Day 532
I was up early and quickly packed my bags before getting a cab to the train station. My plan was to get a night train to Sofia. I got a ticket, but not a couchette.
During the ride to Bucharest (a places I've been before and am skipping on this trip) I chatted with some of the other passenger and ended up grabbing lunch with a guy getting to take Romania's equivalent to the Bar exam. I then headed to an internet cafe to was the rest of the time. I could have cut it closer with the train time, but after the debacle in Budapest I decided not to.
Not have a bed was pretty terrible and I didn't get much sleep. At least I wasn't seated near the toilet because it smelled really rank on that side!
Showing posts with label Brasov. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brasov. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Will the real Dracula please stand up?
Day 531
I was up early but still had to rush to get my act together. I shouldn't have bothered though, the tour left late.
The first leg of the journey brought us to Rasnov Castle. Unfortunately due to a dispute of ownership the museum and a few other exhibits were closed. There was, however, the remains of what was once an exceedingly deep well. Legend has it that it was dug by 2 Turkish prisoners over 17 years. By the remains of the church several skeletons were found. For unknown reasons they put one of them on display in the dungeon. That seems sort of mean to me.
After some lunch we stopped at Bran Castle. This is where everyone thinks Dracula lived. It's not. Bran is in Transylvania, Vlad ruled Walacia. His castle is much more difficult to get to and in ruins. Bran is in great shape. The castle was occupied the Romanian rulers until they were forced out of the country by the communists. The castle is decorated in the style that they had left it in.
Our last stop was Peles Palace, finished just in time for WWI and the dissolution of the ruling family. It was totally over the top. The place had neon Murano glass chandeliers for heavens sake! Every room had ornate carvings. It was still impressive, but somehow cheap looking. I think that the attempt to copy older palaces made it that way. It was like a Disney castle. Plus, the tour guide spoke very quietly and with a funny accent. He mispronounced words in really odd ways like knob-els for nobles and terkquaz for turquoise. The tour was worth it but the outside was definitely the most interesting part.
I spent the ride back chatting with a really nice Swiss girl. Later on I went with her and her boyfriend and a very odd Belgium guy out for dinner. The Belgian guy spent most of dinner talking about when he worked as a nude model in Japan. Not dinner conversation. Then at the end of the meal none of us had change. Just because of where he was standing the Belgian guy ended up with all the tip money that he then used to pay for his own meal! How annoying!
When we got back to the hostel I was pretty wiped out so I went quickly to sleep.
I was up early but still had to rush to get my act together. I shouldn't have bothered though, the tour left late.
The first leg of the journey brought us to Rasnov Castle. Unfortunately due to a dispute of ownership the museum and a few other exhibits were closed. There was, however, the remains of what was once an exceedingly deep well. Legend has it that it was dug by 2 Turkish prisoners over 17 years. By the remains of the church several skeletons were found. For unknown reasons they put one of them on display in the dungeon. That seems sort of mean to me.
Our last stop was Peles Palace, finished just in time for WWI and the dissolution of the ruling family. It was totally over the top. The place had neon Murano glass chandeliers for heavens sake! Every room had ornate carvings. It was still impressive, but somehow cheap looking. I think that the attempt to copy older palaces made it that way. It was like a Disney castle. Plus, the tour guide spoke very quietly and with a funny accent. He mispronounced words in really odd ways like knob-els for nobles and terkquaz for turquoise. The tour was worth it but the outside was definitely the most interesting part.
I spent the ride back chatting with a really nice Swiss girl. Later on I went with her and her boyfriend and a very odd Belgium guy out for dinner. The Belgian guy spent most of dinner talking about when he worked as a nude model in Japan. Not dinner conversation. Then at the end of the meal none of us had change. Just because of where he was standing the Belgian guy ended up with all the tip money that he then used to pay for his own meal! How annoying!
When we got back to the hostel I was pretty wiped out so I went quickly to sleep.
