Bulevard Sibiu

Gustavo and I decide to rent a car to make the most of the area. Trains are very inefficient for partial day excursions. They do really well on big city to big city connections.<br><br>We arrive in Rasnov. We don't see any signs to the fortress then we turn around and there it is, up on the hill. The tourist agency is supposed to be open (according to the sign) but no one is there. This is another common characteristic in Romania, offices being closed when they are supposed to be open ...

Sibiu is a delightful city, small - about 250 000 people, but ready to make your staying one of the best in Romania.<br>The city, on its German name Hermannstadt, was founded in the 12 century and in 2007 was Cultural European Capital.<br>The Bruckenthal Palace in the Big Plaza, today an art museum and the Evangelic Cathedral are worth a 2-3 hour visit. <br>Also, climbing all the way up in the Council Tower , the 12 century gate of SIbiu, let us see the city from above.<br>Great place!

... in a Saxon village called Viscri, but the rainy weather put a damper on our plans to walk around the countryside, so we went to the local church and climbed the clocktower for great views of the surrounding valley. <br><br>The main story here, and in almost everywhere I've been in Romania, is mealtime. We start with a round of cheese and vegetables, right now really delicious local tomatoes. Next, we have a soup, and I ...

... at this place and had more mamaliga (which I love!) and mititi (?) which is mincemeat and grilled. Very good and so cheap. No beggar kids during this meal! <br><br>I enjoy walking the streets here as there always seems to be something around every corner. There are these neat alleyways leading to small little squares and more and more of those cool eye lid houses. If tourism really takes off here, this place wouldn't be the same as all the ...

... that have a community well and the house are made of what looks like untreated old and dry wood, the size of a shack. Most places will have haylofts in their back yard as well as a garden and lots of chickens. There are a lot of streets in town that are still dirt roads.There were horse and carts, sheep herders and a few gypsies. One thing I noticed about the few Gypsy people that I have seen here is the women dress in such bright colored ...

... view was great, Jana is working on her heights issues...the stairs were not one of her favorite activities...especially when the clock struck the hour which made a VERY loud noise! PHEW! It rained off and on most of this day. It would not rain too long, but it would come down hard when it did. We spent most of the day under the umbrella. The weather has followed us through Romania, but it has been a nice break from the HOT weather that we would have if it weren't raining.

... become europe's cultural capitol, a title ...

... in at what looked like a dry goods store of some sort. It seemed to have an old sign out front for toothpaste, or a like product. Although the sign was on the ground, propped up by the wall and quite rusty, I thought that this must be what passes for advertising in rural Romania. I pushed open the door, saw and empty room to the right. As I looked left I saw the store, and it was filled to the brim with customers. Three to be exact. Everyone looked up and stared, and no one said a ...

... scattered upon its dirt roads, and skinny children without shoes hid as the plodding foreigners approached. Yet from here, it was beautiful. I thought to myself that it was probably just as beautiful up close, for different reasons. As we entered the forest, the route became even more pronounced and 20 minutes later we emerged looking down upon a sprawling valley. Below I saw a few homes that were the entrance to the village of Atel. We had made it. The first step had been taken. Continued in Part II...

... through the remaining unseen aspects of Sibiu before heading home on an early afternoon train. Ultimately, I think that Sibiu is my favourite Romanian town thus far which I would readily revisit if I had the time. Unfortunately there are still a number of places on my "to do" list before I leave so one visit may have to suffice. (And quite frankly-I think I could do without another ordeal on a bloody park bench!!) Love to you all, Pa Pa xoxox