Transylvania
Wednesday = Bucharest --> Brasov (via train)
Thursday = Peles Castle, Rasnov, Bran Castle
Today = Brasov
(Tomorrow = 11 hour train to Budapest!)
So much to say, where to begin? Well, I'm in Brasov now, a cute little mountain city in the mountains, and a great place for trips around the area. Upon arrival on Wednesday, we congratulated ourselves on buying tickets and getting on what we thought was the right bus. As it turns out, bus lines change and we rode in a few circles and spent a few extra lei getting to the hostel for the evening. Annoying as that was, it was a lot easier than finding the place in Bucharest. We settled in and headed out for a walk around town in the evening light before treating ourselves to a nice traditional Romanian fare at a restaurant near the hostel. Appetizer, beer, and mains included, our 3 person bill came to 59 lei, or about $23. Not bad! Being the power tourists that we are, we turned in early and prepared for our castle tour the next day.
The hostel we're staying at gives minibus tours of the main castles nearby, Bran, Rasnov, and Peles. For only 60 lei, you get transportation (though not entrance) to all three. After talking to fellow travelers who said they'd spent 68 lei and two days accomplishing the same feat, we decided to take the gamble and sign up. I'm normally pretty wary of tours from the places you stay, but this was a good deal, and even included a stop at a restaurant for lunch. Anyway, on to the interesting part: the castles. The Peles Castle is a magnificent building, and was actually more of a summer palace for the royal family. Decorated in a variety of styles (Italian, German, Baroque, Hungarian, Iranian, Middle Eastern, Indian, etc.), it was a gorgeous 59 room example of royal finery and excess. Beautiful. Rasnov castle was a place of defense for the region, so it's up on a mountain, and has amazing views. It's crumbling, but still mostly intact, and even has a bit of a museum in one part. Probably my favorite castle of the three, for the views and cool stone remains. Bran was the third castle we visited, and is for some reason associated with Vlad Tepes a.k.a. Vlad the Impaler, once King of Wallachia, whom Dracula was based upon. Apparently he never actually set foot in the castle, but it's still cool. It's less impressive castle than really really cool, modest palace fort kinda place (adjectives fail me right now, sorry). The modest size of most rooms inside and white architecture made me liken it to a very very spacious Greek style house. But in a royal kind of way... Hard to explain. Anyway, back to the hostel for some food and another early evening.
Today we set out for Brasov's main drag, intending to see the interiors of the old Synagogue and the Black Church. Unfortunately, there was something going on in the Synagogue (which is only open till 1pm anyway) and since it's Good Friday most of the churches are actively in use. Kinda awkward and gauche to go busting in and snapping photos during services/prayers. Not to be deterred, we explored more of the city, and climbed some trails up to the old defense tower, the Blacksmiths' Bastion, and had some lovely italian pastries (which I ordered in a mixture of Romanian and sign language). Afterwards, more exploring, and back to the hostel to cook for ourselves again and pack up for tomorrow.
Brasov is a much more welcoming city than Bucharest, which makes sense since it is the most visited city in Romania. It's very pretty and has a lovely town square; Lonely Planet dubs it "The New Prague." Fitting. Though smaller, it actually looks how I expected Bucharest to look. Oh well. We took the right advice and ended up in the small, nice city for several days rather than the dirty capital. I'm also feeling like I stand out a little less, or maybe it's just that I'm not as stared at here. Either way, I feel slightly more comfortable. I think it's just that people are more used to foriegners.
Tomorrow's our 11 hour train trip to Budapest, so I'd best be off and charge my iPod!
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