Monday, August 24, 2009
League of their Own
Day 530
I slept in because there wasn't much for me to do and I was still feeling a bit sick. It was Monday and everything was closed. I would have moved on, but I wanted to do a castle tour the following day.
Instead I planned on wandering aimlessly and check out the Black Church. The church was built between 1385 and 1477 by German merchants. It would have been finished earlier but there were some Turkish invasions. It was strange to see everything in German in Romania. I really wish that I could have taken pictures, it was really quite beautiful.
Brasov is definitely a cute little city, but I don't think that it's spectacular. During my few hours of wandering I felt like I was taking pictures that I already had. So many of the places that I have been recently look just the same. I remember Olomouc's in the CR, with all of the crazy things on the buildings, or the gnomes in Wroclaw, Poland. I haven't seen a city with something different in a long time. They just seem like collections of nicely redone streets.
When I was done I went back to the internet cafe and did I don't know what. At least it wasn't raining when I left this time.
After making myself some dinner I watched a few movies before calling it an early night.
I slept in because there wasn't much for me to do and I was still feeling a bit sick. It was Monday and everything was closed. I would have moved on, but I wanted to do a castle tour the following day.
Instead I planned on wandering aimlessly and check out the Black Church. The church was built between 1385 and 1477 by German merchants. It would have been finished earlier but there were some Turkish invasions. It was strange to see everything in German in Romania. I really wish that I could have taken pictures, it was really quite beautiful.
When I was done I went back to the internet cafe and did I don't know what. At least it wasn't raining when I left this time.
After making myself some dinner I watched a few movies before calling it an early night.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Blinded
Day 529
I was feeling a bit better when I woke up. After breakfast I packed my bags and headed straight to the train station. I had to pass by the same gypsy kids that I hadn't given money to the day before and they were extra annoying.
The ride wasn't long and soon I was at Brasov. A short cab ride later I as at the hostel. The sign on the bedroom read "keep noise down after 10 pm so that everyone can have vampire dreams." I think mine will be full of Edward Cullen!
I was hungry for lunch and headed straight to the downtown area. Brasov is a very beautiful city that was just recently restored. It looks all spiffy and new.
After lunch I checked out the history museum but it wasn't very good. I think that I need to just stop going to these. When I was done I spent some time at the internet cafe. I may have done some blogging, I don't know though. I'm so far behind at this point that if I didn't take a picture of it I'm having problems remembering. At least I take a lot of pictures.
When I left the internet cafe it was pouring down rain. I was wearing my glasses and had the choice of rain drop covered glasses or blurry vision. Everything looked different in the dark and I was soaked thru. I couldn't find the hostel for anything. Finally I just asked the first person who walked by for help. It turned out to be one of the guys who was at the hostel in Suceava. He knew where we were and could read the street signs, I could not. He was very nice and walked me back to my hostel.
After putting on some dry clothes I made myself dinner and then spent the rest of the night watching movies in the common room with other guests.
I was feeling a bit better when I woke up. After breakfast I packed my bags and headed straight to the train station. I had to pass by the same gypsy kids that I hadn't given money to the day before and they were extra annoying.
I was hungry for lunch and headed straight to the downtown area. Brasov is a very beautiful city that was just recently restored. It looks all spiffy and new.
After lunch I checked out the history museum but it wasn't very good. I think that I need to just stop going to these. When I was done I spent some time at the internet cafe. I may have done some blogging, I don't know though. I'm so far behind at this point that if I didn't take a picture of it I'm having problems remembering. At least I take a lot of pictures.
When I left the internet cafe it was pouring down rain. I was wearing my glasses and had the choice of rain drop covered glasses or blurry vision. Everything looked different in the dark and I was soaked thru. I couldn't find the hostel for anything. Finally I just asked the first person who walked by for help. It turned out to be one of the guys who was at the hostel in Suceava. He knew where we were and could read the street signs, I could not. He was very nice and walked me back to my hostel.
After putting on some dry clothes I made myself dinner and then spent the rest of the night watching movies in the common room with other guests.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)