Bran Castle

Thursday we pulled up stakes, so to speak, and drove down the valley, through Brasov again, and up to Bran. Bran Castle is one of the major tourist sites in Romania. It is an old castle, to be sure, founded by the Teutonic Knights in the 12th century, a fortresss against Tartar and Turkish invasion over the centuries, in the 19th century a customs house, in the 20th century a residence for the short-lived Romanian royalty. Seized by the commies in 1947, then, turned into a museum, then, most unusually, given back to the royal family in exile in the 1990s, now run for them as a tourist destination by a private company. For none of these reasons is it popular. Rather, it is the Transylvanian (really?) castle that most looks like what Dracula's Castle should look like.  So they say. Personally, I thought it was what a nice historical treatment of a really old but still intact medieval castle should look like; there were a couple of Vlad/Dracula rooms, nonetheless. There is only conjecture that Vlad ever set foot in the place.

Scary? Really?

As it looked in the late 1800s

Official Teutonic Knight costume

Some nice rooms and furniture

Ditto; including the royal crown

Ditto again

A narrow dark staircase or two

And then the Vlad/Dracula rooms

"Hey, everybody was doing it!"

"Besides, he was a really good guy"

Surrounded by the usual trinket shops....

Ascent of Omu; or, Follow the Yellow-Striped Road; or, Tipsy at Omu

So Wednesday, September 15, I made the ascent of Omu Peak, in the Bucegi mountains, near Sinaia. Vicki stayed home, in the camper, parked still in Sinaia, reading, internet-ing, researching future travels. Someone has to be responsible and work while I play.

I caught the maxitaxi to Busteni, and, from there (after a k's walk), the teleferic up to Babeme on the plateau. Rural transportation in Romania is often by maxitaxi, Sprinter-sized vehicles, apparently privately owned, that can seat 18 or 20. Hey, it works. 3 lei. (1$). The communist-era teleferic to the top and back was 58 lei, about $19. From Busteni, the Bucegi mountains are spectacular peaks and spires. None very high, but still quite sceneic. Atop them is a long plateau where hiking trails abound. I chose the one to Omu peak and Cabana Omu.

The World War Memorial Cross; the Bucegis, from Busteni,
are all craggy peaks like this

The teleferic takes you from way down in the valley up onto
the high plateau

Alas, much of what there is to look at along the trail is this
immense 1960s sort of radio tower

Follow the Yellow-Striped Road; all the trails are
conveniently color-coded; and well-marked

The whole plateau/ridge is conglomerate rock--one of the
world's major deposits, and erosion has created many
unusual forms; this, a sort of sphinx, from where I sat
eating a banana

Although the day had started clear, by mid-morning clouds
were roiling, up the canyons, to the plateau, then back
down the canyons; here's the space needle a couple miles
away

Finally, at the summit of Omu, looking north, with a break
in the clouds

All trails lead to Omu

This is not my idea of a cabana; I am from
the Caribbean, remember...sort of...

So there's the Cabana Omu, Bucegi Mountains, Carpathian
Alps, one of now many huts/guesthouses I have visited;
I had a vin chaud--the Romanian, I think, is vin fierte--
anyhow, it was ample and good--I was tipsy at Omu--
Romanians like their wines sweet, even reds, so it was an
extra sweet vin chaud

Conglomerate

Occasionally, the light pierced the clouds and some glorious
mountain scenery was there

This will do for signage: traditional route, left, traseu varia,
right; I always go for the traseu varia

Cave-dwelling sheep

The Sphinx (the real one)

Other formations

Yes, bears; the Carpathian Alps in Romania are home to some
6,000 black and brown bears; I saw none; nor did I see anyone
 mounting his or her tent

I did see plenty of garbage
throwing away; it was the most trashed trail
I have ever seen

And the exciting ride back down to Bucenti; 
and another maxitaxi (I am so going native); 
and a nice Romanian poulet roti dinner, with 
frites; 25,000 steps on my pedometer; 
13 miles; I earned it

Sinaia

Tuesday finds us Sinaia, up in the mountains. Sinaia is a resort, "the pearl of the Carpathians," so-named because a 17th century Romanian noble-person visited the Holy Land and came back to establish--what else?--a monastery here. Tomorrow I hope to climb Omu Peak, from Busteni, down the valley. But today we just took in the town here and its sights. We are camped, as it were, in a private parking lot in town, up from the railway and police stations, assuming the 20 lei we paid for the day will include the night.

