Romanian Summer

The road shimmers

A mirage of heat 

Under the midday sun

A sea of yellow radiates beside

Thick velvety petals 

Contorting to follow the suns path

Tall stalks of green

Twist and dance in the warm breeze 

Gently nurturing their budding corn

Outstretched wings of black

High above soaring 

Sparkling in the light

His mate swooping down 

Delivering food to hungry mouths 

Atop a lamppost

Everyday they grow

In time they will leave this warm place 

For another

Until then

The sun beats upon us 

Relentlessly

Turning our skin brown and our bodies in search of cool waters

A few days away

This time last week I was walking around the streets of Sibiu. My friends wanted to go there to watch the Redbull Romaniacs motorbike competition. I had visited Sibiu in 2010 with Cristi and Martin and really enjoyed it so I decided to grab the opportunity to take mum there too. 

We lasted about 15 mins watching the bikers. In quick succession I saw one guy fall off and under his bike (whose wheel still spinning came dangerously close to his head) followed quickly by another guy flipping over his bike, crashing hard on his head and then having to be dragged off the road as he couldn't stand. We decided the bikes maybe weren't for us. It's fun to watch the tricks but geez is it ever a little scary watching them fall over and under those bikes! 

Mum, Cristi and I had a lovely time walking around the town (which with its Germanic feel won European City of Culture in 2007). It was lovely strolling around in the clean and spacious squares visiting the local museums and climbing the tower to have a 360 panoramic view of the town and outlaying mountains. 

On the Wednesday we went with Court and Laz to the zoo - a sad trip where the animals simply paced back and forth in cages far too small for their size. From the zoo we walked to the adjoining open air museum and spent a few hours lost in the beauty and simpleness of the past - we even were able to ride in a horse and cart much to our amusement and joy! 

On Thursday we traveled to Biertan a small village where a fortified church from the 16th century still stands strong and proud. From here we traveled up to Sighisoara the birth place of Vlad Tepes. It held a beautiful little market beneath an old clock tower where we ate lunch and enjoyed the beauty of the old buildings and cobbled streets. After our visit here we journeyed up to Cluj to spend the night and thus share what would've been a 9 hour drive, over 2 days. 

We came home on the Friday feeling happy and relaxed and a little bit more cultural than we had. It was a lovely holiday with my beloved family and fantastic friends - a well needed break. Here are a few photos from our trip.

Watching the bikers

Strolling around Piata Mare (Large Square) 

The famous "eyes of Sibiu" watching over us

View from the tower - Where's Wally? I would not like his job I tell you!

 

Begging in the mid day sun

The boys got themselves a stamped coin - very proud of their hard work to press them through the machine!

The Liars Bridge

"Go on give us a kiss"

Enjoying the beautiful scenery with my beautiful boy

Horse and cart ride

Cristi was so excited to sit at the front with our driver

The view from the church at Biertan

Clock Tower

What are holiday snaps without a few acrobat poses?!

Biertan

Sighisoara

The magnificent clock tower in Sighisoara

Myself and the band of merry travellers