Jagged, mountainous and cloaked in snow - the Carpathians kept us company for the 3 hour train ride from Brasov to blinky sweet Sibiu. Despite the blue sky and sunshine during the trip, the day was certainly brisk when we chuffed into Sibiu Station just after 4 pm. Getting much better at bribing cabbies for short trips (no meter, sling 'em 10 lei), we were at our swish yet cosy apartment, bags dumped and off exploring by 4.30 pm. We'd not planned on being out for long - quick squiz at the Piata Mare (Big Square), right next door, hunt some dinner from the supermarket, then home. But the Light! Oh the Light! Sunset happened fast (must have something to do with the Carpathians). And the temperature plummeted to around minus 10 or so. The air was crystalline and the night sky was sapphire blue and as clear as a Viennese boy soprano. Wow! We took the best photos of our Sibiu trip that night. Probably lucky as we were darn near popsicles by the time we got back to the apartment. Well here we are - 5 nights in Sibiu (nee Hermanstadt as it was in its early days). Very early days actually. The city's slogan is "Young Since 1191". First off (and no, we've not been appointed Ambassadors to Romania) - I admit I was the sceptic - I thought it would be all beggars (nope - they've all left and are being irritating through the rest of Europe) and depressed old people living in the miseries of the past (nope - mainly young, friendly and professional) and that it would be gray and cold and wet and horrible (what can I say... had to go somewhere and the airfare from Spain was €30.) I am ecstatic to have been proven wrong. Romania is a jewel box of a country with different treasures in every drawer. A box of chocolates where every flavour is different and more scrumptious than the one before. And CHEAP! Did we mention cheap - and that of course keeps this show on the road. Speaking of roads, within the Historic Quarter, thankfully not a lot of roads. And where there are, not a lot of cars, which makes for a wonderful, wandering experience. Did I mention we've been watched the whole time we've been here? Even in our apartment, heavy-lidded eyes are peering at us. No - it's not the tourist police or the secret police - it's the blinky houses. There may well be a technical term, but that's ours. As you can see from the photos, the eyes in the houses follow you everywhere (just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean the houses aren't watching you...) We've walked all over town, enjoyed the history and even found a graveyard of old Romanian locomotives - but the highlight of gorgeous Sibiu was the Public Baths. An art nouveau confection of a building with a heated swimming pool and, as luck would have it, individual tub rooms upstairs. Obviously perfect for us as our Air BnB just has a shower (albeit awesome). So we went to explore this bathing option with no idea what to expect. As it turns out, in terms of creature comforts, not a lot (so on our second trip we planned ahead - bubbles, book, candles, soaps etc). But the baths are long and deep and the water so hot it could strip paint. And all for the grand total of 15 lei per hour for the use of your own private bathroom, for two of us. About €3/A$5. And popular! There are a lot of Roma travellers about, in their traditional costumes (or 'clothes' as they call them here... just a novelty for us to see). They will bring a whole family in for washings and scrubbings. The public baths also do laundry. Really quite the home away from home. So we hit the baths a couple of times and afterwards we'd walk 10 minutes home... steam pouring off us. Amazing. You will see from the photos - but Sibiu reminds us so much of Paris - you don't need to 'do' anything... just walking about and taking it all in has entranced us for days. We can't believe that Sighisoara - our next stop on Friday 17th is actually considered to be the most beautiful... if it is, that'll be our minds completely blown. Tonight 16th - it was time for culture and we headed to Thalia Hall, integrated into The Fat Tower in the defensive walls, for the Sibiu Philharmonic playing Ravel and Elgar. Even though we bought tickets as soon as we arrived (there goes another €10), we were in the overflow seating - conducted by Chris Petrie from the UK it was brilliant! Otherwise, check out the photos and they will tell some of sweet Sibiu's stories for us.