Hi Gram!
We’re headed to Sibiu today, so I woke up excited to tackle the day. Today is a rest day from the gym, but I still went to get my stairs done. When I left the gym, I checked my average and I’m back up to my 40 floors averaged per day so far this year! It felt great, now I just have to maintain it for the next 2 months.

When I got home, I organized a few things and packed my small bag for Sibiu. I probably overpacked a little, but it all fit into my small bag. I practiced some knots for a while – I’m working on a few basic knots so I can make things like a clothesline easily as I travel – then had breakfast with Bob and Amber.

After breakfast, we headed to the train station, riding the ole reliable (and crowded) #4 bus. We planned to arrive a little early, then the train was delayed 25 minutes, giving us almost an hour to kill. We stopped at a coffee shop in the station, then walked through the station to the other side to walk around the park. It was a beautiful crisp day, and the hour passed quickly as we chatted and walked. On the train, we found a family sitting in our seats. It confused us at first, wondering if we had the right seats or train car, but once we confirmed we were right, they moved without any hassle. The ride was pleasant, with farm lands passing by outside the window and mountains off in the distance. I read my book while Amber worked on an embroidery project and Bob did some writing.

At the Sibiu train station, we gathered our things and started walking to the apartment we’d rented. I commented that it was nice that all three of us just started walking to the apartment without anyone thinking to hire a taxi. It was only a 15 minute walk along streets that weren’t crowded. We dropped our stuff at the apartment, then headed out to check out the town. Rain is expected tomorrow, so we wanted to take the chance to walk around in this wonderful weather. We checked out the two main squares, oohed and ahhed at the churches and historic buildings, then found some passageways and stairs that led from upper town to lower town.

As the evening started to set in, hunger started talking to us so we found a nice restaurant with outdoor seating. We were impressed that they had separate walled tents for the smoking and nonsmoking sections. Smoking is still very popular in Europe, so it was nice to have the option. Dinner was really good, topped off with delicious desserts. We shared a berry topped donut and an apple streusel. With such a beautiful night, we walked around a bit more and got in some more stairs, then eventually called it and headed home to go to bed.