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| Rupea Citadel on its hill. |
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| Storks in their nests. |
With only 5 and a half weeks in Romania, just over 4 of those taken up with work at the camp, it wasn't always easy trying to get away and see some of the country. Working at the camp was going along just fine - as always, the kids were great, surprising me with how well they use English and actually enjoy it at the same time. The boss of the hotel, Rasvan, is a lovely guy who always tries to make us happy and comfortable. Whether it's wine in his private cellar or barbecued meat with all the trimmings, he will do anything to keep us happy and smiling - but this time he'd outdone himself. I was greeted over breakfast with his usual grin and warm "hello my friend!" and a good handshake, but right after this he offered his car for the day. I was taken aback at this, asked him to make sure this is what he meant (as his English is a little lacking in vocabulary, but not enthusiasm), and so there it was - I had a car for the day! Plans were made quickly, a sandwhich packed and the keys collected. His car was an older model 4x4, not out of place in the mountains around here, but the strange thing was that it was a right hand drive, imported from the UK. This wouldn't be a problem, just a little strange at first. I'm from Australia, so the wheel was on the correct side for me, and I'd owned a van in Spain and driven it all the way to England, so I'd done this before... just have to remember to stay on the right (and correct) side of the road! So, where was I going? A few places came to mind, although with only a day to drive, there weren't a lot of choices... but my work colleague who was joining me (and acting as navigator as it was my first time driving in this country), had never been to Sighișoara. The choice was easy then - a 2 hour drive and we'd be in one of the most beautiful and well-preserved citadel towns in Europe.
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| A family of storks in their nest, which I think is built to help them nest and breed. |
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| The big citadel on the hill. |
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| Market day in the village. |
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| Cetatea Rupea. |
I had my co-pilot and friend Glenn in the car with me, and while I worked my way alone the small national roads of Romania, he guided me with the GPS. We made a few wrong turns along the way, due to phone reception and also not looking at the phone as the countryside was just so damn beautiful. These little deviations, however, weren't a hassle - we saw some very interesting things along that way that weren't part of the plan. In Romania in Summer, you will see many power lines with bird's nests on them, large constructions with storks sitting in them. I'd never seen these birds before, only their nests on chimneys and poles, so this was a treat. They are very large birds, famed for delivering babies in Romania and many other countries - something I could believe logistically as they looked big enough for the job! One village we drove through even had some sort of festival or market running and there were big crowds of people buying and selling everything from fruit and veg to chairs and plastic toys. This in itself was nice to see, real countryside life, but the thing that amazed me was that everyone was getting to the fair by horse and cart! The traffic was horrible and the parking lot even worse - horses don't exactly come with the latest rear vision cameras, parking sensors and they don't like walking backwards either! We carefully made our way through town, trying to avoid hitting any horses or have them hit us, and continued on our way to Sighișoara. Along the way, we decided to have a quick stop, a half way leg stretcher, in the town of Rupea to see the
Rupea Citadel (Cetatea Rupea). We parked the car near the central park to have a quick walk, and run into a Romanian wedding! Everyone one was dressed up in big puffy dresses, the guys in fancy 3-piece suits, and more photographers than any one wedding party needs. They love their weddings here I can tell you, and if we'd hung around much longer I probably would've been made an official photographer! We could see the citadel from the park too, it was that big. The castle is first mentioned in 1324 when German Saxons sought refuge from King Charles of Hungary, but the site is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Romanian, dating from the Neo and even as far back as Palaeolithic (The Old Stone Age which goes back 3 million years). The citadel was originally an ancient Dacian fortress conquered by the Romans, and by the 14th century it had become an impression defensive construction. Sitting on a 120m stone bluff, it is very impressive - it has recently been restored and more than 10,000 tourists now visit every year. Unfortunately we didn't visit, as that would've taken most of the day, but we were happy just seeing it from the distance.
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| Stunning! |
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| Walking the streets. |
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| Time for a beer! |
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| Its in the details |
We finally arrived at the beautiful city of Sighișoara. We found parking easily enough, and also with a stunning view over rooftops to the Clock Tower and the Sighișoara City Hall. Walking through the 'new' town is also interesting, as you're able to see traditional Romanian buildings, maybe 19th century and quite nice, with blocky, Communist-era buildings plopped right next door, making a real Beauty and the Beast contrast. We walked up the hill and into the old town, through the large gatehouse under the Clock Tower. Sighișoara is a popular tourist destination, like many other places here, but apart from the usual Romanian tourists, there are quite a few international ones too. The main reason people visit is for its well-preserved walled old town, which is also listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. You can freely walk around the walls, see the towers and even go in some. The streets are cobbled and the buildings are old, cute and very colourful. There are quite a few restaurants to sit and eat, as well as an abundance of cheap souvenirs stores too. A lot of people come here to see Vlad Dracula's house, father of Vlad the Impaler. The man actually did stay here between 1431 and 1435, hosted by the mayor of the city, seeking refuge during the Turkish invasion of Wallachia. Dracul was Vlad Tepes' father and ruler of the Wallachian kingdom at the time and legend has it that the little dracula was born here in this house. It is the oldest stone structure in the city and could well be the birth place of Bram Stoker's most famous character. Being what it is (or could be), the owners have no shame in proclaiming it Dracula's house and have a Dracula-themed restaurant as well as a weapon and souvenir store set up too. The restaurant didn't interest me at all, apart from the tacky theme, it was full of Americans and the prices were pricey. The shop was interesting though and there are real hand-crafted, traditional Romanian painted eggs and other cool souvenirs. By this stage, it was hot and we were a little parched, so we stopped at a pretty little restaurant along the wall for a refreshing beer.
