Sibiu
The main destination for this workshop was out into the country, away from Bucharest. Our first stop was Sibiu. The European Capital of Culture for 2007, Sibiu is one of Romania's must visit cities. But first, we had to get there.
Our transportation for the week was a purple bus with a bus driver that has a thing for '70's era disco. It was large enough that we each got our own seat which made the ride much more tolerable. Romanian roads vary from excellent to in bad need of repairs with traffic jams that pop up with little notice. In general, our travel days were relatively uneventful and as quick as possible.
We arrived mid afternoon to check into our hotel. Liza traded old world charm for convenience to Old Town which made it easy for us to walk to the main sites of the city.
The Old Town is largely a pedestrian area with one main street with smaller ones branching off to alleyways and winding roads. A large central square with shops and restaurants capped off the main drag. They were preparing for some type fall harvest festival, erecting hay bale 'animals' and other signs of fall for the weekend event.
Down one alley, we saw a lovely older lady sitting on her doorstep with her cat which she obviously has a very loving relationship. A little surprised by our interest, she warmly greeted us and allowed us to spend several minutes photographing her and her pet.
We continued down the main street to explore more on our own. Down a little further, a clown was entertaining children with his balloon tricks.
Reaching the main square, we all splintered off to explore on our own. One not to be missed sites is the Holy Trinity Cathedral. One of the prettiest churches I have seen, there was a constant flow of worshipers and tourists in and out of the church. In the orthodox religion, Icons are prayed at and kissed as the congregants circle the church, prayer requests are written and given to the clergy, and candles are lit for loved ones.
I noticed that the architecture in the Old Town included 'eye' windows that must allow for ventilation but gave the buildings a human like quality.
Returning to the square, we enjoyed wine and pizza while watching the kids play and others mill around in the pleasant evening weather. This was a lovely first stop on our trip.
Tomorrow: On to Transylvania
Our transportation for the week was a purple bus with a bus driver that has a thing for '70's era disco. It was large enough that we each got our own seat which made the ride much more tolerable. Romanian roads vary from excellent to in bad need of repairs with traffic jams that pop up with little notice. In general, our travel days were relatively uneventful and as quick as possible.
We arrived mid afternoon to check into our hotel. Liza traded old world charm for convenience to Old Town which made it easy for us to walk to the main sites of the city.
The Old Town is largely a pedestrian area with one main street with smaller ones branching off to alleyways and winding roads. A large central square with shops and restaurants capped off the main drag. They were preparing for some type fall harvest festival, erecting hay bale 'animals' and other signs of fall for the weekend event.
Down one alley, we saw a lovely older lady sitting on her doorstep with her cat which she obviously has a very loving relationship. A little surprised by our interest, she warmly greeted us and allowed us to spend several minutes photographing her and her pet.
We continued down the main street to explore more on our own. Down a little further, a clown was entertaining children with his balloon tricks.
Reaching the main square, we all splintered off to explore on our own. One not to be missed sites is the Holy Trinity Cathedral. One of the prettiest churches I have seen, there was a constant flow of worshipers and tourists in and out of the church. In the orthodox religion, Icons are prayed at and kissed as the congregants circle the church, prayer requests are written and given to the clergy, and candles are lit for loved ones.
I noticed that the architecture in the Old Town included 'eye' windows that must allow for ventilation but gave the buildings a human like quality.
Tomorrow: On to Transylvania
Comments
Post a Comment