The business trip to Bucharest started well with jokes in the taxi from the airport, shared between Hessel, Arjan, Giovanni and myself. We passed along wide boulevards into town. Plush but decaying villas lined the roads. I could see why Bucharest was likened to Paris, more so when the Arculi de Triomf came into view. Though it maybe unfair to judge the city on a dull early winter's day, Bucharest is rundown and dirty though has as a grand feeling to it at the same time. It was also absolutely huge, at least that's how it felt coming from little Amsterdam. From the balcony of my hotel I had a panoramic view of dirty greyness.
The meetings happened and there was a nice dinner afterwards during which too much wine was drunk. The following day's meeting was a bit quieter as a result. The Romanians at Astral and UPC Romania organised things a little differently than I'm used to. They were quite spread around the country.
The next day was for myself. It started out checking out of a 4-star hotel. Somewhere in the taxi ride to the train station the business trip stopped and I became a tourist. I took a train to Brasov. As the train passed through some hills, as we went into Transyvannia, it started to snow. I looked forward to seeing a nice old town under snow.
In Brasov the weather was worse than in Bucharest, there was no snow. Low clouds completely covered the sky and a fine misty rain fell. Brasov didn't quite live up to the expectations set by the Lonely Planet guide book. It had some nice buildings, such as the old town hall. However the old town seemed to have lost its character. I regretted the decision to change to a cheaper place to stay once I saw the tiny rather depressing room. I didn't feel as if I could change having got that far. My view on the town could have something to do with my mood. I like my own company but the transition from being in company to being alone put me in a down mood.
After a stroll through town and lunch took a taxi to a town I'd read in the Lonely Planet which was supposed to have a Saxon fortified church. This turned out to be a good move. The church was from the 13/14th century and was at the centre of a 'peasants' castle, a high fortified ring with dwellings incorporated into the wall. I had the place completely to myself. On the way back I took a maxitaxi which cost about 1/15 of the journey there.
Tomorrow I take a train to Sighisoara. I hope I find it more inspiring than Brasov, Lonely Planet did which concerns me.
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