Brasov, day 13

With no volunteering today for me (Glen), I headed off to Sighisoara, a 2hr train ride from Brasov with my volunteering friends from the sanctuary, Larissa & Vicki. The train ride was pretty amazing for the scenery and people. The forests are a beautiful mix of green, gold, orange and red and the grass is a beautiful green. Truly stunning country.

We also got to see some of the local gypsy people at work/play. Anyone offended easily – skip to the next paragraph… you sure? Ok then. First “interesting” encounter I saw was there were 3 teenage boys, at a guess, maybe 17+, riding their horse and cart and were stopped at the signal crossing. Instead of the usual wave, one of the lads decided he’d get his manhood out and shake it at the train as it went by. I guess that’s kind of a wave. Second “interesting” experience… I’ve been advised not to put this one up, probably a good decision! I’ll be sure to play it up in person back home.

Anyway, we get to the dodgy train station and after our 2.5hr ride (30mins late), we ventured to the bathroom – not something I’d usually make mention of but this was a new experience. Like Germany, you have to pay for public toilets in Romania. Unlike Germany, it’s always staffed and not automatic. It’s only 1lei and they’re clean so it’s all ok. What made this different was it was a family affair. 4 people sat around waiting for passengers to come by and pay for a toilet break. What made it weirder was that you handed over your 1lei, and the woman handed you a bunch of toilet paper she unwound from her roll! Too bad if you’re a liberal user or if something unexpected arose. Never seen anything like it. The girls weren’t too impressed.

From there, it was a short walk into the city, “guided” by 2 young gypsy kids begging for cash. They were persistent (and annoying), I’ll give them that. A firm “Nu!” and they left us alone. We soon caught site of the main attraction, a 13th-14th century citadel (walled city basically) sitting atop a huge hill. It’s the only remaining “living” citadel in Europe where people still have houses and live within the city walls. Most of the city is built pre-1790 or so from what we could work out, with some churches and other significant buildings dating back to the late 1300s. Crazy old in other words.

It is also home and birthplace to Vlad the Impaler – a particularly nasty guy from the 1400s who’d impale his victims in a rather heinous way. More about his ways here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_III_the_Impaler

Vlad was the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Most of the souvenir
crap was about Dracula which seemed quite odd. Here you have one of the oldest places anywhere that is still
in use, it’s ridiculously beautiful and everywhere you turn you want to take a photo; it’s home to one of the most evil guys to have ever lived yet they concentrate on a fantasy? The best part about Romanians having very little clue about tourism is that things feel authentic. Nothing is put on for the tourist, nothing really costs any money either. We paid 2lei (66cents) to go through the Church on the Hill, built in the mid 1400s which has a crypt you can go into, ancient carvings of important people from the day and so-on. For your 2lei, you get a badly written sheet of A4 paper protected by a plastic sheet which looks as old as the building it describes. But for 2lei, who cares? I’d be happier to pay more and get a better understanding of what I’m experiencing, but it is what it is.

Put simply, the place blew me away. The age of the place, the fact people live in the houses, the reasons why it exists and the layout of the cobblestone streets not to mention the beautiful buildings meant we had a fantastic 6hrs there. We took heaps of photos, sat in the square whilst drinking a beer watching the lives of the locals go about their business… just a top
day. If you’re in Romania – it’s a must see.