Adventures in Romania Part 4: Bran, Rasnov, the Cave

Friday, June 17, 2011

Today was a jammed, packed day of history!  We started on our usual route from walking to taxi to the bus station to walking more to another bus station and rode a bus South-West to the city of Bran.  Bran is known for it's famous castle, the castle Bran.  This was the castle that was part of the inspiration for the novel and movie, Bram Stroker's, Dracula.  In the castle, we explored the many rooms, artifacts, and historical displays.  It's a beautiful castle.  After touring the castle, we had lunch at the bottom of the hill beneath the huge structure.  

We took a bus to backtrack to Rasnov, which is a small town known for it's fortress/citadel.  We walked from the bus stop and found the road that led to the citadel.  It was up hill. And we walked. And walked.  For about 2 miles, which isn't that far if you run it on flat land-- but this took a LONG time.  We arrived at the gate which led up the mountain road to the citadel.  We decided to pay the 6 lei ($2) for a slow horse drawn wagon to the top.  We explored the citadel and admired the beautiful view overlooking the city.  Instead of going back down the mountain we walked 2 km further up and went to a cave on the mountain side.  We took the tour with a class of excited kindergarteners-- which were more entertaining than the cave itself ;)

We walked down the 2+ mile mountain road, listening to The Beatles, and found our way back to the bus stop.  However, while waiting for the bus, a man asked us and two others waiting if we were going to Brasov.  Since all of us were going, he offered us a ride for the same price as the bus fare!  So we rode with 3 strangers, in a nice car, going  VERY fast (140 km= 86 mph), and arrived at our destination in no time!  Only in Romania!