First, I am so glad about the SCOTUS rulings on DOMA and Prop 8. The words that end our Pledge of Allegiance "with liberty and justice for all" are that much closer to becoming a reality. Congratulations and blessings to all of our gay and lesbian friends.
Today, we traveled from Brasov to Sighisoara. The cancellation of our cruise has yielded us treasures we never would have experienced had the Danube not flooded. We are seeing parts of the Romanian countryside we'd never have but for the intervention of Mother Nature. We are traveling in a very comfortable mini tour bus designed for 14. Since we are returning to Bucharest, we have not needed to carry all of our luggage with us, but are getting by with minimal clothing. The other two couples who are traveling with us and the Leightons have had to bring everything because they will be driven to some city whose name I don't recall and then will take a train to Budapest. We have been very fortunate in that the eight of us are extremely compatible and are all good travelers with no complainers in the lot. Dianne and I and the Leightons will return to Bucharest on the 28th and fly to Budapest on the 29th.
As I mentioned above, the cancellation of our cruise has turned out quite well for us. We were really enchanted by Brasov and wish we could have spent more time checking it out, but rain, thunder, and lightning changed our minds and our plans. Since we had no desire to be lightning rods, we came indoors and then did a little exploring after the rain passed and after we ate a very light supper. Since I prefer to take pictures of quaint places without people being in the picture, I got up a little past 6 this morning, packed up my camera, and set out to explore with my camera. WRONG. It was raining, so I did the next best thing, I got some coffee and caught up with Facebook and news. For most of our trip today, rain was our constant companion, but it did not dampen our spirits. We visited two Saxon churches that were worth seeing. This part of Transylvania was settled by Saxons who built churches surrounded by high walls where the population could take refuge if they were attacked. The families had dwellings in the walls and food needed for survival as well as a well, so they could stay there for a considerable amount of time. The interior of the churches was quite spartan and it would have been difficult to fall asleep during the sermon because the congregation sat on very narrow plank benches with no backs. The leading citizens had it somewhat better with their seats in the front. The second church we saw was in a little village called Viscri which was 8 km off the road via a narrow, bumpy road that went through a Gypsy village. The road was in real disrepair, but our driver was very skillful and navigated it in the best possible way given the condition of the road.
We arrived in Sighisoara and were immediately taken with the town. We are in the old medieval fortress section. Our hotel room is large by any standard and absolutely gargantuan by European standards. I don't know the age of this building, but I know it's counted in centuries. There is much charm here and after the rain stopped, we got a chance to roam the narrow cobblestoned streets. There is a church on the top of a hill that is accessible by 176 stairs. The climb is a challenge, but the views and photo ops up there were numerous and worth it. After the climb, I joined Dianne and the Leightons for some tea and conversation. We all agreed that the Danube's acting up had given us the opportunity to experience Romania, something that a visit to Bucharest alone could not provide. Tomorrow we are off to Sibiu for one more night, then back to Bucharest.
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