Sibiu and a Transylvanian Thunderstorm
As promised, here is the first of my posts on favorite moments from my Romania trip.
We spent most of our time up in the village, but on the weekends we came down from the village and stayed in the city of Sibiu. It was breathtaking to say the least.
We got a team picture on the Bridge of Lies. The bridge was built in 1859 by Fredericus Hutte, and it was the first wrought iron bridge in Romania. Legends say the bridge got its name from the fiery disputes between the merchants that seemed to flare up around it, as well as the passionate but short-lived vows of young lovers that would often meet there.
Also, while we were there I was able to see the remains of the original city wall on The Passage of Steps, which dated back to 13th Century if I remember correctly. It connects the Upper Town to the Lower Town. I was pretty excited as I ran my hand along the stone work. I had only ever seen things this old on the television. It had been my dream for as long as I could remember to see and touch and experience these things first hand, and here I was finally seeing with my own eyes, feeling with my own hands, and standing beside something from an era I'd only ever dreamed of. We walked around and saw the battlements and the old gate as well.
After seeing the gate, we noticed that the sky was turning rather dark. Thunder rumbled in the distance. We were quite a ways from the house so we figured we should probably start making our way back. We got to the Great Square when a huge wind picked up out of nowhere. People were hurrying to take shelter in the shops and buildings.
There were several merchant stalls set up in the middle of the square that the wind blew over. Their merchandise was scattered all over the ground. We hurried over to them squinting against the wind and began quickly helping the merchants recover all their toppled goods. There were earrings, necklaces, pins, rings, you name it. Now, I didn't speak enough of the language to really understand anything they said to us, but I did understand Multumesc "thank you" as they scurried about with us trying to get everything before something could get stolen.
Once we had helped them, we hurried on our way trying to make it back to the house before the rains came. The sky was growing darker by the minute. I glanced back at the plaza and noticed that the merchants had managed to get to cover themselves. I couldn't help but smile. We had been able to help them. Despite the language barrier and the roaring wind, we were able to do something kind for them.
We managed to make it about three blocks from the house when the rain finally began. Even after getting wet and running part of the way then realizing I was far too out of shape to run for long, I am pretty sure I got back to the house with the biggest grin on my face.
I mean how many people can say they tried to outrun and got caught in a genuine Transylvanian thunderstorm.
Dream Big and Live BIGGER!
We spent most of our time up in the village, but on the weekends we came down from the village and stayed in the city of Sibiu. It was breathtaking to say the least.
We got a team picture on the Bridge of Lies. The bridge was built in 1859 by Fredericus Hutte, and it was the first wrought iron bridge in Romania. Legends say the bridge got its name from the fiery disputes between the merchants that seemed to flare up around it, as well as the passionate but short-lived vows of young lovers that would often meet there.
Also, while we were there I was able to see the remains of the original city wall on The Passage of Steps, which dated back to 13th Century if I remember correctly. It connects the Upper Town to the Lower Town. I was pretty excited as I ran my hand along the stone work. I had only ever seen things this old on the television. It had been my dream for as long as I could remember to see and touch and experience these things first hand, and here I was finally seeing with my own eyes, feeling with my own hands, and standing beside something from an era I'd only ever dreamed of. We walked around and saw the battlements and the old gate as well.
After seeing the gate, we noticed that the sky was turning rather dark. Thunder rumbled in the distance. We were quite a ways from the house so we figured we should probably start making our way back. We got to the Great Square when a huge wind picked up out of nowhere. People were hurrying to take shelter in the shops and buildings.
There were several merchant stalls set up in the middle of the square that the wind blew over. Their merchandise was scattered all over the ground. We hurried over to them squinting against the wind and began quickly helping the merchants recover all their toppled goods. There were earrings, necklaces, pins, rings, you name it. Now, I didn't speak enough of the language to really understand anything they said to us, but I did understand Multumesc "thank you" as they scurried about with us trying to get everything before something could get stolen.
Once we had helped them, we hurried on our way trying to make it back to the house before the rains came. The sky was growing darker by the minute. I glanced back at the plaza and noticed that the merchants had managed to get to cover themselves. I couldn't help but smile. We had been able to help them. Despite the language barrier and the roaring wind, we were able to do something kind for them.
We managed to make it about three blocks from the house when the rain finally began. Even after getting wet and running part of the way then realizing I was far too out of shape to run for long, I am pretty sure I got back to the house with the biggest grin on my face.
I mean how many people can say they tried to outrun and got caught in a genuine Transylvanian thunderstorm.
Dream Big and Live BIGGER!
MelLew
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