Favorite Festivals on Tour (2 min read)

Old cultures, especially agrarian ones, love their seasonal festivals, and the best time is after the hard work of planting, tending, and harvesting is done. Late summer, as the hot afternoons stretch and winter approaches. That’s one of the reasons why I scheduled my Romania tour when I did.

During those weeks, I’ve stood in front of the building where Vlad Dracula was born in Sighișoara and watched groups of earnest youths perform medieval folk dances in their meticulously hand-sewed traditional costumes. The blend of ancestral pride and adolescent hormones built a bridge between the distant past and my own life, yet another of the sudden moments of time travel that so endear Romania to me.

The capital hosts a world renowned classic music festival, but I best remember the days when they close the normally bustling streets to cars, and musicians from different genres transform each block into their own rhythm of party. And at the other end of the tour, I’ve perused table after table of books at one of Brasov’s many literary and art fairs.

However, the one that most stands out is the pottery festival in Sibiu. Craftsmen from all across the country bring their wares to the main square, ringed by Austrian Habsburg mansions, and load tables with colorful dishes, vases, jewelry, and more.

Last year I was on the verge of moving into my new home in the Netherlands, and I had nearly zero dishes. I am not a shopper by nature, but the paucity of my tableware was well timed with its solution. I ended up shipping home an entire box of goods.

The dishes themselves are beautiful and far more personal than the mass produced stuff I later used to fill the ranks. But the best part was talking to the people. These were neither polished salespeople nor bored teenagers, the two most common types encountered in shopping. These were artisans, proud of their family heritage, and happy to share it with me.

Sometimes as I sip my morning tea out of a Romanian mug, enjoying the slow moments of steep and steam, my mind goes back to Sibiu and all the wonderful summer days I’ve spent there.

Romania gives the gift of time travel. And sometimes, you get to take it with you.