Brasov, a charming mountain town just 2 hours from Bucharest

In need of a break from decorating my new home, I made plans to go to Brasov, a town in Transylvania about a two hour train journey from Bucharest. The trip was mostly a fail though I’m happy I got to see this beautiful town and a different side to Romania. 

Brasov is the beginning of the ‘other half’ of Romania. Just two and a half hours by train from Bucharest, Brasov is dramatically different in culture and architecture. While Bucharest was under Ottoman rule for centuries, Brasov and the rest of the Transylvania region were part of the Hapsburg empire. 

I started out working on the train, but when it suddenly began to climb higher after the flat plain around Bucharest, the spectacular mountain scenery was compelling. 

After a little over two hours sitting down, I was happy to walk the mile from the station to Brasov’s picturesque old town centre. 

Once in the centre, tiny cobbled streets fan off from the central Str. Republic. Major sights include the gothic Biserica Neagră (Black Church), which dates back to 1477. The name was given when the church was blackened by smoke from the great fire of 1689. It sits at the top of Str. Republic, on Piata Sfatului. The Biserica Sfante Nicolae is even older. 

Behind the Biserica Neagră are Brașov Citadel Fortress and Catherine’s Gate, the only original city gate that has remained standing since medieval times. Nearby Strada Sforii (Rope Street) is one of the narrowest streets in Europe. 

The city of just over 250,000 people is surrounded by the Southern Carpathians mountains, and a cable car transports passengers from the edge of the historic centre to the peak of nearby Mount Tampa – just a short walk from where the word BRASOV stands Hollywood-style on the side of the mountain.

I had planned to spend the Saturday exploring Brasov then go to nearby Bran Castle on the Sunday before talking the train back that night, but I was felled by a nasty summer cold. In the afternoon I ended up scrapping my plans to go to the history museum and lay in the hotel dozing until I dragged myself out to eat. 

(I think it’s important to write honestly about what I did and didn’t manage to do when travelling rather than pretending everything is awesome all the time. So here it is: I was horribly snotty, had a painful sinus headache and I went for snooze instead of to the history museum. Sorry!)

That was easy along Str. Republic, where virtually every one of the pastel painted buildings is a cafe or restaurant, with shady tables set all along the middle of the street. As I dined early, it didn’t matter that I was alone, and I ate a delicious bowl of pasta before tucking myself up in bed with my kindle for an early night.

I was staying at Casa Antiqua, a boutique hotel in a historic building close to Piata Sfatului, with cosy rooms and friendly staff.

I saw a little more of Brasov early the following morning. On the Saturday afternoon the old town had been thronging with tourists. But Brasovians, it seemed, weren’t early risers. Even the Case Antiqua had given me a breakfast token to use at a nearby cafe — that didn’t open till 10am. Early on Sunday, therefore, I had an unimpeded view up Republic Street to the medieval Piata Sfatului, dominated by the 14th century Black Church. I walked up the cobbled street towards the mountains, enjoying the quiet.