MarkandJim.com

The clock tower, one of several old towers still standing on the town walls

Our fourth stop in Romania was Sighisoara (pronounced something like sig-ee-shwo-ara; I had to practice) another wonderfully beautiful old town settled in the 12th century by Transylvanian Saxons. The oldest part of the city was built on a hill, surrounded of course by impenetrable walls, and that area – the citadel – retains much of the feel of medieval Europe. It is so historic, in fact, that in 1999 UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site in honor of the 850-year history of those Transylvanian Saxons.

The main thing to do in Sighisoara, then, is to just wander around the citadel and admire the architecture and remaining walls and towers. And you will be reminded, should you somehow forget, that Vlad the Impaler – also known as Dracula, was born here when his father, Vlad Dracul, Prince of Wallachia, was here in exile.

There’s an old cemetery up in the citadel that seemed particularly eerie knowing that Dracula was born here

Meanwhile, fall is upon us, moving in fast. On the morning of October 1, it was barely above freezing when I went out for a morning run, the first time I’ve needed hat and gloves in many months. Then we needed to scrape the frost off the car (with my ATM card; the rental company didn’t provide us with a scraper) before we could drive away. When was the last time I did that?

By now we’re definitely getting a feel for Romania and I have to say, I’m loving it. Mark is a little harder to please when the food isn’t so great but I’ve loved the beautiful medieval town centers and the landscape as we drive through. The wine is little short of remarkable. Who ever knew Romanian wine would be so good and cheap?

I think this is the third dinner we’ve had in Romania in a vaulted cellar. Mark is enjoying a Greek Salad (sort of; they don’t really have corn in them) along with a very typical eggplant salad and some delightful Romanian wine.

There are some peculiarities, though. We’ve seen more hitchhikers in Romania than anywhere in the world, just lots of people – young, old, men, women, you name it – hitching a ride. And the horses and donkeys pulling carts; didn’t that end like 30 years ago? But no, they’re everywhere, just adding to the ambience of a beautiful country. Two more stops to go!

We stayed at a Mercure hotel that they’d just opened after remodeling. It had a great feel, as though we were in a classy Best Western in a small town in Colorado.

These asters are everywhere this time of year

Lots of beautiful flowers in Sighisoara

Did I mention that Vlad the Impaler, aka Dracula, was born here?

One day I climbed out of town up to a park full of oak trees that are allegedly hundreds of years old. I was rewarded with this view as well as perfect place to sit and read for a while.

Another view of the approach to the citadel and the clock tower

When a friend saw on Facebook that we were in Romania, she told us about Jimmy the dog, who protects the main square and whom she met a few years ago. Jimmy is still here but he’s not so lively these days. Every time we saw him, well, this was his notion of protecting the town square.