I hate allergies! Mine have been driving me crazy the last few days. Linden trees have been blooming and I think I'm allergic to them. I can deal with the runny nose but the itchy eyes have got to go! Thank goodness for DayQuil. It is getting me through. I also have Zyrtec but it always puts me to sleep. Anyway, hopefully tomorrow I'll wake up and my eyes will be better. Fingers crossed.
We were Willie Nelson today because we were on the road again like a band of gypsies :-). Actually we were heading for Sighisoara which has a large community of gypsies and tomorrow we were going to talk with one and have dinner with their family. So we were definitely Willie.
We traveled through beautiful countryside this morning. I can't believe how green everything is. The scenery is just perfect. We saw terraced hills and then large fields planted with crops. We even saw some sheep and cattle. The country has been empty until today when we saw shepards herding their sheep. They take them up in the mountains for the best grazing. I was surprised to find out that wool isn't the most important product from them. Their meat isn't either. It's sheep cheese. I would never have guessed that.
We also drove passed forests. They were home to brown bears, foxes, and deer. We saw deer crossing signs along the way but never caught a glimpse of the four-legged critter. The other surprise was that IKEA uses wood from these forests. Decades back people cut the forests down indiscriminately. They were only interested in the profit they would make from selling the timber. These days Romania has the forest police that do their best to stop the illegal cutting. The country even has an app you can use to report vehicles you see carrying lumber. You report it with the license plate number and the forest police check it out to make sure it is legitimate. These people take preserving their forests seriously. That's a good thing.
Because people were getting confused over republics in the USSR, independent communist countries, etc., Doug volunteered to talk about the Warsaw Pact. It was created by the Soviets to counteract NATO which was created because the Allies wanted to create a sphere of influence and block the spread of Communism. Bulgaria, Romania, and Yugoslavia were never a part of the Soviet Union. Ukraine, Georgia, and Belarus were. I can see how it would be confusing. The three countries we have visited were Communist countries but not Soviet countries. There is a big difference.
Today we garnered more tidbits of Romanian history as well and learned about a new group of people—the Dacians. For a while I thought Florin was talking about the Thracians (the accent threw me off) but I finally realized it was a different group of people.
Actually, I wasn't too far off as the Dacians were a branch of Thracians who lived in Dacia. Dacia was located in modern Romania, Moldova, and northern Bulgaria. They were also in the southwest part of Ukraine and east of the Danube River in Hungary. So they were all over this region. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote "The Dacians are the most law-abiding and the bravest of the Thracians. They believe they are immortal, forever living in the following sense: they think they do not die and that the one who dies joins Zalmoxis, a divine being."
The Romans eventually defeated the Dacians and took over their lands during the time of Mark Anthony fighting Octavian for control of Roman. Both courted the Dacian king. The king backed Mark Anthony who we know ultimately lost the contest. Ultimately though it was the Roman Emperor Trajan that put an end to the Dacian domination in this area. Eventually the Romans pulled out of the area and it was swarmed by the Visigoths, Huns, and Slavs. The Slavs ended up with major control for a long time until the Ottoman Empire arrived.
Things evolved over the centuries. It would take forever to tell about it all. To be honest, I don't have it all straight in my head. I know in Transylvania the Saxons came in and started colonizing the mountains and the forests. They, of course, built the seven citadels to protect themselves from the Ottomans.
This brings us to our first stop of the day at Rupea Fortress which is a medieval citadel built by the Saxons. It was first mentioned in a document that was dated back to 1324. So this fortress is old. It's situated at the top of a hill halfway between Brasov and Sighisoara. So it was a good stopping point.
The fortress made an imposing sight sitting atop the hill. The gray stone walls contrasted sharply with the bright blue of the sky. It was the perfect day to hike uphill to see another fortress. In this area there is definitely a surfeit of fortresses and fortified churches.
Rupea Fortress
The place was originally a royal camp but was returned to the community in 1420. Not only was it a fortress, it also provided refuge for people in the villages in the area when they were attacked by the Ottomans. It underwent extensive restoration between 2011-2013 and after that it was opened back to the public. It is one of the best medieval fortresses in Transylvania. It is also one of the oldest archaeological remains of Romania.
Inside Rupea Fortress
We walked through the impressive gate to the area between the two walls. It was a verdant green space. Unfortunately we didn't have time to enjoy it because we had an uphill slog on cobblestones to get to the inner fortress so we could explore the preserved towers and buildings.
Actually, out of all the citadels and fortresses we have seen, this fortress sitting on a basalt base is my favorite. You could look a t it and see its past grandeur. And the view was glorious! All around were green patchwork fields. It made the perfect postcard. Down below you could see the picturesque village of Viscri where we were heading next. The view was ever grander from the top of one of the towers. I felt as if I could see forever. It was just breathtaking. What was even cooler was seeing a herd of cattle going up one of the dirt roads off in the distance.
