Transylvania Redux

Greetings from Bucharest. We are briefly back in the city to have an extended pit stop before more travelling. As much fun as we had in Transylvania, living out of suitcases and eating out at every meal took its toll and we are pleased to be back in our apartment and get back to our routines. But, I get ahead of myself - before we talk about our time back in Bucharest, there's a lot to say about our trip to Brasov.


As we mentioned before, we took a train from Sibiu to Brasov on Thursday and arrived in the evening. The ride was nice, though a bit boring and we were happy to meet up with our friend Jeremy and ready to hang out. After resting a bit and getting settled in, the three of us went to a local Mexican restaurant, Dos Amigos, for a nice dinner and relaxing evening. The food was sort of a loose interpretation on Mexican, but good nonetheless. Brasov is similar to Sibiu in that they are both German settlements in Transylvania with very picturesque main squares and very active tourist industries. However, Brasov is much closer to the mountains and has more of a bustling feel to it. Also, the idea of terrace dining is very popular in Brasov and virtually every restaurant had a terrace, including McDonald's and KFC! After dinner, we were all tired and headed to bed, especially since B had to be at the archives pretty early the next day. After we had a big breakfast with our friend Jeremy, B headed to the archives and I enjoyed a bit of Brasov terrace life. Once B finished at the archives, we met up for a bit and he had some frustrating news. We had anticipated that we would do some site-seeing in Brasov over the weekend and then B could work all week in the archives. Unfortunately, the archivists had a different idea. When B put in his order for documents, the archivists informed him that they would not be ready until late Tuesday afternoon, at the earliest! So, after discussing it for a bit, we decided to head back to Bucharest for the weekend and then return to Brasov on Tuesday, so we could use our time and hotel budget more wisely. After a quick break from the heat and a nice lunch at a modern-Italian place, Prato, we headed to the Timpa area, which is the top of the mountain just overlooking Brasov. We reached the top by a combination of several staircases and a telegondola. Since this particular day was especially warm, the top of the mountain was a nice and breezy change with phenomenal views of the city and surrounding countryside. That evening, we went with our friend Jeremy to The Auld Scott's Pub, which is a wonderful establishment run by a Scottish expat who has settled in Brasov. The beer and drink menu are extensive, as well as a good and eclectic food menu, including Madras Curry, Chicken Curry Pizza, Haggis, Scottish Breakfast, as well as many other options. Not only is the atmosphere wonderful, the service is beyond anything we have experienced here in Romania. We were very well taken care of and had a wonderful night. The next day, B and I did some sight-seeing at The Black Church, so named because a series of fires throughout its six-hundred year history left the exterior darkened. Afterwards we visited the History Museum as well as an interesting antique shop before getting on the train and heading back to Bucharest for the weekend. When we finally returned to our apartment late that night we made a simple dinner and got some rest. The next day, we did some quick cleaning and grocery-shopping. We met some friends for dinner that night at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Torito, before our friend Chris left Romania. We had a wonderful time, but felt very full after such a large meal.


B woke up before me and on Monday, only for the electricity to go out before either of us could shower. Since we can't use the water when we don't have electricity (we learned that lesson the hard way), we got dressed and headed to Starbucks for food, bathroom, and internet. The internet was not really working, but the breakfast and bathroom were nice. We spent the rest of the day running errands, including buying train tickets, and finally arrived back home. I got a shower and we ate some dinner and packed our bags again for our morning train. Exhausted, we headed to bed. At around 3 AM, I needed to use the restroom and get some water. I headed into the front of the house, where not one, but two monster cockroaches crept out of the bathroom. Luckily, the previous tenant left some Raid roach spray and I did battle. One crawled under the fridge, which I moved in order to get the critter and realized just how disgusting things were under there and what had attracted the roach to the area. So, I quickly began mopping with HOT water (I couldn't find the Mr. Clean) and realized there were pieces of broken glass under there. Yuck! Between the excitement and the gross factor, I barely fell back asleep when the alarm woke me at 7:30. So, I hit the shower so we could both get ready in enough time for the train and B was getting a little more rest. As I opened the shower door, I noticed that our water pump had failed AGAIN!!!! After much sailor's language and cleaning up the water that had gotten into the hallway, we had to get ready to head out. B used some bottled water to wash his face and brush his teeth and got dressed. Poor B, the second day with no shower and he had to go to the archives. Luckily, the KFC at the train station was clean, modern, and had great bathrooms. So, B had the first fast food he has had while here in Bucharest this trip and was able to use the facilities before our 3.5 hour train journey- those are NOT bathrooms one wants to use! We arrived in Brasov, fought the vulture-like cab drivers and made it to our pensiune only to find no one there to let us in and their adjoining restaurant closed. Luckily some workmen were able to call a staff person for us, who explained that no one was available because that street was without electricity until 4 PM. Poor B- another chance at shower foiled by absence of hot water. So, B (feeling pretty rotten and cranky by this point) headed to the archives and I proceeded to unpack and settle in. The electricity actually came back at 3 and when B came back from the archives at 5:30, he was able to get his well-deserved shower and then we headed out to take a stroll around town and eventually to get dinner at a Chinese place. The food was decent and we capped off the evening with a drink at The Auld Scott's Pub, where we ran into our friend Jeremy and his brother who was in town for a visit. That night when we went to bed, we left our windows open for air only to have several of the other guests in the pensiune decide to hang out on the patio JUST outside our room having a great and LOUD time until B glared at them through the window at 2:30 AM! We finally got some sleep after that.

