The houses in Romania seem to vary in size, colour, style and material. On our drive to Sighisoara we saw numerous buildings ranging from very grand in the larger towns/villages to small almost 'shacks' as we neared the mountain area.
We are now staying in Sighisoara, which is the birthplace of Vladimir Tepes "the impaler", who is more commonly known as Dracula
. Staying in the town square within the citadel is the perfect introduction to Transylvania.
In order to get the lowdown on the town, I can highly recommend a tour by one of the volunteers from the International Cafe, as all the money goes to the charity and the students are extremely informative about Romania and Sighisoara.
The key landmark is the clock tower which you can climb throughout the day, for a small fee, and it's well worth seeing the wooden figures up close, which emerge from the clocks on either side. There are seven on one side which rotate at midnight and two on the other representing day and night.
Things not to miss:
- Scolars stairs - a covered wooden staircase consisting of 175 steps and 29 landings, this used to extend further into the square (before it was partly destroyed), to the school on the hill.
- Towers of the guilds - only 9 of the original 14 towers remain around town, each named after a different guild who was responsible for maintaining it. My favourite, the hexagonal shoemakers tower which is not open to the public but can be viewed from the gated entrance.
- Vlad's birthplace - now a restaurant located on the site of where he was born, but not the original building. Drinking wine here kept us merry!
- Teo's - fruits if the forest liqueur (palinka), and also apple, pear and plum ones. All of which I can highly recommend, although perhaps limit yourself to just a few shots :).
Transylvania ...
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Sighisoara, Transylvania, Romania
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