Our explorations of Timisoara this weekend took us down to the Bega River and south of the city to wander around the Fabric District. The Bega River that flows through the city is actually a man-made canal which diverted flood water from the Bega River back in the day. It is a great place for a stroll as there are walking paths along both sides and parks and gardens line most of the route. We haven’t found out how far you can venture in either direction but we will one day. There are even river boats you can hop on to cruise down the river. However, this time we headed south of the river into the Fabric District.
The Fabric district is a fantastic old region of Timisoara with lots of crumbling buildings and like everywhere else many churches, but it also boasts a synagogue. We particularly liked the area surrounding Piata Traian. This part of town is also home to the university so there are plenty of cafes, bars and restaurants to investigate. However, our destination was the Timisoreana Brewery. The plan was to attempt something that the Tory government could not currently do in the UK and organise a piss up in a brewery. We located the brewery which was not too hard to spot due to the gigantic beer tankard looming over the building. It was quite a lot harder to find the entrance but we persevered and soon found our way into the beer garden. You can’t actually go into the brewery but the beer garden over looks it and you can have a peek in. The brewery was founded in 1718 by the military to quench the thirst of the soldiers and is the oldest in Romania. Lots of soldiers in today as the place was very busy and we almost achieved a Boris moment as there was no available tables, but we were not going to be defeated in achieving the proverbial and we finally got seated and ordered a mug of the local brew. We enjoyed the beers and we had a pleasant afternoon soaking in the sun. However, we decided to move on for food as they looked a bit too busy and we were getting hungry. We headed back to the river and one of our favourite spots. Riviere , right on the banks of the river. Our bruschetta starter was fantastic but the pulled pork burger was too salty for our tastes. Never mind, we had had another lovely day exploring Timisoara.
