Brasov Water 💦Filters/part III ~ România 🇷🇴Mission ~

January 2021

~ Brașov ~

Brasov has always been one of our favorite cities!  We've been able to come here a number of times and have enjoyed the 4 seasons with all the green mountains, fall leaves, frosty snow and stunning flowers.  You have to travel through some twisty roads and gorgeous mountains (not just in the big hills) to get here but that is all part of the excitement and adventure! Our 'real' favorite city is close to Brasov called Sinaia! 

We took our adorable missionaries: Sora Phillips and Evans, Elders Hall, Wilson, Wilkinson and Reese out to Chef's Boutique for lunch.  We are so spoiled here in Romania as the cost of a dinner for 8 equals the cost of a dinner for 2 in the States.  Even going to Jumbo and buying decorations I walk away with 400 lei of items which is $100 but in the States it would have been $400 😦😧😬! It will be a rude awakening when we come home. 

After lunch we did the water filter business and then went back to our hotel. We grabbed our coats, gloves and scarves and headed to see all the night lights in Brasov.  Like I mentioned before this is one of our (and the missionaries) favorite towns (we are still waiting for our transfer to Brasov 😉)!  We walked all over the town square then went and warmed up with some delicious hot chocolate at this darling little cafe. In Romania they do not care for their desserts or drinks to be too sweet so I poured about 9 packs of sugar into my hot chocolate ~ heavenly!

Brasov is filled with charming buildings that are well kept and in excellent condition.  It is a favorite tourist sight but I must add: if you go an hour north you will happen upon an even more gorgeous resort town called Sinaia; it is a beautiful mountain town that has castles, wonderful skiing/hiking trails, and has a 17th century monastery that is still inhabited today!If we were ever to retire in Romania this would be the place where we would live ~ it is incredible during all 4 seasons!

Back to beautiful Brasov: Somewhere it said that it dates back to 9500 BCE but then I read that "it was first documented in 1234 AD and has been inhabited since 100 BC.  It is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains and has gothic, baroque and renaissance architecture along with a wealth of historical attractions. Brasov is one of the most visited places in Romania"! http://romaniatourism.com/brasov.html

It was hard to say goodbye to this little group ~ we had so much fun visiting with them and meeting 3 newbies (Evans, Hall and Wilson), and reminiscing about our first couple months in Romania when we were with Wilkinson and then Phillips in the Panduri Branch.  These two (including Elder Reese) are now the oldest ones here in Romania; they have grown, matured and are so amazing with their language and their spirituality. It was so great being with them 💙😇💙! 

Here is the fun hotel we stayed in (again) and we loved it.  It is right by one of the main lanes that leads into the town square.  All the places in Brasov are fun and cozy and it's an easy walk to everything. Fun tidbit: the central square is said to be the spot where the Pied Piper led the children of Hamlin ~ I would definitely follow him here 💛😁💛! 
We woke up to this beautiful winter wonderland.  This is our view from our balcony. The picture doesn't do it justice but it was breathtaking.  If you can see Bill's finger, in the upper left hand corner, he is pointing to the Black Church (Biserica Neagra); it is a famous landmark and Romania's leading gothic church. It acquired its name when it was damaged in the Great Fire of 1689; flames and smoke blackened its walls, thus, the "Black" Church. It was refurbished inside and is beautiful and has one of the largest organs in Eastern Europe.

We left fairly early as we had a long drive ahead of us and we wanted to see the Salt Mines that are close by Cluj!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bra%C8%99ov

The city has such a feel of a medieval time period.  It used to be enclosed by citadels but as time went by the city expanded and the walls came down; there are still remains where it used to be. 

This is such a fun place to be! It would be nice if all the missionaries had the opportunity to serve here.  The Branch is thriving and new friends are joining the activities and coming to church and learning about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We will definitely miss the constant spirituality these young missionaries bring into our lives. 

http://romaniatourism.com/brasov.html

I just have to say: the next time you plan a vacation I would truly consider coming to Romania.  It is fascinating and has such a rich history that will make you sad then happy then sad then happy.  Individually the people are some of the most kind, loving and happy people (sometimes in group settings it's not quite so pleasant as they have very strong opinions and don't feel the need to filter their comments 😉). It has so many amazing and unique places to see and as you have seen on my map in part 1 of our trip we went all over and the drive was less than 32 hours ~ I believe with a 2 week stay you could go throughout the country and enjoy every aspect that Romania has to offer and then some.  Just FYI, we will only be here until December of 2021 so if you want some amazing tour guides we will save up our "vacation time" and show you around, after that you are on your own 😏!