The Last Cable Car Ride Was Worth Catching

It’s late Saturday afternoon on a beautiful October day in the stunning Transylvanian city of Brasov. The unusually high temperatures for this time of the year, of more than 20 degreesCelsius, are a blessing for us as they allow us to spend an exciting weekend outdoors exploring some of the wonders of Brasov and its surrounding areas.

Among these wonders, a highly visible one is represented by the Tampa Mountain which watches over the city from a height of approximately 960 meters. The white letters which from the Brasovword placed right on top of the mountain form an irresistible invitation for us to reach that point and admire Brasov from a different perspective, and in order to get there we have two options: the first one is the easier one, a cable car ride which takes less than three minutes to reach the top, while the second one, a one-hour long hike across the winding path through the forest and up to the top, may be harder, but it’s certainly fascinating for nature lovers.

Since the evening is getting closer and we want to get back fast downtown we choose the easy options, but once we reach the base of the mountain we have a less pleasant surprise: there is an impressive number of people waiting in line to buy those precious tickets that will allow them to embark on the cable car before 4:30, when the last ride of the day is scheduled. We are a little doubtful as we fear that we might stand in a queue, but we decide to take our chance and arm ourselves with patience.

Fortunately, our wait is not in vain, and after a considerable amount of time, of almost an hour, we get the tickets and we step in the cable car for the last ride of the day. Once we’re on top of the mountain it takes another five minutes to reach the platform built right next to the Brasov sign, from which we can admire some truly scenic views of the wonderful Transylvanian city and especially of its more attractive parts, the old city center with its red-roofed houses, the citadels on the hills and the majestic Black Church in the background.

We can only afford to spend a few minutes admiring these breathtaking views, but it’s enough to make me feel that waiting in a queue is not such a big effort when you are rewarded with such extraordinary sights and once again that there are great places in your country that you can explore again and again without getting bored.

Unfortunately, time flies very fast when you spend such enjoyable moments, and since we had several targets to reach on this weekend trip we couldn’t afford the luxury of spending more time on top of the mountain and exploring it, so it was soon time to get back to the cable car station for the short ride downhill.

Overall, I have to say that waiting in a line for quite a while is truly worth the effort when you are rewarded with some outstanding experiences, such as my short trip to the Tampa mountain, that will live forever in your heart!

The photos are mine.