Getting stuck in Braşov

Braşov has proofed somewhat a trap as a stop-over location on my trip to the warm south. An area rich in history and with interesting architecture, mountains to climb and a very friendly hostel owner couple that is just waiting to tell you all about Romanian history and culture, I couldn't bring myself to leave after just a couple of days but stayed here for the last 9 days, trying to sample everything there is. To get back on schedule I now will have to have a very short stay in Bucharest.

View over Braşov's old town with its huge "Black Church" and the old town hall.

On Tuesday I went to see the Bran and Râşnov castles. Bran castle is tiny and picturesque and its association with Vlad Tepeş, better known as Dracula (Dracula translates as son of Dracul, and his father was Vlad Dracul (engl: Vlad the Dragon) the duke of Wallachia at his time) creates a lot of hype. I had decided not to visit the castle at the weekend in order to avoid the tourist crowds – and this part actually worked out pretty well – but what I had not considered is that all the local stray dogs could focus on just me and challenge me for my lunch. I had just gotten one of my home-made sandwiches out and before even managing one bite I found myself cornered by three of these Romanian “community dogs”. I didn't want to risk getting bitten, so I sacrificed one of my sandwiches and then walked off quickly. Next time I will check my vicinity more carefully for these buggers before getting any food out!

Râşnov castle is a massive fortress sitting on top of a mountain and thus has a very different character compared to Bran. It was temporarily closed when I got there on my way back from Bran but, resorting to scrambling, I still managed to get to the side facing the town and was able to enjoy the grand view.

Overlooking snow-covered Râşnov from the fortress. Our day time temperatures this week were around -10, and one night it even plummeted below -30 degrees.

Another of my day trips took me all the way to Biertan, one of the most important Saxon villages in Transylvania. It took a couple of train rides and hitches to reach the place, including two rides on horse carts, and so getting there and back was at least as exciting as visiting the village. Nowadays there are only few Saxons still living in Transylvania. Starting during the communist times, most of them left for Germany due to the discrimination by the Romanian state. But the Saxons are not the only ones who have left the country. In my conversations here I have learnt that the Romanians have given up on believing in economical and political change. People here talk about the revolution in 1989, but even 20 years later nothing really has changed since then other than people getting more and more frustrated. If people have an opportunity to leave the country, they will do so in order to escape corruption and poverty. This whole state of affair got sumed up for me in one sad looking scene where a station chief waved off our train, standing under a dirty, half torn Rumanian flag. After 20 years of frustration nobody seems to care any more.

Peasants with their horse carts - a common sight outside Romania's cities

The impressive fortified church of Biertan, you can see it from miles away

Statistics:
km travelled this year: 1700
cheapest 1/2l beer in a bar: 0.75Euro
dog bites: 0
friendly and helpful Romanians: lost count