We had breakfast at 7:30 this morning - we were checking out early because we wanted to see the old center of Brasov before we headed for Bitola. JB was still talking about driving all the way today - 12 hours - Tina not so much. Breakfast was another hit today - I had a toasted ham and cheese sandwich with a cup of yogurt that, surprisingly, had small chunks of chocolate and grapes mixed in plus strawberry jam on the bottom of the cup. Sounds strange but it was quite good.
When we were checking out I asked the receptionist how long the hotel had been in business. She said the owners live in the building next door - they are architects - they had acquired the property and during covid remodeled it. We were telling her how much we enjoyed our stay - although I did mention that the water in the bathroom sink does not completely empty. The sink was an oblong shape, and the inside of the bowl does not provide for complete drainage - there is no tilt toward the drain so there is a slight bit of water covering the bottom of the bowl at all times. (It was not a terrible issue but I wanted to mention it.) The receptionist said that when they remodeled during Covid, they put in all new sinks - then they found this problem. It is every sink in the house and would be too expensive to replace them all. Other guests have mentioned the same thing so they will be gradually replaced. Other than this quirk, we loved this hotel and would definitely return here again if we were anywhere near Brasov.
Stairs on right lead to owners' flat.
Thumbs up for the Upper House!
We drove down a twisty road into the old town center and passed this building on the way down. I was able to see it from the window in my room
After driving down from the top of the mountain, we saw the "Brasov" sign - the idea was similar to the "Hollywood" sign in Los Angeles.
After circling the town we came upon a parking lot - JB snagged a space. As we walked to the center, the smells from this bakery were overwhelming. The birds thought so too - the baker hangs old or burnt pretzels outside the bakery - there were 3 birds feasting on the pretzels at first but 2 flew away.
Walking toward the Black Church which was completed in 1476. Originally it was a Catholic Church, but during the Protestant Reformation it became a Lutheran Church for the German Saxons in the area. It was called the Black Church from the soot that covered it after a fire in 1689. But more recently there is no evidence of fire in the church and it is believed that it is pollution that caused the soot that covered the church.
I love the mosaic on the clock tower - the 4 evangelists perhaps.
Johannes Honterus who preached to the Saxon residents of Brasnov and converted them from Catholicism to Luthernism during the Protestant Reformation which started in Germany in the early 16th century.
Look at this numerical hopscotch!
Starbucks! US chains are all over Romania - McDonald's, BK, KFC, ReMax. Heading into the old city center.
JB and Tina trying to keep each other warm - it was very windy, damp and cold. The Brasov sign up on the mountain behind them.
Love the architecture here - it was early and the weather probably kept people away because there were not too many people around.
This little archway leads to Strada Sforii or Rope Street which is one of the three narrowest streets in Europe. It was a short cut used by firemen in the 17th century to get from one side of the town to the other in case of fire. You aren't able to stretch your arms out while in this street because it is so narrow. Periodically it is whitewashed but before long it is covered again with initials, drawings, short messages.
King Lear! Who knew it was being performed in Brasov! I wonder how it sounds in Romanian? My sister Joanne and I are big Shakespeare fans - maybe a new venue to visit!
Different views around the square - I imagine it is a hopping place with all the cafes on a nice day.
Heading back to the car park passing the Black Church which had a service going on or we would have popped in.
Look at the narrow street and cobblestones. They are everywhere - narrow streets and cobblestones both! In every country! These small towns were not made for cars, buses, and trucks!
We passed these houses on the way towards Serbia - we were driving through Serbia to get home instead of going back through Sofia in Bulgaria again.
New construction.
Not a very good picture but we passed donkeys or horses pulling carts or wagons, or tractors pulling large wagons where families had just harvested their crops including tobacco. It was especially busy when we left Bitola for Sofia in Bulgaria.
We were driving though more mountains and farmlands. These were very large farms compared to Bitola. We crossed the Serbian border with no problem because it was late and almost dark. We changed our route a bit because there were big backups and delays going the original way. As we approached the border, there were trucks backed up for miles. We were in with the trucks until a car behind us started beeping at us. He finally pulled up past us and flew down the road beside the trucks - half in our line and half in the opposite lane - with the traffic on the other side coming at us -including buses! So JB did the same after several other cars passed us the same way. It was a bit harrowing with big tractor trailers coming right at us and no place to pull in. I just closed my eyes!
We eventually reached the border - there were still miles of trucks backed up but there were no cars. We slid right through! No one stopping us to check if we had anything to declare - no one making JB open the trunk to check our bags. We were actually laughing. It was beginning to get dark - we were still a bit away from Nis - so we decided to spend the night in Nis if we could get accommodation. Tina is a whiz looking up places to stay on her phone - I need my laptop. It was busy even if it was the off-season so there wasn't too much availability but she found a place.
Next we needed something to eat - it was just 8 pm. We tried one place that we thought looked okay. As we pulled into the parking space in front of the restaurant, a waitress shut the door and turned out a light. Again Tina found something on the same side of the city where we were - just down the street. We parked and crossed our fingers that the car would not be towed. As we walked into the enclosed terrace, we were hit with the smell of cigarettes. Tina walked into an empty room inside. (There are no designated non-smoking areas anywhere we've been.) We were the only ones in the room. And there were only men and a couple of boys on the terrace - was this a men's bar! We ordered drinks as we checked out the menu. Tina ordered as she sadly is the only one of us that can speak Serbian or Bulgaria and of course Macedonian. The waiter suggested we ordered too much food, but we assured him we were very hungary. It turns out he was correct - we had enough food to feed at least 6 or more people. We had a salad for the table, I had grilled chicken and vegetables, JB ordered a platter of mixed grilled meat with grilled veg, I don't remember what Tina had but the table was full of food. I think the waiter took great satisfaction when he asked Tina if she wanted him to pack up the left over food. Of course we did!
Next we headed for our hotel - again up twisting narrow dark roads. We stopped at one place but it was not the hotel. We had to go up further. We finally couldn't go any farther. The hotel was on a very steep hill. JB stopped outside the reception area before he parked for the night. I threw my bag over my shoulder and almost slid down the hill! It was that steep!
As JB parked, I walked in to loud music and laughter - there were a ton of kids throughout the main floor. Tina had checked us in so we all headed up to our rooms. The rooms weren't too bad - some of the towels in my room looked like they may not have been washed and one of the pillow cases looked iffy. And there weren't sheets or a comforter on the bed. It looked like a light bed blanket folded up - one on each side of the double bed. But it was an okay set up for one night. Only one night! Bitola was just 4 hours away but it was about 10 pm and no one knew the road. So we just made the best of it. We have to get up early tomorrow to get to Bitola - Tina has an appointment early in the afternoon.
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