biertan

sighisoara looked beautiful as we left it yesterday morning. the sunlit citadel appeared to float above the town which was lying under the mist from the river (did i say there was a river?). the road rose and fell leaving the town wrapped in its valley. we drove through undulating countryside more varied than it had been the last few days. more horses and carts, more slowing down for villages made up of low buildings in various states of repair but always brightly painted and always boasting at least one church, sometimes two. the churches are always pristine, some with steeples and others with silver domes. some villages have one of each, orthodox and baptist? baptist appears on the boards outside some of the steepled variety.

i managed to twist lou's arm into deflecting away from tom tom's route and taking a bumpy road for eight kilometers to a village called biertan which lonely planet called the most beautiful saxon fortified church of them all (unesco world heritage site). it was! it towered above its village and we could see it from the other end of the little valley it was set in. arriving in the main square we spotted several campers. the germans lou said...and it was!

we did the tour of the 'castle' as it was signposted and bought a guide in the book shop on the way in. on and up another of those covered sets of steps as in sighisoara passing the outer walls on the way. the church was enormous and beautifully and simply restored. lots of carved wood and hanging tapestries. the views were pretty good too and we could see the pattern of the old vine terracing on the hills around and about.

back in the bookshop i chose a card and a calendar but as i got to the till the germans arrived en masse and started paying for books they must have previously ordered. the girl's computer was slow and necessary for every purchase. we looked at one another and i put back the card and calendar and we left! outside there were some slightly inferior cards but, hey ho, no queue. off to the one cafe to get some coffee before that too was highjacked. we sat outside under a sun brolly and counted the german campers out. then i rang the campsite here in saliste to make sure he had room for us. he did! later he told me the germans came here in may so their organizer decided to change the route this time. thank goodness she did, this place is lovely but bijou! :)

ps photo of one of the towers around the ramparts