Across country to Sibiu

I go for a quick walk down to the river still swollen. And through the village. The lilacs are in bloom. It is so rural!!! Horse and cart. Haystacks. Vegie gardens. Cattle.

Breakfast is very traditional: cheese, capsicum, cucumber, toast, jam plus we had an omelette.

We say goodbye to Maria who has been so sweet.

We retrace our steps back past Ocna Șugatag. The dog sleeping on the road is in the same spot as yesterday. It must be a warm spot! There are plenty of dogs in this region and they are generally pretty large with shaggy big coats of hair.

These little quiet roads ‘off-piste’ are lovely. They have some hills though! It would be good exercise riding and walking around here!

Shortly after, we divert into Budești - the CORRECT one this time (after yesterday’s mis-navigation). We had a lovely wander around just before the rain hit.

The Saint Nicholas wooden church of Budești-Josani is a good example of a traditional Maramures church because it still retains its original shape. Built from oak in 1643, it displays impressive paintings done around 1760.

However, it’s not open; we can see through the windows and, whilst lovely, it is nothing on the one we saw yesterday evening at Desesti.

From here the road starts climbing to Cavnic (1050 m) and we pass through a ski resort; then descend through fog and beautiful forest.

Another valley, another mountain climb - very attractive views. It’s almost summer, and yet the chimneys are smoking in the villages. It is 9 deg C here.

On through to Dej. In one village I notice that every house has a well and I see one woman winding up the bucket. Terrible traffic here.


On to Gherla where we planned to stop. Very interesting town. It was first laid out in the 18th century by a community of Armenians who settled here in Transylvania after fleeing invading Tatars. We buy some yummy pastries and coffees and enjoy these in the Piata Libertatii, a pretty square filled with grass and trees. Here also is the Catholic church of the Holy Trinity, built by the Armenians in 1748-98. It is closed so we peer in through the glass doors. Nearby is the Salamon church, the first one erected by the Amenians in the 1720s. Closed also.

It has warmed up now that we are out of the mountains and is now 19 deg C!!!

The roads are better too and we start getting some fast expressways. Fortunately we bypass the very big town of Cluj-Napolca (pop. 326,000) in the centre of Transylvania. It is a very old medieval city but quite Western and we don’t have the time to stop here.

Then at Ocna Mureş, the speed becomes 130 km/hr!!! What!!! The big freeway to București is not complete but wow! Huge viaducts. A Maserati flies past.

Lots of flocks of sheep today - grazing on the very green fields, all with shepherds and their dogs. We stop at the old fortress town of Aiud for a break. It looks fascinating. Dates back to 1622. Big Orthodox cathedral here.

As we approach Sibiu, we can see the massive West Carpathian mountains in the distance still covered with snow. They make a wonderful backdrop to the town.

This is our very cute B&B apartment right in the medieval centre.


We quickly set off on foot into the main square as by now it is 6 p.m. The weather has been threatening all afternoon, but we escape with a brief shower as we walk along the old city walls and past old fortifications.

Eventually we arrive at the main drag, Strada Nicolae Balcescu, which is full of people. It is a lovely evening and lots of people are eating icecreams or sitting at the many outdoor cafes with a beer, or just shopping. The shops are still open and quite a few are high-end. This is Zara, Romanian-style!!

This street leads to the Piata Mare (a.k.a. Big Square). But we leave this until after dinner. The restaurant our host Julian recommends is also in my notes and we head there (Crama Sibiul Vechi). It is down below street level: quite cavernous. This turns out to be a real treat: local food and wine (MF has the beer, Ursus). A couple of local musicians in traditional dress entertain and the place fills up very quickly. We try a tall glass of lemon drink which comes with sachets of honey which seems pretty popular, and at the end, a schnapps. Yummy gomboti (traditional dessert: Transylvanian cinnamon plum dumplings).

We are very surprised to see how light it is when we emerge at 9 p.m. and walk down to the Piata Mare. The square is immense and has been Sibiu’s centre since the 15th century.

From here, we wander into the Piata Mica (a.k.a. Small Square) and walk under the Bridge of Lies into the Lower Town and through interesting old neighbourhoods back to our B&B.