Sighisoara On Sunday

Hello again,

On Sunday, after a little "lie in" as they say, we struck out to have our first full day in Romania. After weeks of working late and trying to put by a little extra money for traveling it was so nice to sleep in and then have the prospect of an exciting new day ahead of us.

Here are some shots I took our our guest house while waiting for Jimmy to get ready.

Casa Legenda Sighisoara

Door from the Street

Tree in the Courtyard

Jimmy Getting Ready to Go Out

Inside the Courtyard at Casa Legenda

We struck out down the street to see what we could see, with me taking pictures at every turn. First, here is one of the towers near our guest house.

Tower Near Guest House

We then headed out in the opposite direction. Here is the street leaving our guest house and looking towards the main square.

Street Outside Casa Legenda Heading Towards the Piata

Here is our first view of the spire of the famous clock tower that dominates the Sighisoara skyline.

Spire of Sighisoara Clock Tower

And here is a funny sign I saw. Gotta love it!

No Music!

I should probably begin by describing Sighisoara, which we made a quick circuit of before lunch to get our bearings. It's a walled medieval city, complete with walls and towers. Inside the town is a main square. Nearby is the famous clock tower and the Evangelical Lutheran Church. At the other end of town is the Catholic Church, and opposite that, high on a hill, sits a second Evangelical Church as well as an old Saxon burying ground which has now become the town's cemetary. There is also an old school atop the hill. You can make the rounds quickly, but to really see the sights requires some time. As I said, we made a quick circuit then grabbed some pizza for lunch, and started exploring in more depth.

Green House

Here is another photo.

Looking Towards the School and Church on the Hill

Here is the sign indicating the school on the hill.

Sign Marking the Entrance to the School on the Hill

Roaming Cats

Cats

The cats you see pictured above were hilarious. We encountered them as we passed the entrance for the school on the hill and were making our way back down and around towards the clock tower and Evangelical Church. The white cats was walking purposefully away from the dark cat. He was pursuing her quite eagerly, and every few seconds she would turn around and swat at him as if to say, "Get lost!" They were so funny.

Check out this Ford van with its Romanian plates.

A Ford in Sighisoara

Romanian Tags

We ate lunch at a place called San Gennaro Pizza, which advertised pizza, pasta, and salads, but whose waiter told us, "Only pizza." The cappuccino was powdered mix, but the pizza was probably the best we had in Romania. Pizza Diavla. Jimmy had the Pizza Proscuitto con Funghi, but was quickly converted to my Pizza Diavla with extra sauce.

Here's Jimmy at the restaurant, along with shots of the restaurant and a cool building we could see from our seats, the Casa Cu Cerb.

Jimmy at San Gennaro Pizzeria Sighisoara

Our Street Side Pizza Cafe

Me Before Pizza Diavla

The House of the Stag

After lunch we moved on towards the clock tower and the Evangelical Church.

Sighisoara Clock Tower in the Clouds

Next  to the Evangelical Church is the City Hall. In front of it is a beautiful view of Lower Sighisoara and the valley beyond.

Jimmy in Front of Sighisoara Evangelical Church

Evangelical Church

Old Building Across from Church

Here are more shots of the valley and mountains beyond.

Here is the 20th Century Romanian Orthodox Church in Lower Sighisoara.

Orthodox Church in the Valley

Here's a club near the church and valley view. Club B.

Club B!

Jimmy and I meandered back to the room to drop some stuff off and then decided to make the rounds of the town, checking out each tower, each corner, each staircase, in depth. This is a view of the row of pastel houses near the Old Catholic Church, which was immediately to the right when we left our guest house, at one end of the Old Town.

Here is the Old Catholic Church as well as some shots taken from inside. It was a very beautiful, simple church. An inscription on the inside indicated it was built by a Hungarian when Transylvania was part of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Facade of Sighisoara Catholic Church

Staircase Inside Catholic Church

Angel Detail on Staircase

Ceiling of Nave

Altar in Catholic Church

Wooden Carving

Carvings Lining Wall of Catholic Church

About the time we were finishing up inside the priest came and unlocked the gates into the sanctuary. We continued our walk around the edge of the city walls. The first tower you come to after the Catholic Church is the Shoemakers' Tower.

For anyone not familiar with how medieval walled cities functioned, each guild maintained and protected one of the city's towers, hence the naming convention of calling the tower after the guild that protected it. Here is the Shoemakers' Tower in Sighisoara.

The Shoemakers' Tower

Windows and Balconies of Shoemakers' Tower

Side of Shoemakers' Tower

Wooden Railings on Shoemakers' Tower

Here are some shots of the view and the wall nearby.

View Looking Down Hill from Shoemakers' Tower

City Wall Near Shoemakers' Tower

Street Leading Away from Tower

 You could not enter the tower but we climbed the stairs to see the view. Here are the stairs, and then the views.

Staircase Outside Tower

Rooftops Viewed from Tower Balcony

More Rooftops

Catholic Church from Atop the Shoemakers' Tower

The best shot of all is this one of the church on the hill which is at the opposite end of the city.

Rooftops and Hillside Church of Old Sighisoara

We moved on from the Shoemakers' Tower to the Tailors' Tower, but here is the back of the Shoemakers' Tower as we headed away from it.

Back of the Shoemakers' Tower and Steeple of the Catholic Church

Back of Shoemakers' Tower

Here are some shots of the outer street at the back of the city walls heading towards the Tailors' Tower.

Lower Sighisoara from the Shoemakers' Portion of the City Walls

Outer Street at Back of City Walls

A Red Door

The next tower is the Tailors' Tower. It has two arches underneath which can be seen when viewed head on, and it acts as the back entrance to the city. This is how our taxi driver entered the old city when we arrived from the station.

Tailors' Tower from the Side

Tailors' Tower

Front Top Portion of Tailors' Tower

Back City Gates at Tailors' Tower

A Single Arch

The next two towers at the Furriers' Tower and the Butchers' Tower.

The Furriers' Tower

The Butchers' Tower

Back of the Butchers' Tower

The Butchers' Tower is the last tower before the ascent to the hilltop where the school and second Evangelical Church sits. After passing it the ground begins to slope, and eventually you come to a covered wooden staircase which leads to the hilltop. Here is a house near the stairs, and a shot of the Catholic Church looking back from the opposite end of town, which is the hilltop.

Yellow House Near Butchers' Tower

Looking Back at Catholic Church from the Bottom of the Hill

Here is a shot of the stairs, after we'd climbed them.

Staircase Leading Uphill Viewed from Above

When you exit the covered staircase and continue walking up the hill, the Scoala din Del, or, School on the Hill, sits on your right, at the back of the Evangelical Church, known as Biserica din Deal, or, Church on the Hill. The church is higher up, on the peak of the hill. You approach the front of the church by a path. On this path, the church is on your left, the edge of the hill on your right, and in front of you, the Ropemakers' Tower, which is the only tower still occupied. It is the home of the church caretaker. Here you can see the back of the church and the Ropemakers' Tower.

Back of Biserica din Deal

Walking Along Side the Biserica din Deal

The Ropemakers' Tower

Jimmy by the Ropemakers' Tower Looking Out Over Old Sighisoara

Here is the front of the Biserica din Deal. Unfortunately I cut the very tip top of it off.

Biseria din Deal

Here are some views of the Ropemakers' Tower from the side.

Ropemakers' Tower

Ropermakers' Tower from the Side

The hilltop was beautiful and the view was stunning. The sky was blue, the air was fresh, and tall evergreens dotted the top of the hill. Immediately in front of the church entrance cemetery gates open onto the old Saxon burying ground, which has since spread out down the hillside to become the Sighisoara burying ground, regardless of religion or ethnic descent. With the stone monuments and the everygreens against the blue sky it made me feel like I was on some hillside in Greece decorated with pagan temples and shrines to the gods. We ended up wandering through the cemetery every day, and it was such a pleasant end to a day of ramblings around Old Sighisoara.

Old Saxon Burying Ground

Cimitirul din Deal

In our wanderings we were led down into the cemetery, then off to the right and down the hill and back towards the entrance in a meandering fashion. It was interesting to see how most of the graves were decorated with living cut flowers, or with planted flowers like daffodils. We also noticed other signs of nature, like a whole bunch of snails. But meaty ones!

Cemetery Snail 

Lone Cemetery Snail

Everywhere we turned the burying ground offered beautiful sights and interesting things to talk about.

More Like a Garden Than a Cemetery

Flowering Ground Cover

Here is a view of the church from below in the cemetery, somewhat obscured by trees.

Biserica din Deal from Cemetery Below

The Ropemakers' Tower Viewed from the Cemetery Below

It was getting late, so Jimmy and I exited the cemetery and wandering back down the slope towards the covered stairs. Some musicians were playing guitar at the entrance.

Musician at Entrance to Covered Stairs

And here we are back "home" at the Casa Legenda guest house.

Back Home

After cleaning up we headed out for supper. We were so pleased with our home cookin' at the Burg Hostel the night before we headed back there for some more traditional Romanian cooking. The atmosphere was not quite so welcoming. The kind hostess of the night before was gone, and the woman who waited on us acted as if she would have preferred to continue sitting and chain smoking than wait on us. The food was as good as the night before, however.

We both ordered vegetable ciorba, but this time it was Jimmy who ordered the mititei with bread and mustard. I got stuffed cabbage leaves, which are traditionally served with mamaglia, Romania's name for polenta. This is a staple in country cooking and is traditionally served with sour cream. Jimmy had been eyeing the "pancakes" on the dessert menu but our hostess told us they did not serve dessert (yeah right!) so that would have to wait until another night.

Stay tuned for two more days in Sighisoara. Until then, Ciao!