László Varga

… or Sibiu in Romanian, or even Nagyszaben in Hungarian. The true name of the city we have visited in the weekend, however, is still the German name: Hermannstadt, being the German capital of Transylvania. The city has been the European Capital of Culture for the year 2007 and so the city center has been renovated for that occasion. Since then, the city’s tourism really started to boom, and now that I have been there, I think I can understand why: the cultural and architectural heritage left behind by the German community is really worth visiting.

We have arrived to Hermannstadt by car from Cluj. It is not a very easy road, at least until Alba Iulia it has been a nightmare: cars, cars and more cars on a two lane road: the short, 1.5 hour trip was really tiring. Anyway we arrived without problems and checked in for the night to a local hostel on the banks of the Cibin river. I can only recommend the Hostel to anyone who goes there: quiet neighborhood, close to the city center and a bargain price (40RON/9.5€) for good quality service. By a good quality service I mean: separate bathrooms for each room, towels, sandals, nice/clean rooms, covered parking, very good coffee in the morning made by the host himself and we were also lucky to taste his home made red wine (cabernet).

OK, so about the city itself: wow, I could not imagine this could be possible in Romania… although this can only be said about the city center, but even so it really seemed a very European city: clean, with the historical monuments renovated, a city center to be proud of. If they could extend this also on the Cibin river (make a promenade or something instead of the bushes along the river-banks) the city would be astonishing. Anyway, even so, I was ‘happily disappointed’. Good job Mr. Mayor 😉 .

There was a medieval festival held when we got to Hermannstadt, so we found an unexpected show included in our short visit. The city center was full of people dressed in medieval clothing, walking around among the tourists. The main theme was the medieval market, with people selling home-made(I think) medieval clothes, wooden ornaments, chessboards with nicely carved figures and there was even one stand selling puppies. In one corner of the “market” there was a trebuchet and a ballista set up and the people operating them were throwing around balloons and stuff (they made sure nobody was in the way). Apart from these, there were people selling food and drinks to add some ‘juice’ to the festival spirit. The whole festival was completed by shows in different parts of the old city center: people dancing, singing or acting.

We did not have time to visit anything specifically, but our short half day sightseeing tour was quite interesting. Check out the photos on my Picasa account.

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Finally, I made it. I have been living in Cluj, for quite a while now, and I haven’t visited the gorge from Turda until now. Most of the people who I have talked to were quite amazed by this fact, but what can I do? I think I just never had the time. Now that I’ve been there even I am surprised that I have missed this place until now: it’s a marvelous place!

The formation is not the only gorge in the area, but this one can be passed easily while offering a spectacular view of rock formations. Also the local flora and fauna is interesting. The “Gorge from Turda” is a natural reserve and several plants and animals are protected by law in the area.

One can enter the gorge either from the south or from the north. The southern entrance is more developed (with boutiques and camping places). As like several other nice places in the country the access to the gorge is not properly signaled on the roads. But ask anyone from the surrounding settlements and they will guide you to the right path. There are actually two roads leading to the southern entry point. Both are in acceptable condition, although only one of them is paved (from Cheia). We went on the non-paved road from Sandulesti. I am saying that the non-paved road is acceptable, because I own a car with a very low ground clearance and still I was able to get through without problems (avg. 40-50km/h).

At the southern entry point there is a ticket office, selling entry tickets to the gorge for 3RON(0.75€) (I think a fair price for contributing to the maintenance of the area). The trick what several people use is the fact that the northern entry point is completely in the wild and there is no ticket office from that part: free entry 🙂 . Anyway when we visited, there was a note saying that the gorge was not passable due to floods, and the office was closed. True: one of the bridges was taken by the floods, but luckily when we were there, the water level was low, and we could pass the river easily.

The path within the gorge itself is I’d say quite easy: if all bridges are in place, I do not think there could be any difficulties. I had sandals and I saw people with flip-flops, too, although I would not even recommend the sandals: the path can be slippery in some points and when we were there, we had to cross on some improvised bridge with a wire hanging above it to hold on to something (check the pictures).

All in all it offers a spectacular view and even in a hot sunny day it is a good way to spend the day (the hot air is cooled down within the walls of the gorge).

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On the European road E58 towards Baia Mare from Cluj, there is a small village called Coplean. It is a quite insignificant village, one might just pass through without even remembering it’s name. There is, however, one thing in this village, that made me go there and took some photos of it: the ruins of the Haller Castle.

The castle was built in 1725-1771 by János gróf Haller de Hallerkö, the governor of Transylvania between 1735-1755. It is a baroque style castle having some rococo elements which have been added later by the sculptor Anton Schuchbauer (1719-1789).

In quite the same shape as the Bánffy Castle, this small castle has been completely forgotten nowadays. Nobody really knows about it, there are no markings on the road to lead a curious visitor there, it is just standing alone, hidden behind the village houses, out of sight. In size it is much smaller than the castle of the Bánffy family from Bonchida, no stables, no side-buildings, just one single one storied U-shaped building surrounded by brick fences (what is left of it) and the ruins of a small tower at the entrance. The communist era did quite the job to ruin the “Shell Castle” (because of the ornaments on the side) along with its five hectare park…

How to get there: well, there is one dusty side-road that forks off the main road and leads into the village. Follow that, cross the railroad, take a left and then a right and the ruins will immediately get into sight. No signs, no markings, just ask the locals if you’re lost (that’s what I did…). Oh, yes: make sure you do not go there in shorts and sandals the vegetation surrounding the ruin is not very friendly on some points :).

Here are some pictures I have taken. Enjoy.

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When people abroad hear about Transylvania, the only thing coming to their mind is…. you guessed, Count Dracula. Many people do not really know where it is, and others, who do not confuse it with Pennsylvania, might even think it is not real. Well it is real, and it seems like the Dracula myth is also real. Count Dracula’s castle really exists: and I have been to it 🙂 .

Of course I am talking about a theme hotel where our company organized a team-building event (survivor camp) in Bistrita-Nasaud County, in the mountains of Bargau, at 1116m height. The hotel is actually called: Hotel Castel Dracula because it is a hotel built like a castle.

It is only a three star hotel, but we did not go there in search for luxury or ergonomics. It has decent rooms, service and a multi-level restaurant. Everything is functional, and quite modern I might add, apart from the decoration and furniture which imitates a more castle-like environment. There is also a multi-level bar in one of the towers of the castle, where there is a small pool table for those who enjoy the game. The food is also great, just be careful what you order, things tend to be quite similar in the restaurant…

The surrounding area is also very nice. If you are not there for skiing, then it is an ideal place for hiking. The fresh air and the greenness of the fields combined with the bluish mountains which sometimes gets covered with clouds is really amazing.

And of course what is the most interesting part? For 2 RONs (50 cents) you can request permission to enter Dracula’s tomb. Of course only with a guide, because you never know what is lurking down there. It is not very professional, but it is not for the timid at the heart either. Rest assured, that it is a hell of an experience 😀 .

I have uploaded some photos to my Picasa account.

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