Ultimate Balkans and Transylvania Travel Talk Tour: Sibiu, Day 5

Day 5: Wednesday 12th October 2022

Start: Cluj Napoca, Romania

Finish: Sibiu, Romania

Currency: Romanian Leu

Temp: 9-19 and showers/overcast/rainy

0830 departure following an amazing breakfast, I’d say on par with yesterdays. The sunny hotel was clean and comfortable with new bathrooms and excellent water pressure. This morning we are on the way to the Salina salt caves which were apparently used as set locations for some of the Star Wars films (I’m unsure about this ‘fact’).

We were extremely lucky to arrive at the Salina Turda Intrarea Veche Salt Caves around 9am which meant we were some of the first people into the cavernous space. These caves are unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been in Caves across all the continents I’ve visited! A five minute walk (without hustle) down the tunnel brings us to the first entry where a display stands of the old horse drawn structure. Down a few narrow flights of stairs and the first viewing platform opens out onto the mammoth cave. White and grey streaks of salt swirl through the black rock up the walls and across the ceiling. We walked around the viewing platform and down the stairs at the far end of the cave before coming out at the ground floor of the main cavern. Ping pong tables, an amphitheatre and a small Ferris wheel dominate the space, glowing gently beneath LED lamps. Down another flight of stairs and across a bridge finds you standing in the middle of a moat and timber structures. After a quick fifteen minute game of ping pong, we finished our hour long visit and made our way back upstairs in the elevator. Luckily there were hardly any other tourists there or the ascent and walk back to the entry might have taken much longer than the 10 minutes it took us today. Our guide warned us that most often waiting for the elevators alone can take 15 minutes each round trip (which adds up if dozens people are trying to exit!).

In an hour and forty minutes we will arrive at Corvin Castle. Kaan our guide arranged to collect money for the Corvin castle entry fee (36Lei). Corvin fills every castle fantasy you can ask for. Perched on the side of a fairytale hill with pointy towering spires, and a flowing river moat far below! Inside the castle, an iron prison where captured foes were hung from the ceiling, winding spiral staircases climbing higher and higher beneath the turrets above. We were given almost two hours to explore the castle and surrounding grounds, including to grab lunch or snacks. I decided not to order a sit-down-lunch due to the time constraints when I finished in the castle.

After lunch we drove another hour and a half to Sibiu where we disembarked just after 4pm for a walking tour and the evening to explore the old town. We meandered through the cobblestone streets, taking in the churches and learning about the ‘eyes’ built into the roofs of the houses looking down into the market squares. When we started meandering around in search of dinner, we stumbled across the Weinkeller Restaurant (Pivnita de vinuri Weinkeller) which was down a little set of stairs and nestled in a red brick cellar. The lovely hostess admitted she rarely gets tables of more than two people (normally romantic date nights!) so our table of seven was a novelty. She was fantastic in ensuring our food came out within our time constraints and we thoroughly enjoyed the eclectic menu. I tried the Veal with gingerbread sauce and mulled berries – be warned, it really is like a dessert with a veal steak in the middle! It was delicious but definitely wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Others had spicy wings and stew, soup and the onion pie which was like an impossible pie or a zucchini slice. The local lemonade drink (fresh lemons, juice and honey) was divine and served in large steins.

By 7.30pm we were back on the bus for the short drive out to the hotel for the night. Tonight we were surprised to learn we were staying at the Mercure Airport Hotel. As I mentioned, our lovely guide Kaan didn’t give us an itinerary with the confirmation of the hotels or schedule so we approach each day with good humour as we await the events to unfold. The hotel is nice, clean and big! Rooms are a good size, although our room has some questionable stains on the curtains which as my roommate explained, look as though they have blood spatter that has been laundered a few times! The bathrooms are fine, not as good as previous hotels, but not terrible.

 Tips:

Have 60Lei available to pay entry for the Salina Salt Caves.

Have 36Lei (40 if you’re happy without change) available to pay for entry to Corvin Castle.

Accommodation: Mercure Sibiu (Airport)