Another Side of Sibiu - The Many Faces of Transylvania (Rendezvous With An Obscure Destiny #70)

There is no substitute for experience. A fine example of this is Emily Gerard, the author whose book The Land Beyond The Forest, informed Bram Stoker’s knowledge of Transylvania and served as inspiration for many aspects of Dracula. Gerard came to the region as an outsider and ended up an expert. The time she spent in Sibiu (Hermannstadt) and Brasov (Kronstadt) from 1883 – 1885 (when her husband was stationed there as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Military) allowed Gerard to observe and research the region. During the bitterly cold winter months she checked out and read volumes from the magnificent 40,000 volume Bruckenthal Library. In the spring, summer, and autumn Gerard wandered all over the city and parts of the surrounding area. Her experience and findings led to her writing The Land Beyond The Forest. The book has stirred my own memories of Sibiu and Transylvania.

Hermannstadt - Teutonic Transylvania

While reading one of the chapters in The Land Beyond The Forest I came across the following passage that made an impression upon me. “It has often been remarked of Transylvania, that while resembling no other country precisely, it partakes of the character of many, and that within the space of half a dozen miles you may be reminded of as many different lands.” The first thing that came to my mind while reading this was the cityscape of old Sibiu. I can still remember the strange feeling when I walked into the city center. The architecture reminded me of Germany. Was I still in Romania? The burghers' mansions, the gigantic churches, the spacious squares, the eye candy color of the houses painted in a full spectrum of pastels. It was not long before I heard the harsh, guttural tones of German being spoken by Teutonic tourists who had come back to visit the city they still call Hermannstadt.

Saxons made their mark upon the city center to such an extent that I was constantly questioning whether I was really in Romania. Irishman Walter Starkie, author of the famous interwar travelogue Raggle-Taggle: Adventures with a fiddle in Hungary and Romania had the same disconcerting feeling when he found himself in Sibiu. Starkie said the narrow streets and gabled houses reminded him of Nuremberg. I have never been to Nuremberg, but maybe there is no need to since I spent several days in Sibiu. While Sibiu is most certainly in Romania and not in Germany, above all else, it is of Transylvania. Anyone who has spent time in Transylvania knows that it is another world. The diversity of landscapes, peoples, history, and architecture is mesmerizing. Anyone who has been to Transylvania is unlikely to ever forget it.

In The Countryside - A Trip Back In Time

A year and a half ago, I went back on one of my infrequent visits to the town where I grew up. A childhood friend was also visiting at the same time. We decided to meet at his parent’s house. I had not seen them in twenty-five years. During that time, my friend’s parents had made several trips overseas. While recounting their various trips, I asked if they had visited Eastern Europe. That was when they mentioned Sibiu. Suddenly I was laser focused on what they had to say. I expected to hear that they too had been astounded to find a Germanic city in Transylvania. I was startled to learn that they had a very different experience with Sibiu. One that was fascinating in its own way.

My friend’s parents had flown into Sibiu, met by a local family, and went for a home stay in the surrounding countryside. They never went into the city center and had no idea about the Germanic look of Sibiu. Instead, they expressed their amazement at the ubiquitous horse drawn wagon carts still found on highways in Transylvania. They were amazed at the sight of Roma wandering along the roads and in the countryside. Their idea of Transylvania was completely pastoral. Since they had both grown up on farms, it was a trip back in time for them. I knew this side of Transylvania was a larger part of the region than city centers. I had seen it for myself on the bus ride from Brasov to Sibiu.

From the highway, I had seen expansive meadows flowing towards thick forests in the distance. ?There were low hills and towering mountains. There were homes that looked like the 19th century must have existed inside of them. In towns, bicycles and pedestrians ruled the roads as much as cars. There was the burning sun and a crisp chill in the air. Near the town of Fagaras was a turn off for the world famous Transfagarasan Highway, an incredible engineering achievement, unlike the potholed highways which suffered from neglect. The towns looked radiant and sleepy. The paradoxes of Transylvania were always on display. I envied my friend’s parents for having the opportunity to stay in the countryside, but I would not have traded it for the time I spent in Sibiu.

Eternal Mysteries – In Hot Pursuit

I usually enjoy rather than love cities. Sibiu changed my mind. The ambiance, the setting, the architecture, the people, all worked in tandem. There are very few places where you can both live and love, I am certain that Sibiu is one of them. An extremely rare and insanely intoxicating kind of romanticism that has less in common with reality and more with magic. The best things were done when I was walking and thinking about nothing. On a journey to discover the city and myself. There were so many sides of Sibiu to explore. The Teutonic grandeur at its core, the buildings with chipped plaster that reeked of 20th century disasters, the communist era apartment blocks laying siege to Old Sibiu, the Saxon houses with ever watchful eaves. They stared into my soul and saw right through me.

I could see through the historical facade of Sibiu as well. I knew the truth. The city might look like Nuremberg, but it was Romanian. Those who had been resigned to the outskirts for centuries had migrated to the center. Their exotic features, Latin language and dark vibrancy existed came out from the shadows of Teutonic grandeur. The face Sibiu now presented to the world was tinged with passionate melancholy. A Transylvania that no longer bared its teeth would now slip you some tongue. Seductive whispers and illicit kisses, mighty towers and soft caresses. There were eternal mysteries of life and love to be pursued in Sibiu.?