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6th August
Today was the start of our road trip, the receptionist was asleep so we left the money for last nights beers at the desk and got a taxi to the airport to pick up the car.
It was relatively easy to find. We booked a Panda, but this car was all out. So we got a free upgrade to a Vauxhall Golf. We thought it would be a good idea to throw a GPS in there for good measure. Loaded up and Brasov entered into he GPS we headed off on our 4 day road trip.... ....it took a while to get use to driving a manual and on the right, but Stevie's constant out bursts of shouting at me soon got me on track.
We missed Pele's castle on the way up, to occupied with getting to Transylvania and seeing the famous Bran Castle AKA Dracula's castle.
We missed the turning for Bran castle so attempted the notorious tilbury U-turn. 2 seconds later we were being pulled over by the Romanian Police. Apparently it is illegal to do U-turns. I played dump. Said 'English' in a confused dopey voice. Not worrying about the prospect of an imminent ticket, but rather the wrath of Stevie, I pulled away....
I must admit I thought it would be sitting high on a mountain top, it wasn't until we got into the heart to Bran that the castle stood majestically on a hill. Below the town had exploded with tourism. Gift shops and restaurants littered the land. We managed to find a parking spot and heading into the Castle grounds. As we purchased our tickets, the sky darken and thunder loomed in the distances creating an eerie atmosphere.
The castle looked like it has sprung out of the rocks, the murky grey walls were capped with dark terracotta roofs. Inside was not as Gothic as I thought it would be. Being the home of Dracula. It was very charming. Before we headed off we walked around the grounds below to get various angle shots, but the rain really set in which made Stevie scarper.
A quick kebab stop later we were back in the car and heading towards Rasnov fortress.
The fortress was impressive from a distance. You could clearly see it from miles around, capping the top of the mountain. Driving through the little village below we managed to get stuck in the middle of a funeral procession. No matter how many different routes we took to get around them we always ended up appearing behind them again.
Finally making it to the fortress we got a tracker train to the top, the town inside was still in operational for tourists. The local people were dressed in traditional clothing and the men dressed as knights. It was like going back in time. Reaching the highest point and tracking our usual panoramic photos we headed back down. Strangely on the way down we noticed they were building a pathway through the woods with random dinosaurs hidden in the bushes.
With later afternoon looming we completed our drive to Brasov to find a room and have a look around. Like Rasnov, Brasov has a huge sign on the hill, like he Hollywood name. Announcing the towns name to everyone.
The trusted GPS directed us straight to the hostel. Luckily was in the middle of town. We dropped off our bags and headed into town. Only 200m away was the famous Black Church. This was a really gothic looking church that inherited the name after a fire darken the walls. We ventured inside and read about the history. It has been renovated over the years and clearly by its size was far to big for the region when it was initially built.
Branching off of the town was the main square which was surrounded by traditional buildings of various colours. We walked around the park and town taking in the main sights, beautiful buildings and relaxing atmosphere before heading back Stevie wanted to head to a restaurant that she had read about in the Lonely Planet. Full and satisfied we took a slow bloated wall back to the hostel for the night....
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