Surprising Signs # 7 - Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania

Travelling in rural parts of Romania can at times feel like you've suddenly warped back to the 19th century, and nowhere is that experience more awe-inducing than in the northern region of Maramures. Horses and homemade wooden carts remain a major form of local transport, not just in village laneways but also on major paved roads where they share the crowded lanes with passing Dacias and other horseless carriages of the modern steel variety. Driving on such roads requires added vigilance and a sense of adventure - you may need to brake regularly not only for horse carts but also for random herds of sheep or goats blocking both lanes.

This sign in the outskirts of the city of Sighetu Marmatiei indicates that horse-drawn carts are not permitted beyond this point, since the city streets are too narrow to allow cars to get safely past them. These signs are common in many towns and cities in Romania where it needs to be made clear that modern vehicle transport must take precedence and that there is to be no horsing around. :)

Surprising Signs # 6 - Litomyšl, Czech Republic

I found this rather cryptic message on a sign in the parking area outside a hotel in the Czech town of Litomyšl. The English part of the sign might be trying to declare an ominous prophecy of doom and misfortune for anyone who stays in the hotel, though I'm sure this isn't what they had in mind. I think their intention is to say that parking restrictions are not applicable to hotel guests, since the sentence above written in German says "It does not apply to hotel guests". The line below in Czech simply says that the parking area is monitored. It's sometimes hard to believe that companies don't check translations carefully with a native speaker of the language before using them on signs and in advertising, but it certainly brightens my day and gives me a chuckle when I come across humourous examples like this one.