Brasov
Trip Start
May 05, 2008
1
33
97
Trip End
May 09, 2009
Brasov is a fairly charming town, hailed as an up-and-coming "it" destination on the backpacker trail. We thought it was quite nice, but not as cute and charming as its counterpart Sibiu about 150km away. Still, strolling along its pedestrian streets was a delight. Like other towns in Transylvania, Brasov used to be a German town, which shows in its current style. We got to visit a fairly interesting Reformed church (Transylvania was actually a fairly important region during the Reformation).
Since we had a car, we also drove to the nearby sky resort of Poiana Brasov and walked around the many new developments in the cute valley which contains it. We were actually staying in a pension in the nearby town of Bran, most famous for the Bran castle, which has somehow become associated with the story of Dracula. Though of course, there's only the faintest connection to Vlad Tepes, the prince which inspired the legend, and a visit to the castle itself will prove underwhelming to the vampire enthusiast (thought the castle itself is quite nice). That didn't stop the commercial exploitation by the town: to give you an example, we kept on driving by the "Vampire camping" (sounds like a fun overnight stay!) We had a good time in this region though: the towns are charming and the mountains surrounding it are quite lovely.
Since we had a car, we also drove to the nearby sky resort of Poiana Brasov and walked around the many new developments in the cute valley which contains it. We were actually staying in a pension in the nearby town of Bran, most famous for the Bran castle, which has somehow become associated with the story of Dracula. Though of course, there's only the faintest connection to Vlad Tepes, the prince which inspired the legend, and a visit to the castle itself will prove underwhelming to the vampire enthusiast (thought the castle itself is quite nice). That didn't stop the commercial exploitation by the town: to give you an example, we kept on driving by the "Vampire camping" (sounds like a fun overnight stay!) We had a good time in this region though: the towns are charming and the mountains surrounding it are quite lovely.

