After a relatively early breakfast in Sibiu it is time for our drive to Bucharest, with a lot of sightseeing planned along the way. In fact we planned crossing the high country on the Transfagarasan but due to bad weather and snow we decide to leave that for another time and cross the mountains at a lower altitude.
We have been on this route before and even stopped a few times but today we are planning slightly different stops. Some of them are planned like the Red Tower Castle, a former border fortification and now an orphanage with a grim reputation. From here we notice that the highway traffic is stopped, there are multiple work zones going forward that force us to lose time while waiting in line.
Next planned stop for the day is Cozia Monastery, one of the most historic monasteries in Romania. Parking is easy near the main highway and after somehow crossing the main street we enter the monastery.
The main church is impressive and well preserved and renovated. They style is quite interesting and we really like it, it is in a style typical of Serbian Morava school where likely the craftsmen were brought from. There are quite a few people here but they are mostly spread around making for a nice visit.
What is special here are the frescoes. While we cannot take photos inside even the outside ones are quite beautiful with the usual representations of hell and heaven and many saints. Inside is the grave of Mircea 1 of Wallachia, the ruler under which the church was built and a fresco depicting him with his family which is famous in Romania as it is in all history schoolbooks.
The details on the church are exquisite we really like how the windows are decorated, it is a style that really resonates with us.
We continue exploring the monastery complex and take a look over the Olt River that flows nearby, no boats or birds today.
There is also a small museum in the monastery mostly with religious iconography. Some of them are quite old and some are surprisingly new covering different styles of religious paintings. And with that we are done and it is time to move on to Ramnicu Valcea, our next destination today.
