The Great Balkans Road Trip: Braşov (Day 11)

Welcome to Day 11 of 13 of my tour of the Balkans with Just You. So far, we’ve travelled from Romania through Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia. We’re now back in Romania and spending today in Braşov. You can find the whole series at the link below. This blog contains affiliate links to support my writing.

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Breakfast at Hotel Aro Palace

This was my favourite hotel of the trip so far – and incredibly comfortable to spend time in, with spacious rooms. This was pleasing, as I intended to grab some me time today in my room. Meanwhile lets head down to breakfast with the gang.

Breakfast was always good for collecting news from my fellow travellers. This morning I learned that the hotel rooms here had a balcony, described by one man as a ‘glorified flower box’. I hadn’t noticed a balcony but, upon returning to my room, immediately headed to the window to check. Dear reader, there was barely enough room to stand out there. The view, however, was wonderful.

Meanwhile back inside the hotel…

I wonder how much use this shoeshine machine gets. Have you ever used one of these? Wouldn’t be much use for my Skechers.

The hotel foyer was huge, with artwork displayed throughout.

The group gathered together in the foyer – in good time as always – ready for our latest day out.

Today we were heading out in two minibuses, with our driver needing to take a sufficient break. Our destination was a bear sanctuary 45 minutes south west of Braşov. It was a scorchio day today and the minibus was boiling hot. I had decided in my wisdom to travel light today and realised too late that (a) I had forgotten my fan, (b) my umbrella would have made a great parasol and (c) one bottle of water would probably not be enough.

What is Libearty Bear Sanctuary like?

There were some toilets by the entrance and we were encouraged to use them by our guide, who confirmed that he could not let us go in the bushes once we were on the tour of the sanctuary.

The tour began with a video, explaining the history of the sanctuary and showing footage of the bears before they were rescued. Prior to 2007, some bears were privately owned and kept in cages outside of restaurants and tourist sites as an attraction to draw in visitors. The footage of the ill treatment of the bears was a harrowing watch that made me cry but what they are doing here to help the bears is a beautiful thing.

Some facts about Libearty Bear Sanctuary

• There are 128 bears at the sanctuary.
• The males are all castrated.
• Famous visitors include Peter Egan of Ever Decreasing Circles fame.
• The lifespan of bears is 25 in the wild, but they can reach 40+ here.
• Many bears have stopped circling since being rehomed here.
• One bear only circles when visitors are here, so visiting is restricted to morning only.
• One bear lived in a tree for two years but is now a playful lover boy.
• A mama bear with two cubs was scavenging by hotels and was moved here.
• One bear is blind and deaf but has a companion.
• The bears eat expiring food from local supermarkets.
• The bears eat two tons of food a day.
• 200 bears a year, who come out of the forest, are shot.
• The sanctuary also rescues other animals who live on the farm at the sanctuary.

If you would like to help the bears, details of the adoption programme can be found here.

Here are my photos from the tour.

On our way around, I felt at peace and much happier in the company of animals than in churches, castles and fortresses. As we were approaching the end of this holiday, my thoughts were already turning to my next holiday. Perhaps I could look into a nature holiday? I decided to tap into the collective knowledge and experience of my fellow travellers. Galapagos and Borneo were recommended.

At the end of the tour we visited the gift shop and toilets. The bus was boiling and I built up quite a thirst on the journey back to Braşov – which can only mean one thing, right?

Walking tour of Braşov with the group? Nope. But if you’re interested you can see more of Braşov here. It’s a great video and a much better way to experience hiking up a mountain than actually doing it. It also features one of the pubs I’ll be visiting later.

Side quest to the pub? Oh yes.

What are the pubs like in Braşov?

What is Berǎria Mustațǎ like?

This pub wasn’t on my radar but it was the first pub we came to after making our excuses to our guide – and it looked incredibly alluring. Alas we arrived a few minutes before opening, as a man was undertaking his pre-opening jobs.

‘Are you open?’ we enquired, with a strong air of desperation.

The bartender shrugged ‘yeah’ and ushered us in. Result!

Over a decent beer – which had been hard to come by in previous countries – I enthused about being back in Romania, where I felt quite at home amongst friendly people. When discussing whether Serbia had any redeeming features, someone piped up:

‘That raspberry beer was nice.’

This was a belting pub with photos of the brewery’s beer on tour all over the world.

As it was lunchtime, sweet potato fries were ordered to soak up the beer. As I was on the AF, I didn’t order any food but of course I helped the others polish off theirs.

To complete my review – and ahead of the stroll back to the hotel – I conducted a #LooReview, where I found some great toilet art.

