Romanian Road Trip continued... (lots of pictures!)

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October 31st 2010

Published: October 31st 2010

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Caver95

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This is the road we stayed on at the Beke's house.

Days 2 & 3: Brasov

After our enchanting night at the "Loft of Heartache" we headed on to Brasov, Romania. http://www.romaniatourism.com/brasov.html
Brasov is one of the seven walled citadels populated by the Saxons of Transylvania, which were known in German as the Siebenbürgen (seven boroughs).
Brasov is a lovely town, with traditional foods and artwork reflecting both its Romanian and German roots . It is also filled with a surprising number of English-speakers and Americans. It's a pretty touristy place, which we are not accustomed to living in Chisinau. So few people speak English in Chisinau that my ears have grown very sensitive to picking out English speakers in a crowd. As we walked around Brasov, we were delighted to hear a mixture of languages and accents...French, Italian, British and Australian English, and of course the ever-obvious, Americans! I found myself picking out other tourists, first checking their hands for a trusty copy of Lonely Planet, and next checking out their shoes. You can always tell Europeans from Americans by the shoes...

Upon arriving in Brasov, we set about finding accommodations for the next few nights. We found a cute little guest-house, run by a sweet old Hungarian couple.

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Strada Sforii or "Rope Street", one of the narrowest streets in Europe

There was no sign indicating that they had rooms for rent, but we found the address in our Lonely Planet book. The house is just a few streets off the main "Piata Sfatului" or Council Square, on an old cobble stone road. When we knocked on the wooden gate, Mrs. Beke stuck her head out the window and cheerfully called to us to come in. The room was simple, but cozy, with an old gas furnace in the bathroom that had to be lit each morning before our showers. The Bekes spoke very little English, but were so nice and welcoming. On our second night they brought us a bottle of homemade wine that was made from grapes that grew right outside our window!

Brasov is an old fortified city tucked in a beautiful valley. As I mentioned, it has become a rather big tourist attraction so there are many "Western" style restaurants to choose from, lots of shops selling Romanian souveneirs, and even a "Hollywood" style sign on the summit of Mt. Tampa.

We spent our first day just walking around, exploring the city. We strolled through the central park, dined at an outdoor cafe over looking

Strada Sforii

the Piata, and highlight of the night...found a Irish pub serving Guinness! Of course this would be where all the Americans in town were hanging out, so we met lots of interesting travelers that night (including the American Consulate General from Bucharest, we will keep his card in a safe place).

Day two started out with a breathtaking hike to the top of "Muntele Tampa" (Mount Tampa). It was an easy 1,000 ft accent through autumn-lit forests, with an amazing vista of the city and surrounding mountains from the top.
We spent the day visiting many of the city's historical landmarks, including "Biserica Neagra" (Black Church) with it's 4000+ pipe organ, the old town gates, Turnul Alb and Negru (white and black tower).
At dusk, we hiked to the old Citadel which sits on a hill overlooking the city. The outside had pretty much been left as it was, very medieval and spooky looking. However, the inside had been refinished and updated as a museum and restaurant.
The old cobblestone roads and stone structures beg to be photographed at night, so we went out after dinner for some night photography. One might think walking around Transylvania at night might