We were on the bus and on our way to Castelul Corvinilor (Corvins Castle) in Hunedoara by 8:30 this morning. We encountered lots of road construction and two lane roads with lots of traffic!
We were lucky - the traffic coming toward us was backed up for miles and miles!
These were abandoned chimneys from the years of coal mining and coal fired electric production. The
Fortress of Deva was one of the most important fortifications of Transylvania from the Middle Ages. We didn't visit, but it is over 750 years old.
Buildings from the Communist era in Romania
It was a long drive so we stopped at a shopping mall for lunch before arriving at the castle. Tobey and I grabbed a spinach filled pastry at the grocery store and ate in their cafeteria. It was very tasty.
We enjoyed seeing these pastries for sale in the mall. They may look like fruit but they are not!
We finally arrived at the castle mid afternoon.
The Corvins Castle is representative of the military architecture in Eastern Europe in the 15th Century. Constructed in 1446 in the Gothic and Renaissance styles the castle originally had seven defensive towers. The coat of arms for the castle is a raven with a ring in its beak. The legend is that King Sisimund of Luxembourg who was already married, and Elisabeth, a young noble lady, had a son out of wedlock. Elisabeth received a ring to give to her son from the king as a sign of recognition for their future son. Years later, on the way taking the son, Ioan de Hunedoara (the son) to present the child to the king, the son played with the ring. A raven, attracted to its brightness, flew down and stole it from the child. Hearing the child cry, his uncle took a bow and killed the bird with the first arrow, thus taking back the jeweled ring. When he heard the story, the king was so impressed, he decided that the coat of arms of the family from Hunedoara would be the raven with a ring in its beak.
View from the Tower
Courtyard
Dining Hall
Original painting on the ceiling in the dining hall
Another view of the courtyard
Part of the torture chamber area
Around 3:30 we were back on the bus heading to Sibiu - another two hour drive. We saw lots of storks' nests along the way.
And churches
We also passed through areas with lots of gypsy's houses. They are quite ornate.
We arrived at the hotel about 5:30 and had a little time to unwind before going to dinner at one of the traditional local restaurants in Sibiu, "Crama Ileana." Everything inside was wooden and it was very charming.
We started with a type of borscht - but not made from beet root, thank goodness! It was delicious.
Our main course was cabbage rolls, pork belly, and polenta.
Our dessert was a donut with berry sauce and sour cream. It sounds strange, cut was good.
It was after 9:30 by the time we got back to our hotel. Tomorrow we have a walking tour in old town Sibiu before heading to Sighisoara and Brasov, so good night!
We arrived at the hotel about 5:30 and had a little time to unwind before going to dinner at one of the traditional local restaurants in Sibiu, "Crama Ileana." Everything inside was wooden and it was very charming.
We started with a type of borscht - but not made from beet root, thank goodness! It was delicious.
Our main course was cabbage rolls, pork belly, and polenta.
Our dessert was a donut with berry sauce and sour cream. It sounds strange, cut was good.
It was after 9:30 by the time we got back to our hotel. Tomorrow we have a walking tour in old town Sibiu before heading to Sighisoara and Brasov, so good night!
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