Last Updated on May 19, 2020 by PowersToTravel
Following our exhausting visit to Bran Castle, we headed to Brasov, which would be our final city in this fantastic 11-day circuit of Romania.
Located only thirty minutes from Bran Castle, it took us twice as long as it should have on this sunny Sunday in September. Say that three times fast! (You’ll be saying it a lot faster than our car went, in the traffic jam that day!)
Brasov is another typically beautiful Romanian Transylvania town, complete with a huge Gothic-style church, clock-tower and central square. Historic buildings encircled the square, spewing out cafes into pedestrian zones.
We were grateful that day, for sure, to have Iulian our driver/guide escorting us through the sights and traffic in Brasov. Compass Travel had arranged that we stay at interesting historic hotels, which invariably means downtown where there is no parking. If Greg had been driving I don’t know how we would have managed, or where we would have put the car. As it was, Iulian slipped into a little drop-off zone, we jumped from the car, grabbed our suitcases from the trunk, slammed it down, and off Iulian went, who knows where.
We trundled our suitcases the very short walk over to the historic Hotel Casa Wagner,
situated right on the pedestrian town center, the Council Square Piata Sfatului. The hotel is just out of the frame of this picture, to the left.
So many sights to see in Brasov; the highlight was the Black Church.
Black Church
The Black Church is so named since the day it was badly damaged by a fire in 1689 during the Great Turkish War. It is the major Lutheran church building in Romania, and one of the largest Gothic buildings east of Vienna. It is an impressive sight, however, after experiencing the beauty of the small Byzantine churches in Maramures and Bucovina, the ponderous Gothic building pressed on me.
I’ve been to Canterbury Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, and St. Paul’s Cathedrals in England, St. Patrick’s in New York City, St. Paul’s in Boston, St. Giles in Edinburgh, the list goes on. Each one is breath-taking and awe-inspiring, but not unusual. They are a part of my familiar Western European heritage. But the churches in Maramures and Bucovina! They are a part of an Eastern European heritage whose color and shape and ideas I’d never encountered before.
The Clock Tower
I am embarrassed to write that we did not go into the Clock Tower museum. The weather, as you can tell from the pictures, was just stunning and we chose to spend our one afternoon in Brasov wandering the squares and alleys, checking out the locals:
Funicular
We read in a brochure in our hotel’s lobby that Brasov’s local hill hosts a funicular. Oh! a beautiful view and I wouldn’t be required to hike to the top of a mountain for it! (Neither would I be required to get into a moving, swerving car!) I was in! We wandered the streets, following a map, to the funicular station. Even though we were not late, for some reason they had stopped running it early that day. We were bereft.
We took a picture from the park near the funicular station:
and wandered back to our hotel.
Bella Muzica
Near the square, but not on the square, sits the historic hotel and restaurant Bella Muzica. We checked out their posted menu and decided this was the place for us! Greg was truly excited with the prospect of Fajitas after so many meat and potato meals.
The restaurant is in the cellar, actually in the wine cellar – quite a romantic, atmospheric location.
Greg was firm in his choice of Fajitas, and I chose a combination Medallions of Chicken Breast, Mozzarella Cheese, Camembert Cheese and Pineapple plate. Wow was it tender and flavorful. Their sign outside said “Since 1360”. With food that good, it is no wonder.
We can easily say that the Bella Muzica was our favorite restaurant in all of Romania, both for food and ambiance.
The next step in our Romania Itinerary
Day 11 – Peles Castle and good by
Check out my key Romania article
Romania Travel Blog – Itinerary, Planning and Diabetic Travel Tips
