Down to the biggest breakfast buffet I’ve seen for a long time, so filled up and headed out. Glorious day, sun shining and about 19C. Ambled up the road to Victory Square (I think every East European capital has to have one), which was a large area with some big square buildings but not particularly noteworthy. Walked around a park for a bit then set off for the old town down Victory Street which the hotel receptionist said was a nice walk. His definition of nice is different to mine because it was pretty grotty, lined with grand houses that were in disrepair and crumbling. I think whenever there was a sniff of revolution the rich owners ran away and abandoned them. However, soon we came to the posh part – Hilton hotel and upmarket shops. We also found the number one attraction in Bucharest, the Athenaeum. But it was closed on Mondays so only managed to take photos from outside. Carried on down the road and spotted a Paul’s patisserie – a French chain we always visit when in France, so popped in for a coffee and cake. A lot of the buildings around had Art Nouveau features and were very impressive.
Found the old town, a pedestrianized area with cobbled streets and quaint buildings, and wall to wall bars and restaurants with tables set up outside. The sun was shining and I was very tempted to sit down and have a beer but we were pressed for time so took some photos and walked around a bit. The area is definitely more pleasant than the surrounding streets and geared up to tourists and young people.
Hopped on a metro train back to the hotel, then got off at the next stop having got on the wrong train – the first misstep of the trip so far. Picked up some gear from the hotel and went to the main station and the train to Brasov. Pulling out of the station and seeing lots of graffiti reminded me that we had seen none in Istanbul or Greece. The train had a power point so settled in to watch some downloads and look at the views.
The train was the fast one, which I think meant that it didn’t stop at as many stations because it didn’t go very fast. The train made its way through the mountains, through villages that had seen better days, and with snow still on the ground. I’ve just read that Brasov is in Transylvania, and it’s a full moon tonight! No, wait, that’s Werewolves, so we should be ok. I’ll make Song sleep near the window just in case.
Arrived at Brasov around 20:00, wasn’t as cold as we expected, but decided to stay in and look around tomorrow.
Walked 12.74 km today.
