Transylvania, Day 3: Rural towns and horseback riding

Another wonderful day, in spite of me being a little bit sick. We spent the entire day touring a couple of very small, rural villages outside the larger town of Sibiu. These villages have some buildings that were built in the 1500s and on, and some of the people still live like people did hundreds of years ago. The houses are heated by fire, they have outhouses, they make their own food, and they drive horses to town.

We saw several interesting aspects of this village life. One family showed us their bakery, which included a mill to make flour from corn, the fire-burning oven, and the shop in the front of the house. We got to try three different kinds of bread, which were "white," "black," and "sunflower seed." They also had a forge in the back where they specialize in horseshoes.

My favorite part of the day was visiting our guide's house, where we got to drink boiled milk from a water buffalo! Apparently the town used to have a custom where every family had a water buffalo for milk, but it's now out of fashion. The milk was delicious - like whipping cream.

We also ate a homemade lunch (which was a wonderful stew with apple pastry for dessert), and saw some of the old buildings in town. I got to take a photo of the horse-drawn carts that many people use to drive around and drive into town.

Finally, we got to go horseback riding through the Transylvanian hills. I'm a little afraid of horses, but I couldn't pass up that chance! My horse, named "Shock," kept trying to go faster than I wanted, but she was very nice and I had a great time.

Tonight we're off to dinner in a local restaurant. We get to sleep until 9:00 tomorrow, which should help in me feeling better. I have had such a great time on this trip so far!

Below are some pictures from today's adventure in the rural areas of Romania.