Aug 4, 2012

Perspectiva australiana: Brasovul, un oras de pe langa Castelul Bran :)


Brasovul este al doilea oras care s-a ridicat in 1989 impotriva lui Ceausescu. Acum, strada Republicii este plina de tineri care beau cafea italiana.

Aceasta este descrierea facuta de The Sidney Morning Herald orasului nostru, a carui principala calitate este, de fapt, ca se afla in preajma Castelului Bran. Despre care se stiu mult mai multe :)

"Nearby is Bran Castle, a 13th-century Gothic fortress built by Teutonic knights in 1212 - and here, too, a link has been made with Dracula. The castle is allegedly Dracula's lair in Stoker's novel but the link is tenuous, at best. Dracula was a character created from strands of legends and superstition. Vlad the Impaler, one of Stoker's possible inspirations, may or may not have visited Bran. In the 1960s, it was a densely forested backwater, and the castle was cold and deserted. Then came the 1963 Christopher Lee Dracula film and locals twigged to the commercial potential. There are more than 10,000 B&Bs in Brasov these days.

Before being appropriated by the communists, Bran Castle was the family home of Queen Marie of Romania, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria and the British-born consort of the Romanian King, from 1914-27. In 2007, the castle was returned as an empty shell to her descendant, a New York architect and his family, and they have tried to restore the sense of joviality and warmth of her day. It feels so cosy, I cannot imagine Dracula being at home.

Our guide is also jovial and full of cute nuggets: tourism increased 17 per cent in Transylvania after Prince Charles declared it the most beautiful region in Europe; the castle is in the book 1000 Things To Do before You Die; and Nicolas Cage, who paid to stay in Queen Marie's bedroom with his kids, left before nightfall".

1 comment:

  1. Sorin Vlad9:02 PM

    Brasovene, pe de o parte ai dreptate - e frustrant sa traiesti langa castelul Bran si ignorantii sa nu aiba habar ca el e langa Brasov. Dar pune-ti problema: cati dintre braneni stiu ca exista Canberra, ca nu este o bere ci un oras, si ca nu este in Spania ci la antipozi?! Cred ca, de altfel, foarte putini dintre brasoveni... Cati dintre noi stiu toate dedesubturile altor tari, mai ales daca ne indepartam pe mapamond? Mai degraba ar trebui, zic, sa ne bucuram ca Morning Herald acorda atentie orasului de langa castel :p. Si sa nu ne amagim ca asta ne va aduce si turisti... P.S.: ca fapt divers si foarte ontopic, doar putin mai rafinat: la mine la munca i-am intrigat pe toti cand sustineam ca sunt din Romania si le povesteam de locuinta mea de la 20 de mile de castelul Bran. Bollocks, it means you're from Transylvania then, not Romania! Sa le mai zici ceva? Mai ales cand unii dintre ei se gandesc serios la planuri de vacanta pentru la anul?

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