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Friday, 30 December 2016

Brasov (via Timisoara) - Romania

08:15:00 No comments

Dracula's Castle!
To Brasov (Romania) from Belgrade was something like 15hrs. So we split the big trip into two legs - 5hrs to Timisoara (Romania) for a quick over night stop, before marching onto Brasov. Specifically from Belgrade we had a couple of hours heading west to Vrsac, where we had to swap onto a Romanian train. There was an hour stop over at Vrsac - the train station was pretty rough and half run down, so no coffee... Outside across the street was a little market wagon, no coffee... just a crabby Serb women, so I grabbed a couple of mars bars to lighten the mood.

 Eventually we were on the Romanian train at the border, a couple of blokes came onto the train and grabbed our passports, checked some bags, the rubbish bins etc. maybe for drugs before we were on our way. Instantly Romania seemed a lot cleaner than Serbia. The train often stopped at train stations which resembled old wooden buildings, and wooden platforms where a little Romanian conductor would pop out.

The fields of Romania.
In Timisoara the AirBnB's on offer were limited and we didn't feel like staying in a hostel so we decided to try the first Hotel of the trip - and it was rubbish. No kitchen, no fridge, average bathroom and more expensive than we're used too through the Balkans. Thankfully breakfast was included. We were across town and out of the way but close to the local brewery so we headed there for lunch and a couple of ales. We weren't feeling overly adventurous so after a feed we decided to head back for an early night. 
Fresh and delicious - so far so good for Romania.

Timisoara to Brasov despite being only 400km away, it was 10hr on the train... The train was pretty comfortable and relaxing, other then taking a bloody long time, its convenient and you see plenty of the country and villages. I spend the day going through and editing all of our video footage we had recorded on the trip to manufacture some sort of video montage... by luck, we had our own cabin!


Romanian train systems were ahead of the times - our ticket from Serbia was hand written. 180Lei or 60AUD for the train ticket from Timisoara to Brasov.
We had booked a hostel in Brasov for 4 nights which we hoped would give us plenty of time to have a good look around. Top attractions include Bran Castle, Peles Castle and Brasov itself has quite a bit to do.
BRASOV sign
We woke up to our first day in Brasov and it was snowing! Se we rugged up and decided to head out to Bran, about 30 minutes on a local bus to see whats know as Dracula's castle and some local markets. 
Chimney cake - nom, nom, nom! A big hollow donut about 100mm in dia. 300mm long and 5mm thick coated in sugar and nuts!
Bran Castle
Amy was heading the trip out to Bran Castle because I had bloody no idea about what it was or had to offer. It is a pretty popular place mostly because of the legend Dracula, of which I know nothing about also.... Bran (the town) sits at the edge of Transylvania and Wallachia, its castle is a national monument and landmark. Originally built (the castle) in the 1200's out of wood, destroyed by the Mongols then rebuilt in the 1370's out of stone by inhabitants of Brasov, which then established the town. It was used to defend the Ottomans in the 1400's. In the 1920's the castle became the royal residence for the Kingdom of Romania.


A toucher chair used back in the day.


Actual local bear, a couple of fellas who were in the hostel managed to see one in a paddock on his way back to Brasov from Bran.
The castle itself was pretty small and chilly, the staircases were narrow and steep but the place had a lot of character. I couldn't imagine living in here during winter, it would have taken a forest of wood to keep it warm. Walking around a 700 year old castle in the snow is something you don't have the opportunity to experience in Australia. 

Dracula: Is actually a non-fictional legend dreamed up by many writers but most famously Irish writer Bram Stoker. The story is based on Vlad III or Vlad the Impaler, the ruler of Wallachia (southern part of Romania) during the 1400's - I truly had no idea about the Dracula story or specifics other then what I saw on Looney Toons when I was a kid. Vlad was a man who loved to impale people and during his time of rule (which happened over three instances) he impaled something like 20,000 people. By impale I mean get a big pole and stick it in their behind before hoisting the pole up vertically and letting them slowly slip down the pole, damaging internal organs and eventually causing death..a "good" impaling meant they wouldn't die for a few days. Vlad had no connection to Bran castle other then maybe a visit...
What an impalement looked like for those who cannot visuals it...
A frosty morning hike up to the Brasov sign before a walking tour and some Brasov city exploration.

Looking over Brasov old town from its sign.
Brasov was built up by German colonists who were invited to Transylvania by the Hungarian kings circa 1100 to 1300. Brasov was an intersection of trade routes linking the Ottoman Empire with Western Europe, during these times the German's of the area were able to become wealthy traders and merchants (they were also allowed certain tax exemptions to live here and develop the area). Until WWII there was a 50/50 German/Romanian population, until the Soviet Union forcibly deported many ethnic Germans. Then when Romania became a communist country, the remaining Germans fled back to Germany. I found this info pretty interesting, other then some architecture there doesn't seem much German culture in Brasov now days. 

Brasov is really clean, each morning there are organised people sweeping and cleaning the streets with a bin and stick brooms.
One of the remaining old town gates - the 5 spires on the roof mean that this town enforces the death penalty!
An icey cold old town square after a walking tour - so slippery under foot. The square was where the communist leaders were executed in the early 90's.


Brasov is a modern town with plenty of culture. From what a lot of people said, it is one of the cultural highlights of Romania and a good base to explore the outer regions. We stayed at Kismet Dao Hostel and it was a beauty, breakfast supplied and a free beer each night. Public transport was good, buses throughout the town were affordable with ticket machines at each stop. Other then being colder then expected, Brasov was pretty nice. Next stop was our next Workaway just an hour out the road.
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