Brasov, Romania – Breath of Fresh Air in Transylvania

The fresh air and beauty of the surrounding green hills invites you to take a deep breath and relax. We accepted that invitation and that’s exactly what we did, with a bit of sightseeing thrown in. As part of our plan to slow down and stay put for a bit every month during our travels, we had booked an Airbnb for a month in Brasov, Romania.

Our apartment, at $700 per month is one of our favorite Airbnbs. With all the comforts of home and a large balcony with amazing views, it worked like a charm.

Getting from Sibiu to Brasov, Romania

After spending three days in Sibiu, it was an easy 3¼ hour train ride (40 lei* each) to Brasov through familiar landscape. We had passed through Brasov on our way to Sibiu form Bucharest. The train station was some distance from our apartment and we knew getting there involved some uphill. So, we took an Uber which cost 14 lei*. Uber in Brasov is a real bargain, and we used them a number of times.

Orientation to Brasov

Although its historic center is not as picturesque as Sibiu, Brasov is more of a real town.  Like other Eastern European cities we’ve visited, Brasov has its share of Communist towers. These, however, are not visible from the historic center. Brasov has plenty of greenspace including many parks with a variety of play equipment for kids. And an extraordinary number of benches! Perhaps indicative of the local lifestyle: get out, wander around, do errands, and when you need a rest, grab a bench. And  you can’t miss towering green Mount Tampa!

Piața Sfatului

The main square in Brasov’s historic center is Piața Sfatului, generally a hub of activity, often including some special free event, especially on weekends. Our first weekend in Brasov, we saw traditional Romanian music and dance in the square.

Restaurants and other businesses surround the square, but the main building is the Council House (Sfatului means council). The Council House was built in 1420 and served varying purposes over the centuries. The building underwent many additions and modifications until the early twentieth century. At that time, a strong media campaign prevented the Council House from being destroyed and replaced by a modern structure.

Strada Republicii

Brasov’s pedestrian zone begins at Piața Sfatului and continues along the wide Strada Republicii and its narrower side streets.  The pedestrian zone runs for about six blocks and is lined with shops and restaurants, with outdoor and indoor seating. We of course must mention the numerous places to buy gelato, as in so many other European cities we’ve explored. Strada Republicii also has our favorite shop for buying soft pretzels. This shop is like many throughout the city that sell both sweet and savory pastries.

 

Attractions in Brasov

Most of Brasov’s main attractions are in and within walking distance of the historical center. Here we attempt to mention most attractions, for those who might be thinking of visiting Brasov as tourists. We will describe a few that we visited in more detail. For us, Brasov was a place to slow down, take care of business, and embrace our current lifestyle. It was here that we made the biggest switch from tourist mode to daily living mode.

Mount Tampa

It seems that no matter where you are in the city of Brasov, you have a view of Mount Tampa. From the historic center side of the city, you can even see Brasov’s version of the famous Hollywood sign. Tampa is part of the Postavarul group of mountains in the Eastern Carpathians. It stands at 900 m (about 3000 ft) above sea level and 400 m (about 1300 ft) above the city. As part of our new daily living mode, we knew we wanted to climb Tampa. You can also take a cable car for 17 lei* round trip or 10 lei* one way.

We were about halfway through our month’s stay in Brasov and still hadn’t been up Tampa. We were having sun and rain pretty much every day, and un-accurate Accuweather wasn’t helping us figure out what time of day to expect the rain. The Weather Channel was a bit better but unfortunately, BBC Weather (with which we’ve had luck in Europe in the past) doesn’t list Brasov. We made up our minds that one morning we were just going to get up and do it!

Hiking Mount Tampa

We headed out mid-morning, and it took us about 45 minutes walking from our apartment to the base of the mountain. Several trails take you to the top; we chose the one with the gentlest climb. As we climbed the sometimes narrow, rocky, and slippery (from mud from all the rain) trail through green forest, it got darker and foggier. By the time we reached the top, it had started to rain. We thoroughly enjoyed our hike, although we missed having the clear views of the city and took the cable car back down. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get back to the top sometime on a clear and sunny day.

Tampa is all beautifully lush green, except for the very top, which is rock. We’ve been told that you don’t want to hike after dark. There’s bears in them thar hills.

The Black Church (Biserica Neagră)

The Black Church, near Piața Sfatului, is probably the most iconic historic building in Brasov. Built during the 14^th and 15^th centuries on the site of an older church, its original name was the Church of Saint Mary. The church switched from Catholic to Lutheran during the Reformation. It earned its current name after suffering severe fire damage in 1689 during the conflicts between the Ottoman and Habsburg Empires.

Organ Concert at the Black Church

The Black Church organ, considered to be one of the largest in Europe, has 4000 pipes. Carl August Buchholz of Berlin built the organ between 1837 and 1839, and he was the organist at its initiation. We decided to take the opportunity to attend an organ concert in the Black Church. Concerts are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (no Saturdays during winter) at 6:00 PM, ticket price 12 lei. Admission alone to the church at other times is 10 lei. We thoroughly enjoyed the impressive church, organ, and 35-minute concert.

