Reunited with my pants at last! Case broken but hey!
Romania, Amazing. When I get back I'll try and upload some photos.
First day, Bucharest. Only spent the night here after a late arrival before moving on to Brasov for 2 days. We were in Z hotel, quite a modern hotel and there's a korean/Japanese supermarket outside for drinks and snacks, which brought back memories of last year. The location is great for town centre, we had a quick stroll around, but as we were fresh off the plane, were too tired for a big night out! Breakfast at Z's was in the sky lounge with 360 degree views of the city. Sounds nicer than it was, but breakfast gave us a mixed European buffet before we left for Brasov.
On the way to Brasov we spent some time at Peles castle. This is not what the English would call a castle, more of German fantasy palace. There's some really nice woodwork inside and a decent collection of medieval armour/ weapons mostly in the German style. Next stop Brasov.
Brasov old town is a wonderful medieval town inside the main city.
Lots of terraced restaurants and bars inbetween centuries old churches, buildings and towers. The whole old town is walkable and has a cable car up to its own "holywood" sign for views across the city. On the opposite side there is a black tower and a white tower. I preferred the views on this side, but the cold town is big enough to do both.
Brasov is down as a must see in Romania and about 2 days should cover everything, but maybe consider longer for a slower pace.
We stayed at Casa Wagner. Great for location as the front door opens onto the main square of the old town, right into the heart of the restaurant and drinking district. The hotel's quaint interior with beams adds a country charm to the location. Modern shower room and toilet (No bath). I would book this hotel again, however the bed we had was really creaky. No other guest we spoke to had the same issue. (Room 37). The staff were really nice too. We got an uber to Rasnov fortress, about 12 Leu. A part ruined medieval fortress and well worth the 20 minute ride. No uber available on the way back so we had to work out the bus route... not as easy as you think at low tourist season.
Day 4 took us to 'the inn on Balaban' with a stop off at Bran castle. Bran is the most famous Dracula castle and lies on the border of Wallachia and Transylvania. A nice place that is said to have inspired Bram Stoker. You need only 1.5 hours to explore as it's not big, but there's opportunity to look around the markets underneath or take a bite at a restaurant. This is also reachable from Brasov if you intend to stay longer there.
But on to Balaban. And wow! The scenery is amazing and well worth the bumpy ride up the mountain. There's no facilities on the mountain but the lodge provided us with some bottled water and the 3 course dinner was yum. Traditional Romanian food. Coal cooked pork soup, chicken schnitzel with veg and some small cakes to finish. The room was lovely but there were no curtains, including the loo... but then, there was no other lodge nearby! An amazingly remote location but did I mention the views?
Breakfast was again a mix, yoghurt, jam, cheese, spicy sausage, scrambled egg, toast. You will not be hungry staying here!
Day 5 took us to Viscri. Said to be often visited by HRH Charles, Prince of Wales. A community largely untouched by time. Lots of horse and carts and extremely friendly people. There are shops, cafe's and a fortified church. We stayed at Viscri 125 which has really comfy rooms. Attentive staff and as the location is small, is really close to the fortified church which has some awesome views. It has a real family feel and again, a 3 course meal. Soup, pork masala and some really yum raspberry sponge cake.
We also took the time to visit the liberty bear sanctuary. There are 98 bears here, but as the park is so huge, we only saw 18. They rescue bear's from captivity and give them a peaceful home. So don't be a dick like some on our tour and respect the guide and the rules! It takes about an hour to walk around. The toilets could do with upgrading from portaloo's too.
I'll update more on what the next few days bring.
