Forced March turned Fun!

The opportunity to see Sighisoara illuminated in the snow was too good to pass up. There were sad eyes peering across the table after dinner, knowing what was to come. Sebastian had said that the city by night was something everyone had to see, so it wasn't 100% unexpected when it was announced to change in to dry and warm clothes and meet "in 10 minutes".

The night air was cold but not freezing. The snow was still coming down a bit. The mood seemed to lighten a bit upon exiting the Burg Hostel. There were sounds of laughter coming from down the street, as two little girls were engaged in a snowball fight. Ms. Hehs joined in their fun, teasing them a bit, before loping a snowball in their direction. By the time they reached the Citadel Square, most of the group was engaged in a snowball fight - the girls v. Sebi and Ms. Hehs. The students used their "Fortnite" experience and strategies to "build, build, build" and to try to conquer the adults. In the end, a draw was called, the snow returned to the ground, and a peaceful walk resumed.

The Medieval Town of Sighisoara

We hit the road again about 3:00 p.m. for our trip to Sighisoara, a world heritage UNESCO site. There were no pictures or descriptions of the fortified medieval town or citadel which came close to describing what we experienced as we approached and then entered the town through a gate which landed us right into Citadel Square. There was so much to take in. Everything was covered in snow and was glistening. It looked and felt like it was time for the Christmas market not the coming of spring.

Entering Citadel Square from Tailor's Tower.

Around the corner from the square was the Burg Hostel where we would spend the night. It was charming. We had a chance to unload the bus and put on warm clothes and then Sebi led us on a great tour of the town. We took it all in, knowing that on Saturday morning, we would start the day with a Treasure Hunt throughout town.

We moved into our rooms and then headed out for a tour of Sighisoara.

Standing right in the middle of Citadel Square, we took in the Clock Tower, ready to chime the hour. The Clock Tower (one of 9 towers) has guarded the main entrance of the citadel for centuries. The 14th-century structure is 64 meters tall and built to withstand any attack. Right above us was the antlered head of stag (probably where they got the name Stag House) sticking out of the side of a building. The renovated building shows the mural of a stag's body. We walked up a small hill until we got to a tunnel. It turns out that we were looking at Scholars' Stair. Sebi told us we'd experience that walk first-hand tomorrow. He had them try to envision what the daily walk was like for a student who lived outside the citadel, in the lower town. It was quite a walk, to say the least.

The Clock Tower in the background.

Stag House

Scholars' Stair. We'll see tomorrow just what kind of walk it is.

Making Connections

What a shock it was to wake up on Friday morning in Bran. There were many inches of fresh snow blanketing the area. The whole town of Bran slept late, as snow plows emerged about 8:00. We were scheduled to leave at 8:00, but the breakfast team had not yet arrived (despite having left their homes at 6:00 to get to work). The only problem with extra minutes of sleeping in the rooms was that our arrival in Medias would be delayed.

Bran Castle under a blanket of fresh snow.

Bran slowly waking up after 6 fresh inches of snow fell overnight.

In the breakfast room, the skeleton crew staff was playing Christmas music. Everyone got a little chuckle out of that. They had more snow since spring began than they did at Christmas time. We could all appreciate the humor in it.  It was a winter wonderland, as long as you don’t have plans to drive anywhere.

By the time we finished breakfast, the roads were passable and we headed to Medias. On the way, we learned a little about the Romanian gypsies. They work primarily in copper. They have their own “laws” that are enforced by the “chief” of the gypsies (except if a civil law is broken). They are in the habit of showing their wealth by building enormous houses out of brick. Here’s the catch, until the house is “finished”, meaning the walls are plastered, they don’t pay taxes on their home. So, there are rows of huge houses, unfinished, just so that they can display their wealth. They actually live in a small “shack” either at the back of their property or in another area. It’s all for show. It appeared to be a waste of beautiful homes.

