2010 Trip: Bran, Rasnov, Brasov And To Budapest
16th May 2010
I have been everywhere today! When I managed to drag myself out of bed, I headed off, via local bus, to the Autogara 2. Many towns seem to have two bus stations - one for intercity buses and the other for more local journeys that are too long for the urban bus system to cover. Seems sensible enough.
From here I caught a bus (I bet you didn’t guess that!) south to Bran. Bran features a castle from the 14th C that has been popularized as ‘Dracula’s Castle’ (we are talking Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’, of course), which is completely false either for the fictional character or the loose historical figure - Vlad the Impaler. As one might expect, this is a tourist mecca. An epic quantity of souvenir stands dot the side walk, some even sell things that are not traditionally tourist souvenirs - smoked cheeses and meats and the like. Within the tourist stands there are Dracula themed cups, scarves, t-shirts, plates, clocks, and paperweights… So much junk.
I headed up the hill to the castle (along with some large groups of Romanian school children), it is an angular structure built out of the rock. Rather impressive from the outside. Inside, the castle is functional but not ornately decorated like Peles' castle. It was designed to defend the region from various marauding forces. There are some cool narrow staircases and weirdly designed and shaped rooms. Of note is that buildings in this area are really designed for the cold. In anything built before the 20th C, the walls are thick and solid (not just the castles), there are tiled wood-fed central heating units throughout the building, and many of the windows feature an extensive method for reducing heat loss. Firstly we have two (I have seen three) windows on separate frames that open inwards, then we have two sets of curtains on top of that. It must get really cold in winter!
Back down in the town below, I looked for a snack for lunch. I found something awesome - a bread called Kürtős Kalács (which I had actually tried a not-freshly-made version of yesterday). Basically it is like a large cylinder (35cm long, 10cm wide) of bready pastry, that comes off in a spiral strip and is covered, traditionally, with sugar and finely chopped walnuts. This is made by taking a metal pole with a wooden cylinder at one end, around this cylinder a long strip of pastry is wrapped. Then, the pastry is cooked over embers, before being rolled in flavouring (sugar + nuts, chocolate etc), then slipped off the wooden former and provided, still warm, to the customer! Epically awesome to eat and really delicious. You can just sort of start chewing and the pastry comes off in a delicious never-ending spiral of goodness. It is also called Chimney Cake or Stove Cake.
Following this, I caught a very late minivan to Rasnov, a town between Bran and Brasov. I headed through the town and up the hill behind. It is topped with a castle that is supposedly more impressive than Bran’s. Unfortunately, after a casual jaunt up the hill, photographing wild flowers, the castle was locked. Apparently it is under repair as it is currently structurally unsound. I headed down the hill and there was a local guy giving lifts to Brasov a few kilometres away, so I jumped in. It seems like this is the done thing, with even fixed costs for a ride, etc.
After this I headed through the old city of Brasov to the Black Church, a stunning Gothic building. From the outside. Closed on Sundays and only open till 3:30 normally. I didn’t even have a chance of seeing it! So, continuing with my plan for the day, now only a little ahead of schedule, due to two closed sights, I headed to the gondola. From the city at about 400m, we jumped to the ridge line at 940m. There were pretty views over the city and even a Hollywood style ‘Brasov’ sign to walk behind (Rasnov has one to…). I wonder what Hollywood is complaining about when they won’t allow Wellington a sign in the same style (yeah, probably the play on words - Wellywood, but still). Maybe those who want to erect it can claim they are following Brasov’s example. Anyhow, I wandered along through flowering mountain meadows and through European forest and eventually directed myself back to town. It was all very pretty. Apparently, one needs to be aware of bears in these woods. I didn’t see one.
After that I had to wait for my night train at 10:16, so I hung around various cafes, reading Dracula, for I thought it would be an amusingly necessary cliché. There were tapas, crema de brocoli, and limonada (proper European lemonade, where it is lemon juice and water and you add sugar and honey to taste). I caught the train and even got some sleep. We have just crossed both border crossing and, although probably over an hour late, are heading towards Budapest!
A few quick notes, Romania isn’t a wealthy country, even though it has some how managed to enter the EU. In the communist years, individuals were encouraged to have children and the state taxed those who didn’t. This has led to an odd phenomenon that many of the current generation in the 20s and 30s were abandoned by their parents and became orphans. Many of the orphanages that took care of these children are now closing; however, there still seems to be a problem with abandoned children. At the other end of the age spectrum, while you see some homeless here, most of those who beg are elderly ladies. It is rather sad that these decrepit individuals are on the streets and are not being provided for by there families. I not sure I understand the situation well enough to understand why it is happening, but it does.