With the coronavirus going on these days, our plans of travelling are being cancelled or postponed but this shouldn’t stop us from doing some research about the cool places we can travel to, once this whole craziness vanishes.

I’m Romanian and I love my country. I think it has one of the best landscapes, architectures and cultures in the whole world. That’s why I always recommend it to the people I meet. The rich traditions and the friendly and welcoming people will make your trip to Romania unforgettable. If you go during the late Spring/Summer/beginning of Autumn time, the weather is usually fantastic, which always makes a trip more enjoyable.

I grew up in Transylvania (which is the coolest part of Romania, no offence to other parts of the country), but I never visited the whole region while I was living there. Transylvania is a multicultural region, where Romanians, Hungarians and Germans used to live together. That’s why, when I went home a week ago, I decided to go explore one of the most famous and beautiful Transylvanian towns: Sibiu, also called Hermannstadt (which is the German name).

Sibiu was named the ‘Capital of Culture’ in 2007 together with Luxembourg and also won the same title in 2004 (while Romania was still not in the EU), becoming the first city not part of European Union to have this title. I think that’s pretty impressive.

So, here are the top 5 things you must do when you visit Sibiu, so make sure you have them on your travel destination list.

1. Explore the traditional types of food

Bean soup in bread

Having so many cultural influences, the Transylvanian food is diverse, rich and very meat based. I was actually surprised when I realised that I’ve never tried the famous “Ciorba de fasole in paine” before and I’ve always wanted to see what it tastes like. This is a bean soup in bread with fresh red onion on the side. Unfortunately for me, the soup is made with smoked pork meat and I don’t eat meat but the friendly staff from the ‘Cabana valea aurie’ restaurant, where we decided to eat, agreed to bring me veggie soup in bread with red onion. I’m pretty sure it’s not the same as eating the original bean soup in bread, which is one of the most loved Romanian dishes, but I can’t complain, I loved it the veggie way as well. I can’t thank the amazingly nice staff enough for making my dream of eating this soup come true, although they did think it was a little bit weird, haha.

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The most famous, delicious Romanian dessert: Papanasi

If you’ll ever taste papanasi, I am absolutely convinced you’ll fall in love and this dessert will become one of your favourites E V E R. You’ll look for Romanian restaurants in your own town on your return, just to eat them again. I’m not even kidding – I know people who did it, including myself.

Papanasi is a Romanian and Moldavian traditional boiled ”donut”, filled with cottage cheese and topped with sour cream and fruit jam. They are warm, soft, melty and sweet and also remind me of that time when my Moldavian Grandmother used to make them at home for us, when we were little. Please, just go try them.

I was actually thinking that maybe there’s a way to make ‘vegan papanasi’ as well but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t taste the same – so you’ll need to go ‘cheagen’ on this one. Let me know if anyone knows the vegan recipe, I’d be curious to try it.

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Pretzels

Romania has amaziiiiing pretzels – soft, warm, fluffy, topped with sesame seeds or chia seeds or poppy seeds – whatever you go for, it’s going to be super delicious. We, Romanians, are apparently really good at making delicious dishes when flour is involved (not me particularly, but in general…). The bread, the pretzels, the cakes – Romania is definitely in my top five best countries that make your tummy happy.

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2. Explore the streets of Sibiu

If you are into rustic, ancient settlements, Sibiu has the best medieval vibe. Strong fortifications, street patterns and large squares – this town is perfect for some Instagram perfect shots. Visit the Bridge of lies, the Large and Small Squares, admire the “eyes” of this city (their gaze will follow you everywhere, it’s pretty cool), and the gothic style buildings that reflect the Hungarian-German influence.

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3. Get amazing views of the city from the top of The Council Tower

The Council Tower is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Sibiu and I can totally see why. Once you get to the top floor, the city unfolds beneath you and it gives you amazing views and some nice opportunities to take incredible shots, if you’re obsessed with photos, like I am. The Council Tower links The Small Square with The Large Square and its history is pretty captivating: it was first built in the 13th Century and refortified in the 16th Century and it also served as storage for grain, a prison and a watchtower across its long history – a lot of responsibility for a tower if you ask me. 🙂

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4. Try the cafes and shops in the city

This is a must-do thing on my list, anywhere I go. Why? I think cafes have a special power of bringing people, creativity and coffee together, and the vibe resulting from this is usually magical. I’ve always wanted to have my own cafe and that’s why, for me, visiting cafes and small shops everywhere I go is mostly for research purposes. It helps me stay inspired.

“Ma gandesc la ea non-stop” shop was on my list to see for a long, long time ago – it’s so lovely. I think people are even better when they pour a little bit of their soul in the things they create – that’s all I can say when I look at this shop/post office or whatever it is. I just want to stare at it forever.

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5. The wine

You can’t come to Romania and not taste the amazingly delicious wine. These people are very passionate about making homemade wine and other types of alcoholic beverages and they take great pride in that. If you’re lucky enough to have relatives/friends in Romania who make wine, that’s such a win. If not, try Grama, Cotnari and Jidvei wines – these are some of my favourite ones. Again, if you have friends in Sibiu who have an amazing balcony with views over the city, you’re so lucky because Sibiu from the top is an absolute dream.

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As I always say, don’t take my word for it – go and see it for yourself.