We arrived in Medias at noon. We were to spend the afternoon with students from the school which Luciana attended. We received a warm welcome and were treated like celebrities. As the girls heard again, they were the first Americans that the students had met. They had been talking about our arrival all week. The students had several small presentations for the ASH girls, but one of the highlights was folk dancing, in which everyone had to participate.  Madame’s mom came to join us at school. One of her former teachers also came to meet us. There was a celebratory feel to the school.

Madame showed everyone the classroom in which she studied. And she was able to see rooms like the chemistry lab had been renovated.

Madame chatting with HER English teacher when she was a student at Liceul Axente Sever.

The ASH students with the Head of School

The introduction to Folk Dancing!  All Hands on Deck!

An excercise in role-playing in English and in Romanian

We had a pizza lunch and everyone continued to make small talk. As the afternoon wore it, it became time for us to leave. We would be getting a historic tour of Medias. We invited everyone, students, and teachers, to join us. Despite the weather (big, wet snowflakes continued to fall out of the sky), we found that most of the students and several of the teachers joined us for the walk. The walk ended in a little café, where everyone could warm up.

The main square in downtown Medias

The ASH students and some of their student and faculty hosts from the high school

The conversations continued over cups of hot chocolate and lattes.

Madame Jeler and her hairdresser at "home". We invaded his boutique.

It was difficult to leave Medias - our new friends and Madame’s family -  but it was time to head to Sighisoara for our stay within the walls of the medieval city.

A Day with the Dobre Family

On Thursday afternoon, we drove the short distance from Bran to Cristian (by-passing all the vendors in the square since we were late arriving to Cristian). We really had little to no idea what was in store for us. We know that some of the time would be spent with children and that there would be something related to the church, as well, since Father Dobre is the priest at the Orthodox Church in Cristian. The connect with this church and the Myth Busters is that Madame Jeler and Father Dobre went to school together. They have known each other a very long time.

Lunch awaited us upon our arrival. We were welcomed into the home and quick introductions were made. It was a beautiful dish followed by incredible dessert.

The events of the afternoon were a highlight of the day. After lunch, we were shuffled over to the Community Center where all the students were invited to wear a traditional and authentic ie (blouse). Each blouse tells its own story about the woman who made it and wore it. Roxana has a beautiful collection of ies which she graciously offered for the girls to wear for pictures and for our visit next door to the Church.

When Roxana found out the Veronica had deep Romanian roots, she selected this very ornate ie for her to wear.

After a big photo shoot (Oh, did we mention that they had somewhat of a professional photographer waiting there to take our pictures?), we went next door to the church. We got a bit of a tour of the 230 year old church. It is strikingly beautiful, with not a single wall left open. We sang both River in Judea and Children of the Sacred Heart. They were ok at the singing of River, but were pretty darn good at Children of the Sacred Heart.

Group picture read to be sent to the Detroit Free Press Travel Section in hopes that they'll publish this really unique photo. 

These photos were taken right after we learned the chorus to a Romanian anthem.

Father Dobre also told stories.Their chuch underwent a renovation about two years. At the time, a "feeling" came to Father through a dream. He felt that there was a spirit among them. As it turns out, below the wood floor of the 230-year-old church were tombs. The space was formerly a cemetery. They collected and washed all the bones and they are now interred in a tomb in front of the altar. He was quick to point out that the "spirits" are good. They do not bring bad to the church. It was an incredible story. 

Father and Roxana and their daughter, Ana, with Madame

We used our time in the chapel to share some parts of our Sacred Heart tradition. We sang River in Judea and Children of the Sacred Heart. It was special to sing in the church. Father was really taken with the girls so he taught us a patriotic Romanian folk song. Don't forget you are a Romanian That is not our version of the song. We were recorded singing with Father. The video below is taken from an article in the local Romanian news. At the 4:00 minute mark, the group sings Don't Forget you are a Romanian with Father. 

