🌞 Sunny days in Sibiu 🌞

Sibiu was the city I visited from Friday last week until today (Monday). I'd struggled to get a hostel bed there despite there being a number of them in the city. Of the last two that had beds available, a review of one really put me off as it described it as basically a man's house that he's put some beds in and you sleep in the corridor, and at the other, check-in closed at 8pm. My train didn't get me in to Sibiu until 8.14pm so I knew that wasn't going to be an option and I ended up getting a studio flat as their check-in was until 9pm. Whilst everything I've heard about Romanian railways is that they are slow, they are supposedly reliable and so I figured that the arrival/check-in time combo would be fine.

I got to Timișoara train station around an hour before my train was due (this happens a lot due to check-out times at accommodation) and bought my ticket (with cash - I wasn't risking my cards being rejected again!). The train I had to get from Timișoara to Arad was one of those trains you see in the movies, where there is a corridor along one side of the carriage and little 'rooms' of six seats. The train was packed and a very sweet, very young man kindly put my rucksack on the rack as there was no way I was lifting the 20kg up there! And then seven of us crammed into our 'room'. We were a little late getting into Arad but that was OK as I had a half hour connection time and I realised that I was actually going to be travelling on a Hungarian Railways train to Sibiu that had originated in Budapest, which reassured me a little. It was bang on time and so I settled into my seat for the five and a half hour journey. Again, the scenery was just stunning, but unfortunately I don't have any photos for you as it wasn't really very easy for me to take them because of where I was sitting. I did also miss a bit of it as I was sat opposite a woman I would guess was in her late 70s who was solving the most complex mathematical equations and it was fascinating to watch her! It's times like this I wish I spoke Romanian to be able to converse with people. 

Our train trundled along just fine for about 4 hours and then came to a stop. And just stayed where it was for around an hour. Yep, you may have realised that this meant that there was now no way I would make my check-in time of 9pm... Eek! So I figured it was worth a shot giving the accommodation I had booked a call and after a time I seemed to have made myself understood as the phrase 'call when you arrive at Sibiu' was said. One good thing is that I got to see the most amazing sunset which I did manage to capture...

With booking.com you have the option to email the property you have booked with and I'd had to do this to let them know what time I was due to arrive. About 10 minutes later I received an email from them to say that they would meet me outside the train station, she had short red hair and glasses! So when I eventually arrived in Sibiu, that's exactly what happened and the lovely hosts collected me in their car and drove me back to the property! How about that for service! 

The weekend I was in SIbiu turned out to be the end of their International Documentary Film Festival which I think is why I'd struggled to get a hostel bed. I didn't go to any of the films (many of which were short films) but here is a picture of one of the domes that were set up for the screens:

On Saturday morning, after having a particularly yummy Romanian version of an English breakfast I went for a wander around the city. Across from where I'd eaten there was a vintage car display on.

Must admit these types of things are much more fun with my Dad who knows loads about the older cars whereas on my own, all I got to enjoy was the aesthetics of the vehicles! I came across a park where people were playing chess and backgammon - I think you could just sit down and play with whoever needed an opponent, but not being able to play either game sadly I couldn't join in...

The architecture in Sibiu again, like pretty much everywhere else I've visited was amazing with beautiful churches, cathedral and other buildings...

One of the architectural features I absolutely adored in SIbiu was the windows that are shaped liked eyes!

Initially I found them a little sinister but they really grew on me. Imagine how much fun you could have at Halloween with this feature!! 

Like most places I've been to on this trip, buildings in Sibiu were very decorative and it makes them all individual. Here is a selection of some of the features that took my eye...

In addition to wandering round, that day I also went to the Brukenthal museum which had a large collection of Romanian and European art work and was based in the Brukenthal Palace. My ticket also got me into the Pharmacy Museum which catalogued the history of the development of medicines and was fascinating. Unfortunately the ticket I had didn't allow me to take photographs so I don't have any pictures to share with you of this other than the plaque outside!

The following day, I went and treated myself to a doughnut in a shop I'd spotted whilst walking round the day before...

It was a lemon berry flavour with pistachios and white chocolate curls on the top and absolutely yummy!! After that treat, I then wandered round the less touristy parts of Sibiu which was really nice. Sibiu has a lovely feel to it. It's the sort of place I would recommend stopping at for a visit. With many places I visit, I spend three nights there, mainly because it is very tiring travelling every other day. Sibiu you could easily fit into a day or maybe a weekend visit, but I really appreciated having two full days there, enabling me to absorb the atmosphere which I think was made all the better by the lovely sunshine I had during my visit (as you can see in the photos!). It didn't appeal to me quite as much as Timișoara (❤️), but I'm very happy to have visited.