Sighisoara from a distance

The same day I took these photos, we decided to drive into the hills surrounding the town and see if we could find a scenic spot from whence to photograph it. We found a couple of spots. There are a couple of pensions perched up there, with great views of the valley and the town. While the pensions/restaurants themselves are underwhelming (one was closed, another only served water and bad coffee), the views are worth the drive.

By the time I set up my equipment, it was dusk and twilight was fast approaching. You’ll have to excuse the liberal use of noise reduction in the photographs, but I was shooting with the long end of a 70-300mm lens at f5.6, fast shutter speeds and high ISO. What made the photos more interesting was the creeping fog, which was enveloping the town from all sides. I can see the appeal of such scenery in stories about vampires, but I assure you, there are none there.

When night fell over the valley, we drove back down and I took a few shots of an historic church and of the Târnava Mare river which passes through the town. One last thing: the mountains which you see in some of the photographs are the Southern Carpathians, more specifically the Făgăraș Mountains.

Enjoy the photographs!

A view inside the fortified walls of Sighisoara, Romania, after sunset. What you see is the church, and one of the larger historic buildings.

Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Transilvania, Romania

Fog sets in at twilight over the city of Sighisoara, Romania.

Sighisoara, Transilvania, Romania

Near Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Transilvania, Romania

A lovely little reformed church in Sighisoara, Romania, at twilight.

Near Sighisoara, Romania

Sunset near Sighisoara, as seen through the branches of a tree.

Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Transilvania, Romania

Evening fog begins to envelop Sighisoara

A view of some of the historic homes in the city of Sighisoara, inside the fortified walls, during twilight, as the fog began to set in.

On a bridge in downtown Sighisoara, Romania, after sunset, as the dark begins to set in. The river is Tarnava Mare.

These were taken in November of 2010, so let’s say it was eight years ago or so. Things may look different now — hopefully better, given how much tourism this little town gets each year.

It was one of our typical jaunts through the medieval fortress, along its walls and back down the stairs toward the bottom of the hill. Still, the images show different spots from the ones you’ve seen here and here.

Should you want to know more about the town, click here and here. Enjoy the photographs!

Evening in the medieval city of Sighisoara, in Transilvania, Romania

Places

More images from Sighisoara

Places

Sighisoara: on the beaten path

As opposed to these photos, the ones you’ll see here are popular sights most tourists get to see (or not, depending on what they’re looking at). Enjoy!

Inside the citadel, Sighisoara, Romania

Saxon church, Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Romania

Inside the citadel, Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Romania

Saxon church, Sighisoara, Romania

Inside the citadel, Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Romania

Inside the citadel, Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Romania

Inside the citadel, Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Romania

Saxon church, Sighisoara, Romania

Inside the citadel, Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Romania

Inside the citadel, Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Romania

Inside the citadel, Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Romania

Inside the citadel, Sighisoara, Romania

Sighisoara, Romania

Inside the citadel, Sighisoara, Romania

Places

Panoramas from Southern Transilvania

Back in August, I took several panoramas during a trip from Sighisoara to Fagaras where we decided to take the winding country roads, which meant also meant driving on dirt roads for quite some time during that trip. The views were worth it. Here are a few of them. Go ahead, click through to see them at full size, the details are worth it.

Places

Sighisoara: off the beaten path

This Labor Day, we drove into Sighisoara and we decided to see it differently from the way most of its visitors see it. The typical route is to park at the bottom of the hill, walk up the stairs, see the clocktower, tour the piazza, buy some trinkets and go back down…

We drove into the outskirts, climbed up one of the adjacent hills, found a clearing, and got some interesting views of the city that way.

Afterward, we went up into the fortress to see if we could see some spots we hadn’t yet seen, and after walking up a well-known side street, were rewarded with the open gates of the rectory. We went right inside the courtyard and had a marvelous walk up into the gardens adjacent to the fortified walls.

We were greeted by a very pregnant and friendly kitty in the courtyard, who acted as our host for the duration of our visit.

The human hosts saw fit to ruin the architecture with polycarbonate sheeting as cover and communist-era poured concrete as a rude balustrade for the balcony. The satellite dish is apparently a modern pre-requisite.