More Transylvanian skies

This view is looking up at the Town Hall (left) and a Catholic (I think) church (right) on Piata Mare. The little walkway between them leads to Piata Mica.

21 May 2007

Transylvanian sky

I showed these lamps in Piata Mare a few days ago, but the sky was so extraordinary I couldn’t resist taking a closer one.

21 May 2007

Str. Balcescu (3)

Here’s another of the fancy buildings on Str. Balcescu.

21 May 2007

Reflection

Although most of my time in Sibiu was marked by ever increasing heat and sun, sometimes there was really heavy rain, though thankfully (unlike Scotland, where I’d come from) it tended to be short-lived. As I took refuge in a handy courtyard on Str. Balcescu (and you can see some people doing exactly the same opposite me!) I noticed the clear reflection on the paving.

21 May 2007

Jacky’s Bar

Still on Str. Balcescu, I was really pleased to see myself unwittingly honoured! Actually I never did frequent Jacky’s Bar – I think I’m a bit older and less trendy than their target clientele! But this sign always made me smile

21 May 2007

Artiness

One thing that I noticed was that even the corporate sponsors of the Capital of Culture entered into the spirit of things – even this advert for BCR (Commercial Bank of Romania) was arty, I rather liked it. (Please note, other banks are also available ).

21 May 2007

Ramada Hotel

Just in case you’re getting the impression that Sibiu is only beautiful old architecture, just beyond the end of Str. Balcescu it starts getting much more modern. This is the Ramada Hotel, the most expensive hotel in town (where, apparently, Julio Iglesias had a suite when he performed in Sibiu in July, just before I left).

21 May 2007

[I'm away for the Bank Holiday weekend but magic pictures will still appear]

Str. Balcescu (2)

Here is another view of Str. Balcescu – the green building is the one that was featured in yesterday’s picture. There was quite a thriving cafe culture, although many of the cafes were fast food places. Personally my favourite place to grab food was a shop near here which sold covrigi (round hard bread) and gogosi (like doughnuts). No wonder I didn’t lose any weight!

21 May 2007

[I'm away for the Bank Holiday weekend, but magic pictures will still appear]

Str. Balcescu (1)

Str. Balcescu is full of these lovely old buildings – you can certainly see the Germanic influence, much of Sibiu really reminded me of central Europe in terms of architecture etc.

21 May 2007

[I'm away for the Bank Holiday weekend but magic pictures will still appear]

Europe in Colours

Off Piata Mare is Sibiu’s main shopping street, Str. Balcescu. This display was outside along Str. Balcescu, and is of children’s drawings of various European countries. The writing at the top says “Europe in Colours”.

Romania by and large seems to have really embraced the idea of the European Union. Certainly pretty much everyone I met was really enthusiastic about being a new EU member.

21 May 2007

[I'm away for the Bank Holiday weekend - magic pictures will still appear]