Today was our last day in Brasov, and indeed our last full day in Romania, so we set about sweeping up all the sights we hadn't yet touched in the old town. The weather was cold and frankly a bit grim in the morning and I'm glad that after forgetting the umbrella I popped back to grab it as it kept the snow off somewhat. We first headed to the train station to get our tickets for the next day and obviously had some translation issues. Confusingly we thought we were being told  that it was not possible to book seats on the trains, otherwise we would have to change but when we got our slips of paper it clearly stated a reservation. Odd, but at least the job was done and we caught a taxis to the center to have breakfast at a German bakery, having given up on the average and over priced breakfast at the hotel.

After breakfast we walked across the square and into the black church that we had walked around previously. Now able to get inside we were able to appreciate the size a little better. The cavernous space contained a huge organ made up of many thousands of pipes and if magical orangutans ever need somewhere  to practise this would be a suitable organ and setting. Walking round we got our first hints to the strength of the merchants guilds in times gone past, with some having their own designated seating. The main alter was roped off in a very nice light and airy enclosure. From here we walked to the area outside the old city walls where traditionally the local Romanians were forced to live. The guide book promised many small side streets which were worth strolling around but given the biting wind we restricted our self to the main square and the church alongside. The square would have benefited greatly from some sunshine and it was easy to imagine around the war monument in the middle it being a thriving area in the summer. We turned off to the church and were dithering outside the door trying to work out from the noticeboard whether there was a service on at that moment when someone else walked right past and in so we figured it was ok. In fact there was a choir practice going on but as important also some heating to take the chill off. Inside it was a very different affair to the black church, much smaller in size but it had a much more used and maintained feel to it. The ceiling was nicely painted and there were a couple of golden altars along the sides. The choir were out of sight on a balcony behind us as we walked in and they provided an atmospheric back drop to our curious wanderings.

All too soon it was time to wrap up and head outside for the walk back to the main square and to the historic museum. This was actually in the clock tower in the center of the main square and occupied several levels. At all times round the museum there was someone in attendance to wave us to the next room, presumably to make sure we didn't interrupt the flow of the exhibits but I couldn't see that it was so carefully constructed. At it's peak Brasov was clearly a very important trading post and the different guild had huge influence on the town. In fact Brasov used to be the largest settlement in Romania but now Bucharest dwarfs it. It wasn't clear why there was an onset of decline in it's history, or maybe Bucharest just had a meteoric rise instead. Perhaps it's location lent itself to being easily defended in the mountains but in more modern times the lack of accessibility has stunted it's growth somewhat. Other exhibits included a torture room with some gruesome looking accessories but little information who was being interrogated or why. Upstairs we found a displaying a lot of photos from Mexico, but without any English notes struggled to see the connection to Romania.

After lunch we walked up to two towers which were outside the city walls but used in the defence of the city. These are named the black and white tower despite both being white. The first was a simple square tower from which we had a nice view across the town. It was closed so we didn't get the chance to look inside but after contouring around to the second tower we found this to be open. It had  been recently renovated, by which I think they mean made structurally sound, and it's footprint was the shape of a D, the straight section looking over the town. There were some sparse exhibits inside so we just wondered to the top level to admire the view. Luckily from this angle the backdrop to the old town was the hillside opposite rather than the modern tower blocks to the left.

With all the tourist sites ticked and much of the network walked the sun finally came out and the temperature started to rise. I left Eleanor to look around some shops and hunt out cheesecake while I walked to the top of the hill alongside town where we had been via the cable car a couple of days earlier.  With 500m of height to climb this was a nice bit of exercise and I was rewarded with a fine and sunny view over town from the top. Having found Eleanor looking like the cat who had got the cheesecake we sat in the square soaking up the sun for a while before going onto a bar we had noticed showing football to watch a game from the English premiership. This wasn't the only export from town on offer though and I was surprised to find real ales from Oxfordshire on the menu and just couldn't resist a bottle of Oxford Gold to remind me of home, amazingly given how far it had travelled it was also cheaper than home as well. We had some time to burn before we needed to head back to the hotel and it was no hardship at all to sacrifice it in the bar before wondering back via a supermarket to pick up some supplies for the next day.