At a first sight, Roșia Montană is just another typical Transylvanian village. Set at a base of the Apuseni Mountains, with picturesque views and beautiful architecture (but with houses that do suffer from degradation), with a mixture of different nationalities living in it, with traditions and a feeling of time standing still.
Horse-riding is not necessarily a very common activity in Sibiu or even in Romania. There are people who are passionate about horses and horse-riding, there are some well known stud farms, but sometimes people are reluctant to try this sport.
Astra Film Festival is a major event in the European film community and Romania’s leading documentary festival. The Festival happens yearly in the Transylvanian city of Sibiu, and it’s unique in South-Eastern Europe. Continue reading
Mid September – still summer temperatures and sunny in Sibiu, still plenty of tourists taking photos of our medieval old town, still the main squares of the city bustling with concerts, outdoor events and a big crowd. And somewhere on the Mitropoliei Street, right next to the Big Square (Piata Mare), at Jules Bistro, in their summer garden, a handful of well known Romanian chefs from all over the country get together for 3 full days to bring gastronomy to a next level.
At the beginning of September we took over the Suru Chalet in the Făgăraș Mountains and turned it into the headquarters of one of the coolest events we have been to this year. The 3 days spent there evolved around a old shepherd’s recipe that takes a lot of time to prepare and a lot of team work to get to the final result.
If in the first years of organizing Transilvania Gastronomică the aim of the organizers was to connect the restaurants of Sibiu to the small local producers of the county and to create and bring to life the concept of the Transylvanian New Cuisine, this year they dare to take this September 3 days event one big step further.
After years of hiking mostly in the Făgăraș Mountains (as they are very close to Sibiu and easy to reach for us), this summer we decided that it’s finally time to try something new. We chose 5 days at the beginning of August, hoping for a good weather after a quite rainy May, June and July, to spend in the Retezat Mountains National Park and hike the area.
We’ve been to Sighişoara before, but not in the recent years. This summer we had a weekend there due to a wedding and we took the time to walk around in Sighişoara’s medieval old town as much as the rain allowed us to. We were pleasantly surprised to find a clean and renovated Sighişoara, with freshly painted houses and streets.
The Evangelical Church of Saint Mary from the Huet Square is the most famous Gothic-style church in Sibiu and its massive 73.34 m high bell tower is a landmark of the city. Every Friday morning, from 10 AM to 1 PM, going up the 192 stairs to get to the top of the tower bell will give you not only a beautiful view over Sibiu and its surroundings, but also a proper gastronomy lesson.
This year’s summer has been, at least so far (and it’s mid July when I’m writing this post) a bit hectic, with too much rain almost every day and low temperatures that almost got us to turn on the heat indoors. This also means that the hiking season was not officially open, but end of May we still decided to go up in the Făgăraș Mountains for a weekend and get a bit away from all the city noise.
