“Travels to a Different Time” : 19July1974: Sibiu (Transylvania), Romania; Cultural Break

Romanian travel for me has been different than the beach life in Yugoslavia and Greece. There is more time to experience town and city life. The experiences are not always great! I woke up about 10 and since I set up tent near a tree I had the shade which was a plus on another hot day. I washed up and brushed my teeth in freezing cold water. Again a dearth of hot water for low end travellers like in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. I am being mistaken for a German frequently as what few tourists there are usually German and the population is mostly of German ancestry. The Cathedral of Sibiu is beautiful and was completed in 1906. I noted that in the 30 pages in the guest book there was one Canadian, the ambassador to Romania. I guess I travel in good company. Meatballs, orange juice and bread for lunch at 70 cents. Next was the Brukenthal Museum. Germanic name as it was named after governor Baron Von Brukenthal in the mid 1800’s. It was the first museum in Transylvania. An excellent museum for such a small town with some intricate pottery, looms, native clothing and a reproduction of an 18^th century Romanian home. The best of all were Dutch paintings with Reubens, Van Essen, Van Haarlem, Van de Verme and Ian Lingelbach. The Romanian, German, Austrian and Italian paintings were so so. I took the bus home after buying some bread and cheese. Had a freezing cold shower. There is a water heater but it seems it is there for ceremonial purposes only. I headed out to Dumbrava Park which was directly across from the campground. Not as spectacular as the parks in Bucharest but still impressive. I was supposed to meet a student who was going to show me around but he did not show up. I suspect the police told him to stay away. It wouldn’t be the first time. I met some guys from Amsterdam and they told me what to expect should I travel there. We went to a bar for a beer and listened to old rock music. I wanted an evening snack at the campground cafeteria but in true Romanian fashion there was no food left. I brushed my teeth and was in bed by 11.