Thursday, July 3, 2014
After touring Sibiu and Alba Julia, Andi and I only had one more chance to get a run in. So, we woke early and drove to a park that Andi runs at 6:15am. Andi is a pretty in shape guy. He doesn’t eat sugar, runs and plays soccer, and is in his mid-twenties. So, running with me with was probably more like a leisurely “brisk trot”. It was nice and cool. The path started as a sidewalk along a nice park, then a running path on the side on a long meadow in the middle of the city. Next, we ran along a sloped run, then through a bike path nestled in a thick forest. We turned at 2.5 miles and picked up the pace. We increased the pace and sprinted the last 1/4 mile. I was impressed with my 10:12 min. per mile pace, even with walking, however, I asked Andi what his normal pace was and he said 7:00 without walking. So, I might catch up to him someday. We got back to the apartment to greet Delia, Alina, and Thomas. I showered, packed, and we ate one last meal before saying goodbye.
Andi drove us to the bus stop to catch our first of many rides that day. We said farewell, paid our fare, stowed our baggage, and joined a crowded 15 person van going to the town of Făgăras. The journey took an hour and was pretty uneventful.
Alina choose this town because it had been recommended by a recent Romanian publication. There was a large Romanian Orthodox Church in the town center. Right across the road was the object of our visit.
The Făgăras Fortress was built in the late 14th Century and includes a dungeon, moat, and was later transformed into a castle. We circled the large ancient structure, coaxing a goose into posing for photos, but it seemed disappointed when it found out we weren’t going to feed it. We crossed the bridged moat and went through the entrance. Another arch led us into a courtyard and up a staircase to a museum, which we weren’t very interested in. However, after looking at the souvenirs, we couldn’t resist purchasing some unique gifts. We asked to use the restroom, which required them to guide us through most of the museum. I wasn’t able to take pictures of the guns, swords, chairs, muskets, and old piano, but we felt privileged to get a sneak peek, free of charge.
Since we only planned an hour for our stop, we rushed back to the bus stop and boarded our next van to the city of Brasov, an hour away and 20 miles east of Codlea, Alina’s aunt’s town. When we boarded the 15 passenger van, there were -3 seats left, so that meant we got to stand with some other travelers. It was very hot in the van, but fortunately, we were standing right backhind the roof vent. After a few stops, some of the seats opened up and we were able to sit. The trip took an hour and we got off in the large city of Brasov.
We lugged our loaded backpacks to search for a taxi. Alina had a 45 liter backpack and I hoisted a 70 liter backpack, and it was not light! We found a taxi and paid 6 lei to get a ride to downtown Brasov. The US Dollar is equivalent to 3.24 lei, the Romanian currency. So, depending on what we bought, we were pretty much paying 1/3 of the cost for most items. So, the 6 lei taxi was equal to $2.
We arrived at downtown Brasov and were glad we came. We had explored Brasov in 2011 and enjoyed it’s unique features. The center is also a walled with German influenced architecture. The streets are lined with stores, restaurants, and cafes. In the center, is a city square with a large clock town and a huge cathedral called the Black Church.
We asked around for a place to eat lunch and the restaurant called Sergiana. They served us authentic Romanian cuisine. Alina had soup, mamaliga, and veggies. I had sausage, ribs, and pork, with mamaliga, and cooked cabbage. It was really good.
After lunch we walked to along the streets to the city center. The sky was getting darker and soon enough, small drops of rain began to appear on the cobblestone sidewalks. When it went from a drizzle to mild rain, we found a cafe where Alina and a friend had previously visited. We ordered coffee and desserts, which were incredible. We hung out for awhile, waiting for the rain to slow and planned on next transport.
We walked up the rainy street to a bus stop where the taxi cabs were plentiful. We chose one, got in, and asked to be taken to the train station. Alina noticed right away that the drivers milage computer wasn’t on. In her experience, some cab drivers can try to take advantage of customers or the businesses they work for by leaving their machine off. He dropped us off at the gara and we purchased tickets to go to Ploiesti and we boarded our train. The train took us down through the Transylvanian mountains through the rain, thunder, and lightening.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment