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".
