Whistlestop Wanderjahr: Braşov

Let's not mince words: the train ride from Suceava to Braşov was long. Unfortunately, there were no overnight alternatives, or I might have suggested that. I'm a huge fan of overnight train travel... but more on that later.

As we enthusiastically snapped photo after photo of the picturesque countryside between Suceava and Braşov, my parents and I were approached by several friendly domestic travelers. One was a retired conductor of the very train we were on. Although he had worked the line for years, he had never stopped in Sibiu long enough to see what it was like. He was happy to have somebody with whom to converse, and cheerfully shared with us the old photos of his life (his time in the military in 1955, his first days as a train conductor, he and his wife when they were young and vibrant, and the more recent photos of them with their grandchildren), which he apparently carries with him everywhere. We also spoke briefly with a cute young couple going home to Braşov. As always, I quite enjoyed the casual and pleasant interactions with these random Romanians.

Arriving in Braşov, the young couple approached us and informed us that the taxis would try to cheat us, and offered to set the price for us. While this wasn't really necessary (as I'm used to haggling with taxi drivers, albeit in Moldova), I accepted and we soon found ourselves in the Piaţa Sfatului, checking into the wonderful Casa Wagner hotel. Aside from the charming rooms and entirely hospitable staff, the location of this establishment sets it apart from other options. With a view overlooking the square and the Black Church, it would be a serious challenge to top this hotel. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we wandered out into the beautiful old part of the city, eventually setting our sights on the Bristo de l'Arte restaurant for pleasantly tasty birthday dinner. That's right, as of 1 July, I am officially 26. Cheers to everybody back home, and to those waiting for me in Moldova to celebrate properly.

The next morning, we rose early (ish) and, after the excellent in-hotel mic dejun, we set out to explore the city. All of the sights in Braşov are worth checking out, but for those of you considering the trip, I recommend just wandering. There are two hills with constrain the town on each side, one of which has a tram (cablecar) that isn't quite worth it, and the other of which has two old towers, also not quite worth it. The view from the smaller of the two hills is wonderful, fără turnul, and everything in between is fascinating to behold, whether it be a row of old houses, a series of 16th century fortifications, or majestic old churches.

After getting our fill of Braşov for the day, we hired a taxi (100 RON) to take us to the Râşnov citadel and back. Râşnov is a small town, less than 15 km from Braşov. The citadel dates back to at least the 13th century, and is amazingly built upon the craggy, wooded peak which looms over the town. The citadel was built to repel Turks, and I have to imagine the Turks to be insane to want to scale those walls. Still, like most structures built to oppose the Ottoman Turks, much of the citadel now lies in ruins -- spectacular ruins, but ruins nonetheless.

Giving Bran castle a miss (on a tip from a trustworthy local that it is a tourist trap with little accurate historical value), we returned to Braşov with time to spare to catch the train to our next destination: Sibiu. With only a two-hour train ride between us and Sibiu, we said good-bye to Braşov and settled into the pleasantly new-ish seats of the passenger car.