Rasnov

Fortified cities were once very necessary to maintain a livelihood. As we leave Bran Castle behind us we see a white dot at the top of a neighboring mountain. It looks like a snow-capped mountain, but as we get nearer and nearer, it turns out to be the fortified city of Rasnov. It was a thriving city in medieval times. It continues to be a farming community, although most of the residents now live at the bottom of the hill in the new city.

The trip back to Bucuresti is relatively quiet if you keep your eyes closed. We have to descend from the mountains now. The bus is huge. The turns are tiny. Remember that I am sitting in the front seat. I managed to get this one from the very beginning of the one of the hairpin turns as the trees are flying by. In this next image, note that we are passing on a curve. The guidebooks all say that driving in Romania is dangerous because of the road conditions and the other drivers. I am inclined to agree with them. I have no intention of ever even considering driving in this country.

Remember the Orient Express - the exotic train that Agatha Christie writes about in Murder on the Orient Express. It actually does exist. It stops twice in Romania – here at the Peles Castle, the summer home of the Romanian royalty and also in Bucaresti. There are two stations here. One is very nice and is only used by the Orient Express. Across the street is a private entrance to the castle. Arriving guests need only cross the road and walk up the path. I imagine there were probably horse-drawn carriages as it is quite an uphill hike. It is over six thousand pounds to ride this ultra-luxurious train. Maybe someday...

This is also home to the biggest ski resort in Romania. This is a busy town today. Imagine what it is like in ski season. This town is very German in appearance. The houses are all connected and the fences are all high. This is for fortification. If an invading army came through town, they would not be able to breach the stone fronts of the houses and so the residents were relatively safe. The fences accomplished the same thing. Because of their height, it was impossible to see beyond them and the invaders usually passed them by in case there were armed men behind them. Currently, the town is a very busy tourist center.

As we continue down the mountain, the next mountain looms into view. It is starting to get dark and the clouds are rolling in. At the very top is a huge cross. No one seems to know why but there must be a story there.

Not far from here is a cable car that goes to the top of the mountain in winter to ski and in summer to enjoy the alpine meadows. This is certainly a fairy tale area.

Over a few mountains we come to the biggest bungee jump in Europe. The jump mechanism stretches between these two mountains. They do not bother with helmets. I suspect there would be no real reason to if you fell from that height. The white stuff is snow so imagine how high this must be.

We are only two hours from Bucuresti but they are worlds apart. Soon we are back in the pushing, shoving traffic of the big city.