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Our first stop after Brasov was Sighisoara. It’s another town founded by Germanic people, the Transylvanian Saxons, who were invited by the King of Hungary to protect the southern borders of what was then his land. They built their medieval citadel on a hill and it has been UNESCO listed for being “an outstanding example of a small fortified city” which has been inhabited since the 12th century. It was also where we celebrated New Years Eve 2009/2010. But before that happened we had a few days to explore the (inevitably) cobblestoned streets of the old town. It was beautiful.

The Clock Tower was once the main entry to the fortified city and home to the town council. It was built in 1280 with walls 2.35m thick and is now a history museum. Inside you can see the workings of the 1648 clock, a fantastic tangle of wheels, cogs, chains and spinning things all controlled by the steady tick tock of the pendulum swinging.  Each day a different wooden figurine represents the day of the week and other figurines, carved from linden wood, represent characters from Greek and Roman mythology.

Nearby is a restaurant in the house where Vlad Tepes (inspiration for Count Dracula) was born, but we avoided it. Instead we opted for the delicious kurtos kalacs that were being sold in the main square. We first discovered kurtos kalacs in Brasov at the Christmas market next to the ice skating rink, and they’ve been a staple feature of any outdoor area that people wander around and might want to eat. Made from a thin ribbon of pastry wound around a thick wooden spit, they’re a hollow cylinder about 40cm long and 10cm wide which is slowly cooked over charcoal. The outside is crispy, covered with caramelised sugar and nuts, while the inside is still a little undercooked and mushy. Delicious!! Apparently they originate here in Transylvania but are now considered a Hungarian dish as this area was part of Hungary for hundreds of years. As you eat it the helix unwinds and we had an easy-to-eat street snack as we wandered.

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Tags: Humor, Moldavia, Moldovita, Sighisoara, Suceava, UNESCO, Voronet