A day of heat in Sibiu

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Yesterday the heat of the day lasted well into the night and we woke this morning to the temperature already in the high twenties with the prospect under the clear,sunny skies for the temperature to top 35C.With that in mind we decided on an early walk around the old town area of Sibiu and be home before the heat overcomes us.

The big kitchen that we have all to ourselves is very well equipped and we were able to go the whole hog with breakfast with just the bacon missing.

The old city is about 3km away and we would normally walk that distance if there was no bus.There is a bus available but the owner of the pension doesn't speak any English and getting the information on bus number,how to buy tickets etc might just prove to be more than hand signals will allow.Mind you she has been very good up until now for us and everything we have needed she has provided.Perhaps she does understand English but just can't speak it.!

Anyway we thought we would wing it and take the car and find a park hopefully close to the downtown attractions.Getting to the old town area was easy enough but finding a car park wasn't and it seemed like the locals who lived downtown had exemptions to park and visitors got the rest.

We ended up about 400 metres away from the town square next to the local fruit and vege market which was going strong and after a quick walk around resolved to call back in when we had finished our morning walk.

The city has a strong German connection from when it was settled in 1191 and still retains the look of a German town especially in and around the large central square.In fact it was known as Hermannstadt for many years and was incorporated into Romania in 1918 when Transylvania became part of the new country.

The tourist office had a very detailed map of the old town an cd we set off to do as many of the sights as we could before the day became too hot.Luckily there was shade as we walked around or we might not have got as far as we did.

The tower in the Town Hall gave good views of the city although Gretchen decided the winding stairs weren't for her and I tackled them on my own.The tower,about three quarters of the way up contained the working parts of the clock and it was interesting to watch the cogs whirr around making clunking noises as the minutes ticked over.The views were certainly worthwhile and it was easy to get a good impression of how the old city walls guarded the town.

The cathedral was a grand looking building but was undergoing renovation with new tiles being laid on the spires and all we could do was admire it from several angles as we continued on our walk.

The Evangelic church from the 14th century was also an impressive building although not as ornate inside as others we have seen.

We walked clockwise around the old town sometimes inside and sometimes outside the fortified walls and at the half way point of our walk we passed back through the main square and into what is now the main shopping precinct and onto a tree filled park where the locals were sitting in the shade from the near midday sun.We thought we would not be too far away before we needed to get out of the sun too as it had to be over 35C making one feel rather sticky.

The last building we visited was the Orthodox church which was also rather grand in appearance but less impressive inside again as others we have visited.

We made our way back to the fruit and vege market buying up strawberries and cherries at ridiculously cheap prices.The car had been sitting in the sun and it took a couple of minutes to let the built up heat out so we could comfortably get in and head home with the a/c going full blast!

We had a restful afternoon and although it would have been nice to venture out to the shade house in the garden of the pension it was just too hot with little or no breeze to offer some respite if you were outside.We waited until nearly 7pm before venturing outside again for a short walk before dinner which tonight was steak!

All in all a quiet day for the BBA V2 but it was good to ease the foot off the pedal and take things easy and anyway in the heat it would have been foolhardy to try and do too much.

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