Before leaving Brașov, we climbed hills to two towers that once served as part of the city’s defenses. The views were stunning. Unfortunately, the morning light worked against us from that position. I lamented not having explored this position for a night shot of the city.
We packed our things and headed to the next destination, Sibiu. Along the way, we stopped by the town or Făgăraș and went for a leisurely walk around a well-kept citadel. A moat surrounds the citadel, and the whole area has been turned into a lovely park.
It was a fascinating experience in part because Făgăraș has a lot of gypsies. The tens to congregate on benches in the park. They watched us carefully. There were men and women of all ages and groups of teenagers - a few of the women wept walkways with brooms, but the rest of them seemed to be just there relaxing. They were almost studying us as we strolled through the grounds taking pictures of the citadel, a neighboring church, and the black swans in the moat. I don’t know why they watched us so intently; perhaps they were just curious.
An interesting cultural divide was on display when a group of non-gypsy teens walked by in tidy school uniforms. The gypsy teens dressed like teenagers everywhere, but the older folks, the women in particular, wore distinctive outfits with striking, brightly-colored patterns.
After walking around the citadel and its park, we drove to Sibiu, a clean, well-maintained city with beautiful churches and an expansive public square. We found parking near the square. A friendly waitress at one of the restaurants directed us toward our hotel.
After checking in and dropping off our luggage, we strolled through the square and the neighboring streets. We stopped by beautiful Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox churches along the way. We stopped by a third church which was quite large and had a massive bell tower. The church was closed for renovations, but we were permitted to climb the tower. Unfortunately, it was badly soiled with pigeon droppings.
We went back to the hotel to wash up before heading back to the square in search of a place to have dinner. We settled on a restaurant that served traditional Romanian dishes. I tried a heavy but tasty plate of pork, sauerkraut, cabbage stuffed with more pork, potatoes, and polenta. I associate polenta with Mexican dishes, so I was surprised to see it here in Romania. But I have to say that it was the most delicious polenta I have ever enjoyed.
In the morning, we drove to the town of Rasnov to visit a historic citadel. A funicular, which reminded me of the inclined rail cars of Pittsburgh, took us to the top of the hill. From there, we explored the citadel on foot. The outer walls of the structure are in great shape, but unfortunately, the inner sections are mostly in ruins.
From Rasnov, we drove to Sighișoara to see yet another walled hilltop settlement. The difference is that Sighișoara is a living town with residents and shops and churches. There’s a school, a government building, and a couple of small museums.
We walked though the town and stopped by a cafe and a number of the shops. There’s an impressive church at the far end of town, but you have to climb a long staircase to reach it. We wondered aloud how motivated the locals would be to make that climb for mass every week.
Afterward, were returned to our base in Brașov, where we enjoyed ice cream during an unhurried evening stroll. After dinner on the square, I grabbed my tripod went out to take a few night shots of the town.
Ho fatto tutto per lei
E lo rifarei
Lo farei con amore
Per tutti i giorni miei
Picture one of those dangerous two-lane country roads with a dashed middle line where cars pass each other by crossing into the lane of the oncoming traffic. Think about how dangerous it is to drive on a road like that. Now picture that road filled with impatient European drivers tailgating you in their Audis and BMWs and Volkswagens. (On the Continent, Volkswagen drivers tend to be the most aggressive passers.)
This two-lane death trap goes on for two to five miles, passing mostly though farmland, until you come to a village where the speed limit suddenly drops to 50 kmph (30 miles per hour) or in some cases even slower.
Anywhere along the road, whether in the villages where the speeds are slow or in the open spaces where drivers go just about as fast as they want to, you may encounter any of the following obstacles.
Vehicles from the Sixteenth Century and the Twenty-first Century are using the same road at the same time. It gets complicated.
Keep in mind that drivers of trucks and automobiles are usually in a hurry. Passing isn’t a rare occurrence; it’s going on constantly. It’s not uncommon to encounter double-double passing situations where you see someone passing toward you from the other direction, while you are passing someone else. Each of the passing vehicles has about a second and an half to get back into their respective lanes before everyone in all four cars is killed.
