25/07/2018 - 30/07/2018
Still with our little 1.5L Dacia motor we moved on to conquer more of the Translyvanian region, the city of Brasov, a 1hour 40minute drive from Sighisoara and also our base for the next 3 nights. Brasov is overlooked by the monumental Carpathian Mountains and where gothic spires, medieval architecture and easy going cafes are yet again in abundance. To our surprise the city also boasts its own homage to the Hollywood hills in the form of 'Brasov' displayed in huge white letters resting in the the foothills of Mt Tampa and which can be seen from the main city square, Pita Sfatului.
Our first day in Brasov saw us pay an unmissable visit to Peles Castle nestled in the town of Sinaia. The fairytale-like structure is a masterpiece in German Renaissance architecture. Immediately upon walking up the long driveway, we were met with beautiful surroundings both of the grounds and of the castle itself which is impeccably conserved. We decided to do a tour of the castle and let me state one thing that's common in the more popular tourist attractions here is having to pay extra to take photos. We decided to forgo on that expense as we thought it was quite a ludicrous charge and I was sure I could sneak a few photos once inside...and yes, of course I did! We were also, maybe, just slightly devious in the fact that we asked for one adult and one student ticket to the ticket seller, neither of us beings students of course but hey, it worked and it saved us a few bob. Inside the castle, the craftsmanship is admirable , the rooms are over the top, charming and perfectly furnished. Exactly what you would expect from an establishment of such royalty.
On the way back from our morning at Peles castle we paid a visit to the quaint town of Harman to visit yet again another church, Harman fortified church. This is one of Translyvania's best preserved fortifications used by the Saxons centuries ago and includes the centrally situated Lutheran church which is still used by the locals to this day , a circular curtain wall which we had the opportunity to walk the length of and various museum rooms representing the old school, bedrooms and craftsmans instruments. We climbed some questionably safe wooden stairs up to the top of the bell tower and once at the top the huge bell struck, not only giving me a massive fright but also shaking the wooden walls of the tower itself. There is also a bigger bell there that strikes every hour so I would not like to have been up there when that went off!
That night in Brasov we did, one of our favourite things, a walking tour of course and learned many things including the fact the city has supposedly one of the narrowest streets in Europe, called Strada Sforii with a maximum width of 132cm and also houses the largest organ in Translyvania in the Black Church (it's name given to the fact it was burned in a great fire in 1689) which consists of 4,000 pipes and the bell tower of the church having the heaviest bell in Romania, weighing nearly 6.3 tonnes. We also learned that Brasov, during the Communist era was once named after the great leader of that time, Stalin. Where the big white letters spelling the city of Brasov now reside, there once spelled with fir trees, the name Stalin. Although many Romanians want to desperately forget these times, during the winter season the letters can often be dimly seen.
The next day I finally got to see some brown bears, the surrounding Carpathian mountains being the home to approximately 5000 of these magnificent creatures but unfortunately we didn't get to see them in their natural environment. Instead we paid a visit to a highly rated bear sanctuary where over the years they have rescued over 90 bears from appalling conditions of being kept in tiny cages so tourists could take photos or jeer them as they performed in circuses. But it was a happy ending as here they can spend the rest of their retirement in the 69 hectare leafy surroundings eating fruit and splashing in the numerous watering holes. Tours only happen from 9am until 11am from Tuesday to Sunday and children under 5 are strictly forbidden allowing the bears to enjoy the rest of each day in pure tranquility. I regret not asking them before we left how I get a job at such an establishment, I have background in biology.....that would surely count as qualified, right?
The next day we made our way back to the city of Sibiu to sadly say goodbye to our little motor but before we said our goodbyes we gave it one last epic drive on the Transfagarasan highway through the Carpathian mountains. This impressive road was made famous by the show Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and crew going on a week long Romanian road trip in their expensive Ferraris and Lamborghinies. We of course didn't travel in such style but it didn't matter as the views were what we were there to admire with the road reaching an elevation of 6,700 feet at the upper most point, Balea Lake. Of course as luck would have it, when we reached the highest point of the drive the clouds slowly started to creep up bringing with it heavy rain. We couldn't believe that we had drove all this way to get a view of the most picturesque drive in Romania for it to be raining and cloudy. Paul suggested we either wait a little longer to see if the clouds would clear or suggested we get up early in the morning to make the drive back up the mountain which would mean getting up at 5am, something I would have really rather not have to do. Well, patience was key for us because after about 30 minutes the blue sky under the thick layer of hazy cloud started to re-appear. We had the chance to admire the magnificent views of the hairpin bends of the highway as they filtered into the mountainous valley 6000 feet below and more importantly we wouldn't have to drag our lazy asses up at 5am to see such a sight! On route to the highway we couldn't leave without taking a small detour to visit arguably the most famous attraction in Translyvania perched in a valley high above on a large rock and home to Bran Stokers character Dracula. Bran Castle of course. All we did here was make the steep 15minute slippery climb up to the white cross overlooking the valley as we had heard whispers that the inside of the castle wasn't all that impressive having antique furniture rather than furniture of the time the castle was in use. So we said we would give that tour a miss and just take some photos instead of the impressive architectural masterpiece.
Our final few days in Romania saw us spend 3 nights in the capital city of Bucharest, often referred to as Little Paris because of its french like architectural influences. When we arrived by our ride share after a 4 hour car journey from Sibiu we were both completely shattered. Scandalously we spent most of our time over the next 3 days sleeping and lounging around our cute little bedsit but don't be too judgmental as we managed to muster up the energy to do not 1 but 2 walking tours, one of the communist history of Bucharest and one on the Royal history of the city. We also took our own detour to visit the People's Palace, a parliamentary building rarely cited as a tourist attraction by locals due to its communist connections but its hard to miss it as a foreign tourists due to its sheer size. If you like fun facts....this building is one of the worlds heaviest and has the worlds heaviest carpet, weighing more than a ships anchor. We also happened to be met by a large strike taking place in the city by the people of Romania protesting against the Hungarian language being made into the second official language of Romania but don't worry parents, it was a peaceful protest! Bucharest is a city with a dark past, the brutal Communist regime which only officially ended in 1989 due to the execution of the countries leader, Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena Ceausescu. Thankfully nowadays the city is slowly beginning to flourish and while its positive to see it's hard not to think that every elderly person you walk by in the street has lived through extremely troubled times. The lovely young lad giving our walking tour told us how his mother had three abortions by a woman not qualified to do so as they were illegal in those times and to make money she smuggled in suitcases full of contraception to sell on the black market.
Our time in Romania had come to a delightful end, our two weeks full of fairytale castles, wild mountainous villages and cities with ever changing dark histories. It was time to pack the backpacks once more and move East to the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, the country of Georgia.
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