Brasov and Transylvania

SO we get out of Buchurest in the morning so we wouldn’t lose a lot of time traveling. The train trip itself was beautiful, passing through the Carpathian mountains as we made our way into Transylvania. The scene was exactly what might come to mind when you think “Transylvania.” Little wooden villages nestled in between gigantic, dark, craggy mountains. It seemed Sinaia was the most like this, and it’s understandable to think of how the medieval residents of these areas could have imagined legends such as Dracula and the like.

Brasov itself is located in between those same mountains and a smaller hill on the edge of a broad valley. The whole place has more of a German kind of feel than a Eastern European one, as the old town (where we stayed) is located inside an old walled city complete with a gigantic Gothic cathedral, tiny cobbled streets lined with old buildings, and tons of spires and clock towers scattered around. A lot of the town has been pedestrianized and most of the roads are lined with cafes and restaurants, some of them leading into historic basements or bordering some building that looks like it should be in Fantasy Land.




The second day we took a day trip out to see some of the castles in the surrounding area. First was Bran Castle, which (legend has it) was Dracula’s castle. Unfortunately Dracula is a fictional story and the historical society of Bran has plenty of disclaimers around that this was not, in fact, Dracula’s castle. That hasn’t stopped countless people from trying to cash in on the connection. The beautiful castle guarding a pass between the regions of Transylvania and Wallachia is completely surrounded, not by a moat, but by hundreds of t-shirt stands and souvenir shops, mostly Dracula themed. There was Dracula’s bakery, Dracula’s 3D (5D?) movie experience, and even Dracula’s money exchange. The whole thing took quite a bit away from the experience of walking around in and exploring a very real and interesting castle in the mountains.

Bran Castle without all the crap cluttering it up (I didn't take this)

Much better, in my opinion, was the second castle we went to – Rasnov. Located roughly halfway between Brasov and Bran, Rasnov was a much more stereotypically eastern European town, and the gray weather made it even moreso. The Citadel of Rasnov sits at the edge of a gigantic cliff overlooking the town. Despite the giant sign right in front of it, the castle is much less touristic, very imposing, and gives a good feel of an actual medieval town. After a good climb by foot up to the castle, it’s another climb to the top of the place, where you can see the entire town and valley below. We stayed up there for a bit, watching storm clouds roll in over the mountains towards the bigger town of Brasov (another very Transylvania moment), until we had to walk back down in the rain. Good thing there are some cafes around in the town as well…

On our last day in Brasov we went up the mountain directly bordering the town, awesomely named Mt. Tampa. Tampa is topped by a “Hollywood-style” sign, to which you can walk and from which you can enjoy a good view of the town below, which we did. It’s pretty spectacular…

Looking up at Mt. Tampa from the center

And looking down at Brasov from Mt. Tampa (I didn't take this)

All in all Brasov really impressed me, and it’s definitely a place to which I wouldn’t mind returning, as well as the incredible mountains around town. Sighisoara was also a beautiful place on our trip. But for now it’s back to work – back to the orphanage and Yasli, and I think I have some good ideas for both this coming school year (Starting Sept. 15). We’ll see what happens…

Until next time…

Bucharest

We arrived in Bucharest in the afternoon of our second day, but we started walking around just before evening, just in time to see the city light up, simultaneously hiding its ugly concrete blocks, and highlighting it’s beautiful (if extremely over the top) Gothic architecture. It has a very cool Gotham vibe to it, very nice but you know there’s something shady going on at all times. It’s as if you're having a good time, but in the back of your mind you know that, at this very moment, somewhere a politician is being corrupted or some art is being heisted.



The centerpiece of the city is the ridiculous Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world (after the Pentagon). It’s monstrous, pretentious, and ugly as hell, but still fascinating. Nicholas Ceausescu, Romania’s Communist ruler for so many years, spent all the country’s money and razed an entire historical quarter of the town to build it. The building is still apparently 10% unfinished. Leading up to the palace is a huge center filled with fountains and lined with restaurants and giant obnoxious flashing advertisements. It felt very much like a more spread out Times Square. It’s a cool place with a lot to do and see, but knowing what they did to the city to create it kind of takes away a bit of the fun.


Much nicer (and more to scale), was the city’s old town area, which still seemed somewhat new actually. It’s an area of old cobblestone streets that the city is currently restoring. Lined with cafes, bars, and restaurants, the area is close to a university and has very much of a student kind of feeling to it. It’s easy to get lost in the tiny back alleys in there, but also really fun to explore and stumble upon a hidden square with a gigantic, beautiful building just kind of sitting there as if it was nothing at all. While walking around in there, we also stumbled upon an active movie set and met the director in between takes. Apparently Romania is becoming a big place for filmmaking, not only because it is cheap and relatively well connected but also because the places in it are like ready-made sets. Everything in the town seems like it was made to be filmed or photographed.


Right near our hostel was this interesting little monument:


It’s not really on a main square or near interesting things, but it is a site of huge importance. This is the spot at which the public captured the Communist dictator and executed him. On the spot, they’ve built something vaguely resembling an olive on a toothpick (kind of a weird way to commemorate it), but it’s a cool place nonetheless. The area sums up Bucharest in one little block. The streets around it contain architecture from the 1800s, the time of Communism, and modern times. It’s a place of huge significance, but dwarfed by its completely out of scale surroundings, and memorialized by something so ugly and confusing you can’t help but feel amazed.

However, once you peel back the layers, something really special lies underneath this place to which I'm sure I'll return.