We arrived in Romania a little later than scheduled and got to the hostel to check in after a little turn around. Cybil, since you left, we seem to be getting lost. Come back!! Our hostel is in the perfect location!! I recommend one visitng Brasov and two, satying at the Centrum House Hostel on Strada Republicii. It is a walking street in the old town filled with restuarants and shopping. It was so alive and led straight to the heart of the town- City Square.
We started the day with showers because we were gross. With some good lunch in our bellies, we took a relaxing walk around the old city walls up to the cable car for Tampa Mountain. We hiked to their very own "Hollywood" sign for a wonderful view of the city.
When we returned to the walking street, we stopped in a tattoo parlor so that Katelyn could get her ear pierced because frankly, why not?? She had her forward helix pierced previously, but lost the earring and the hole grew up. She was really nervous, but the entired procedure was so quick that Michelle was barely finished changing money next door when we were finished. If I was more into piercings or less against them (for me) then maybe I would have gotten one too. "Oh yeah, its nothing. I just got the kewlest piercing in BRASOV, ROMANIA." If that doesn't scream worldly, I don't know what does.
We had just enough time to get to the free walking tour that started at 6 in the square.
Romania was officially born in 1980. It was built by Germans because of their uniformity and structure. In the City Square, you can hear trumpets playing on the hour from the Concert Hall. This bulding has seen a lot of transition but is mainly seen as a building where, for decade, all of the important decisions have been made. The building is decorated with the crest of the city- a crown with a tree trunk coming out of the bottom and roots extending from that. The crown represents power while the tree trunk is a symbol of wisdom and the roots are representing every village. The crown also serves as a symbol of the citadel that surrounds Brasov, said to resemble a crown.
On to the Black Church. This is a huge structure, seating 5000 people. The size is indicative of the powerful Catholic community which they wanted to portray to the Ottoman Empire. This is the bigeest Catholic Church in Eastern Europe until you reach Istanbul. The church was originally known as St. Mary's Church. It got the nickname the Black Church after a fire in 1689. The fire destroyed most of the city and caused the roof of the church to collapse where it burned for 3 days. The smoke caused the walls to turn black. The church is home to the biggest bell in Romania and one of the biggest organs in Eastern Europe which boasts 4000 pipes. In addition, the church has a neat story about their Black Madonna painting. Before the fire, the madonna had a blue dress on and after surviving the fire, her dress was turned black but her face remained as white as it always was. Gives you chills when you think about it. The people look at it as a miracle and see the picture as a beacon of hope. On the outside of the church there is a statue of a boy leaning down one of the spires. The story is that the boy was an apprentice to the architect and wanted to see the plans. The architect didn't allow this, but they boy snuck a peek. The next day the architect called the boy to the roof to show him something and pushed him off. The statue is a triute to the life of the child, but also an illustration of an interesting myth in Romania. They think that for a building to last and stand blessed, there has to be a human sacrifice.
On the tour we also passed Dracula's misstress's house. I will talk more about Dracula tomorrow when we go to his castle.
Transylvania literally translates to "over the forest" in latin. What happens over the forest you ask? The fairytale begins. That is exactly how you should look at this area.
We ended the tour by climbing up to the White Tower to get a good view of the city for this side. While we were up there, we were asked to be in this video for a music festival they were trying to fund in City Square. We jumped up in the air and shouted thank you. There is my 15 minutes of fame guys. Romanian fame that is.
We grabbed dinner with some guys we met on the tour after at a traditional Romanian restuarant. It was okay. Not my favorite food lots of Schnitzel and pork. Just dry and plain I think.
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