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Published: November 22nd 2010
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It was SO cold in Sibiu! Sighisoara is a town lost in time. We spent most of our time inside the fortified citadel, where the winding cobblestone streets and old buildings give the impression that nothing has changed in the past 500 years. "Central Sighişoara has preserved in an exemplary way the features of a small medieval fortified city, it has been listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site." Stopping in Sighisoara was something we decided half-way through our trip, after hearing about it from a fellow traveler we met in Brasov. It turned out to be my favorite place along our trip and I cannot image our journey as being complete without it!
The streets are lined with colorful "Pensiunes" (guesthouses and hotels), restaurants, and souvenir shops. We arrived somewhat late in the day, so after finding a cozy guest house to call home for the next two nights, we went about exploring the city's center with the little daylight we had left. As if some mystical force was calling to us, we found the local wine and brandy maker right away! Although it seemed well after visiting hours, he led us into his cellar where you could actually smell and hear
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We ordered this amazing "Gyro" type pita with meat and every topping under the sun...the old man drinking beer nearby laughed at how fast we ate it. the wine fermenting. (http://delateo.ro/) After some free samples of brandy made from apple, pear, and organic berries, we left with our very own bottle of pear brandy and a pair of ceramic "pipes" that are used to sip the brandy.
Perhaps it's most well-known "claim to fame" according to guide books is being the place Count Vlad Dracula spent part of his childhood. His house has even been converted into a sort of restaurant/museum, where, of course, we couldn't resist having dinner one night! And, as I hoped, they had things on the menu with names such as "Blood Cocktail" and "Dracula's Steak". The food was actually quite good! After dinner, we found an pizza place, "La Perla", that seemed like a good spot for a night cap. As it turned out, they served us a liter pitcher of delicious sweet sangria with fresh oranges for roughly $3! After sangria, we strolled the city and did some night photography. The city is well lit and just as beautiful at night as during the day.
We started our second day in Sighisoara with a tour of the old Clock Tower in the center of the citadel. The clock tower
is very unique, with rainbow colored shingles covering the peak and ornate statues that rotate and peak out of a window according to the month and day of the week. We climbed to the top, where we had a beautiful view of the city and surrounding countryside.
The day was bright and sunny, and we heard about some nearby hiking from two Australian girls who were also traveling around Transylvania. After changing into our hiking shoes, and a hearty lunch of fresh bread, cheese, and salami, we set out to find the "Breite Reserve". This is an ancient oak forest, the oldest trees dating 500 years old, that we heard was turned into a reserve after being saved from becoming a Dracula theme park... We were unable to verify if this is true, but I'm glad it was saved nonetheless. We were warned that the signs marking the hiking trail were small and hard to spot, so we kept a keen eye out. Sure enough, about a km outside of town, we saw the first sign, a small wooden marker which appeared to have been written on with a Sharpie. It pointed through some villager's backyard and straight up
a steep hill. We could see the forest at the top of the hill, so we started scrambling up. There was really no trail to speak of, but once we got to the top of the ridge, the land flattened out and we found ourselves in a silent golden forest. The topical geography somehow blocked all the noise from the city and when we stood still, we could hear the leaves falling in the forest.
It was hard to leave the ancient forest, but we knew we would be losing day light soon, so we headed down. I'm quite sure we did not take the same way down, as we did coming up the hill. We ended up popping out in someone's backyard, and had to walk through their garden to find the road again (good thing people are so friendly here). We spent our last evening in Sighisoara sipping cappaccino on an outdoor terrace and feasting on one of the best meals we had on our whole trip...stuffed cabbage rolls, Transylvanian goulash with cabbage, stewed meats, sausages, and some delicious local red wine (I think the bottle set us back about $6). After dinner, while sitting and enjoying
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The prettiest mud-scraper I have ever seen. our wine, we had a "small world" experience. I was looking out the window and I saw the guy from South Korea we had met and hiked with in Brasov, several days earlier. Nick ran out of the restaurant and invited him to join us. The funniest part was, he swore that he saw us and talked with us in another city just the day before. We figured out that it must have been another American couple. You know us Americans all look the same to them! 😊 We ended our evening back at La Perla for one last pitcher of that delicious sangria.
Although Transylvania was never a place I dreamed about one day visiting, I am so glad we got this opportunity. It has been one of the most amazing trips we have ever taken. If you are ever lucky enough to visit this part of the world, put "The Big Three" of Transylvania at the top of your list: Brasov, Sibiu, and Sighisoara. It is a place of quaint mountain villages, delicious rustic food, friendly people and rich history.
I must end with this favorite memory...
On the drive home to Chisinau, we stopped in
a little Hungarian "ski-resort" village. The people who live there set up stands along the road, selling coffee and a delicious treat called Kurtos Kalacs. It is thin dough wrapped around a wooden dowel (like a rolling pin), then toasted over a fire, and sprinkled with a honey,nut, sugar, cinnamon mixture. You unwrap small pieces of it and it is best when eaten hot. Our baseball bat-sized treat did not have time to cool of course. We ate it, steaming hot, while driving through a narrow mountain pass with snow all around us.
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Gary Wood
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The Count
One, two, three, four glasses of wine!