It was an easy ride into Braşov this morning, only 25km! Once again, we made sure to appreciate having a very short day. Rolling into town just an hour after we'd left camp, it felt like we'd been out for a normal-person bike ride. We'd intended on staying at another campground, but we soon discovered it was nearly 10km from the city center. So, with the skies darkening, we began hunting for accommodation a bit closer to the historical heart of Braşov.
We were briefly crushed to learn that the hotels nearby charged well more than 200 lei (over 50) per night. A little further into town, down a side-street, Tara discovered somewhere just right: Casa Timar, a quaint, family-run pensiune. Lily (the mom) showed us to our room, and we were floored by the great value we'd stumbled upon.
Once settled, we ventured out for a walk around the city. It was very rainy but we didn't mind too much. Knowing you have a warm, dry place to return to at the end of the day cures all kinds of discomforts. Braşov is a breautiful town, even in a downpour. Some might say it's "probably the best city in the world"!
When we passed this awesome red car, Tara waited under the dry safety of it's tunnel-like driveway while I went to get a closer shot. I'm sure it would fall apart almost immediately, but I want it!
A little further on, we enjoyed views of Piata Sfatului and its central fountain:
We acclimate to our surroundings pretty quickly these days. Horse-drawn carts? Normal. Insane mountain vistas? Everywhere. Giant gothic churches? Check. Medieval Castle? Been there. Even so, we often have moments like this one that Tara captured, that unexpectedly snap everything into perspective.
"Here we are, in Transylvania," we think, "smack in the middle of a city that looks like a movie set and there are two gypsy women hanging out on a park bench!"
Feeling pretty wet and satisfactorily complete with our tour, we headed in the direction of home. Or so we thought. After a rare bout of getting lost, we wound up taking a cab back to Casa Timar. Much, much later, it was still raining when we went out to grab a bite to eat. We hid under an awning, snapping photos as we waited for our take-out pizza order.
Hopefully the weather will clear up tomorrow so we can see some of the sights!