Transylvania

We stayed in the attic of the lovely Drachenhaus, each of us with our own room and a view of the city. We could see the Brasov sign from our window. As I mentioned, it took a bit of time to get going on Thursday morning, but by noon or so we made it to Rasnov, which also had a sign on a hilltop. The fortress offered some lovely views.

Nina had to get back for a work call, Shilpali needed a nap, and I had a burning desire to hike up Mount Tampa, so we returned to Brasov and each fulfilled our desires. On my way back, I finally stumbled upon a Vodafone and bought a local SIM, which made the rest of the trip much, much easier.

The next day, we were supposed to go to Sighisoara but Nina was all "but it looks like every town in Czech Republic and also I'm not driving" so we instead went to Peles Castle in Sinaia, which was awesome.

 And after that, to the cafe at Cantacuzino Castle for a view of the Carpathians.

We returned to Brasov, which, by the way, I loved. Shilpali and I went on a rainy but informative walking tour.

The third narrowest "street" in Europe

I went back and forth over whether to try to make it to Sighisoara, and ultimately decided that it was not to be missed. So I bought what I thought was a train ticket, and got on the train. I thought it was odd that the ticket was for 8:56 and the train was at 8:59, for a different destination. The conductor shrugged when I showed him the ticket on my phone. It dawned on me within minutes that what I had was a ticket for a bus, but what mattered was that I was on my way to Sighisoara. Which was gorgeous.

 First stop was the clock tower, which offered a view of the city.

 Vlad Tepes (Dracul), or Vlad the Impaler, was born in Sighisoara. He has no connection whatsoever to Bran, where "his" reportedly boring castle is.

 I found the actual bus for the way back, which offered some stunning views of the countryside.

Upon returning, I completed my tour of the city walls and towers.