That is what it’s like to drive in Romania.
But wait. There’s more.
Crosswalks are everywhere, and pedestrians always have the right of way. No matter how fast you’re going or how closely you’re being followed by an impatient driver, when a human being steps into the crosswalk, you are required to stop and let them cross. No exceptions.
The aforementioned villages are full of these crosswalks, but even where there aren’t crosswalks, pedestrians can and wander into the traffic lanes.
But wait. It gets even more interesting.
There is a variation of the two-lane passing road that was confusing to me at first. This type of road has a paved shoulder that’s just wide enough to fit a car.
In the States, we would consider this a escape lane to be used in case of emergencies. You swerve into the shoulder in order to avoid a collision. In Europe, it works differently.
The paved shoulder is actually a traffic lane. You can opt to drive on it, or you can opt to drive partly in the shoulder or partly in the main traffic lane. (Trucks often have one wheel in each lane.)
Driving on the shoulder, completely or partially, is a signal to drivers behind you that they can pass if they choose to. This helps to prevent tailgating. The impatient driver doesn’t have to wait for you to pull over. Of course, if you don’t pull over, he’s going to tailgate you, flash his lights, and beep his horn until you pull over anyway. But at least you have the option of proactively getting out of the way.
But the shoulder lane has another purpose relating to oncoming traffic.
Let’s say that you’re driving not on the shoulder, but in the inside lane, the lane that is adjacent to the oncoming traffic. Someone in the opposite direction decides to pass a slower vehicle. As they pass, all or part of their vehicle comes into your lane. They are heading straight for you, and you’ll collide if someone doesn’t take action.
On the two-lane road, that driver would not pass unless he has room to get back in his lane before you reached him. But on the road with the shoulder, he’ll pass even if you’re close to him. When this happens, you are expected to ease over onto your shoulder in order to give the oncoming driver room to pass.
Think about that. An oncoming driver deliberately moves his vehicle into your lane right in front of you. You have to move out of his way in order to avoid a high-speed collision. This happens very frequently. When there’s a lot of traffic, oncoming vehicles will come into your lane in every minute of your drive. It keeps you on your toes.
Hence, there is another good reason to drive on the shoulder lane. You don’t have to constantly watch for oncoming vehicles. You’re already in the safe zone.
Happy driving in Romania!
Our morning drive started off on a sour note, literally and figuratively. When we picked up the car a day earlier, we didn’t have our luggage with us. We were just our touring with our backpacks. Despite looking over the exterior of the car carefully with the rental agent, we never thought to check the trunk.
When we opened the trunk in the morning, we found two objects, a rectangular red case with flares and tools for emergencies, and a black nylon bag. We assumed that both were standard equipment for the car.
When I moved the black bag to make room for our luggage, we experienced an unpleasant shock. A putrid liquid started leaking out of the bag. It smelled like rotten eggs.
I removed the bag quickly from the trunk and set it on the concrete. I have no idea what was inside; I didn’t want to open it. Eventually, I tossed the whole bag into a nearby trash bin, but I was left with the unpleasant task of cleaning a spot of the stinking liquid from the trunk. I took some napkins that I had picked up at a coffee shop, wet them with my water bottle, and scrubbed the spot to the best of my ability. I covered the soiled area with a black trash bag that, thankfully, I had brought along in my tripod case. (Trash bags have many uses!)
It was too early to exchange the car at the local rental office - they wouldn’t open for a few hours - and driving to the airport would have taken us out of the way and off schedule. We decided to press on with the mess concealed under the plastic bag.
-
Our first stop was the city of Sinaia to see Peleș Castle (PELL-esh), a magnificent structure that has been featured in a number of movies. One can imagine Cinderella dancing here at an elegant ball. A second, smaller castle on the same grounds, Pelișor Castle, was more home-like and understated in its elegance.
We next ventured to the village of Bran to see an older, more traditional stone castle that would make a good backdrop for a story about knights, dungeons, and swordplay. Bran castle is sometimes mistakenly associated with another story, the story of Count Dracula. Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ was inspired by the ruthless Transylvanian nobleman, Vlad Țepeș (Tseh-PESH), infamous for impaling the Gotts and Turks who foolishly invaded areas under his control. Bran Castle was not Vlad’s home, but he passed through the area on occasion.
