Bună ziua – my trip to Romania

I am happy to write about two special weeks in my life in which I visited a country I had no idea about – Romania – especially the city called Sibiu (Hermannstadt)…

It was kind of a school project. A company wanted to send two kids of my age to Sibiu where this German company had a subsidiary. People wanted to give us the chance to be introduced to a textile company and its operations. Also the visit was to get to know the country. So let’s say it was a branding project.

We were two girls going on an adventure! It was all organized by the company: Flights were booked, we got a flat of someone from the company in Sibiu, they picked us up and took us home, they paid for our meals and the best thing was getting us in contact with two wonderful girls who showed us the city.

What is so special about Sibiu? It is the old town!

I was nearly 18 years old and haven’t seen something like that before. The city was not just old, it was beautiful. The town’s hall was magnificent and covered with gold. The church was tall and towered above the city.

When I heard that Sibiu named the „Capital of Culture“ by the EU in 2007 I could totally agree. Sitting in bars in the old town with cobblestones, watching music videos on big streams, seeing kids meeting and having fun, just seizing the sun was amazing! I didn’t know that I would experience this kind of an old town again some years later in Poland…

I saw the progress Sibiu went through and I was very impressed. But then there was also the other side: the main streets were perfectly built, but the other streets had huge holes. We saw parts of the city in which people seemed to be rich as hell, because the houses were immense. Those houses were bigger than I was used to here in the province of Germany. But we knew that there were also other parts. Everywhere we saw dogs, actually in good health. Where the company was located we saw a dog with its puppy everyday and the workers fed them. But later I got to know from another friend from Romania that the streets are dangerous because of the wild dogs.

However, we felt save and had a wonderful time, thanks to our new friends. We went to a zoo, to a great museum in which houses were built as they are from other ages and of course we went shopping.

Balea Lac – amazing nature in Romania

Besides, there were also coworkers of the boss (who speaks perfectly German) who took us on a trip to an amazing place up a mountain. In the car on our way there we passed some villages in which time seemed to stand still and people lived like back in the 1920ies or so. That was one of those other experiences we had.

The street up the mountain was so winding, that we were just able to drive 20 or 30 km/h. As a proof, please check the picture below:

In the end we came to „Balea Lac„, a crystal clear water lake in hundreds of meters height. When we arrived there was fog, but anyway it was a gorgeous place. It was cold up there and we were used to 30°C in Sibiu. However we were able to take some nice pictures. I am very happy that we had those amazing moments in Romanian nature.

Beautiful place in the mountains

We learned a lot about the culture of the country especially from our friends who are speaking perfectly English. For example we learned about the struggles of farmers who have to obey to European law. The young Romanian generation is clever and proud and fights for its dreams. I also remember that we were invited to a birthday party in the house of the Dobrota family who made our little adventure unforgettable. It was really a pleasure for us girls from Germany. I am very thankful, that we met them.

Therefore I am very thankful that I went on this adventure in which I experienced a country that is trying to improve, but also wants to keep its culture and history alive! What do you think about holding on traditional culture but obeying progress?

I hope I can encourage others to also travel to some countries they have no idea about. In the end what you gain from it will be fantastic! Never stop traveling!
Pa pa! Bye 🙂