Sibiu

On Saturday, we were driven from Brasov to Sibiu. All these drives have shown us you don't want to drive in Romania. There's only a few highways and only a couple that are 4 lane. There's a roundabout every few miles, it seems, and many going into and out of a city. On the two lane highways,  drivers pass other cars with little regard for the possibility they could have a head-on collision. The drivers they are passing may even have to brake to let them in but it must just be custom since there doesn't seem to be much road rage.The worst thing, though, is there are no warnings when you're approaching a construction zone which causes everyone to slam on the brakes and wait until they can pass around them.  On the other hand, in any city, all you have to do is put a foot on a pedestrian crosswalk and cars will stop on a dime.

On the way to Sibiu we stopped at Fagaras to see a citadel and the gold church.The fortress which has 150 rooms is said to have been given to a woman by her husband. Although the fortress has been around in some form since the 12th century, one of the rulers doubled the walss and had the interior decorated with luxuries from all over the world. I don't think the Gold Church is connected but I don't really know. It's beautiful.

Fagaras Fortress

Fagaras Gold Church

At the Sibiu international theater festival,  we did not do what you're supposed to do which is see shows all day. Almost everything was sold out and I couldn't book ahead of time because the website wouldn't accept bookings from the US. On the first night we were able to book an organ recital at a church outside of town. This year is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in Transylvania so all historic cathedrals are having organ recitals this summer. Information at the church said the pipe organ is the biggest in Romania but the Black Church in Brasov also makes that claim. The organist had impressive credentials and the Bach pieces were OK but the modern stuff, not so good. We did wander around seeing the architecture of the old walled city and a couple of cathedrals. There is one modern one that is impressive--every square inch inside is painted. Since it was built in 1900 and painted in 1950, no one cares about it.

Painted church

We met up with the Trapdoor people  when they arrived from performing at a Romanian military academy. There were 245 soldiers in the audience, including some NATO personnel. They leapt to their feet when the play was over and presented each actor with a military badge.  Trapdoor had been chosen by the Festival people to be the first company ever to go to the base and the only one this year.

There's a performers tent where everyone goes to eat, drink and dance. We had to borrow badges to get in. We didn't stay for the dancing but we still developed next-day hangovers for some reason. The Trapdoor play was sold out before the festival opened so I told Nicole she had to get us tickets somehow.  She told the  playwright who we met at the tent and he said he would get us in.

The next night we went early to the theater. I was told the tickets were in my name. I told the ticket person who said they weren't there and that the show was sold out. I had been told to say "Matei Visniec left the tickets." It's like saying Neil Simon left them. She said, "I put them under Visniec.  I don't know your name." Our seats? Row 1, seats 1 and 2. Close to Jim O'Quinn of American Theater Magazine. Yes, I've become a name dropper of the Romanian theater scene.

The show is very physical so each actor is suffering from bruises and swollen joints.  The set, designed by the director from Budapest,  is striking. The performances are brilliant. As for the subject matter, it's about communism. I'll make up something more intelligent to say about it later.

And that's the conclusion of our Scotland /Romania trip. Both countries are great--I recommend them. Just maybe not on the same trip.