The guidebook I read whilst in Brasov, Romania said that Strada sforii is the skinniest street in Europe, so I went to pay it a visit. I think “street” is a loose term as I have no idea what you would be driving down it and it has a roof. It also turns out it isn’t the skinniest street in Europe after all as there are two others which are skinnier.
I was warned not to attempt using the Romanian train system. I’m glad I ignored that advice, as despite their rustic exteriors and being kinda slow, the train system is actually really pleasant and gives you a great chance to admire the beautiful scenery across the countryside.
I had a beautiful view of the Romanian countryside travelling via train from Cluj-Napoca to Brasov in Transylvania, Romania.
More photos of the Transylvanian countryside coming soon 🙂
Here are some photos I took of the Carpathian mountains in Transylvania. The area is known for it’s high population of brown bears, chamois, lynxes, werewolves and vampires.
Bran’s castle is the location the Transylvanian locals pimp as the castle of Count Dracula. The actual castle that many believe to be the castle of Dracula is Poenari, the ruins of the castle of Vlad the Impaler who was the inspiration for the Count Dracula story. However Poenari is not actually in Transylvania at all, it’s over the Carpathian mountains via what is apparently a very rough road, so I never visited it. Instead of visited the locals like to market as the Dracula castle and which does look like something that Dracula would have lived in.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am no expert on farming practices. However, I do know shear craziness when I see it, and cruising past on a train and seeing people cutting grass with skythes and tilling the land by hand definitely fits the bill for a new level of craziness. I even saw some people cruising along with a tractor, but instead of spreading what I assume was seed from the back of the tractor via an automated system, they had five people hanging off the back spreading it by hand!? I felt like I was viewing some sort of strange Amish like group, but in reality these were just regular old Romanian farmers looking to make a buck.
Brașov is a beautiful little town in Transylvania, Romania. I used the town as a base for exploring the surrounding region and as somewhere to chill out whilst on holiday. There are lots of great restaurants and bars to go to and they’re all insanely cheap. I highly recommend checking out the place if you are ever in Romania. It is an excellent stopping point enroute to the surrounding castles or if you are heading north from Bucharest.
Râșnov Citadel is a historic fortress overlooking the Râșnov township in Transylvania, Romania. The locals proudly declared that Hollywood copied their innovative sign idea, but judging by the smirk on their faces I suspect it was somewhat the other way around 😛
I visited Peleș Castle, an incredibly beautiful castle in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. It is on the route linking Transylvania and Wallachia. Interestingly, it was the first castle to be built with central heating pre-installed. Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to take photos of the stunning interior, so I only have exterior shots of the building, but suffice to say that no expense was spared on the interior of this thing. It is truly spectacular and well worth visiting if you are ever in the area.
