Brasov weekend – last trip of the year

[pentru articolul in Limba Romana dati click aici ]

Although I was not expecting to catch snow home this year, due to unfortunate circumstances I did catch , and although I hate the cold, I do try to enjoy the few advantages of winter, especially snow and winter sports. Like many of our trips were made, everything started whie talking over a beer and was loosely organized, and if the previous planned trip to Bucharest failed, now looks like the stars alligned and within 48 hours of that beer we were on the road. We chose traveling by the direct bus Constanta – Cluj from Fany company , leaving from Constanta in the evening at and arrive in Brasov at 05:40 , costing 90 Lei or 20 Euros, being able to take advantage of all the day light of day on the slopes, a necessity thing given the fact that the winter season has not yet officially started and the nocturne instalation of the slope in Poiana Brasov is not yet active , also this way we avoided to changing to other means of transportation at North Station in Bucharest.

The Pension “Paloma” in which we stayed was ok, a decent pension at a decent price – 95 lei or approx. EUR 22 per double room with private bathroom, a pretty standard price at any pension in Romania, whether you’re at sea or mountains. Still , I recommend this pension because the host is a lady that offers grade A service and helped us several times, despite the fact that we were not exactly grade A customers.

We arrived quite in the morning in Poiana Brasov, where even though we knew it was pretty warm , we were still a little disappointed by the lack of snow. But the slope was still white and the people were sliding on it on ski, snowboard or sleds. Prices to rent skis remain the same, about 40 lei or 8 EUR per day for skis and 50 lei ( 11 EUR) per day for snowboarding equipment. We discovered quickly , at the first crash , that the snow of the slope maintained artificially by snow cannons is more ice than snow and the few rules that I knew from past experiences on ski regarding braking and maintaining control on ski does do not work as well when you are sliding on ice and reach much faster speed. But I have had some good moments of excitement and satisfaction, especially when I was sliding on the slope from the top and reaching the base of the slope in one piece. I did crash a few times , nothing serious, although one of the crashes left me serious pain on 3 ribs that I still feel now. Another lesson I learned on my own skin is to wear high and thick socks before you put on ski boots, otherwise those tight boots will peel off the skin of the lower leg and you will have like me a nice set of red brandings on your legs. I was not the only injured, about all the guys of our group were first timers on skis or board, so crashes and fun filming with crashes were plenty, although a more serious crash resulting in leg injury of one friend was not not funny, but fortunately it was nothing too serious.

After a night on the road and a day on the slopes, followed by dining out in the evening, we arrived exhausted back to the pension , where after a semi hot water shower I blacked out in the bed. We could not rest more than a few hours because it was still Saturday night in Brasov, and one of the main reasons we came was to party in another city. After a nice warm up session the room , we took the road to the center, just in time to catch the first lighting up of the Chrismats decorations in the city . In the main square there was a big Christmas tree and a nice winter fair , times like this I wish we something like this in Constanta …. . bleahh. We went directly to the club where we knew it was good , called The Square’s , a kind pf club simmilar with Goblin in Constanta. For old music fans I regretfully announce that New Oldies Club is now closed but Studio 80 is still in place, as well as Times Club. I saw after arriving home that Rockstadt was just 2 blocks from our acomodation. While having fun the night passed quickly, and soon the clock was showing 4 AM , at which time we started going back to the pension to sleep …. at least that was the plan , because once we reached our accomodation , the fun has continued in the yard.

On Sunday, after a well deserved sleep, we checked out at 12:00 and had some spare time until 17:00 in Brasov until our direct train to Constanta was due (without discount the train ticket cost 82 LEI or 18 EUR ). Part of the group went to Sergiana restaurant to eat, and we followed the tradition of Sunday Trips in Brasov and went to KFC in the main Council Square then went to explore the area and shoot some pictures. AlthoughI have seen before the western bastion of the city , the one opposite of Tampa mountain, where there is also a creek flowing , this time I had the curiosity to climb at the Black Tower, where to my surprise I discovered a view more interesting than the one of the White Tower, which is not too far. I revisited Union Square , where there were serious renovation works , congratulations once again to the City Hall , the pedestrian area pavement area fits well within historical buildings theme of the area. A successful trip,to wich I give thanks to all in the group that contributed in their own way, a warm and nice memory that I can take with me in the up coming voyage. Enjoy the pictures from the gallery below.