As my home country marched through times of snow and blizzard, I sat, sometimes in amazement, sometimes in confusion, sometimes in despair, and sometimes in ecstasy, with my books, my thoughts, my dog, my mom and my friends, and watched the days slowly, but kindly go by. Work matters prevented me from traveling too far away from home, but I still managed to escape for some days to the Romanian mountainside. Until the end of March came and splendidly took over Bucharest, with its cherry-blossoms and impressive magnolias. That’s when I decided the time had come to go back to authentic Transylvania and disconnect for a short while, and simply enjoy the awakening of Mother Nature in a more traditional setting. The arrival to this somehow remote village, Cincşor, happened late in the evening. The only main street was drowned in darkness, and as I was walking towards the former school building (here is where guests are greeted), a fluffy furry tail caressed my knees – I sat for a moment to please my new canine friend’s playful mood. The former school together with some other houses in this village have been repaired, restored and redefined as Cincşor Guesthouses, providing a glimpse of specific Transylvanian homes, home decorations and local traditions. I chose to enjoy my Transylvanian experience inside The Peasant House, room number 3. What attracted me at a first glance was its overwhelming simplicity. You have everything you need, but nothing else, no redundant additions. Mellow-coloured wood surrounds you. The main room is on the ground floor, and the bedroom is upstairs. The staircase is wooden, narrow and steep, but I actually enjoyed this feature. Once you go up the stairs, you come across the same adorable simplicity: a big bed with white sheets bordered by night stands, a large wooden chest covered with a traditional Romanian woven fabric, 2 white armchairs facing both the room and the window, a white, ethereal curtain, and a wide window, all under the wooden, V-shaped ceiling of the attic. The perfect place to pay attention to your mind, tell or listen to stories, or create and invent new ones. I rapidly equipped the attic with candles, music was playing all around the house, and the fairy tale instantly began… The former school is just across from the Cincşor Fortified Church, which I visited the following morning. A solid and restored building, emanating Saxon characteristics. What attracted me most: the organ and the bell-tower. To reach the bell-tower, you need to climb on a series of wooden ladders, which feel quite unsafe, but they are a lot of fun! The entire village spreads under your very eyes as you reach the bell-tower, and the view from up here is…well…really something special! Next on my list: The Brukenthal Summer Palace in Avrig. This location was disappointing because much restoration is still needed around. You cannot go inside the Palace, so wandering around the gardens in the park is your main activity here. Not many flowers were blooming in the park, so after taking some cute, but not impressive pictures, I went on to the Valley of Fairies Clay Castle, in Porumbacu de Sus. This clay castle is an inedited location, built by a Romanian entrepreneur for his son exclusively with the aid of natural materials. The result seems to derive from fairy tales, with its unreal exterior and overall interesting shape. You can visit the estate, and spend some time admiring the surroundings, but the castle is not ready yet to welcome guests. I strongly recommend serving a scrumptious lunch at Albota, where they also have a trout farm. Everything mentioned in this story is in 25-30 kilometers driving range from Cincşor. You know what they say, that sleep is sweet? Well, in my opinion, the sweetest sleep is a long, very long afternoon nap. Nothing compares to it. So that is exactly what I did upon the return to Cincşor. Dinner was served inside the former school, by the candle lights, with music, silence and serenity in the background. Besides some stray dogs barking, everything is very quiet around this village, thus the dream state continued for hours, until the star suite and the Moon domina went up in the sky to guard over her moon children, until the night turned sable, until the negativity vanished, until dreams and reality became one, distorting all known guiding laws… A rainy morning and a rained friendly dog waited outside the house. I saved the best of Cincşor for the last morning. The former classroom inside the school was transformed into a large, stunning library. In the middle of the room, you may take a seat on one of the white couches and simply enjoy a good reading session. Tea or a good wine are also encouraged here. In the evening, dim light travels across this chamber, making it even more incredible than it already is. Thus, I think spending this last hour inside the guesthouses’ library was one of the most inspired and inspiring moments in the past few years. I said a glorious goodbye to Cincşor and went to Sibiu. Sibiu is always a dear and special encounter, and this time, it embraced visitors with various rapidly-changing weather conditions, as all seasons were parading: it was raining when I arrived, the sun came out to dry everything around, and during lunch, I could see snowflakes by the window and a weird and virulent snowstorm starting. Even though it ended as fast as it started, you soon come to realize that our Earth is in deep suffering, and we witness this daily, some as culprits, some as spectators, some as saviours, some as mourners… After all my trips, domestic or abroad, I always feel extremely satisfied, thankful and blessed to have been able to do everything I did, to have been in a good health condition and to have had the means and initiative to do everything I did, to have had good company every time I travelled, to have had the ideas to design my trips and so on and so forth. Live what you love and always be thankful, simple and humble!
0 Comments
|