Additional Churches in Brasov

Brasov has no shortage of impressive churches. Churches that attract visitors include Catedrala Ortodoxa Adormirea Maicii Domnului (Orthodox Church Dormition of the Mother of God), Saint Peter and Paul Roman-Catholic Cathedral, and Biserica Sfantul Nicolae (St. Nicholas – Romanian Orthodox). The Sinagoga Neologă, still active today, was built between 1899 and 1901 in the Moorish style.

Other Sights in Brasov

In our wanderings, we also walked past or did short hikes up to several other historic sights. We just happened upon the Turnul Alb (White Tower) when walking through the woods one day and walked up to the Turnul Negru (Black Tower) another day.

We walked past the Weavers, Drapers, or Graft Bastions, the last one part of the old town wall. It is pleasant to stroll behind the old walls along a narrow channel with green hills.

We also saw the Citadel of the Guard, Schei Gate, and Catherine’s Gate; the last was a former nunnery.

On the grounds of St. Nicholas Church is Prima Școală Românească, the First Romanian School. You can visit inside, as well as the small museum next door, which has some of the first Romanian books and printing press. Brasov also has many specialty museums throughout the city.

Rope Street – Strada Sforii

Today a major tourist attraction, Strada Sforii, is one of the narrowest streets in Europe. It is first mentioned in documents from the 17^th century as an aid to firefighters, but possibly dates from the 15^th century. It is   80 m (262 ft) long and varies in width from 111-135 cm (44-53 in). Legend says that during Medieval times, couples would hide here to kiss, as well as young lovers whose parents didn’t approve of their relationship. Today, legend says that couples who kiss on Rope Street will be together for life.

Restaurants in Brasov

Although we generally eat in our apartment, we have tried a few recommended restaurants while in Brasov. For traditional Romanian food, we went three times to Roata Norocului  which means Wheel of Fortune, near our apartment. We also enjoyed La Ceaun (which means pot), and Festival 39 .

Traditional Romania food covers a wide range and is generally quite hardy. Included are a variety of soups; a lot of meat, particularly pork and sausage but also other red meats as well as chicken and fish; mămăligă (polenta); white beans in a reddish sauce, and more.

We can also recommend Casa Hirscher , which serves Mediterranean food. Their weekday menu, which varies by day of the week, is 35 lei* for 3 courses with (bottled) water or coffee included.  We also enjoyed a Chinese restaurant, Old Shanghai , and a Hungarian restaurant, Casa Ungurească . We went to these last two restaurants with our new Meetup group.

Every time we ate out, we had to pinch ourselves when we got the check. As an example, at Roata Norocului, we had 2 entrées, a half-liter of house wine, a large bottle of mineral water, desert, and a shot of the local fire water, pălincă, for $22.

Like many other European countries, coffee is a big part of the culture here, and numerous cafes line the streets and sidewalks.

Brasov Explorers Meetup Group

During our month in Brasov, we had the good fortune to hook up with the Brasov Explorers Meetup group. You couldn’t ask for a nicer, friendlier group of people! We went out to dinner with this group three times. They even scheduled the third event to include us before we left town! We found it interesting that of all the couples we met, the wife is Romanian and the husband an expat. These expats came from England, Ireland, France, and the United States, the last from Lake Arrowhead, not too far from San Diego. We even got together with our new friends, Ruty and Ray, a few extra times for good food and lively conversation.

Is Brasov, Romania Yet Another Possible Expat Destination?

As mentioned earlier, Brasov, Romania is a real town, with friendly people, fresh air, and beautiful surrounding green hills. Okay, the weather is a bit unpredictable, with a good chance of rain sometime during the day while we’ve been here. But Brasov in summer has pleasant temperatures in the 70’s while the rest of Europe is roasting. (Our new friends are trying to convince Ian that winter is a “dry cold”, but he’s not buying it.) Brasov also has a good bus system with a fare of 2 lei* (50 cents) a ride, just one example of the low cost of living here.

We’ve been spending most of our time here relaxing and taking care of business. We both had our teeth cleaned for $55 per person, and that was a unique experience. After the normal ultrasonic cleaning, we had a paper towel placed over our whole faces except for a mouth hole.  With a device placed to keep our mouths open, the polishing was completed with a machine which was a combination of power sprayer and car wash brushes. We both had the same thought, “Well, that was different.” Ann also visited an ear doctor a few times, with the initial visit cost of $45 and follow-up visits $25. Besides taking care of business, we’ve done a lot of walking, some hiking, and some tourist activities. We regularly visit our two favorite grocery stores and the produce market. Two of the women at the produce market started recognizing and greeting us warmly.

Although many people speak at least some English, we must admit the language is a challenge. We did learn buna ziua and o zi buna for good day and mulțumesc for thank you. And of course the all important covrig cu sare, salted pretzel.

Bottom line: we are considering spending next July and August in Brasov, because of its beauty, temperate summer climate, reasonable prices, and our new local friends.

*At time of writing, 1 leu (singular of lei) = $ .25.

Next up: Day Trips from Brasov, Romania, including castles

Ian & Ann