesting contemporary and historical art galleries as well. But it's not a pretty place, and one would be disappointed to go there looking for an "Old Europe Experience." It's a city in transit and to me that makes it more real. It's also smaller and less hectic than Budapest. I'd like to return in the summer, which, judging by the river-based activity and all the young people I saw there, must be a fantastic time. And as a guy who keeps his eyes on these matters, I saw one of the highest concentration of beautiful looking, well-kept women in any place. In general, the people impressed me as being happy and healthy, despite the comparatively low per capita income - something like 400euro per month.

I coincidentally on the day of my arrival received an email from my uncle informing me that my great great grandfather was born in Belgrade. Since I spent three or four days in the Serbian National Archives and the Belgrade Archives researching my roots, there's a lot more to the city that I'll have to go back for.