We headed for the train station in the morning to catch our carriage for the journey to Sighisoara. The train pulled into the station on time and considering that it had originated in Budapest that was impressive. We were delighted to find it to be an old school train with separate compartments and we had one, intended for 6, all to ourselves, result. We settled in for the trip to Sighisoara, the birthplace of Dracula!
After a pleasant journey we arrived in Sighisoara after a couple of hours and made the short walk from the station to town over a river via a footbridge. Our abode for our stay was not far and again even though we arrived early at Gloria Apartments we were greeted by the friendly owner cleaning the place. He made us a coffee while he finished cleaning and then we were ensconced in our place for the next 2 nights. Turned out to be a great place, very spacious with a kettle and a fridge. There is an outside terrace but the weather was a tad chilly to take full advantage. The location was fantastic too, right on the edge of the old walled town, moments away from all the action.
We were soon off out to explore the old town. We climbed the narrow cobbled street towards the clock tower. This structure is most impressive and was built around 1400 with the clock added in 1604. The building houses the history museum so we bought a ticket and headed up the narrow staircase. The are many floors with various historical artifacts which were interesting but the main reason to visit is the view from the top. It was quite busy and hard to socially distance on a narrow staircase but we let people go by and we took our time. The view from the tower was amazing and the sun even put in an appearance for us. Looking down over the terracotta tiled roofs of the town and the spires of the various churches was incredible. We could see out to the hills in the distance and we were able to get the layout of the town.
After the clock tower we wandered around more of the old town. It is a pretty small walled city but absolutely beautiful. The buildings are brightly coloured and all the street are cobbled. Most streets and alleyways converge on Piata Cetatii which is the heart of the old town. There are a few cafes in the square so no doubt we will take advantage of them at some point. We had found the tourists mind, Sighisoara is one of Romania’s key tourist attractions and with it being Sunday afternoon it was pretty crowded. Dracula tourism is a big deal here as it is the birth place of Vlad the Impaler who is supposed to be the inspiration for Dracula, but it was actually Vlad’s dad who was Vlad Dracul. We had a look at the house where he was born but declined to go in to see the actual room. Plenty of Dracula tourist tat on sale too if you are so inclined. We walked around the old citadel walls and there are several towers still standing which guard the city. All the towers belonged to the different guilds ( tinsmiths, tailors etc) back in the day and they are quite impossing.
After all this culture it was time for food so we headed away from the old town to the lower town and found this area lovely too. There are lots of nice old buildings around a small park area and many are restaurants and café. We spotted one with heaters and as it was getting dark and cold we made a beeline for one of them. Turned out t be a good move as the pizzas were huge and tasty and some of the cheapest we had had in Romania. The beer was cheap as chips too. We were happy.
The next day we awoke to a pretty cold, wet, miserable day so we had a lazy morning drinking brews and reading. In the afternoon things brightened up so we had another walk around the old town. It was a totally different experience with the sun shining and no tourists on a Monday afternoon. Our focus this time was to go up the wooden Scholar’s Stairs to the’ Church on the Hill’. Not the most impressive church but the views of the surrounding countryside were the reward for the climb. I’d read that there was a different way down and I hate to go back the same way so we ended up scrambling down through the forest to appear in someone’s garden to bemused looks from the locals. In the spirit of fairness we ate that night at the place next door to the previous night’s café, they also had heaters and the food was just as delicious and also very reasonable on the wallet. As it was a tad nippy we had the local pork and bean soup in a bun – a very filling and warming meal indeed.
Sighisoara lived up to the hype and is a fantastic place to visit despite it’s popularity. However, I can imagine in the peak summer season the crowds would get too much so try and visit off season but visit you must. It a compact place so a couple of days is ideal to see the old town but to linger longer would be very nice too. However, we were back on the train tomorrow, destination Brasov.
