August 26 - 27

We left fairly early the next morning as we had a long drive to our next home exchange and to our next country… .Romania. It was about 300 miles to the little village of Rucar and we wanted to get there before dark. Fortunately, Pam and Miles had their phones working and we felt confident following our new best friend, the GPS Lady, as she guided us on what was supposed to be a shortcut, bypassing Bucharesti, via a small town by the Danube River. The only problem was….we were on the wrong side of the river. There was a very primitive looking ferry but, the next crossing wasn't for another three hours….I guess someone forgot to tell our GPS Lady. So, we backtracked and went to Russe, Bulgaria where we could drive across the bridge to the other side of the Danube.

It was slow going through Buchareti as there was a lot of construction but, we finally arrived in Rucar just before dark. We had a little trouble finding the house and, fortunately, had the phone number for the home exchange owners and, Andi guided us right to the gate. The three-bedroom home was spacious and very nice and Pam was in heaven as each bedroom had its own bathroom . After we unpacked the car, we ran to the little market in the village and picked up a few things to make spaghetti for dinner and some breakfast items. After dinner, we played "golf" one of our favorite card games that Pam and Miles had taught us, then retired for the evening in our luxurious beds with our own bathrooms.

We couldn’t really appreciate how gorgeous the setting was until we woke up in the morning to the expansive view of the mountains and the neighboring cottages. Most of the homes had little apple orchards in their yards and it was quite charming watching the elderly couple next door out picking their apples.

We had a free walking tour scheduled at 6 p.m. in Brasov, the larger town located 25 miles away, and planned on stopping in Bran, on the way, to visit Dracula’s Castle. We thought it was odd that our GPS Lady informed us that it would take an hour to get there but, in her defense, she must have known about Bran Pass, the extremely windy road through the mountains that we had to take to get there . It ended up taking much longer as the views were so spectacular that we made several stops along the way to take photos and enjoy the scenery.

When we got to the town of Bran, it was packed with tourists and we had to battle the crowds to find a place to park and get to the entrance. This was Saturday and Andi had warned us about going there on the weekend so, we decided to come back another day to see the Castle and, instead, just wander through the stalls in the little market place outside the Castle. There were some lovely things and we all ended up buying something.

We got to the central square in Brasow, the meeting place for the walking tour, about 45 minutes before the tour so had time to look around and get a bite to eat. The town reminded me of some of the smaller towns we had visited in the Czech Republic and I was, immediately, drawn to its charm. The square was surrounded by historic building and a modern fountain in the middle where there were lots of children playing in the water . There were many outdoor cafes looking onto the square and we got a little something to keep us going as the tour wouldn’t end until 8:30 and, then, we had to drive back to Rucar. I ordered my new favorite dish…..the Romanian version of the Bulgarian Salad and it was just as good.

We met our guide, on schedule, at 6:30, and,like so many of our other free walking tour guides, she was adorable, full of personality and extremely knowledgeable about Brasov, where she was born and has lived her entire life. The fact that she loves her city made the tour even more enjoyable as her enthusiasm transferred over to her narratives.

Our guide (I wish I could remember her name) gave us a little of the history of Brasov before going to our first stop. She told us that there are traces of human activity and settlements in the Brasov location dating back to the Neolithic age and, today, Brasov is the 7^th most populous city in the country and is located in the Transylvania region of Romania. Then she talked about the early German colonists, known as Transylvanian Saxons and how they played a decisive role in Brasov’s development. Like all the other countries we’d been to, Brasov’s history is just as complicated involving Hungarian kings, the Ottoman Empire, the Protestant Reformation, and the fortification of the city. At least two of the original entrances to the city, Poarta Ecaterinei and Poarta Șchei are still in existence and she told us that we would be go through one of them later on the tour.

To be continiued……