Sibiu, Romania

Finally made it here! Missed the bus yesterday and I was there early!  The reason being, something I didn't know....time change. Romania is one hour ahead. That explains how I managed to missed my train stop at Arad, Romania. Couldn't find anything in the guide book and when I bought ticket in Hungary the lady never mentioned it. Perhaps she thought I was aware of that fact?
The scenery was flat land with a lot of large farms. Some with corn and wheat still standing, others already plowed. After about an hour the bus started to climb. There were rolling hills, farm land and the autumn colors on the trees. I saw a number of shepherd with large flocks of sheep, quite a sight to see! I must say the sheep looked pretty plump. I was not able to get a photo as I did not have my camera ready. In a couple of instances the shepherd was to far away. My camera needs to be on 24-7 plus have a zoom lense!

Typical hay stacks in Romania

I was charmed by Sibiu, an old walled city. It has many old, peeling, crumbling buildings all which add to the character of the town.

The shape on the roof of these buildings is very different to ones I had seen in other countries. The gables, I believed they are called on the roof appear (to me anyway) as sets of eyes looking at you. Take a look at these pictures below.

1 out of 3 buildings are declared historic monuments. Sibiu has of course cobblestone streets everywhere, with some very steep ones in the centre.













The main square Piata Mare is a spacious cobblestone square with some beautiful architechture around it.

The square was full of people strolling about or resting on the many benches. Taking up a lot of space in the square were many pigeons! Periodically they would rise up, fly in a circle, then swoop down to land in a different area. A little scary as they came flying so close to you. Not sure where some of them got their flying license!  So far none have collided into me, but it has been very close on a few occasions.

I wondered why this bike was up here. 

Guess the person didn't have their bike lock with them at first. Here it is later locked up!

Next step was exploring Sibiu! I took a walk along the 16th century walls & watch towers located a few blocks south of Piate Mare.

Carpenters Tower & old walls

Council tower in Piata Uniri

Roman Catholic Church









Evangelic Church

Evangelic Church @ different time of day

The pedestrian walkway is a nice photo shoot from every angle a camera has to offer. Very popular spot!

On more than one occasion there were couples having their wedding photographs taken at this spot.

Some interesting wedding dress displays at this store.

 

Various signs about town

I loved Sibiu, felt very safe there even walking around in the evening. Granted there were a number of tourists. Romanians away for the weekend, plus many Spanish & Italians.

My next destination was Brasov, Romania.