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Published: January 16th 2012
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After yet another midnight bus from Sofia to Bucharest it was time to finally catch a train, something that was at the top of our to do list from the start of this mini trip. So after an overpriced “taxi ride” from the bus stop to the train station in some random guys car we were off to Brasov.
Brasov is a small city situated in the state of Transylvania (yes the home of Dracula!) the largest region of Romania and is known for its beautiful landscapes and the Carpathian Mountains. The journey did not disappoint, with beautiful scenery to view including large mountains, streams and forestry all covered in mounds of SNOW! I would like to mention that the temperature has dropped considerably since Greece, it has snowed non stop in Brasov.
We arrived in Brasov at midday, checked into our hostel and spent the day exploring the old town. One of the main activities we all wanted to do (especially Mikaela) was the cable car up the large mountain surrounding the city. We struggled through the snow to the cable car (many humorous stacks were had) it was too late and we were all very disappointed. We
spent the night in the city centre checking out the local shops, eating in a restaurant (fancy schmancy for us) fighting the continuous blizzard of snow and watching the protests that are currently taking place across Romania.
The next day we decided to go to the famous Bran castle a few towns away from Brasov, this is the apparent place Ivan the Terrible lived and the region that inspired Dracula. We took a bus to Bran, along the way I decided to donate our camera to someone on the bus and told everyone of my generosity after the bus had long gone......Mikaela was not happy with the decision I had made and I soon realised it was a mistake....We then spent the next hour waiting for the bus to return on the route hoping that someone had picked it up and handed it in, when it returned and the driver just looked at me confused I knew it was time to throw a bit of a tantie (Mikaela would describe this as a full blown tantrum). Although I was in a bad mood I was convinced by my fellow travellers to check out the castle we had come to
see and I would have to say it was the right decision because it was amazing. The castle was situated on a mountain which towered over Bran. The interior was a maze of rooms with interesting furniture and the views were amazing. Any photos included from this point were taken from Julia’s camera (thank you J-Swiss).
Throughout Bran there were many stray dogs roaming the streets, including one very cute family of boarder collies. Aaron feeling sorry for them purchased some meat and what he thought was bread to feed them (it turns out the bread in fact was 1kg of Romanian cheese, which he realised when they began to weigh it) being too polite Aaron purchased the expensive cheese and carried it around all day until we convinced him that is smelt way too much and that he defiantly needed to dispose of it. Talk about adding salt to the wound (loosing an expensive camera and then purchasing 1kg of inedible cheese...could his day get any worse?)
In fact our day got a lot better...when we returned to Brasov we again made our way over to the cable car, this time we were in luck. During our
Hanging on for dear life
More unnecessary behaviour from Alex... way up Mikaela (the person who had strongly wanted to use the cable car) suddenly decided it was a bad idea to be so high attached only to a cable and decided she would be walking down. I hate to say it again but the views from the top were amazing and it was well worth it. We convinced Mikaela to face the ground for the trip down, which was successful; she may have to re-evaluate her number three on the bucket list of a hot air balloon ride in Egypt. We went out for dinner, watched the riots again ate a massive sugared doughnut and then fell into a slumber.
This morning was our last day in Brasov. We went to the Black church and the White Tower, both situated in the old town. The church was interesting but not to different from the many large churches we have seen in our travels. The white tower was again up a steep slope with many stairs, we struggled up but it was again worth it as the view was (wait for it...) stunning. I decided to toboggan down the stairs without a toboggan with I would say mild success.
Without speaking too soon Brasov was the highlight of this trip, a place we would never refuse an invite too.
We are now on the train back to Bucharest where we will spend the remainder of the trip before flying back to Georgia to begin the new school year.
Rest in peace Mim, it is hard to put into words how much we miss you. We miss the whole family more then ever at the moment, homesickness hit us for the first time when we heard the news, we wish we were there with you all. .
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