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Brașov is tucked into the elbow of the Carpathians that serve as the southern and eastern border of Transylvania. We really knew nothing about the geopolitics and history of this area, which is what makes travel so enlightening. Transylvania (I wasn't sure it was a real place!) is the resource-rich area of Romania and was part of Hungary for 900 years. Brașov was a fortified city and served as the frontier city on the border of Wallachia, which was occupied by the Turks and Ottomans.
Bran's Castle was the fortress along this border 600 years ago. Occupied by various rulers including Vlad the Impaler, it wasn't until 1897 that Bram Stoker invented the Count Dracula legend, thus insuring the continual stream of tourist income to the town. The castle, high atop a ridge, has been carefully restored while displaying original sections of fortress walls, narrow secret passages between floors, beautiful views of the countryside.
Romania was allied with Germany until 1944, when they switched allegiances unfortunately to Russia, hence ended up in the Soviet Union. Transylvania then was taken away from Hungary and given to Romania and remains Hungarian speaking today, even being allowed to vote in Hungarian elections, which is totally weird.
A triangular area encompassing Brașov and Bran's castle is however still Saxon with typical Saxon villages. Viscri is one such village, a World Heritage site where we eat lunch at a local restaurant. Before the war there were 300,000 Saxons living in the area. Thousands left for Germany after the war; only 20 remain in Viscri and they are trying to preserve the traditional architecture and way of life. They have received aid from Prince Charles (England) who even owns one of the houses and visits two to three times a year. Houses are linked by low walls with gates opening into private gardens. The local church construction was started in the 10th century. It is one of 140+ churches within the Saxon triangle, all with a different design.
Leaving the Saxon area we travel the rest of the day through rolling hills, eating a trout dinner at Szekelyudvarhey. Most meals begin with a vegetable and/or meat soup, clear broth, that is quite flavorful. We arrive at our villa in the farmland for three nights.
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