Whilst the big guys- Hertz, Avis, Budget etc. charge at least your basic 50 Euro, plus insurances, added fees and a navigator totalling up to about 80 Euros a day, we found a local company and managed a hire car for 34 Euros a day, including a Garmin GPS navigator. (Not as good as a Tom Tom, but does the job). With the robotic tones of the Navigator instructing us, we were off.
It wasn't just the two off us, as we had agreed to transport 2 backpackers we had met back in Bulgaria to Brasnov. Traveling with the Mexicans allowed us some conversation about their lives, careers, studies, etc. They were an interesting couple- vegetarian for environmental reasons, and studying Environmental protection in Cologne, Germany. They appeared to be on a tight budget, so no doubt appreciated a free ride up to Brasov.
The driver to Brasov was 3 hours, however we broke it up with a visit to Romania's most spectacular castle, named Tepes, which is located in Sinaia. In terms of castles this was rather recent, built in the late 19th century by the king Carol II. For almost 20 years he had been an uncrowned prince, with the Ottoman empire ruling the region. Finally they relented, and let Carol be a king. He built his castle over 40 years, and whilst quite scenic from the outside, its major beauty lies within. Unfortunately, photo taking was discouraged and prohitively expensive, which was disappointing given the splendour of the interior. The interior decoration included wooden carving as spectacular as in any church I'd seen, massive mirrors, unique iron door designs, stained glass windows. The king also was a passitionate collector of guns and other weapons of the period. Each room was different to the prevous room, however equally spectacular. The tour inside was definitely worthwhile. Unfortunately you will have to take our word for it, unless we can source some pictures off the internet.
Brasov was noticeably smaller, and more appealing (not difficult) than the capital, Bucharest. It had nice architecture and claims that Hollywood stole its idea of placing a large white Brasov sign on the surrounding mountain, however methinks it may just have been the other way around.
We again checked in to a small hostel, and this was perhaps the best set up hotel we had come across. Given peak season was now over we managed to get a drom room to ourselves... effectively a private room at dorm prices of 9 Euros each, including breakfast, and even better- a large cold free beer each. When checking in the Australian on the internet checking the AFL site was a sign of things to come- including Cinthia and I there were actually 6 Melburnians in the hostel, out of probably a dozen guests. It reinforces the adage- you can't get away from Australians, and particularly Melbournians when travelling.
That night we sat planning our agenda the next day when a German guy took extreme interest, asked what we were planning, and then proceeded to give us advice. Given he had lived and worked in the country previously, we listened to his suggestions. His major suggestion was that we didn't need to drive 300 kilometres north to see the small Romanian villages, that there were plenty of small scenic towns nearby, and we could spend more time enjoying and less time travelling with this approach. "Das ist einen gutten idea", I replied, then "Danke Schon". This is the major advantage of not pre-planning a trip- it is easily adaptable at a whim's notice.
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