We had both heard excellent things about Transylvania and
had always been very keen to find out what Romania had to offer. To be honest
though, after Bulgaria we didn’t know what was to come and were feeling a
little sceptical and weren’t holding out high hopes. We were to be very
pleasantly surprised by the fabulous things on offer, the glorious scenery,
unique castles, vibrant and colourful towns, the hospitable people, sensational
prices, hearty home style food and just generally awesome atmosphere.
Brasov
Brasov is known as the heart of Transylvania, the place
where you can base yourself to see the ‘big ticket’ items. Brasov is in its own
right a highlight of the region with its colourful and buzzing old town with
gingerbread house terracotta rooves. Brasov council square is easily one of the
prettiest squares we have visited. Ringed by colourful Austro-Hungarian era
buildings and the Black Church it makes a beautiful place to relax in the sun,
sip coffee or smoothies and just relax, so we did. The snow was still present
and made the place all the more beautiful, except where it was icy, then it was
a slippery nightmare.
We did two day trips whilst in Brasov, one to Rasnov and Bran.
We board our local bus to head towards Rasnov, as we take our seats we notice
duct tape on the ceiling and electrical wire on the seats holding things in
place. Confidence building. Further to that every gear change sent a clunk up
our spines. Can’t complain too much though $1.50 each for a one hour trip. There
is a medieval fortress sitting atop the hill behind Rasnov with amazing views
across the city. We wandered the fort looking at the old stone buildings
wondering how so many people lived in such small spaces. This place embodies
all that it imagined of a medieval castle, the houses, the stone work, the
turrets etc.
Before we left Rasnov we saw a bunch of locals including a
policeman who pulled up and parked his car mid road, head towards a hole in the
wall across the road. Deciding it must be worth a look we found what turns out
to be quite common, a small bakery that just does quick snack pretzel like
things of various types, with seeds, chocolate, sugar etc. For 1 Lei (30 cents)
you can’t go wrong, fresh, hot and tasty. The perfect on the go snack.
Just up the road from Rasnov is the town of Bran featuring
Bran castle aka Draculas Castle. Here it gets a little out of hand, this town
has cashed in every chip it has on the Dracula bandwagon with vampire touristy
knock off stuff everywhere. Even the currency exchange numbers are dripping red
font. There is absolutely no link between Bram Stokers fictional Dracula and
this castle other than his titular character is based upon some Romanian
legends about the 14th century king Vlad. The castle itself was
remodelled in the early 20th century and has more of a large country
home feel than that of a dark, cold stone castle. It’s still castleish but
inside it has nicely modernised (for the 20th century) rooms and the
ramparts have been converted to enclosed balconies. It is nonetheless gorgeous
and has a charm that most castles lack and a unique style of its own.
Our other day trip from Brasov was to Peles castle, meant to
be one of the most beautiful in all of Europe. It did not disappoint. Like Bran
castle it is smaller than most castles usually are, which creates a softness,
more charm and warmth. Given that the King who build this castle was originally
German the castle is highly inspired by Deutsch design of the period.
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| The smaller retrest homes nest door to the castle, for the discreet weekend away... |
Each day we had a great time wandering the old town of
Brasov, and established our favourite coffee shop in the stunning square where
we would sit outside and bathe in sun. The food was fantastic and along with
eating Romanian food we did go to a traditional Transylvanian restaurant. Romanian
food seems to be a mixing pot of a bunch of other cultures including Hungarian,
German/ Austrian, Polish and a few others thrown in for good measure. It is
rich and dense and not designed for vegetarians, those who are lactose
intolerant or on a diet. With that in mind it’s fair to say it is delicious,
and the price tag guarantees you won’t be disappointed.
Sighisoara
We boarded the early morning train and found ourselves in
Sighisoara after a 2.5hour ride. It was only 700 metres to our accommodation –
easy, so we decided to walk. Then we looked up and realised the citadel was
vertical and climbed about 200 steps to reach the top. Awaiting us at the top
is the main event, the citadel, although this is hardly what makes this town
special. This town is so beautiful because of its vibrant and brightly coloured
pink, blue, green, orange and yellow buildings with terracotta rooves.