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| The Clock Tower of Sighișoara |
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| The gorgeous old town of Sighișoara. |
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| The Bootmaker's Tower - One of 10 in the city. |
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| This city is stunning! |
The beer was just what was needed for two weary travellers. The service, however, left a little to be desired, but it's not like I'd be coming back anytime soon anyway. The Clock Tower is always in sight of wherever you walk in the city, and many people climb it (15 lei) to get a good view of the surroundings. I decided not to face the queue to get in and up, but to walk the walls and enjoy the view that way, away from the crowds. The tower is a 14th century construction, built to defend the main gate, and also served as the town hall for some time. Later, a few more storeys were added to it, with a balcony and roof. Sadly in 1676 the tower along with much of the city was burnt, but it was restored and improved, but what makes it unique are the wooden puppets next to the clock. The figures are the Peace Goddess, a little drummer, Justice and Righteousness as well as 2 angels who represent Night and Day. What you probably wouldn't notice until reading about it (the same as me) is that there are little moving figures that change every day of the week. The clock was modernised in the 60s to run on electricity, and the tower has also served as a museum since 1898. Walking the walls I bumped into a fellow Nikon shooter and we had the weirdest conversation - it started by this guy and his dad (both holding cameras) walking past us and he said 'nice camera.' I said thanks and then we got chatting. His dad had been to Romania many years ago, before the fall of Communism, and his son was taking him back to see what had changed and what hadn't. The city hadn't changed much, apart from tourists, but society was very different then. It was a nice little chat, honest, spontaneous and friendly. We said goodbye and wished each other well on our travels and photos and parted. Sometimes meeting someone for 5 minutes then never seeing them again can leave an impact on your, change your mood, restore faith in people - you don't have to be Facebook friends and Instagram followers with everyone!
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| Welcome to Sighișoara! |
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| Walking the walls. |
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| Coloured houses and cobbled streets. |
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| Don't forget to look up! |
It was a warm and pleasant day, we walked around the walls, checking out the towers, enjoying the beautiful colourful houses, cobbled stones and the feel of a medieval city. Oppsite the Clock Tower is the Tailor's Tower, one of 10 towers on the walls, and serves as the second gateway into the city. All have names, the Tin Tower, Butcher's, Furrier's, Ironsmith's, Bootmaker's, Tailor's, Tanner's, Ropemaker's and the Face Tower. I'm not sure why they are called this, maybe the tower was in the are where these tradesmen worked, or maybe during peacetime they were actually used for this purpose. Between the Town Hall and Monestary Church is a statue of Vlad Tepes (1431-1476), the famous 'Dracula.' Although not actually a vampire, he was very real and fought the Ottomans for some time, keeping Romania (or Wallachia as it was known then) free. He is famous for impaling people and his tendency for cruel punishment, most famously the two envoys sent from the Turks asking for homage that were put on stakes. I've also read that he was a great military leader, as he learnt from the Ottomans when his father gave him and his brother as a hostages to secure his loyalty to the Empire. After a good lunch we headed back to the car and made out way back home. In this part of Romania there are a lot of fortified churches, something that you don't really get anywhere else. These churches have thick, defensive walls and the church tower looks far more like a bastion in a castle. When these churches were built, it was a troubled time in the country as a mix of German, Hungarian, Romanians and Turks lived and fought together.
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| The Clock Tower. |
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| 'Dracula' was born here. |
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| The fortified church in Criț. |
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| The local pub at Criț... plenty of parking out front. |
We saw the town of Cața from the highway on the way up and only stopped for a photo, so we decided to stop at Criț, which was right on the road home. I went to the church for a look, amazed at it's thick gate and walls, and when I entered I saw a cute little courtyard with small buildings built into the walls, clearly places for tradesman to work, or even to store weapons and house soldiers in war time. There was some traditional Romanian clothes in the church, and although the church was quite standard, it was cool to go in when nobody else was there and wander around. I didn't go right up to the bell tower, even though it was open, as the stairs got very creaky! The fact that they were moving a lot wasn't a great sign that they could hold my weight and judging by the thick layer of dust, nobody else had risked it lately either. We enjoyed the setting sun with a beer (zero alcohol for me) at the
Casa Kraus, a 3 star hotel and restaurant which also owns the church. We asked and it is run by Germans and hosts many Germans there for hotel and restaurant booking, which I found weird as we were in rural Romania. The drive out was interesting too, a stark contrast to where we'd just had a beer. The town had one road, from the road to the church, like most Romanian towns, but it was completely unpaved, so we drove slowly to avoid rocks kicking up on the car, which allowed us to see (and take photos as we drove) a very traditional Romanian village. There were kids playing in the street (without phones), people sitting at the bar having a drink (which had a horse and cart parked up out the front), and even old ladies in head scarfs carrying metal pails of milk. Like time had stopped. We jumped back onto the main road and headed home and to the last week of camp. The hard work had been done and I'd also had a good time getting away and seeing more of the country.
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| Cața and its fortified church - one of many in Romania. |
Remember to also follow me on Instagram at:
MyUncleTravellingMatt. July 2019.
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