A princess in the crown city

Here's the second blog post from our Sleeping Beauty doll who is currently travelling around Europe. If you'd like to receive the doll, just drop us an email on ehogan@staffordbc.gov.uk. Don't forget to book your tickets for our Sleeping Beauty rock 'n' roll panto by calling  01785 254653 or online here.

Dear friends,

Susie here. In my last post I told you all about Dracula's castle. Since then, I've been exploring a lovely town called Brasov, located in the heart of Romania. Its old German name is Kronstadt, which means crown city, a name reflected in the city's coat of arms.

The historic centre is surrounded by medieval fortifications to this day. There are some wonderful promenade areas, especially around the former city council building, which is currently the local history museum. Here's a picture of me and my friend  in right in front of it.

You can just about see me in this picture

Closeby you can see the Black Church, which some claim is the largest Gothic style church in Southeastern Europe. Guess how old it is.

You'll need a magnifying glass to see me in this one

The building dates from 1477 and acquired its current name after being blackened by smoke from the 1689 great fire. I even went inside and sneaked a peek at the impressive 4,000 pipe organ, which is played at weekly and Christmas concerts.

 

Finally, a close up!

As impressive as the Black church is, my favourite place in Brasov was the local theatre. It reminds me a little of home. 

The lovely local theatre in Brasov

They have lots of plays on, even some Christmas ones, but guess what? They don't have a Christmas panto tradition here, instead people usually go to Christmas carol concerts during the winter holidays.

Stealing the spotlight

The weather was rather chilly, and just as I was leaving Brasov, it started snowing. That made me feel very Christmasy indeed.

So here I am, on my way to Bucharest, Romania's capital city. I'll be sure to send you some pictures when I get there. In the meantime, treat yourself to a mince pie, I know I sure miss them.

Your friend,

Susie