The village of Biertan in Transylvania is a tranquil time-warp from the late Middle Ages. This is the view from the fortified Saxon Church with the old defensive wall still standing.

Transylvania is such a fertile land and when the Saxons settled there 850 years ago they planted vines on terraced hills above their villages. These have all become neglected since the Saxons left Romania after the fall of the dictator Ceausescu in 1991 and the vines have long gone.

This lovely old Saxon fortified church is being restored with the help of the Eminescu Trust. We visited it with Jessica Douglas Home, one of the Trustees. The wooden viewing platform under the top turret enabled the surrounding countryside to be scrutinized for enemy invaders.

I found this old bread trough in a small shed built into the fortified wall of a Saxon fortified church.

This is the clock tower at Sighisoara, the mediaeval citadel in Transylvania. I took the photo from a room at the Inn where we stayed. The tiles on the tower are multi-coloured and a man was repairing some damage to the roof – he is too small to see. 

A rooftop in Sighisoara with a typical eye-shaped ventilation window.

A stork’s nest on top of a chimney – couldn’t help wondering what happens when they light the fire….

This unbelievable gourd was in a restaurant in Bucharest where we had lunch one day. Robert was not very amused to have his photo taken with it....