Brasov: Transylvania Investigated

Arrival in Brasov

Nobody had told me about the hour time difference coming into Romania, just one more thing to add to the stress of arriving into Transylvania!!

Lucky I had some scraps of Hungarian money money left in the train station as the ATM machine was banjaxed. There was one little change office open at 6 o'clock in the morning, and without any idea about what I was getting back, I handed in the money. I really was no further on when the money was handed in the other direction.

It turns out that Romania is having it's own dress rehearsal for a Euro changeover. They have gotten tired of being millionaires and have decided to wipe the last four digits off their notes. They are smack in the middle of the changeover and have not withdrawn the old money yet, so for the unsuspecting tourist it's nothing short of headwrecking! To simplify they have changed the name also, from LEI to LEU, that this made a lot of sense to me!

If there was any doubt I was in the former Eastern block, this disappeared with the scenery coming from the train station. The beautiful flats that the communists rounded the people into. The only excuse there could have been was a shortage of architects for the building boom?

Little old ladies in newspaper stands can come in useful at 7 in the morning if you have no idea where you're headed. You might not believe it, but it's true. I showed them the scribbled address that I had taken down from an internet for the hostel and through a series of straight ahead hands, right turning hands and finally a sharp left turn of the hand, I find my destination. The hostel has a sign outside that is no bigger than 4 sq inches, to the nearest inch!

The weather is miserable but Brasov is a pleasant spot. The people are not the brightest in the world, but you get over that. Maybe a wet day was the right introduction to Transylvania? The town itself is shadowed by a forested mountain with a Hollywood style 'BRASOV' lighting like the star of Bethlehem on the hill. I get my raincoat on and get wandering. You can see the large percentage Hungarian decent in the people. This was formerly part of Hungary, lost in WW1. For a small town it has plenty in it; nice sites, restaurants, bars and a main shopping drag. They don't have the money of, say Budapest, but business still seems to be flowing along. I go for a wander that night, but nothing mad out and about on a Tuesday night.

Operation Sighisoara

The mission for the day was to get to Sighisoara, a town two hours northwest of Brasov famed as the birthplace of Vlad Tepes. Vlad WHAT??? The man touted as the inspiration behind Dracula. Seemingly he had some interesting ways to impale people so that they 'hung' on for a while longer. No long fangs, no big black cloak, I felt like asking for my train fare back!!

Like the journey from Budapest to Brasov, the land really is in bad shape with the wet spring that was had is this part of Europe. Many of the fields are under water and many homes dangerously close. At least the Transylvanian mountains break up the countryside from the depression of flooded plains.

From the train station, I walk to the town center. A smaller town, so much fewer communist blocks to pass. The medieval towns main attraction is the citadel that rises up over it's surroundings and the clock tower at the citadel main entrance, still working and keeping time 500 years on. Not a bad piece of engineering! The view from the top of the tower reveals a citadel that is not consigned to history as a relic of the past, but as a hive for the residents living out their normal lives. It really is a beautiful place, but the sense of life around definitely adds that extra bit of atmosphere.

Even though Sighisoara is north of Brasov, it somehow seems more Romanian. The Orthodox churches have pushed the Lutheran churches from pride of place and there are a lot more .............. gypsies. I enquired off one if they have a copy of the Big Issue handy, but conveniently he pretended not to know what I was talking about? I found out that piano accordion playing is not the national pastime of Romania, it's just what the gypsies learn before they go abroad to terrorise you into giving them money.

A guy I met on the train returning to Brasov explained the scourge these people are to their country, and the blight they have put on the Romanian name the world over. They seem to be the only beggars on the street here. When I was waiting at the Sighisoara train station for the train to Brasov, the stories that I heard of their existence was played out before me. While daddy sits drinking beer from a 2L plastic bottle, kiddies are dispatched to see what they can get.

The real locals are happy sitting enjoying a beer after work before they get on the train home.

Football time in Brasov

I make it back to Brasov for about seven, and decided to check out if Wednesday night brought out any more life in the Romanian hills. On passing a few bars, they all seemed to be full with the attendance fixed on a football game. It turned out that it was the UEFA cup semi-final between Steau Bucharest and Middlesborough. The whole town seemed to be out in force to support their fellow coutry men. It finished 1-0 to Steau and within minutes there were cars up and down the street with their horns blowing like they had won the world cup. Most of the bars were empty within ten minutes of the game finishing. Definitely not in the style of watching a game in Dublin!

Off to Dracula's Castle

The next morning, before departing Brasov for Bucharest, I intended braving the local buses into the countryside to check out 'Draculas' castle. When I queried how this was famed as Draculas castle, I was quickly muted. No damage allowed to the local tourist industry. When I get to the square for the bus, I see three Canadians from the hostel haggling with a taxi driver and knowing they were headed in the same direction, we all head off together.

Bran turns out to be a very nice castle, looking more like the German brand of castle than what the English dotted around Ireland. It's situated on a hill between beautiful forested mountains.

Predictably outside there is every kind of Dracula tack that you can dream of, even Dracula red wine!!