A short PS on Bran Castle
I've said how I read other people's travel blogs for tips and I found one which mentioned somewhere you could go for a good view of the castle without scrambling up the steep hill behind.
About 2 kms out of Bran is Vila Bran an all inclusive leisure complex and ski resort. There was no barrier on the gate so we simply drove up to the top of the steep hill and through numerous blocks of apartments. We parked and then wandered through the well kept gardens to the restaurant (mentioned by the blogger) and sure enough we had the most fabulous view.
Isn't it great when you can find something that not everyone knows about. I've lugged my 100-500mm lens around all week and finally I have a use for it.
Walking back to the car we passed the pony rides and with permission from both the child's mother and the handler I took these, although I do feel slightly concerned the little girl may have put a curse on me.
Driving back down through the complex we past numerous kids entertainment like this fairy castle.
Whilst I was taking the shot above I could hear an animal calling and I thought it was a camel. On investigation it turned out to be a stag getting in practice for the rutting season.
About 8 miles north of Brașov is Râșnov Castle which was built on the hillside behind the town as a peasant citadel in the 13th century and is an imposing sight.
There is a funicular which takes you from the town to the top in just about a minute but unfortunately access to the fortress is currently closed for renovation so we didn't bother.
From there we drove on to visit the last of the fortified churches at Prejmer. I can't remember quite how many we've seen so far (seems a lot) but every one has been different and this was no exception. We parked at the back of the massively fortified Church of the Holy Cross and so could see the extent of the walls as we walked past.
I love the faces I can see, the top one is definitely sneezing.
Entrance tickets we're sold from a vending machine outside and then you walked through a short tunnel to get into the complex.
The church was originally built around 1218 but the Saxons massively fortified it around 1421 and added 270 rooms on the inside on three and four levels to give the villagers refugee in case of attack or siege.
No idea.
Dr Martin Luther, from the dates on this plaque I presume it was made to commemorate his 500th birthday.
There was access to just a couple of the rooms and nothing to suggest what they would have been like in the 15th century.
But this was set out as a schoolroom and apparently in the 19th century the whole village of Prejmer was housed here when the village was last rebuilt - at least I think that's what we read.
All in all quite fascinating.