Outside the church is the cemetery for the parishioners. It has a very strong and spiritual place. 

We returned to the house where a group of children were waiting for us. Roxana has a regular English program and other community activities each afternoon, for both the younger and the older children. She had the younger students interview the older students and then share what they learned about each other. With the older students, mostly girls, there was sharing and laughing and just general things girls do when they are together. 

Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We had homemade stuffed cabbage with polenta (a very traditional meal) which everyone enjoyed, even those who have been working very hard to try various foods. But the highlight of the meal was clearly the dessert. When we left the table, there were only a few slices of this spectacular cake.

Not to be believed, right? It has a chocolate cake on the bottom and then a cream layer that had fresh currents splashed throughout. It was topped with whipped cream and "tastefully" decorated (ha, ha, ha).

At the last minute, Roxana realized that we hadn't yet colored Easter eggs. She materialized a few minutes later with a vat of farm-fresh hard-boiled eggs and a pot of red dye. Boy, were the eggs a specatular color of red! The finishing touch was to rub the eggs with oil to give them a nice shine.  Madame and Roxana showed the proper way to eat the eggs. One person says, "Christ is Risen", and they tapped eggs, and the other person responds, "He is truly risen", also tapping the eggs together. It becomes a bit of an egg-cracking contest, until the eggs are ready to be peeled.

It was a great treat to meet Madame's friends. We left there feeling fully embraced and loved by this family.

Myth Busting

Today we had to be packed and ready to go at 8:00 a.m. For some, this meant a 7:00 a.m. "wake-up call." For others, there had to be two wake-up calls. Sebastian, our guide from Carpathian Travel Center, helped us load up the mini-bus and we were off, albeit, a little late. 

We are off on the first leg of our road trip away from Sibiu. We are headed to Bran, to see the Bran Castle.

The first leg of our journey would take us to Bran, where we would visit the Bran Castle, the legendary home of Dracula. The closest tie that "Vlad the Impaler" or "Vlad Tepes" had to the castle was that his grandfather Mircea the Elder once lived in the castle. By coincidence (or incredible luck) Bram Stoker’s depiction of Dracula’s castle could not have been better described had Bram Stoker actually been to Romania before the writing the novel. That being said, there are two other castles where there is evidence that Vlad Tepes did live.

Yes, you are seeing it with your own eyes, the Detroit "D" in front of Bran Castle - Dracula's alleged castled. 

In any event, this fortress is located between Transylvania and Wallachia, literally. The one side of the castle faces Transylvania while the other side faces Wallachia. There was additional evidence of this in the castle. The walls (as seen from the windows) facing Transylvania were considerably smaller than those facing Wallachia. You don’t need to guard against an attack from your own citizens. There was also a view of an ancient wall which once stood below the castle walls. This was an early version of border control.

This window faces Transylvania. You'll see the difference in the depth of the walls when you look below.

This window faces Wallachia. Notice how thick these walls are? They were fortified to withstand attacks.

In the middle of this picture are the ruins of the outer wall of the Castle. This wall extended around the Castle and served as a border crossing.

Sebastian shared some historical highlights of the castle’s history. Historical Timeline for Bran Castle

It's easier for us to share the link to the history than to recap it all. We learned alot, for sure. Most importantly, we know that the castle has nothing to do with Vlad Tepes (Dracula)! Count Dracula: The Myth

View into the courtyard

The furnishings throughout the house were beautiful. Very comfortable and well-suited for a castle. I bet the interior designer for this job doesn't furnish too many castles on a regular basis.

Madame Jeler 

The original space heater. Just fill with hot coals and move the disc to whatever part of the room you are sitting in!

Yes, just your ordinary family room, with a piano and cozy chairs.

We didn't realize it at the time, but the snow was starting to move in already, mid-morning.

The Myth Busters!

Entering the hall with suits of armor.

A view from another angle.

The park at the base of Bran Castle.