Wandering the Village and Fresco Covered Chapel of Viscri
If I had to pick a favorite day in Romania, which would be a really hard thing to do, it would probably be our day in Viscri. Viscri was everything that I had hoped for in Romania. Although its a somewhat well-known tourist destination, Viscri is just a tiny farming village in the middle of nowhere with a fortified church dating back to the 1100’s. Its surrounded by rolling hills, it has muddy dirt roads, and there are friendly people and animals walking all around town. I decided to visit Viscri on a whim and I am so glad we did! I started the day out hiking up to see the the church. When we got up there, a little old lady was sitting at the entrance and she let us in to see the building. Stepping into the church, you could see it was covered in ancient frescoes. The colors have faded over time, and the paint has chipped, but it retained its beauty. We walked all around the fortified walls, looking out the slits built into the brick. This place was built to be ultra sturdy and is holding up incredibly well. Just outside, there is a cemetery where people put pictures of the deceased on their gravestones. For being so old and so remote, I’m pretty impressed that they were able to do this.
Having spent most of the afternoon up at the church, I walked down to the town to see what we could see. The sun was getting ready to set and people were coming home from the fields. Cattle walked along the street back to the stable. Men riding horse drawn carriages were headed back with giant piles of hay. Little girls stood in the front yard watching us and knitting socks. It was like the quintessential Romania that I had imagined.
I walked around and observed. There was a boy transporting linoleum on his bike down the muddy roads, and then there was the man and his cat, both sitting in the window. As I walked around, one woman noticed that I wasn’t wearing any socks, and she offered me a pair that she had just knitted. Viscri was just the lovliest little town. Apparantly Prince Charles visited a while back and loved it so much he bought a house here. I can’t imagine he lives in one of these old houses with muddy streets, but I’m glad that we can all share a love for this village. If you go to Romania, you should definitely give it a visit!
~ Shelley Hartman, Romania travel and wedding photographer
Want more pics? Check out my travel page and my previous post on Sighisoara, Romania. Thanks for reading!
