DAY EIGHT

Into Siebenburgen - Transylvania

So far Rolf and I have travelled 1600 km (Rolf 600 more!). Our overnight stay was in Gheorgheni (Niklasmarkt in German or Nicholas´ Market), a small town in an area with a number of Hungarian settlers. Hence the town names here are often given in two languages, sometimes three. The town itself has no real charm, A small tired town - however, according to the trainer of the Serbian National Youth teams in junior women´s Ice Hockey it has two rinks and hosted a three day tournament over the weekend we were there. 

After planning our route for the day we set off. South, ever south.



We seemed to be constantly surrounded by hills and mountains as we got ever nearer to Transylvania. Near the city of Brasov we visited Prijmer, a fortified castle / church complex. Very small and situated in the town, it looked rather insignificant, but would have given safety to the villagers in time of emergency.





On to Brasov, a much larger city. A lively marketplace and a guided tour in the "Black Church" by a young student. Then on to Viscri. This has been a highlight for me. The fortified church (i.e. with outer protective wall) and its layout and exhibitions was interesting enough: especially, they had a "lard store" only accessible on Sundays. This had the bacon or pig carcasses of each villager (due to the cooling abilities) and they could only take what they needed for the whole week, each Sunday. under special supervision of two members of the community - the four eyes principle as they say in German.
In addition, the village is set out in a typical way for this part of the country - Siebenbergen "Seven Hills" - a specific part of Romania associated with the German settlers who came here over several centuries. Each house has its own high gate to allow hay wagons, but all joined together (to keep out wolves and bears?).








Go to DAY ONE - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY TWO - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY THREE - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY FOUR - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY FIVE - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY SIX - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY SEVEN - CLICK HERE.
 
Go to DAY NINE - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY TEN - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY ELEVEN- CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY TWELVE- CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY THIRTEEN - CLICK HERE.

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