Conquering Brasov

After spending almost six weeks in a big city like Belgrade, Brasov was just the kind of place we had been looking for.

Don’t get me wrong, I love city life. But there is just something special about a town as picturesque as Brasov is, surrounded by mountains and bursting with colourful old buildings. The air just seems so much, well, cleaner. The cool-ass Hollywood-style sign they have overlooking the town doesn’t hurt either.

From the first bus ride in to our hostel from the train station, I knew I would like this town. We had a mountain view from our hostel room and we were staying close to one of the area’s historic squares and churches. Instead of joining the free walking tour (which didn’t leave til 6pm each night, by which time it was already far too cold to wander around for two hours; I mean, come on, people) we took our own self-guided tour of the area’s main sights: Rope Street (the narrowest street in Europe), the bastion and the Black Tower.



But the highlight of my time in the town was, by far, when I climbed Mount Tampa.

Now, I’m not a big fan of climbing. Or hiking. Or really anything “outdoorsy”, if I’m being honest. I’m the kind of girl who likes to get her exercise from the gym or a swimming pool, but little else. So when Scott suggested that we should climb up the mountain instead of taking the cable car, I died a little inside. But knowing that usually when I have a reaction like that it can sometimes produce some exciting results, I obliged.

Halfway up, I was sweating like a turkey at Christmas. But I could already see that the effort would be worth it, because the views were incredible. Once we reached the top, it was breathtaking. Seriously. I could see for miles out over the town and the Carpathian Mountains in the distance. Luck would also have it that it was a nice sunny day, so we stopped up there for a while and enjoyed some Romanian red wine while looking out at the scenery.

It was one of the most “travelly” things we’d done in quite a while, mainly because we’d had a base in a big city and had been working. It felt great to act like a backpacker and do something you would never do at home. That’s why we’re on this trip, to look at views like this.

And sometimes you appreciate things so much more when you’ve had a break from them and know what an amazing memory it will create.