Back at the hotel, I took advantage of alone time in my room. I failed miserably in my attempt to make a coffee with one of those pod machines, dining on chocolate-coated mangoes, chilli Pringles and water. I spent the afternoon working through the latest exercises from The Artists Way workbook (which you have to thank for this blog).

This week’s work involved a reading ban, suggesting that time that I would have spent reading might now be used to inspire creative projects. I was not at all happy about this – I still had all those books to read and was well into my Star Trek series – but I stuck to the ban nonetheless. I had been spending a lot of time reading – completing 100 books a year – so I suppose it made sense to make more productive use of that time. Hmph.

With no reading allowed, I decided to head back out. To the pub, obvs.

What is Aftǎr Stube like?

This place was exactly my kind of pub – a bit quirky, quite small and quiet (it was 6pm), with multiple rooms – and a good beer fridge. There’s also a beer garden, which passed me by, but is featured in the video above.

My ‘new normal’ is having to enquire of the barkeep what the AF beer options are, which I duly did. I was especially excited to find one from my favourite Romanian brewery so of course I was all over that one, despite it being an IPA (a style I do not like). I’m finding I’m having to be more inclusive in my beer styles these days – otherwise I’d just end up drinking Guinness Zero pretty much all the time and, nice though it is, I do like variety in what I drink.

I took a seat with my back to the wall and facing the door I had entered through. There was also a window to my left. This was a prime people-watching spot from a position of safety. I was in my happy place. So much so that I stayed for another beer.

As I was in a pub on my own for the first time on this holiday, I remembered what I normally do in pubs – specifically checking my beers in on Untappd. I hadn’t partaken of this exercise since switching to AF beer – indeed I had even deleted the Untappd app from my phone – so there was some admin to be done here. Happily, I photograph all of my new beers so I was able to backfill the beers I’d already enjoyed on this holiday. If you’re interested in seeing the variety that I’m finding on my AF beer journey, you can find me on Untappd as Blackpooljane.

I hadn’t had a meal since breakfast but I had been snacking this afternoon, so I wasn’t particularly up for bothering with a meal in a restaurant – although Copilot had come up with a belter in Sergiana Mureşenilor, which was practically next door to our hotel). I opted for something snack-sized here to tide me over for the evening.

This was the sort of place that demanded a #LooReview (plus I’d had two beers by this point). I just knew I’d find quirkiness in there – and I wasn’t disappointed.

Now onto the next and final pub of the day.

What is Brauhaus Czell like?

I was delighted to find an outdoor seating area in the square outside this pub. That will do nicely on a lovely evening like this!

On sitting at the table, I noticed a sign indicating I couldn’t sit at the table and order and had to go inside to be greeted and seated or something along those lined. Grr. However this did give me an opportunity to take a look inside the spacious home of a brewery that has a history dating back to the 19th century. This venue, however, only opened in January 2026 – and incorporates a beer museum and nano brewery.

Inside, I was greeted and seated at the bar. That was a bit of a nuisance, as I prefer to sit with my back to the wall where I can people watch – but hey ho. At least they had AF beer.

I did feel a bit self-conscious sitting at the bar on my own (especially with no barkeep to talk to, as there was nobody else visible). I picked up a nearby magazine, lured in by Grogu. This movie had come out while I was away and I was very much looking forward to seeing it on my return. This magazine was entirely in Romanian but (that being a Latin language) I was able to get the gist of many of the articles (pictures helped).

I only stayed for the one here (with no new AF beers to be had) before taking in some of the museum pieces on the way out.

On my walk back to my hotel, I was surprised by something appearing over my head. What was that? Then a couple appeared in front of me, holding hands. They had kept their hands clasped together as they had walked either side of me, raising their hands over my head. How cute and quirky this place is!

What is Bran Castle like?

While I had carved out this extra time for myself this evening, the others had been on a visit to Bran Castle – including dinner in the castle gardens. They enjoyed themselves by all accounts but (a) I had been before and (b) I was all peopled out (it turns out I am autistic, after all, and my social battery is quickly exhausted).

What did I learn today?

• Salmon fillet is very nice for breakfast.
• Hotel Aro Palace is a great place to stay with secret balconies.
• I cannot use coffee pod machines.
• Libearty Bear Sanctuary does an amazing job and is well worth a visit.
• Umbrellas are worth carrying to escape the sun.
• Romania is great for beer (including AF) and pub toilets.
• Braşov is my kind of quirky.

Is this part of a wider Balkans travel series?

Yes! If you want to start at the beginning you can find Day 1 here or navigate below or via the European Travel Diaries menu. The journey takes me from Romania, through Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia, before heading back into Romania.

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