• Dave HipplerRomania and MoldovaTraveler
    Brasov's Saxon architectureCatherine Gate Poarta EcaterinaDining on Strada RepubliciiThe cable car to Mt. TampaView from our apartmentOur luxury apartment at $60/ night. Lodging can be cheaper than meals.The Black ChurchKing Mathias was here. He ate 6 eggs.1Deanne's placeMedieval guild chestsTurkish armorThe pedestrianized old town1That's quite the frappeWe happened upon a cultural festivalThe city sigil. It refers to an old myth where a Saxon king placed his crown in a tree and left it.Saxon fashionBulz with sausage

    Brasov, Romania

    Sep 2–6 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Brasov (BRAWSH off) is a gateway to Transylvania. Forget the Dracula stuff. That's embarrassing to Romanians, or at best a good living from some tourists. Transylvania means "across the forest." Maybe it was named by Saxon groups from Germany that settled here in the middle ages at the bequest of a Hungarian king.

    Brasov is one of seven main towns settled by those Saxons. The Old Town looks exactly like a German medieval city. That's why we're all here. It's beautiful and it lies at the base of a tall mountain called Mount Tampa.

    This is far and away the most touristy city I've seen on the trip. We rented a wonderfully modern apartment in the middle of the Old Town, just steps from the action. And by action, I mean restaurant and cafe after restaurant and cafe. It was a wonderful city to relax in.

    We hit the history museum which had an excellent display about the myth of Dracula and the actual man behind the myth called Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler. Did he really impale thousands of enemies on sticks after battle? Or was that propaganda used to depose him by the neighboring barons who didn't like him?

    One of the most fascinating tidbits I picked up was what happened after Nixon visited Romania in 1969. An American travel agency worked with a Romanian agency to bring Americans here. The Americans really wanted to emphasize Dracula because of the popularity in movies. The Romanians were embarrassed and didn't want to be associated with medieval myths that nobody here believed anymore.

    But they needed the money (real bad) and made a compromise. Eventually they chose Bran Castle to be "Dracula's Castle " even though he never lived there. That's the most popular tourist site in Romania today. We skipped it.

    We lucked out because there was a cultural festival on the main square when we were here. Groups from all over Romania represented their counties. There was lots of singing and dancing in the traditional costumes.

    The city is much larger than it's old core, but we didn't venture out except to see the neighboring castles in Sinaia. Next up is Sibiu, another former Saxon village in Transylvania.

    More photos and videos are here.
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