Post 44. Braşov, Romania
My second destination in Romania was the medieval city of Braşov (pronounced Brashov). It has a population of 350,000 and is one of the most visited cities in the country with 1.5 million visitors last year. The Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe, despite some of it being destroyed in WW2 and attempts by the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu to demolish large swathes of it.
One of the other reasons it gets so many visitors is that it is the capital of the Romanian region called Transylvania, which rose to fame after Bram Stoker set his novel Dracula in a Transilvanian castle. The novel has a lot to answer for, and most tourists come to the city as a base to visit Bran Castle (the “home” of Count Dracula).
Dracula-themed businesses are two-a-penny. Elon Musk contributed to this growing vampire craze by taking over a few Transilvanian castles last year for a private vampire-themed party and then posting about it to his followers on social media. I would say the local tourist office is not complaining.
Even in late September it was very busy and apparently in July and August of this year the numbers were nearly unbearable.
The Journey
There were no direct trains from Iaşi to Braşov, so instead I chose to travel by coach. The journey was long, but very scenic as I travelled from the Moldavia region of Romania (not to be confused with Moldova) into Transylvania.
The Transylvania region itself is drop dead gorgeous, a mix of high mountains, scenic valleys, old cobblestone town centres, churches by the dozen and the odd fairytale castle or two. I tried many times to take photos from the coach but due to the winding road and sharp bends in the most scenic areas it was impossible.
After we left the Carpathian Mountains behind, we emerged onto really good fertile agricultural land, with huge farms that stretched for miles into the distance.
I arrived in Braşov’s Autogarǎ 1 and used Google Maps to determine the best way to my accommodation. It was about 4km, so I decided to book a Bolt taxi - €4. I expected the Bolt prices to be more expensive here in Braşov than in Iaşi, but no.
The taxi brought me a scenic route from the bus station, skirting around the modern city and into the Old Town. The medieval architecture was stunningly beautiful and charming. The facades of the buildings were magical and many of them had a sort of Gothic look to them. There were lots and lots of tourists about and the many bohemian outdoor cafés were doing a brisk trade.
Accommodation
My accommodation was another HomeExchange apartment for GuestPoints. This property is usually rented out on Airbnb and Booking.
I didn’t get a chance to meet my host Alex, but he maintained excellent communication and I found the place easily and let myself in using the lockbox. It was right in the centre of the Old Town on Strada Poarta Schei, right beside the famous Rope Street and the Black Church.
The studio apartment was small but perfect for my needs. It was basically a place to relax, unwind and sleep. I did not intend on doing any cooking! It had the most amazing thick walls and was very quiet and cool, despite its city centre location.
There was a lovely view of the mountains and the large Braşov sign (think Hollywood) on Mount Tâmpa from the internal courtyard.
I certainly would be able to walk everywhere in the Old Town from here!
Useful Information Sources
The Braşov Tourism app was very helpful in planning activities, all information was in English, but by far the best travel blog I found on Braşov is by Rich, an Englishman who lives in Braşov:
There were two other interesting blogs:
Guided Walking Tour
Booked through the Guru Walk app, the tour guide was called Diana and she had sent very good tourism and practical information in advance about Braşov.
The tour started off in front of the former Communist Party offices in the city. President Nicolae Ceausescu was not a fan of Braşov due to the German architectural heritage, and any excuse he got, he razed it to the ground and constructed something more fitting with the communist ideal. Much of what was destroyed was done to build factories, in order to make Romania more self-sufficient. His basic aim was to turn an agricultural country into an industrial one.
Halfway up this building on the left is a simple commemorative plaque to the start of the Romanian Revolution, with bullet holes clearly visible above it.
But even before Ceausescu started tearing the city down there were some modernist concrete developments in the interwar years such as the unusual circular tower (above) which now houses the Bank of Transylvania.
There are also several smaller commercial buildings in the Art Deco style.
Our tour guide Diana grew up under communism and her only memories of it are bad: doing her homework lit by candlelight as the electricity was rationed, going to bed cold and hungry and queuing for food rations using food coupons.
She then showed us a wall mural dubbed by the locals as "the all-seeing eyes of communism”, which gives some sense of what people felt all the time under Romania's Soviet-inspired rule.
The vast majority of central Braşov’s Old Town was spared from destruction and it is a wonderful mix of Gothic and Medieval buildings dating back to the 16th century, with a mix of numerous ‘younger’ buildings from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries on most streets.
Piaţa Sfatului (Council Square) is one of Braşov’s finest squares.
The Square has a fountain in the Soviet style; here it is illuminated at night.
On Tampa Mountain (it really only is a hill), looking down over the city is its iconic Hollywood-style Braşov sign, which is illuminated green at night. Diana explained the interesting history behind the name.
On August 22, 1950, the Soviet-influenced Romanian regime changed the official name of Brașov to Orașul Stalin (Stalin City) to honor Joseph Stalin.
The new name was used for over ten years until on December 24, 1960, the name reverted to Brașov after the Stalinist era ended in Romania.
