Leaving Varna early morning with the rain falling around us
was not ideal, and this was made worse by the fact we discovered quick sand
twenty metres from the front door of the hostel and Em managed to lose her
thongs deep within the mire. Finally making it to the bus station with both
thongs still intact we took a coach to Ruse, on the border of Bulgaria and
Romania. We were then changing buses to make our way into Romania. Well weren’t
we surprised when our “bus” turned out to be a stock standard car driven by a
man that resembled the love child of Iggy Pop and Ozzy Osborne. Needless to
say, the nerves were rather high as we took on the border control with Romanian
talk back radio scorching the ears. After hours of travel we made it to the fairy-tale-esque
town of Brasov, without being made to join a satanic cult, or watch endless
DVD’s of Iggy and the Stooges play.
The Pied Piper apparently resided here after his efforts
through Hamelin and you can imagine him dancing his way through town in this
stunningly beautiful city. Surrounded by mountains that enjoy the odd bear
sighting, there is no wonder Bram Stoker chose Transylvania for the setting of
Dracula. As you wander the cobble stone alleys and climb the deeply forested
mountain it is not hard to envision werewolves howling through the trees and
Dracula scuttling about sucking the blood of many a young virgin. This illusion
is immediately shattered as you lay eyes on Brasov’s Hollywood-esque sign upon
Mount Tampa. Terrible. Luckily the views from the mountain across the city make
up for this hideous use of public funds.