On Wednesday, B went back to the archives and I spent some time walking around town. I had brunch at a place recommended by our friend Jeremy, Bistro de l'Arte, which was a very cozy and pleasant place to have some breakfast and coffee and read for a while away from the sun. I also went in search of some earplugs, which was successful, as well as some groceries for snacks and breakfast. I also met with a travel agent to arrange an excursion for Saturday to the Fortified Saxon Churches around Brasov. We arranged for an English speaking guide to take us by car to 3 Churches, an all day affair. When B was done at the archives, we had a late lunch when he informed me that he had some good and bad news. The bad news was that the archivists would not have his requested material for him until Friday, leaving Thursday as a day in which he could not get any work done. The good news was he would be free to spend the whole day with me on Thursday, which was our anniversary! After lunch, we took a walk behind the Old City wall on a path below the two towers of the fortifications until we ended up in a children's park that was at the top of a hill. The park was very pleasant and afterwards we walked into a part of town we had not yet visited and eventually ended up in a much larger park that had an area with older men were playing chess and backgammon, a special children's playground with a bouncy slide and several fountains. We finally headed back to the hotel to relax a bit and plan our sightseeing for the next day. Jeremy had invited us to join he and his brother at The Auld Scott's Pub on Wednesday where Jeremy planned to watch a soccer final and we had a nice evening and good dinner.

On Thursday, after we got ready and had breakfast, we went back to the two fortification towers, The Black Tower, so called because of the ashen hew it was left with after several fires and The White Tower. They are only a few meters apart from each other and of the two The White Tower is the more impressive. We walked up quite an incline to The Black Tower first and then up several sets of stairs. The view from the top was nice, but unfortunately in an effort to remedy the damage from the aforementioned fires, the new roof is glass, making the observatory a hot box, so after B got some photos we headed back down. As we headed to The White Tower, there was some thunder and so decided to quickly get to the top of The White Tower, which involved a long steep staircase to the tower and then several more stairs to the top. The top of this tower was much the same as The Black Tower, including the glass enclosure. Hoping to continue to avoid the threatening weather, we went into the museum near The White Tower. The museum was pretty small, though the women working there were very friendly and there was a good variety of interesting souvenirs, which we perused for a while. After the towers, we were both feeling hungry and ready for a break, so we headed back to Bistro de l'Arte. Since the weather was still threatening, we returned to the pensiune for a break. While there, we inquired about laundry services and learned that the closest place was a dry cleaner in a mall that was a 7-10 min walk away. We walked some clothes there and then got ready for our dinner. We had made reservations at Bella Muzica, a restaurant that all the guide books rated as the best in town. The restaurant is in a cellar and specializes in Hungarian and Mexican food. An odd combo, we know, but it came highly recommended. We were seated in a small room by ourselves and were even given a music menu to choose our own music. We both had burritos, which were ok, and margaritas, which were awful! Nonetheless, we had a nice evening and by the time we headed back to the pensiune, the weather began turning quite cold, so after briefly sitting in front of the fountain in the main square we headed back in doors.

On Friday, B went back to the archives, where unfortunately only half of the documents he had requested were waiting, meaning he may have to return to Brasov at some point in order to finish looking at the documents. B was sooo frustrated and finally had to make it quite clear how much of his time they were wasting as well as money for train tickets and hotel rooms. They apologized profusely and said they would have the documents on Monday and would hold them for him for 2 months, so that he could come back anytime to see them. Not the result he wanted, but at least some concession. Since the archives close at noon on Friday, we met up afterwards and headed back to the pensiune. By Friday, the weather had gotten very cold, which was a problem since we had not packed for this. B did not have any long sleeved clothes and my only pair of pants was at the cleaners. After lunch and warming up a bit, we visited an Ethnographic Museum (that had a functioning Jacquard loom!, ie an early predecessor of the computer--B) in town and then made it back to our room just before it began raining. The rain may have been ok, but not only did we not have an umbrella, but we HAD to pick up my clothes from the dry cleaners. So, we walked very quickly in the rain to the mall, where we bought an umbrella, picked up the clothes and got some hot chocolate before braving the cold and rain again. Since the weather was so awful, we didn't want to go far for dinner. Very close to our pensiune was a restaurant called The Keller Steakhouse. The restaurant was beautiful, the service was great and the menu was extensive, including a long wine menu, and even a vegetarian section. B had a Tex Mex steak, which he thoroughly enjoyed and I had some Bruschetta and wonderful Tomato Soup, which given the weather hit the spot. We headed back to the pensiune and got a good night's sleep before our tour the next day.

More on the tour and our last weekend in Brasov to come. -S