This morning we got picked up by private car by two fellows named George and Claudiu. They were quite the characters right from the start! We had to strap four of our bags to the top of the car and it looked like it was going to rain so I was a little concerned the bags would get soaked. There was a tarp over them, but it looked like the rain could still get in.
Our driver, George, couldn't speak English very well at all so it was difficult to communicate. We made our first stop at a little place called Saschiz, a Transylvanian Saxon village. There was a fortified church there and and an old clock tower that we checked out. There were sheep in the nearby little patch of grass so we got distracted by those. Off in the distance was a fortress of some sort.
On the way to the next stop we drove through a tiny gypsy village. All the houses were little but quite colourful and horses were roaming outside. We made our way to the village of Viscri to see the oldest fortified church in Transylvania, dating back to the 1100's. Before visiting the church however, we made a stop to see Prince Charles' vacation home. Apparently he likes to go there for peace and quiet and to do some hunting. He comes in by helicopter. At the church we explored on our own. There was a tower you could climb up via a dark cave like entrance at the back of the church. It was pretty neat up there.
When we were done exploring we went down to a little home-like cafe (possibly the only coffee stop in the area) for a little snack and coffee. Some had homemade cabbage rolls that smelled amazing, but I held off and waited for fresh rhubarb cake. While we were passing the time there Steve and I created a fun trip related quiz for the group to do during our next happy hour.
From there we drove to a gas station to make a pit stop and grab some lunch snacks and fuel. We had passed another big fortress on the way there and April wanted to go back and grab a photo of it so the driver took her back while we waited and ate our munchies.
The drive continued after that and George, the driver, continued to refer to himself in 3rd person and speak to his car, whom he named Bertha. He would tell his car to slow down or when to speed up and tell 'her' when to pass cars. He was a hoot. He also attempted to show us photos of his grandchildren, including the blown up copies and while he was driving of course, which resulted in some swerving. He also liked his music loud. I was just happy he was awake ha.
Next we visited the Prejmer fortified Lutheran church, which was completed in 1240 and is also a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This one was unique in that the church was situated in the middle of a circle of living quarters which are now more like a tunnel network you can walk all around. A lot of defence mechanisms were in place to ward off enemies at the time. There were 2 weddings taking place while we were there. Some of us stood outside in the drizzling rain once we were done exploring and watched a group of boys kick a soccer ball around - they were really good.
That was our last stop of the day so from there we went to the hotel. We took 45 minutes to gather ourselves in our rooms before meeting to go out for a walk. It had rained sporadically during the drive, but luckily my bag was completely dry. It was raining when we set out for our walk, but not too badly.
We went to the centre square and saw the black church, a gothic cathedral completed in the 15th century, believed to be called the black church because a fire destroyed much of the church at one point. The church also has a pipe organ that was built in 1839. There was a lot going on in the square at the time we were there. There was a workout program that appeared to have been going on all day with music blasting and people doing aerobics dances. It was a really cute square. Tons of cafés, restaurants, and a fountain. It also provided a great view upwards into the mountains where one had a large BRASOV sign just like in Hollywood. Andy also took us to the narrowest street in Europe, Rope Street, to have a quick walk down and take some photos. We had a little fun there goofing around. It was very narrow - only approximately 4 feet wide!
At 6 we went back to the church and watched an organ concert that was half an hour long. Unfortunately since it had already been quite a long day, some of us started to fall asleep. I began counting the tiles on the wall just to try and keep awake. There was a short prayer after the concert finished and then we got out of there. I'm glad I went and I left feeling cultured, but I also left wanting more nap time.
From there we went for dinner. The restaurant was in the basement of a building but really well decorated. It had quite a line up to get in when we were leaving. I had turkey stuffed with blue cheese and grilled veggies. It was so tasty. Greg and I walked to the supermarket from there so I could buy some water and a banana for the morning. It was quite a ways away.
I was back at the hotel around 9:30 and we were meeting up again at 10:30 to go do some bear searching with George and Claudiu. I guess bears are a bit of a problem and have gotten used to humans and come into the city to go through the garbages at night. We spent half an hour driving around looking for them but didn't see one in the end. We ended the little excursion with a drive up to the top of a lookout hill to see a lovely view of Brasov lit up at night. A couple was lighting a wish lantern and setting it off the hill while we were there. It was cute.
Back at the hotel April and I sat in the lobby using the wifi until around 12:45am. It was a long day!
Prince Charles Vacation Home:
Viscri:
Stork nest in background:
Top of oldest fortified church in Transylvania:
Prejmer fortified church:
Tunnel exiting Prejmer fortified church:
Boys playing soccer outside of church:
Rope Street:
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