As the afternoon waned, we drove to our hotel in Brașov (BRASH-ov), a beautiful walled city that reminded me a bit of scenic Heidelberg in Germany. We strolled through the central square and the neighboring streets as evening fell and enjoyed dinner on the square at Pizza Roma.
The food quality in Romania is excellent. Produce is vibrant and flavorful, as though it had just been picked from someone’s garden. Fresh juices are available everywhere, orange, grapefruit, and apple in particular. The wines are of consistently high quality. Every one of our dining experiences was a delight.
After a hearty breakfast, I set out on an adventurous day of touring. After a quick stop at a gift shop across the street from the hotel to look for souvenirs, I visited the National Museum of Art, a palatial building that houses expansive collections of Romanian and European paintings.
After finishing with the museum, I crossed the boulevard in hopes of getting a look at the insides of a grand theater. The theater was closed, but I was able to pay a fee to visit during a rehearsal as long as I agreed to leave quietly when the orchestra started to play. Along the way I picked up a coffee at a too stuffy for its own good coffee and pastry place. Coffee in Romania is good, but the serving sizes are frustratingly small. A small cup of cappuccino doesn’t satisfy when you’re in the mood for a 20-ounce latte.
After seeing the theater, I stopped by a nearby hotel to request a taxi ride to the Parliament building. This was quite an experience.
The Parliament, originally commissioned by former dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, is the second largest building in the world, exceeded in size only by The Pentagon. The project was controversial, or course. Ceaușescu spared no expense on the construction of the structure, while his people starved. But that era is over, and today, the building is used by the Romanian parliament, for conferences, and even for social events. During our tour, we were led through a ballroom that was being set up for a fancy wedding reception. The guide explained that the hour-long tour was covering only four percent of the entire structure. The vastness of the place is as staggering as it’s opulence.
My only disappointment during the Parliament tour was that I wasn’t permitted to take pictures with my camera, only my mobile phones. You can pay a “photo tax” if you want to be able to use a camera, but no one explained this rule when I purchased my ticket, and the guide was unable to process additional payments. So I was stuck taking pictures only with my old iPhone.
Next adventure: I was scheduled to pick up the rental car at a hotel in central Bucharest. The plan was to set off early in the morning before the rental agency opened, so I needed to get the car and park it overnight. I had a bit of trouble finding an honest taxi driver in the street but persisted and reached the rental agency before it closed.
The plan was to park in an underground garage near the hotel. I had a bit of trouble getting to the garage, as it requires a tricky maneuver in a roundabout (traffic circle). You have to enter the four-lane roundabout in the far left lane and exit on the far right in order to be able to make the right turn onto the street that leads to the garage. It took me three tries to get this right with about two kilometers of driving in circles between each try. (It’s a European city; don’t expect the driving to the easy.)
I made my way out of the garage, which turned out to be a bit of a maze and required two separate elevators. I went into a small Romanian Orthodox church near the hotel. They were conducting a mass but did not mind the presence of tourists. I had dinner in the old town again, this time at Les Bourgeois, a French bistro recommended by the guidebook. The food was delicious, and the service was excellent. I ordered a tuna salad, which became my go to, gluten-free dish for the trip. Luckily, tuna salads are popular in Romania. After dinner, I went back to the square and took more photos of the food festival and the light show.
On a fun note, the parking garage had three levels. Each level was associated with an animal as a memory aid. Level 1 had drawings of Hippos. Level 2, where we parked, had drawings of Alligators. Once I had parked, it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to remember the location of the space so I wouldn’t have trouble finding the car in the morning. I parked in space 164 on the Alligator level.
“Remember: Alligator one-six-four,” I thought to myself.
I realized that it sounded like some kind of police or military code: Alligator. Alligator. One-six-four!”
I had a good chuckle over that one. The phrase “Alligator. Alligator. One-six-four!” ran through my head several time throughout the trip. Every time it brought a smile to my face, and now I’ll never forget that parking space.
