Sibiu, Romania

Walking out onto one of the most beautiful plazas in Europe, I couldn’t believe I’d never heard of this place. When I arranged to visit one of our facilities, a little north of Bucharest, I was disappointed that I wasn’t going to see the capital and imagined Sibiu as some small, rural town in the middle of nowhere. How wrong I was.

When I finished work on Monday night, I headed towards the centre of town and I could just feel the history as I walked through the city…cobbled streets, gothic doorways and medieval passageways. It was stunning. My first stop was a good book shop so that I could learn a little more about the place.

Sibiu was founded during the Saxon colonisation of Transylvania in the 12th century and became an important German settlement during the next couple of centuries. Massive fortifications and gates were built in the 13th-16th centuries, much of which can still be seen. Viennese Baroque style was added after Transylvania became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1699. Much of the city was given a facelift when Sibiu was selected as European Capital of Culture in 2007.

I loved walking around the imaginatively-named Large Square (below) with its pastel-coloured buildings, street-side cafes and kids playing in the fountain. From Large Square I continued down into Small Square which is broken up by a curving passageway and has the oldest cast iron bridge in Romania, the Bridge of Lies. Legend has it that it will collapse on the spot if you tell a lie. More beautiful buildings surround this square and it was here that I noticed the ‘eyes of the city’: small eye-like windows in the roofs of the tradesmen’s houses, apparently popular with Saxons.

I didn’t have time to explore the lower part of the city, leading down to the river, or to go inside the cathedral or climb the Town Council Tower. I’d like to get back here one day, hopefully with Anna, and soak up this ancient city for a while longer.

Last night I was taken by a Hungarian (so tempting to just leave that sentence hanging) to a traditional Romanian restaurant for a great meal of soup, grilled pork & polenta, doughnuts and plenty of Romanian red wine. It doesn’t sound that special but it tasted great and the restaurant was situated in an arched basement and filled with locals. It was fab. Lesson learned…always go to dinner with someone who knows the town.

Tonight I find myself in the small Hungarian village of Berekfürdő, two hours west of Budapest. The hotel is near Tisza Lake and has a thermal bath which Csaba, my new Hungarian friend, told me I had to try. It just looked like murky water to me, but I gave it a go in the belief that the minerals will do wonders for my…er…condition.

I haven’t found anyone at the hotel who speaks English and my Hungarian only kicks in after three whiskeys so I think it’s going to be a fun few days.