Sighisoara

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All of us on this trip were in joint agreement that if we had flown into Bucharest and visited Sighisoara before Cluj would of been the wrong way round. Sighosara was a massive success! This place was like Tallinn and Cesky Krumlov all rolled into one but unlike the fairy, twinkle toed town of Cesky, this place had a rustic, a gritty,an older and nostalgic feel to it. But most of all, this place was a darn less crowded.

Sighisoara, also located in Transylvania and also goes by the names of Schäßburg, Segesvár, Castrum Sex, to name but a few and is perched atop a small hill that overlooks the modern part of the city. It was the birth place of the infamous Vlad Tepes III who was Bram Stokers inspiration for Dracula which I hasten to add was taken from the name Drago or Dragon. He lived in the 1400's and is most notably remembered for his method of torture and is so coined with the name 'Vlad the Impaler'!

"Like Tallinn and Cesky Krumlov all rolled into one"

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Yes, as history tell us a rather long and girthy stake was inserted into the anus in such away that in protruded from the shoulder allowing for maximum pain that was prolonged through the stakes missing of vital organs (and we complain about taxes!). He often bestowed this on his enemies, namely Greeks and Turks and quite enjoyed eating his dinner watching his impaled victims writhing in agony in front of him.....kebab anyone?

Still, everyone was doing it in those days apparently.

As infamous as Vlad was for impaling, this example of torture was vacant in the disappointingly small and empty Torture Museum. Located directly under the Clock Tower the room does however house torture devices designed for feet, fingers and necks. I'll leave it at that, see for yourself.

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We were staying in the Burg Hostel which had recently been upgraded to a hotel but that was only because the letter 's' had fallen from its fixing on the outer wall. The hostel had a bar and a restaurant that served us well during our stay in Sighisoara (or Siggy as we liked to call it) and we were only 50 metres from where Prince Charles and Michael Palin stayed when they visited.

Two days was more than enough time needed for the very small old town of Sighisoara but with more time the surrounding hills would make some excellent terrain for Transylvanian hill walking. There were many small eateries and bars where Romanian wine could be sampled and as it was a nice tasting wine, alot was definitely sampled. Many tourist shops littered the town and stalls were mainly selling the usual tack down by the clock tower which was a wonderful centre piece for the old town.

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Going in the tower you enter different levels and see old tools and the workings of the lovely clock. Once at the top great views of the new and old town can be seen along with the surrounding hills. The town outside the walls is just as endearing and coffee and cheap food can be purchased from the many cafes at the foot of the old town hill where you can sit and enjoy the colourful buildings and ornate arcitecture of Sighisoara.

This place is one I would definitely revisit if I was in the area again but 2 days was more that enough time needed which explains the 2 rather heavy hangovers we had during our stay.