It is pristine and clearly tourism is big business, after
all the boast that this is the home of Dracula – well the guy who inspired the
character of Dracula, Vlad the Impaler. We spend the day seeing and climbing
the clock tower, walking the streets, ascending the covered staircase,
wandering the hilltop cemetery and just generally soaking it in.
Whilst walking around we stumbled across another window with
a line of locals and again decided to join the line as we knew we would be
rewarded with what was on offer. For 60cents we enjoyed a fresh hot bagel like
bread with chocolate on the inside. A delicious bargain, the best kind!
Bucharest
Waking at crazy o’clock in the morning, we crept out of our
hotel and headed to the train station. The train was delayed 40 minutes, so we
waited about an hour as we thought about all the sleep we were missing out on.
At 1pm we arrive at Bucharest, and check into our spa hotel then hit the
streets for a few hours. We see the Palace of the Parliament, a huge building
that is easily the most impressive in Bucharest. The CEC Palace further into
town is small but still very beautiful former royal home. There are some
pedestrian only streets nearby that are filled with shops, nightclubs, cafes
and bars that we meander slowly along and get a bite to eat before another walk
south to the Patriarchal palace. Atop a small hill the patriarchal palace and
its neighbouring patriarchal cathedral are interesting and beautiful buildings,
there was a service on at the cathedral though so we did not go inside.
More time would be needed to really get a feel for
Bucharest. We saw some things that looked impressive but to us all Eastern
cities look and feel the same, with some notable exceptions.
Having booked this particular hotel for its spa and
proximity to the airport we made our final indulgence of Eastern prices and had
a full body scrub followed by a 75 minute hot stone relaxation massage. It’s
fair to say we were on cloud nine as we sipped sparkling wine afterwards in the
relaxation lounge.
We departed Bucharest international without a hiccup (oh how
we’ve missed the stability of airports) and flew via Berlin to Venice. We did
have to get our bags wrapped in plastic for some reason, we’re not sure why but
the airline covered (haha) it and we were left to strip it off in the airport
when we got to Venice. No Schapelle Corby incidents for us – although we could
do with the $2 million interview… this is the only news we are really catching.
Lessons Learnt
- There are some things to be aware of in Romania that might catch you out if you don’t pay attention. Not all taxis are the same. Pay careful attention to the rate per kilometre on the door. The company taxis will charge roughly 1.4 Lei per kilometre, private taxis will charge 3.5 Lei per kilometre. The difference adds up quickly over a 10 kilometre ride. The private company taxis will always be in the prime spots and try and lure you into their cabs, keep walking and go to the company cabs that are usually one or two rows over or further at the back of the line.
- We met a taxi driver who is an engineer by profession but is driving a cab after being laid off. There is not much work in Romania and being older adds up to him likely being a taxi driver for the foreseeable future, this is clearly very upsetting and he is certainly not alone in being in this predicament. Each day provides us with the opportunity to count our blessings and be grateful for all that we have and the country we are lucky to live in.
- Always clarify with a bus company if it’s a proper coach bus, a mini bus or a 6 or 7 seater car. They call everything a ‘bus’.
- Romanian people are generally a friendly lot who will try and help you out even if they can’t speak a word of English. A smile, some gesturing and pointing will get you most of the way to where you need to go.
Parting Thoughts
It’s fair to say we had a pretty fantastic time in this
country and would highly recommend it to other travellers.
There are a few well known stereotypes about Romania, but on
the whole this was a stereotype breaking trip and whilst we met a few gypsies
and people with their hand out it wasn’t more than anywhere else and the locals
are very quick to stop tourists being harassed.
It’s funny how you develop an emotional attachment to
clothing. I bought some new pants to replace a pair of well loved, well worn
out jeans that have been everywhere with me so far. I was gutted to leave them
behind as I couldn’t justify carrying them with me. All I could do was wash
them and leave a note on them asking that they be donated to charity by
housekeeping. Au revoir faded comfy jeans.
Romania is the first country we’ve come to that uses polymer
notes like ours in Australia. We’d forgotten just how different and cool they
are compared to paper notes. Although going to 1 Lei notes is probably too
small, having 10 or more 1 Lei notes just gets ridiculous.
Having an early morning train delayed is the worst.
Simon and Amy xoxo
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