around 4

on the way back in the evening we had the chance to see a beautiful sunset .

around 3

not much i can say ...

because of the bad road , a few times i was about to bump my head on the window or drop the camera ... hahaha ... oh , and i got some very red eyes opening the window so many times with my face in the wind ... but for these views and these pictures i think it's worth it .

around 2

some more pictures with the bucegi mountains from the road to bran ...

around

last sunday we went for a ride . just driving . the weather was great , very bright sunshine , warm , still some snow for contrast , loud music (well , not that loud , don't worry) ...

we headed for the mountains to admire some amazing scenery .

we didn't go very far , less than 100 km away and we only stop 3 times but just to see views like this changes your perspective .

almost all of the pictures are taken from the moving car so the quality is not great , no depth of field , still you can see some beautiful landscape .

in the first pic you can see the fortress of râşnov , a small town some 20 km from brasov with the bucegi mountains in the background .

in the second one , a better view of the bucegi mountains shining in the sun , but some haze and the moving car are in the way of taking a good picture.

4 in 1

this is behind the star department store . from one street you have 4 choices .

the picture was taken last week when we had some more snow and cold . but only for a while , now it's nice and warm , in a short time we should have spring . i can't wait ... hahaha

sports hall

this is the sports hall (sala sporturilor) .

it's near to the central station and it's not a big one , only aprox 1500 seats . next to it it's the swimming pool and the whole area is supposed to be renovated and updated this year .

it's alive

now it looks like a house from some tim burton movie but in the summer it's green and alive .

electrica

this is the hq for the brasov branch of the electrical distribution company.

isn't it funny how the utilities providers everywhere , they complain about having to cover their cost but trying to keep the prices low and in the same time they are so rich ?

new hotel

another example of the "new architecture" in brasov . a hotel completed in 3 stages over the years . first it was a small house , then the second wing and last the 3rd wing in front . it's a "no style" new "anything goes" architecture making an ugly result . the hotel it's called "ambient" but the location it's a "don't go there" cause a very busy street is just under the windows . omg ! why people with no brain have too much money ?

office building

for this building the construction started some 20 years ago . supposed to be some kind of hotel for the communist party officials because is right behind the brasov county council building . but the times changed and the destination changed also . they finally got it ready a few years ago and it's now an office building . but the architecture doen't match anything around it so it looks very strange . and of course it's just boring and ugly .

another bank

although i prefer the old buildings and classic architecture (i like the modern one also but it's very hard to find good examples here) we do have modern buildings so i want to show them ones in a while . i don't like any of them ... hahaha

this is another bank and i think is the tallest building in brasov (or maybe i'm wrong).

bank

one of the new buildings , steel and glass , architecture unknown , it looks awful if you ask me .

it's a bank , of course ...

cina

a beautifully decorated building . it used to be a big restaurant many years ago called "cina / the diner" . after that they tried a lot of things over the years and finally a bank bought the building , renovated it and made it to look this good .

decay

this is a building on muresenilor street , right in the old town centre . the view is from the back yard , from the front facing the street is a little better . the place is empty for a few years , i don't know the situation but probably is about some legal issue about the owner . in the meantime it looks like this . the years of decay .

station

the central train station .

a very busy , crowded , dirty place .

it's a lot better than a few years ago but still ...

right next to it is the terminal for buses for other cities and villages .

on each side there is a mall , one small on the right ("my place") and one big on the left will open next month ("unirea shopping center")

post office

post office no 1 in the city centre .

a photo from the archive .

bjbv

the brasov county public library .

a place

this building is an investment fund now but it used to be a hotel / restaurant named "park" . it had a great alfresco on both sides (before the black new part was added) and it was very popular . now the building looks better but lost the charm .

highschool

this is where i spent 4 years of my life . the "andrei saguna" highschool (now it's called a college) . and they were great years . i think my classrooms were on the second floor first 3 windows in the right section and on the ground floor at the left corner . great times , great memories . saguna is probably one of the (if not the) best highschool in brasov , got a great reputation , it's old and a lot of important people spent time in it's classrooms as students or teachers .

the big rock

i know it doesn't look like but this is still a view from the city . if you're on "calea bucuresti" blvd going to the stretch of big supermarkets (as almost everybody does) you can see this . piatra mare (the big rock) mountain .

tâmpa

bleak .

grey .

dark .

tâmpa hill .

xxx

i don't know exactly but i think there are 6 - 7 sex shops in brasov . easy to spot them because of the bright colors and black windows .

actually i just liked how the sign stands against the background with the tâmpa hill and the panoramic restaurant .

dragon

dragons in my head ...

today is the cny

this is a different dragon

on a building on balcescu street

still ...

dragons in my head ...

cny

because for many people is the chinese / lunar new year and in east asia is a public holiday (i know that in singapore is the only time when the city has a real break and for one day in the year everything is closed) i will post this picture of the "china restaurant" in brasov , the oldest chinese restaurant in town (used to be called "marele zid / the great wall") . the prices are high and you can't see many people inside . i don't know about the food , i've only been there many years ago .

all the best in the new rat year , happiness and prosperity !

gong xi fa cai !

window

i don't really know why i post this ... hahaha ... i just think it looks interesting . it's a small shop for wedding dresses and accesories and the window looks ... well ... that depends ... i don't wanna say more .

silence

one of the chess corners in the central park . there are 3 of them and in the summer are full of people . now is very quiet , covered in snow .

keep it clean

garbage bins in the central park at the kids playground . usually these bins are black but for this location they made them different colors . nice touch .

signs

it's about the angle and the position .

but it looks like the branches are coming from the signs , make them alive .

the pole is on livada postei (post's orchard) which is the beginning of the road to the poiana brasov resort some 13 km up on the mountain . in the winter the road can be difficult so that's why so many warning signs

a different view

people are running around everyday . in a hurry . very busy . most of the time they don't have time to look at the city , the streets , the buildings . and in this country they don't respect anything. not themselves , not the others , not the work , not the city , not the nature .

what is nice about brasov is that you can find a lot of different points of view on the hills around the city and from a distance brasov looks nice .

this is from the citadel hill . and the dog was barking like crazy , taking his job seriously .