Sighișoara, Romania (November 2024)

My morning started early-ish as it would be a day full of driving. And walking. Sighişoara is about 2 hours driving from Braşov. After stopping for a quick walkabout in Viscri and dealing with street parking and an uncooperative ATM of Banca Transylvania, it was time to explore a quiet and cold Sighişoara.

Even on a grey day, the cobblestone streets and colorful facades are charming.

Needing a coffee and bathroom, I zero'd in on this place.

It's the Burg Kaffe Cetate and as luck would have it, a very charming, friendly, warm place where I got a decent americano and something the server told me was traditional to the region.

Fueled up, I made the obligatory climb up the Scholar's Stairs. View from the top is a nice little payoff.

From there just some weaving and wandering around the streets, working my way back down to lower town.

Snapped a shot of the Boutique Hotel Von Graf getting ready for the holidays.

Continuing on down the other side of the hill I came up and realizing that some of the best views are from down here. Also some nice-looking restaurant options that are probably lovely stops for a beer and some mici during warmer months.

Snow started picking up a bit, which made the scene feel that much more charming. Helping the vibe was the fact that I hadn't been in snow for something like 12 years prior to this trip.



One last snap and then off to Sibiu, which is another 1h 40m away, plus whatever parking adventure I could expect upon arrival.

Braşov to Viscri - now in the Dacia Jogger

Credit to the Sixt team in Braşov who set me up with an upgrade for the rest of my trip through Romania. Main objective with the car swap was to have functioning windshield wiper fluid in the wintry driving conditions. Bonus was getting a nice Dacia Jogger wagon. I haven't driven a wagon since 1992 when I worked for Nard's Rock & Roll Review's Boston franchise, where the work vehicle was an old Volare wagon. This Jogger rode nicely. Also fun to drive a wagon with a manual transmission.

After getting the new car I headed back over to the old town for a bit of work in the apartment. Caught the municipality putting up the Christmas tree on the walk from the parking lot to my apartment.

No other photo evidence of that last night in Braşov. As I recall it was likely a take-away meal from Mega Image (this became a trend in Romania). I did grab a shot of the Jogger the following morning in the lot with the Braşov sign up on the hill in the distance (can you see it?) and then got out of town.

Next destination was Viscri, for a quick look before ultimately spending more time in Sighisoara. The drive was mostly scenic. Grey, snow covered, rural / agricultural.

Then I arrived in Viscri itself. It was early-ish Saturday morning. And it was quiet.

Parked the Jogger and walked around a bit.

I was happy to find this public bathroom was in fact open despite all visible evidence to the contrary. And I did leave my 2 Lei contribution in gratitude of its availability.

I did not actually get up close to the fortified church since everything was undoubtedly closed for the hour / day / season. But I did snag a landscape shot on my way out of town.

Braşov and Bran Castle (Romania, November 2024)

On my second day in Braşov last November the focus was twofold. Get an overview of the old town in the center. Then head out to Bran Castle.

The city was beautiful, dressed in the recent snow.

After the tour of the center, we drove out to Bran. I was not really looking forward to it. Bran is marketed as 'Dracula's Castle'. But the connections to Vlad the Impaler are very loose. And the aspects of the sight that focus on that tenuous link are without a doubt the corniest part of the day. I'm glad I was there in November, as my guide told me it was relatively uncrowded. He said during the summer it can be outrageous. He also did a good job giving me the back story of Queen Marie, who has legit and significant ties to the castle, which made it much more interesting for me.

Setting was dramatic. Again, like my visit to Peleş, the season and weather really benefited the experience. But if I was here during a different time of year, I'd bypass this and spend more time exploring other parts of the countryside.