epic trip, day 1

another week gone by, right?
we went on a 2-day trip last week. right after i returned, it did look pretty epic, so i downloaded the pictures right away. let's see if i can still remember where we were and what we did.
it was pretty ambitious, in that we were relying on good weather and schedules/timing in order to cover up some tourist attractions in the hunedoara/deva region. the most amazing surprise is that there were no bad surprises. it didn't happen according to plan this time either, but...everything happened. there. check.

- number of kilometers covered: a lot more than anyone had expected. and no, we didn't really really lose our way at all.
- no exciting food experiences on this trip. the best thing i did eat was store-bought mini pretzels, in the car. not a real complaint here, just, you know, a pity.

otherwise:
good weather, with hints/warnings of possible storms. sonia, our driver, decided to go as far as possible as soon as possible, and then just move back from there. so the first touristy thing we visited was sarmizegetusa regia, the former Dacian citadel/capital// of 2000+ years ago. which is in the mountains - of course, and completely out of any asphalt road, in a barely accessible by car area. of course. 20 kilometers forest road is best encountered at the beginning of a trip.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarmizegetusa_Regia
look what we saw:

things. remains. stone.

altars. temples sites. stones. no idea which of this is old/original and which a reconstruction.

of course there is a sarmizegetusa mystique among romanians, of the nationalistic variety. i have rare but regular outbursts of quasi-nationalism throughout the year, but it's the first time i've been here. duty, done. check. 

the location is very nice, let's give them that. smart people, those Dacians.

fresh spring water for visitors! to each, their own priorities.

yay people in tents. i bet nothing beats being holiday-y in a tent on sacred grounds. 

i took a small shiny mica stone as a souvenir.

next, getting back to the road!! which took tons of time, again. we did stop to take a picture of this "castle" that we'd noticed going the other way - because, how can one not notice this ?!?!

longest flight of stairs this side of ...the danube, i guess.
i will keep reminding you throughout that my friends and i are in the middle of an infectious bout of  "game of thrones" referencing etc. sights like this one are goldmines.

then we got to the lovely town of deva. it was...sort of evening already. 

the citadel of deva, on top of the hill. (the eyrie, anyone? no? just me?)

we had to take this cable car to get on top.

pretty indifferent view of some of the city

and from the other (older, i guess?) side

and: "game of thrones" reference alert. (people who haven't read "game of thrones": what is wrong with you? start now!)

there's really not much left of the poor fortress walls. they just started restoring it, but again: i don't know how much is restoring and how much actually building. 

the interior yard: this is the most of the walls that one can actually see. after climbing some thousand wooden steps. nah, i won't begrudge it, it was good exercise.

window with a hoodie.

yay stone.

the highlight of the day was a good...unexpected moment. after we'd stopped at a restaurant and eaten on the patio, giulia's friend m. (who is from deva) joined us and showed us the city center in about 15 minutes. apparently that's all there is? i don't know. anyway, there were these few gems:

bronze-y rooftop!

newly re-done building of the theater in deva. 

"at the frogs" : fountain with small and very cute frog statues. 

there was a glazed roof that giulia kept admiring and an ornamental spire, ditto.
then there was some icecream that apparently was very good, but i was too full post-dinner to partake.
then, there was this: the building of the history museum, in a park right below the citadel cliff.

we're still on the topic of sigils/symbols: swan pierced by an arrow - pretty good, no? 

aaaand LIONS. i guess most of these are lions anyway. this is the backyard of the museum, hosting all the pieces they ...didn't know what to do with? couldn't fit inside??

i don't know, does it sound like we had a good time? i feel like we did. am i making this clear enough? hmmm. the troubles of chronicling a 2 day trip a bit too late: where is the spark? why is everything either too personal, or too game-of-thrones-related? (also personal)?
bracing up for the ordeal of describing the hunedoara castle...soon.
c