Back in the bus we had just a short ride to the village of Viscri. Less than 500 people currently live here full time. King Charles III actually bought one of the houses here and has a foundation called the Mihai Eminescu Trust, to help preserve the village. The village was founded by the Saxons in the 13th century. Actually the peasants built the fortified church in order to protect themselves. Very few Saxons still live in the village. Most have died or moved out.
The fortified church is a Romanesque chapel that was expanded in the 16th century. Now it is a single-nave church with a fortified storey sitting on semicircular arches and supported by huge buttresses. In the 17th century the walls were strengthened. The church itself is now a UNESCO site.
King Charles III's house in Viscri
To get through the village, we employed some fun transportation. We got to ride in horse carts! Sure it was a bit bumpy but what fun! To help us on our way, we had several dogs joining our tiny parade through the cobblestone streets. We clip clopped by Charles' house which was a pretty blue but nothing fancy. You could see the huge doors that led to courtyards at each house. It was a colorful village with a rainbow selection of house colors from blue to pink to yellow. We had been told that cars weren't allowed in the village, hence the horse carts, but we saw plenty of people driving around, even farm machinery. Maybe it was just tour buses that weren't allowed.
Horse cart ride
Before reaching the church, we made a stop at the blacksmith's shop. Ivan is a third generation blacksmith and was teaching his young son to replace him. Interestingly enough, the family were also Gypsies. He demonstrated how he made horseshoes by making a tiny one for us. His son manned the bellows to heat up the metal, then Ivan used his tools and the old anvil to shape it and turn a piece of straight metal into a miniature horseshoe. He makes all of the metal parts for the homes here such are the hinges and the locks. As a UNESCO site, they have to keep things as they were centuries passed. Ivan helps them do that. We bought a horseshoe from him to put in our curio cabinet. It was the perfect reminder of this wonderful place.
Ivan the Blacksmith
As we thanked Ivan and his son, one of our travelers purchased a pair of slippers from Ivan's wife. Then we loaded back into the carts and headed for the church. When we arrived at the complex, Florin guided us around the white plastered buildings. The church had an outer and inner wall. They could flood the area in between and create a moat when the Ottomans or the Tartars attacked.
Fortified church in Viscri
The church these days has been transformed from a Catholic Church to an Evangelical one. It's only used as a church on special occasions. Mostly it functions as a museum. The wood inside the church all dates back to the 1700s. It is all amazingly well preserved. It was decorated simply but I liked it. The woodwork was amazing as was the painting on the wood. It added a bit of pizazz. From the tower of the church, you could look down onto the cemetery below. You also got a great view of the village and the moat area in the complex. The rolling green hills with their forests added to the fairytale quality of the place.
View from church tower
By the time we finished at the fortified church, it was lunch time and we were off to enjoy lunch in the village at La Mariana which is a local gastronomic point. It was in one of the old homes and was a lovely spot. And the food was the best I've had on the trip so far. We had delicious soup as well as scrummy goulash. It was tastebud heaven. I ate more than I should of but it was just too tasty to leave a single drop behind.
After lunch we were suppose to visit a local jam maker but Florin found out that part of their roof had collapsed because of all the rain they've been getting. Her husband was making repairs but they were in no shape to have a group of people in their house. It was disappointing but we all completely understood.
So instead of visiting Gherda Gherghiceanu, we walked (our horse carts had left us) back to the bus and continued on our way to Sighisoara whose medieval city is a UNSESCO World Heritage Site. We arrived at the hotel—the Mercure—where we got an unpleasant surprise. The A/C wasn't working in our room. And it was hot in there. Oh, the room itself was great. It was actually a suite with a sitting area and bedroom in two separate rooms. Each had their own air but the one in the bedroom just blew warm air. The one in the sitting room was a bit better. The day manager came up and disagreed that there was a problem. She cranked down the thermostat and said cool air was now coming out. Doug disagreed. Finally she said she would have somebody look at it. Meantime, she had a fan sent up. That at least helped stir the air around and made it tolerable. This is the second room in a row with A/C issues. Oy!
After we got settled, we met Florin for our orientation walk through the medieval portion of Sighisoara. It was just down the street from our hotel which was great. Florin pointed out places of interest as well as restaurants, ATMs, and all of the necessities, then we went with him to Gasthaus Altepost for dinner. We sat down in the basement which was beautifully done. I love the brick arches in the ceiling. The food was good as was the company. The chicken salad I got was huge and came with delicious focaccia bread. It more than filled me up. And, of course, Doug and I enjoyed a Romanian brew.
After dinner we headed back to our hot room and prepared for our walking tour tomorrow. We were going to be climbing up and down the cobblestones of Sighisoara. And the big thrill was going to be seeing the birth house of Vlad Teppes, otherwise known as Vlad the Impaler!
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