Brasov

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Brasov day 9 (June 15)

Another mini-bus ride to Brasov. Equally crowded. I think one woman had a number of dinner sets in one stripy bag that was placed in the aisle, quite a few people sitting on luggage in the aisles. Brasov has a marketing slogan “Brasov, Probably the Best City in the World” which is a play on a Heineken add. A bold claim but I liked the slight humility in the “Probably” and also the fact that it wasn’t an absolute claim. Brasov is a lovely town. It’s old town including the black church (named due to a fire), the many towers and it’s remaining fortified wall were all interesting. It had a relaxed feel to the town and despite being really hot it was a good place to wander around.

We had a charming volunteer guide at the black church who spoke English well, with the marvellous Romanian accent. I don’t think I mentioned how nice the Romanian language sounds, especially spoken gently as it seems to be. I think it is even nicer sounding than French. The guide at the Black Church was probably only in her teens but gave an eloquent and quite passionate account of the Church and it’s history, feeling really sad that it had ben been stripped of so many of its art works during the reformation. The church had many carpets on the pews, balconies but not the floor. These were gifts from merchants in thanks for good trade and came from Turkey and beyond. I think the collection was quite priceless.

We took a cable car up to the top of the nearby hill that overlooked the town. The hill has a Hollywood like sign BRASOV at the top which is visible from all around. The view from the top once we found a viewing spot (funnily not located at the top of the cable car) was fantastic.

The next morning we headed out first to a nearby fortress, and then to Bran Castle. The fortress was interesting because it wasn’t for royalty but for the local villages to store their crops and keep themselves safe in times of attack. It looked out over a valley and mountains that had been the location for the movie Cold Mountain. Bran Castle really has not much to do with Vlad (Dracula) other than the similarity in name to the writer Bram Stoker, and also the fact that Dracula was imprisoned here overnight. Our leader was from Brasov and was able to give us a lot of insight into the actual history of the castle.

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Photos

Bastion with glass roof
This bastion had been destroyed by fire, lightening strikes once too often so they have opted for a modern roof.

Clocktower of Black Church
It is whiter on this side as the 1639 fire only blackened the other side.

Bran Castle
Room where Dracula (Vlad Tepes III or Vlad the Impaler) was kept prisoner for one night

Comments

[tezzakezza]

Great spot...love the slogan and the Hollywood style sign...a place you won't forget in a hurry I'd imagine!!