Cluj and Sighisoara

AUGUST 23, 2008
Below are a couple of my favorite churches in Cluj. I went for a day, and I really enjoyed the city. It's the 3rd largest city in Romania and is very active...much different than I'm used to in Tarnaveni. My favorite part of the day was a delicious shoarma and lemonade I had in Centru. I can't wait to go back and experience the city a little more.

AUGUST 26, 2008

First, I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom!! Today I wished so many times that you were with me experiencing all the cool sites today. I think this is a city you would really like!

Below you can see some of my photos from Sighisoara. I went there for the day with one of my students, Tudor, and his mother. They are incredibly nice! For the most part this is what I've experienced from all the students and parents I've met. It's the real Romanian hospitality that so many people talk about. In Ploiesti, I didn't see too much of this hospitality except from the gazda's (host families). I really think the small town life is more for me. I'm finally starting to speak with people in my bloc and outside. I hear them talk about "the American girl" all the time, but none of them will approach me. So I've finally gotten over my shyness and started talking to them!! The small town life is something I've realized I like more and more as I invision my future life. But I digress, in the pictures from Sighisoara you can see the 154 steps up to the Hill Church. That may not seem like a lot, but it sure felt like it on a 90 degree day with ancient, uneven, wooden steps. The man working there was very nice, and I spoke to him a while about why I'm here from America. Being in the church was a cool experience for me because my family and I are Lutheran. It connected me to the history of my church...and part of the construction for that church was even done during the Reformation. Cool, huh?!! The picture of me in the archway is in the crypt of the church. Tudor and I thought that was cool! The picture beside that is something I thought my brother would find cool. It's from the cemetary outside the church, and there is a gaping hole in one of the tombs. Tudor and I walked around like zombies for a while thinking someone escaped from their coffin! HAHA! The next three pictures are just randoms...of Tudor and his mom Daniella, a picture of the clock tower, and then me with a wine jug designed to look like Vlad Tepes. Then there is a statue outside the monastary church and the awesome restaurant we ate at outside of town.

I know you'd heard of Vlad Tepes by now. He's the man that inspired the Dracula legend. He was born in Sighisoara and the city banks a little on this fact. I don't mind...it makes things a little more interesting I guess. Just as long as you all know that Dracula was not real. He was a character invented by Bram Stoker, but Vlad Tepes was real and his nickname "The Impaler" came from his affinity for torturing and impaling people with wooden stakes! Although I usually despise the way The History Channel portrays historical figures...Cities of the Underground actually has a pretty good episode about him. You might check it out if you are interested!