June 9, 2026 - Sibiu to Brasov, Romania

After breakfast we had a walking tour of old town Sibiu with our local guide, Nicoleta. We entered the Old Town area at the Carpenter's Tower, a prominent medieval structure in the heart of Transylvania which was built between 1337-1366. The Carpenters' Tower was once part of the city's defense system and is one of the oldest preserved towers in Sibiu.

Our guide, Nicoleta, was wearing a dress typical of the medieval time period. She was a very good guide but we are overwhelmed with all of the historical facts!


Although the eyes originate from as early as the 15th century, most of them were built in the 19th century. There are legends, according to which the eyes were built to frighten the people, making them believe they are being watched. Their real purpose was to act as a ventilation system for the houses' attics. Nowadays, the eyes have become one of Sibiu's most famous symbols, making them a tourist attraction.
As we walked through the town, we went by a "kindergarten" which is a daycare here. I loved the colorful boots that were serving as flower pots.

The square has existed since 1366, when the third fortification wall was completed. These are some of the sights and buildings around the square.


This building was the first pharmacy in Sibiu and opened in 1494.Through the years it has been a bank, then after WWII it was had offices for several state institutions, and now serves as City Hall.

The “Lunatic Cage” was for locking up people they thought were insane. It's now filled with flowers! The execution cage has been removed from the square.

Lutheran Church of St. Mary

Near the square

She told us about the craftsmen and the process of becoming a helper, then apprentice, then becoming the master craftsman. These were samples of the tools they used.

The Bridge of Lies has many legends surrounding it because of its name. The most popular one has it that the bridge will collapse when someone tells a lie while standing on it. Another legend says that the bridge was often crossed by merchants who were trying to fool their clients. The ones who were caught were tossed off the bridge. Despite all the legends, its name has a different origin. The bridge was initially called Liegenbrücke, German for lying bridge (lying as in "to lie down"), which sounds very similar to Lügenbrücke, meaning "bridge of lies".

View from Bridge of Lies

They know how to party - at least for children! Cute portable party carts.

One final view of the red city wall.

After our visit to Sibiu we were back on the bus for our drive to Sighisoara. This is the Hermann Oberth Memorial House (now a museum) in Mediaș, Romania. He was a rocket scientist and is considered one of the founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics. Born in 1894 he led the way in Romanian space exploration, including original plans for rockets launched in 1935.

We passed through another gypsy village. The homes are quite impressive!

Copper works for sale in the village.

Another village we went through


Our next stop was at Sighisoara for a walking tour and the Clock Tower Museum. Nicoleta was our guide here, as well. This is the entrance to Sighisoara.


The Clock Tower museum is the building with the spires and a view of another street.

Tobey and I climbed the 110 steps in the Clock Tower Museum to the top catwalk overlook. It may not sound like much, but they were steep, narrow, and many sections were "open" steps you could see through. I wasn't sure I would make it, but fortunately, there were several levels with museum exhibits to break up the climb.



This was a view from the clock tower.

Back down to the ground level we wandered around enjoying the town. The yellow building below is the house where Vlad the Impaler - otherwise known now as Count Dracula was born. Although Bram Stoker - the author of Dracula novel - never traveled to Romania, he crammed his book with descriptions of many real locations that can still be visited in present-day Romania. They include Sighisoara medieval citadel - birth place of Vlad the Impaler, Bran (Dracula) castle, Borgo Pass, town of Bistrita. There is so much history surrounding Vlad (Dracula) that it would take an entire post to cover it all!


Around 3:30, we were back on the bus on our way to Brasov where we are spending two nights. We were on another two lane road and there was a lot of traffic!

This is one of the old fortifications we saw along the way.

Coming into Brasov we could see the funicular that goes to the top of the hill.

Roundabouts are everywhere and the traffic is crazy! I'm glad we are not driving.

Our hotel for two nights, Aro Palace

This is the view from our window ... is someone watching us?

We had dinner in the hotel and will have an 8:15 start in the morning heading to Bran Castle, otherwise known as Dracula's Castle. Hopefully, we will come out alive.