Romania - Eastern Europe - page 521

The ground-level entrance to this subterranean restaurant is marked by Vinalia
wine boutique ( & 0746-213-300; www.vinalia.ro; daily 10am-10pm), which is an
excellent place to buy Romanian vintages, including offerings from the Prince ! tirbey
estate (www.stirbey.com) in Wallachia's prestigious Dr â g â@ ani region.
Str. Mure@enilor 27. & 0268/41-9775 . www.sergiana.ro. Main courses L9-L20 ($3.25-$7.20/£3.25-£3.85). MC, V;
PIN required for your credit card. Daily 11am-midnight.
EXPLORING BRA! OV
The city is centered on Pia $ a Sfatului , on which the city's most imposing mon-
ument, the Black Church (reviewed below), backs. A wide-open medieval square,
Sfatului is the best place to succumb to Bra @ ov's salubrious charms; throughout the
day, people meet to plot their next move, be it dining at one of the always-packed
restaurants, exploring the city's architectural heritage, or people-watching and chasing
pigeons. Around the square a range of attractive Saxon buildings vie for attention. In
the center of the square is the 15th-century yellow-and-white Casa Sfatului (Coun-
cil House), now home to the city's tourist office as well as the Bra @ ov Historical
Museum ( Muzeul Judetean de Istorie Bra @ ov; & 0268/47-2363; Tues-Sun 10am-
6pm; L3.05/$1.10/60p adults, L2.05/75¢/40p seniors and students); capping the
building is the 58m-high (190 ft.) Trumpeter's Tower, originally used for meetings.
West of the Council House, amid a long row of fabulous buildings, is Casa Mure @ enilor
( Pia $ a Sfatului 25; & 0268/47-7864; Tues-Sat 9am-3pm), now memorializing the
19th-century political journalist and editor, Iacob Mure @ ianu. On the eastern side of
the square is Casa Hirscher. Built between 1539 and 1545 by Apollonia Hirscher, the
widow of one of the city's mayors, it was set up as a trading house for the merchant
community, but is now a tourist restaurant, Cerbul Carpa $ in ( Carpathian Stag;
& 0268/44-3981 ). And at the northern end of the square, next to the shamelessly
located KFC, is a passage leading to The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin,
tucked well away from public view; completed in 1899, the church tower was destroyed
by earthquake in 1940, and only rebuilt in 1972.
From Pia $ a Sfatului you can either wander south through the Schei District
(described below), or head for the northwestern corner to take Strada Mure @ enilor,
which stretches past a number of restaurants and bars and soon reaches B-dul. Eroilor,
with the leafy expanse of Parcul Central on the far side. Turn right along B-dul.
Eroilor, passing the ugly facade of the Aro Palace Hotel to reach Bra @ ov's Art
Museum (no. 21; Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; L3/$1.10/60p), which includes a sizable col-
lection of works by notable 19th- and 20th-century Romanian artists. Farther on is a
Memorial to the Victims of the 1989 Revolution; behind this you'll see the bulky
District Council building. Eroilor becomes B-dul 15 Novembrie, with Pia $ a Teatru-
lui spreading out in front of the Sic â Alexandrescu Drama Theater. Turning right in
front of the memorial cross, however, you'll head into Str. Republicii, a charming car-
free promenade lined with the city's most alluring shops and cafes, and a few decent
restaurants; of particular note are the many antiques stores (the best being Rams
Antik and Antique Edy, which has two branches). Although there are a few interest-
ing diversions up the various side streets, Republicii eventually lands you back on
Pia $ a Sfatului.
For more great photographic vantages of the city, head for the Black Tower (Tur-
nul Neagru), part of the defensive walls, which once protected Brastov and which still
hold vigil over the city from the face of Warthe Hill, west of Pia $ a Sfantului (Tues-Sun