Walking and Writing in Transylvania
"I connect better with people in person. I also need to fill myself with life and real, visceral inspiration. A place I’ve never been to before should give me that, right?” — Silvia Paizan
Welcome to The Flâneurs Project. This post is part of our Longing For Places series, in which I am also interviewing Silvia Paizan about walking in Sibiu, Romania, and her favourite places.
As I’m writing this, I have copies of Along The Enchanted Way (Ten Years in Transylvania) scattered on my dining table, along with six little notebooks that arrived today and dozens of envelopes of various types. I’m slowly preparing for the gathering I am hosting this weekend at home in The Hague: A Small Group Of Travellers.
I don’t know for sure why I’ve chosen this particular book to give to the travellers who will join me this weekend (along with Solnit’s A Field Guide to Getting Lost), but I’m glad I did—it’s already started feeding my imagination regarding a Transylvanian getaway for the upcoming year.
A friend asked me some months ago:
My initial desire was to curate and send him a list of one hundred places that I remember, have heard of, and that caught my attention, but that particular list lacked soul and lived experience. So I decided instead to look for places to write about in my country of origin, Romania. More precisely, the Transylvanian region—a region that I am familiar with, where I lived for a good portion of my life, and which I explored on various occasions.
If I Were To Spend A Week Walking And Writing in Transylvania…
I would book the Cuba Apartment in Brașov, a town tucked in the heart of Transylvania, and spend my mornings writing at CH9 enjoying really good coffee.
For lunch I would be at Bistro de l'Arte, every day, ordering their daily lunch menu. I would spend my afternoon strolling near Tâmpa, the mountain nearby. For dinner I would go to any open terrace in Piața Sfatului, and continue writing.
Located very close to Brașov (20 minutes by train or car), Râșnov is a small town with a beautiful fortress. I would revisit this place in August, during the Historical Film Festival, a wonderful gathering with talks, art exhibitions, open cinema, and live music near the fortress. At night, there are movie projections under the starry sky. I visited this place more than ten years ago, and I still have a lingering sense of awe from my time spent there. I would book an entire week of accommodation at Casa Contelui, located very close to the fortress (€352 a room for the week).
Interview With Silvia Paizan
Sibiu is another wonderful city located in the heart of Transylvania, where one could spend a week walking and writing, being immersed in a very particular beauty and slowness. The best way for me to present Sibiu is through the eyes of Silvia Paizan, which is why I’m joyfully sharing this interview I conducted with her a few days ago.
Hi Silvia! Could you tell us a bit about yourself and share any creative projects you’re passionate about?
I’ve been calling myself an illustrator and graphic designer, but these labels don’t fully capture what I do. What I love doing is immersing myself in a project, idea, or place until its essence reaches my bones, allowing me to translate it visually. This could be through illustrations, a visual identity, a mural, a website, or the kitchen layout in my rental apartment. I’m looking for a more fitting label (any suggestions?).
The creative project I’m most passionate about – and that has driven me crazy – is figuring out how to be both creative and grounded. (If anyone has figured this out, please reach out to me!) I’m still trying to answer this simple question: how can I support myself financially doing what I’m best at when what I’m best at is being in constant transition? I’m attempting to share crumbs of this process in my newsletter on Substack (6-month due post is coming soon haha).
I hope that more and more people will start searching for the soul of things, now that AI can replace any streamlined, predictable creative processes.
Which cities bring you the most joy while walking?
I grew up in the countryside, in a small village on a hill in Oltenia, so any city fills me with wonder but also makes me feel tense and somewhat unsafe. I’m still a village girl at heart, and while exploring new cities offers me a sense of freedom and endless possibilities—like I’m no longer stuck in a village but roaming free—what brings me the most joy is returning to places I’ve visited before.
Walking on familiar streets gives me a sense of complicity, as if the street and I share a secret that others don’t know. Maybe this is the genius loci you’ve written about?
I cherish my memories of walking in Athens, London, Porto, and Barcelona.
Where do you enjoy walking in Sibiu? What are the places you frequently return to?
Sibiu is a small town where you can cross it in any direction on foot in about an hour and a half, so it’s hard not to revisit the same places frequently. I enjoy walking in the 3 Stejari neighborhoods during spring and keeping track of which flowers bloom when. I also love strolling through the old town at night, where the stars are still visible and the charming, old houses make it feel like a fairytale.
Even the communist-era neighborhoods like Hipodrom, Ștrand, or Vasile Aaron can be surprisingly charming—fierce (and loving) grandmas and grandpas have transformed green spaces around their blocks into personal gardens, growing onions, tomatoes, marigolds, asters, roses, Brussels sprouts, and irises, giving the area a very homesteady feel.
Sadly, recent street renovations and new parking lots are taking over these gardens, but there are still some left. They provide enough shelter for wildlife—when I walk at night, I often stumble upon hedgehogs, frogs, foxes, and last week, I even saw a ferret! (Writing this, I realize I haven’t strayed too far from the countryside I know and love, haha.)
Oh, and walking along the Cibin River is also quite pleasant. It crosses a rather industrial area, but the willows on each side make it feel peaceful. I hope the beaver is still there.
Which city will be your next adventure?
I recently bought a one-way ticket to Copenhagen. I’ve never been to Scandinavia before, so I’m super curious to see how this trip will unfold. This is both a personal and professional adventure. While I’m not expecting to permanently move to Copenhagen or Denmark at this time, I need to take a step forward that feels more substantial than just going somewhere for a week.
I struggle with explaining what I’m good at, and the energy I spend tailoring my CV to fit into a mold that doesn’t represent who I am isn’t worth it.
I connect better with people in person. I also need to fill myself with life and real, visceral inspiration. A place I’ve never been before should offer that, right?
Denmark feels like a good next step. We’ll see how this goes.
If you could name a street, what name would you choose?
I think it would be fun and useful if streets were named after what makes them recognizable or memorable now, rather than their historical uses or random people’s names.
For example, on Cetății Street, there’s a window packed with creepy dolls, and many people actually call it Creepy Doll Street. One of my favorite streets is called Constantin Noica, but most people refer to it as Chestnut Street. Centumvirilor Street is a great place to catch the sunset if you’re walking in the old town, but nobody remembers that name. How about calling it Golden Hour Street?
Piața Aurarilor (Goldsmith Square) could be called Crazy Cats Square. Calea Dumbrăvii (Way to the Forest) is a good name, so let’s keep it.
If someone wanted to come and write for a week in Sibiu, what places would you recommend?
I love writing and scribbling in cafés and small bars or restaurants, and Sibiu has plenty of options (for a small town).
For coffee, I’d recommend Arhiva de Cafea și Ceai – not very touristy, offers great freshly roasted coffee at decent prices, and is a favourite hangout and work place for local introverts. