Viscri and Sighisoara

Friday, September 21, 2012

We can hear the rain pattering on the windows when we wake up. Instead of the sunlit hills surrounding the old towns, we see drenched roofs and low clouds. It feels unsually cold when we open a window. After our breakfast Bogdan picks us up again at 9.15. First we go to a huge modern home depot type store where we find the soap-dishes I need for my soap holders in Brazil. Mine were originally bought in Denmark. Over the years they all broke and I could never find replacements, but my hunting instincts were awakened when I saw several in Romanian hotels. I had to hold myself back from simply stealing them! But I did the right thing: I asked my guide for help. Bet I'm his first tourist looking for soap dishes.

That accomplished, we have about an hour's drive to Viscri, an ancient villiage with the world's oldest fortified Saxon church, which Prince Charles was instrumental in saving and for which he and a fierce old lady, Caroline Fernolend, whom we meet in the church, started renovation projects. He has apparently bought several properties in the area, which is very remote, rural and untouched and Prince Harry recently spent a week here (Maybe he was sent after the Las Vegas debacle?)

We approach the church on foot in the rain and are impressed by its size and bulk.

We see the inside of the church, the men sat on the sides to protect the women in the middle - the unmarried maids top left, and the married and widowed behind. The panels decorating the church were all made by local people. There is no electricity, only a huge chandeleir for candles, which someone brought from the US. We climb many stairs to the top and to stunning views of the church itself, the cemetery next to it and the surrounding countryside.

A side building holds a charming museum which has incredible examples of local embroidery, housewares and tools. 

From a window we spot a tree full of small blue plums, and, once outside, Bogdan leaps up to get plums for us all. They're hard, but very tasty. Later we see pear trees and get all wet doing the same, since the branches are soaked. The village is now overwhelmingly Roma (gypsy) - there's about 8 thousand hardworking Saxon descendants - in the pretty houses fronting the muddy main street, where geese and ducks are having a great time - and another 30 thousand gypsies living in rundown buildings on the outskirts, as close to favelas as anything we've seen in Romania, and who, according to our guide, live on welfare. 

From Viscri it's another 30 minutes to a larger Medieval town, Sighisoare, know for its famous clocktower and for being the birthplace of Vlad, the Impaler. One has to wonder that a huge tourist industry can be based on a man, who did unspeakable things...The rain hasn't decreased when we start walking uphill to the old town around the tower,

so we search for a hot coffe and find a lovely German bakery with divine cakes - we each have a huge slice and devour it in a matter of seconds - and great coffee. Then we walk some more, trying not to slip on the wet cobble stones. Prone to dramatic falls I remember my son, exasperated, "Look DOWN when you walk, Mom!" We manage the many steps inside the tower, mainly due to interesting stops at every level with artifacts from the town, the remnants from the guilds being the most interesting, such as this advertisement for a hat-maker

We decline to see the torture chamber - supposed to be the real thing - the room in the prison where they stretched and burnt people - and instead walk around the battlements admiring the old buildings and towers. On our way to the car we spot a matted stray squished into a corner. He gets the piece of dogstick, which has been nestling in my pocket since Brazil. 

Then we ask to be driven home, forsaking even a trip to the Black Church in Brasov. We say our goodbyes to Bogdan, and later enjoy a quiet dinner at the hotel.

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