Not every town has a New Montana hotel

The great violinist Yehudi Menuhin stayed
here in the fall of 1927, visiting, one assumes,
the great Romanian composer Georg
Eonescu, a Sinaia resident

There are a number of WWI cemeteries nearby, where  German, Hungarian, 
and Romanian soldiers are buried  together; most of these say "an unknown 
Romanian hero"

Basilica at the Sinaia monastery; 19th century; we are so monasteried-out we 
did not even contemplate going inside

Peles, Carol I's German Renaissance summer palace, late 19th century; we are
so castled-out...

The path up to Peles is lined with these trinket shops,  scores of them, all with 
pretty much the same merchandise

PS  Not everything in Romania is likable, but the availability of free wifi certainly is; it seems like almost anywhere we go, we turn on the computer, and shazamm, we are connected!

"Probably the Best City in the World," 2

More of "probably the best city in the world"

The so-called Black Church, the largest
Gothic church between Vienna and
Instanbul, they say; there are Gothic
cathedrals in Istanbul? Take me there!

Interior (while the armed guard wasn't
looking)

The one thing of interest about this place is that it is
decorated by some 200 Turkish rugs, all quite (centuries)
old and beautiful

Brasov's "Hollywood" sign, another element of urban
greatness

There are some very nice buildings here,
most awaiting renovation; also mile after
square mile of not so nice communist-era
block housing

And where else, in the whole wide world of sports, can you 
find a Dracula Dream Catcher?!

A few seats are still available in "probably the best city in
the world"

We gave up--most things are closed on Monday--and went back to the campground, where I actually hand-washed the truck--first time since Scotland!

The best thing I can say about Brasov is that the taxi drivers are honest, reliable, and straightforward, and speak some English. This alone probably puts Brasov in the running for "probably the best city in the world."

"Probably the Best City in the World," 1

So here we are in Brasov, Romania, which modestly bills itself as "probably the best city in the world."

Central square and citadel

Note the umbrellas (there are hundreds--hundreds--of them
around the old town): Brasov, Brassa, Kronstadt...
Transylvania was contested land, German, Hungarian,
Romanian...whatever; still "probably the best city in the
world"; oh, and in addition to its Romanian, Hungarian,
and German names, it was, until relatively recently,
Oracul Stalin

We had hoped to take the telecabin to the
top of Mt. Timpa, overlooking Brasov;
but alas, it is closed on Mondays; a vestige
of Leninism's inherent laziness, we figured;
"come back tomorrow"; we won't

Part of what it takes to be "probably the best city in the
world" is an ancient wall; Brasov's is a whole 3 km, a good
half hour's walk; this the Linen Merchants' tower

The Black Church, Brasov's cathedral

St. Katherine's Gate

Brasov's Synagogue: according to the
plaque, most of Brasov's Jews have
emigrated to Israel but still remember
Romania fondly; although possibly not as
"probably the greatest city in the world"

One of Europe's longest (83m) and narrowest
streets, according to the plaque

Vicki demonstrates it is 1.32 m wide

On the Road Through Danes to Saschez, and Nearly Viscriu, through Rupea, to Brasov

The rest of our day was occupied driving back to Sighisoara, through Danes, Saschez, almost Viscri, and Rupea, to Brasov, where, after major provisioning at the Carrefours, we stopped at another campground (with wifi!).

Road scene outside Sighisoara: we only wanted to buy
one red onion

The beautiful little village of Danes, its main street covered in flowers

A couple miles of color and care...

The World Heritage Site citadel at Saschez

We really wanted to see the fortified church
at Viscriu, another World Heritage Site, but
road washouts...

And finally a bridge replaced by 2x6s forced us to
reconsider and retreat; next time

In the valley near Viscriu; these people probably don't have
indoor plumbing...but they all have satellite dishes...

The citadel ruins at Rupea: not in the guidebook at all