Tripping With Toby: Brasov

Horowitz Travel- May 20, 2017- Brasov

We've created a new dance step. It's the windmill wave. Hallway lights are turned on by motion sensors, which can be hard to activate. Last night Judi couldn't see well enough to put the key in the door of her room. We both pin wheeled down the hall until we found the sweet spot and the lights went on.

For the first time in many nights it was quiet. There were no dogs, cats, gulls, bells, roosters, or horns. I still used earplugs. Slept like a baby. I hope Prince Charles did too. He stayed at our hotel for three days in 2002. He likes summers in Transylvania and comes to check his properties. His son, Prince Harry, has joined him at times. Radu has met them and says they're just nice people.

We said good-bye to our New Zealand friends at breakfast. At least I think we did. He was almost impossible to understand. Their program in Romania now diverges from ours before they go to Bulgaria. We also said good-bye to Jimmy, the 17-year old hotel dog who came out to the parking lot with a tail wag and for a farewell pet.

Believe it or not, we were going over the Carpathians again. We've not been traveling in a straight line and find ourselves on the wrong side of them daily. The roads were much better, but still quite winding. Again, I slept.

It was misty as we approached Bran Castle, also known as Dracula's Castle. Built in 1332 or 1377, depending on whom you believe, the fact is that Vlad Dracula never lived there. His grandfather moved in in 1395, for a couple of years. It's a Medieval fortress with all the usual elements thereof. Its strategic location on the main commercial road between Transylvania and Wallachia created opportunity for occupants (Germans, Austro-Hungarians) to charge a toll to travelers for their passage. Over the ages, it went through many owners with Marie of Edinburgh (Queen Victoria's granddaughter) married to Ferdinand I of Romania being a favorite. During WWI, she worked with the Red Cross and was beloved by the people. It is said that she loved Romania but hated her husband. She summered at the castle with her seven children (and some lovers) until 1947, when the Communists came and royalty left the country.

Visiting the castle is an exercise in duck, grab, and swerve. Archways to entrances were low. Steps were steep, spiral, had rope grab rails, and were more abundant than we expected. Tour groups, though not oppressive, made it challenging to maneuver. Rooms were furnished in the style of Marie's time and not all were authentic. It was fun experiencing the place. Knowing the myths were false and seeing it surrounded by countless souvenir stands didn't detract from what it actually stood for. Archduke Dominic of Austria-Tuscany literally bought into the history of the castle. He purchased and renovated the property and is making money from the tourists. The Hapsburgs have returned!

We ate a most remarkable lunch across from the castle. David and I ordered goulash and potato pancakes. We didn't realize that the pancake was made into a crepe with goulash inside. It was delectable.

We arrived in Brasov and managed to beat the rain for our walking tour. Radu is from here and was happy to show us the highlights of the Old City. The first records of Brasov date from 1235. It is the most charming of all the old towns we've seen on this trip. The pedestrian area is sizable and compliments the character of the buildings. The promenades are filled with umbrella covered tables and flowers. The city circles a mountain where Radu spends his winters as a ski instructor.

The synagogue was closed, of course. Built in 1901, it is a stunning building that is still in use. There was a poster indicating the celebration of synagogues was tonight. It would be open from 6 PM to 3 AM. We went back at 6:00 and were rewarded with the sight of a splendid interior. Walls were white with gray details and blue accents. It was somewhat Moorish in style. A rabbi comes from Israel on a regular basis to serve the 200 members of which 100 are Jewish. I figure there are lots of intermarriage. Stained glass windows circle the sanctuary decorated with insignia of towns in Israel where former congregants have settled. Outside is a memorial to the 240 of the community who were transported and died in the Holocaust. The fact that this is a functioning synagogue was encouraging. I don't know how this tiny community manages, but it's staying alive.

Amusing note: carp, the fish, is crap in Romanian. When I told Radu what crap means in English, he said it was appropriate. Carp are bottom feeders and eat crap.

New discovery: After dinner, we wandered around the Disneyesque old city in search of ice-cream. We'd noticed food trucks selling crepes and corn, but they were also selling something strange to us. It's called kurtos. We tried to figure out what it was and watched the truck until we saw that it was dough wrapped around an 18" hot metal tube on a spit. When brown, it was slid off and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. We bought one. It was divine. Never got to the ice-cream.

Tomorrow we go back to Bucharest and our last day in Romania.

Toby