The locals hated the sign and set about planting lots of fast-growing trees. By 1960, the sign was almost completely hidden from view below. The new sign dates from 2004.
Just off Council Square is the Biserica Neagră (Black Church), which got its name from when a fire that destroyed all the wooden buildings in the city in 1689 blackened its walls..
The Romanian Orthodox Church was built in 1829.
Strada Republicci, the main pedestrianised shopping street, now has as many outdoor restaurants and cafés as it has shops.
Rope St / Strada Sforii, the third narrowest street in Europe, is between 1.1 and 1.35m wide and is Braşov's most famous street. It is so-named as it is not straight and looks like a long winding rope. Evidence of mass tourism can be seen in the thousands of signatures in graffitti on the walls. My accommodation was just two houses away.
At the top of the street where I was staying was Schei Gate, the newest city gate, built in 1928.
On the other side of the Old Town is Catherine's Gate, completed in 1559, the oldest monument in Brasov.
The tour ended here and Diana treated us all to a relic of the communist era, the Rom sweet, still very popular.
Diana sat us all down and filled us in on the Dracula-mania that descends on the city in the run-up to Halloween each year. She was keen to stress what everybody on the tour knew already, that Dracula was not a real person and never lived in Bran Castle. It is felt that the novel Dracula was loosely based on just one legend associated with Vlad the Impaler, who did exist, but there is no evidence even that he ever spent a night in the castle.
She said that many tourists are complaining that there isnt much to see about Dracula at Bran Castle. There are only three rooms about the life of Vlad the Impaler, and most of the displays are about Queen Marie who DID live there, and who, in 1918 helped unite the different regions that make up modern-day Romania.
After a light lunch back in the apartment, I headed off to visit the one museum I was looking to visit, the Tales of Communism Museum, however my research missed the important information that it was closed on Mondays.
Instead I set out to walk the medieval city walls, complete with towers, bastions and gates which surround much of the Old Town.
From there you could see the Black Tower, a bit further up the hill. I don't know why they call it black when it is very clearly white!
The old cable car to Mount Tâmpa and the Brasov is currently being dismantled and the newly-installed one was still being tested. It was due to be open at this stage but the authorities are being extra careful, given what happened with the cable car in Lisbon recently. With temperatures in the high 20s, I didn’t fancy walking up the steep footpath instead.
Food and Drink
On the first evening, there was a music festival in Council Square and the place was thronged with people.
So to avoid the crowds, I headed down a random side street in search of dinner. A Romanian-Italian place had a great smell of garlic wafting across the street so I went in and sat down.
I had Pui Sorentina (chicken) and a mixed salad, with a glass of chilled Romanian red wine. It was tasty enough but nothing special.
The next morning I tried AI to get some suggestions as to where to go for a healthy option of a breakfast smoothie. Its number one suggestion was Shake Coffee, just a five-minute walk from the apartment - ‘A cozy café with a wide selection of smoothies and natural juices. Opens early, perfect for post-morning jogs.’
Well there were no smoothies, and they never served them. They did serve some great coffee though and a limited selection of savoury options. I picked a slice of courgette tarte warmed up, the total cost - less than €5.
In the late afternoon, after the walk around the walls another rest was required to recharge the batteries (phone AND body). Very soon however, I was getting hungry.
I had read about La Ceaun, being the best Romanian restaurant in Brașov. Coincidentally, Diana the tour guide said the same thing, so I headed there for a combined late lunch and early dinner.
I ordered a pint of local lager and a starter of Zacuscă, a traditional Romanian vegetable spread served on homemade potato bread. It was mostly made up of white beans, red peppers, carrots and garlic.
And then this …. I got a shock when I saw a whole spatch-cooked chicken arrive on my table! It was called Cauldron Fried Chicken with polenta and a garlic sauce. Hidden under the chicken was a serving of local potato chips that have their own distinctive flavour..
I sure was glad that I was having a combined lunch and dinner! Thankfully I love roast chicken, it smelt absolutely delicious and the couple who arrived after me at the next table ordered the same - but one between the two of them!
As the starter and main were so good, I was severely tempted to have a Romanian dessert. I chose Papanasi, a sweet cheese dumpling served with sour cream and homemade jam. It was enormous and I could only manage half of it.
This was the best meal of week-one hands down. La Ceaun has a 4.6 rating on TripAdvisor and the bill came to €38 including a double espresso.
Overall Impression
Braşov is a wonderful city with a great atmosphere. The Old Town is beautiful and small enough to walk everywhere. The historic centre is surrounded by the modern city of Braşov and is a mix of mostly communist apartment blocks and other concrete offices from the fifties and sixties.
The train station built in 1962, is a wonderful example, with big windows letting tons of light through.
The inside is covered in marble and similar to train stations I visited in other communist countries.
I would highly recommend Braşov for a few days or a weekend trip, but make your plans sooner rather than later before mass tourism and its newly-opened airport turn it into another Prague or Dubrovnik.
And if you dont meet any Romanian brown bears in Transylvania, look out for this poor unfortunate fellow who ended up above a shop front in Braşov!
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