I hope you are sitting comfortably. In some grass under the afternoon sun preferably. Though a comfy sofa or a rocking chair will do just fine. For I am about to talk to you about a place of calm. The little village of Sibiel. And to stay here a short while is as refreshing as a cold bucket of water from one of the local wells.
The heat calls for a little blue Ukulele Bath
Sibiel was a welcomed break, not only because I needed to recover emotionally from how little albums I had sold, but for it's authentic countryside feel. The rhythm of horses and carts accompanying the soothing sound of the river, which follows the main street through the village, is almost meditative. And by main street, I mean the only street. The old church building as well as the very special couple of "Troiţă" confer to the place something typically Romanian in this region with strong German heritage. The old paint of these small and beautiful Troiţă-s is fading away, but you can see inside the walls which protect the wooden cross, paintings and writing in Cyrillic, the alphabet used in Romania beofre the 1860s. Glancing inside these small constructions in this calm little village confers a slight sensation of time travel.
The main Sibiel experience is however not on these calm streets, but walking into nature. A couple of hours hiking with wild flowers and complementary berries the whole way, will take you up very special "Wild Heights".
Having escaped from the clutches of dark forests and packs of wolves, once back down to the village, you can visit the biggest collection of painted icons on glass in the country. I'm not sure how much I should recommend this though. Mainly because they all look like they were painted by promising 5 year olds. But that could be part of the symbol. To find true spirituality, we may have to reconnect with our inner-child. Just a thought.
The best surprise, culturally as well, came from a most unexpected of sources: a little "pension", a type of family run affordable hotel. The "Mioritica" pension, on top of having one of the nicest gardens I have encountered on these travels, has a little museum of communism. I will share with you a couple of pictures taken in the little shed in the garden, which houses relics of this past era. Something even the city of Bucharest hasn't had the audacity to do yet.
Isn't this nice? Thank you very much for reading, feel free to leave a comment if you enjoy these posts, or if you just managed to read the whole thing today. Always much appreciated. Anywho, it is thanks to precious help that I am now back on my way! Next stop,
Hitchhiking. North please.