Sighișoara, Romania

The final new place to see in Romania was the little village of Sighișoara. By this stage, we were absolutely exhausted, as I mentioned in my previous post, and even though we had two and a half days there, we really didn’t spend much time seeing anything at all.

Our tiredness was compounded by yet more dreadful children—screaming, running around, while their parents remained blissfully unaware that maybe, just maybe, these kids should be kept quiet and taught to survive in the real world. They kept us thoroughly annoyed during our time in the apartment.

The town itself was, once again, very beautiful. The cobbled streets were extra jagged and ankle-breaky, and we spent roughly a quarter of a day wandering the citadel, admiring the architecture. As with much of Romania, some parts were very touristy and staged—so polished for visitors that it felt almost fake. Take, for example, the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, inspiration for Dracula. Someone had decided this was the site, and conveniently set up a restaurant there. The sort of thing that makes you wonder, “Did it actually happen here, or are we just paying to be told it did?”

We climbed the long stairs connecting the citadel to the old church, used by schoolkids in winter to stay dry. About 15% of that interested us. At the top, we wandered around the graveyard and then promptly headed back to the apartment. Pretty? Yes. Busy, loud, and far too touristy? Also yes.

The best part of Sighișoara, as with many places in Romania, was discovering the local areas—just walking streets and parks where locals live, soaking in the atmosphere. But by this stage, we were done.

Our next stop, and final stop in Romania, was Bucharest—not for sightseeing, which we’d already endured, but for some much-needed shopping. Things we can’t get in China awaited us, and that excitement carried us all the way there.