On the way to Transylvania
Becky, Leigh, and I left for our trip to the region of Transylvania around 3pm Friday. Radu, the ultimate tour guide, picked us up at the hotel in Tutova in a white station wagon. I was so excited to have Radu as a tour guide again! When I was here in December/January, Radu was the guide who led us through the Painted Monasteries – he did a fabulous job there and if Friday’s drive was any indication he will do a wonderful job this weekend as well.
As we left Tutova we traveled the same road on which we came into town from Bucharest last weekend. The land is flat and green. Interspersed along the way are beautiful fields of sunflowers. I’m not sure I have ever seen this abundance of sunflowers! Radu explained that they are used to make sunflower oil. I was able to take a few pictures from the moving car but hope to get a few better ones at some point! 
Eventually we turned onto a different road and almost immediately the scenery was different. The hills were more evident and the land seemed even more beautiful. We passed many villages along the way and enjoyed people watching! 
Finally it was time to enter the mountains! The Oituz Pass and Oituz River reminded me so much of home! It felt like driving into the Great Smoky Mountains. The road consisted of a number of hairpin turns and there were people scattered here and there along the way selling mushrooms. We reached the top of the mountain rather quickly and began our descent down. Radu then explained to us the history of the area.
Romanian land has fallen into the hands of various countries over the years. The region of Transylvania was once controlled by the Hungarians. So in this region there are still many Hungarian influences. One of the most obvious differences is the way the villages are constructed. In Tutova (and the villages toward the Republic of Moldova which I visited last time) the houses are built near the road with waist or chest level fences across the front. In the villages we passed on the way to Brasov the houses are constructed with one wall of the house against the street in place of a fence – making it more like a fortress. There is then an extremely tall gate/fence between each house.
We also stopped for a traditional Hungarian treat purchased from a roadside stand. Oh my goodness – talk about good! I cannot remember the name but it is a cylinder-shaped bread which is cooked over open fire and then sprinkled with a sugar and cinnamon mix – delicious! It was 7 lei for a huge roll! (7 lei is a little over $2 US.) 
I left Radu, Becky, and Leigh to pay for the treats and snuck back near the car to take pictures!
Since this area of Romania has fallen into many different hands the Romanians try to be respectful of other cultures by using the 3 most common languages (Romanian, Hungarian, German) of the area on street signs indicating big cities: 
The mountain vistas between Brasov and Bran
We arrived at the Vila Bran (www.vilabran.ro) for our 2 night stay. The Vila Bran is a HUGE mountain resort – used in the winter as a central location for skiing and in the summer for a nice cool retreat. Radu and I registered and discovered our rooms were in villa number 11! We drove up a steep mountainside at the very top villa 11 was located near the restaurant.
Becky, Leigh, and I are sharing a triple room.
View from front balcony
View from back balcony
Radu and I feverishly at “work” on our computers in the restaurant. There is no internet access in the rooms but there is wi-fi in the restaurant.
Becky and Leigh as we wait for dinner. For dinner I ordered a yummy fried cheese with tomatoes appetizer, bean soup, and a summer salad (consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers, and cow cheese). Delicious! Near the end of our meal a singer for the resort came on the stage and started singing Macy Gray to get everyone in the mood for karaoke... ahh, you gotta love Karaoke in Europe!
Our first view of Bran Castle from the terrace of the restaurant! Blurry but the first view! LOL We cannot wait to explore Bran Castle and the city of Brasov!
1 comment:
On my first trip to Romania I ate those cylindrical rolls throughout Bucharest and they still had them when I went to Hungary. I first discovered them at the Village Museum in Bucharest where they were having a Spring festival. There was a huge line of people waiting to buy something and I had no idea what it was but got into line and discovered these oh so good treats. They have them with different kinds of flavored sugars. I can't remember the name of them either but they are a bit like mexican churros - but not exactly.
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