Brasov

(I'm writing this from Budapest, and I confirm that after using Blogger in Bulgarian, I had it in Romanian and now Hungarian. Thanks be to the god of user-friendly layout.)

Brasov is every tourist's dream of the perfect Transylvanian town. Old city center with its Middle-Ages fortifications, central square with paved stones, charming little streets...

I arrived in the city after a short train journey (at this point, a 3-hours journey seems short, especially since the train was comfortable). The track took us in the middle of sheer hills, little mountains, heavily wooded, with village roofs peeking through the scenery. It was very beautiful. My traveling neighbors were a young Finnish couple, with whom I started talking in the Brasov train station when it appeared that we were taking the same bus downtown, and which I met again during my visits.

Going straight to the tourist information center (well, I couldn't find my hostel, hidden behind a political party's offices), I got a map of the main attractions, and after settling in, I went out.

For once, the weather was slightly cloudy, which is why I took some sunburns, but at least, I didn't start melting as soon as I was outdoor.

The city has some interesting landmarks: the White Tower, the Black Tower (which is only black because it is in natural stones compared to its white-painted sister), the Black Church (yes, I know, they only have two colors), so named because it burned during I-don't-remember-which great fire, the "street of the rope", reputed to be Europe's narrowest street, Catherine's Gate, and others I didn't take the time to see. They are all either on the circle of the fortifications or inside, which makes it easy to visit in half a day, the time I had.

The White Tower

Catherine's Gate

The "Street of the Rope"

The Black Church is the biggest church between (I forget...) Sofia and Vienna? I'm not sure, and I don't have my guide with me. More than a 100 small carpets hang in the church, gifts from the guild members (weavers, wool merchants...) in thanks for successful business travels.

My stay was obviously too short: there are many things to see in this region, and I would have like to have more time to visit.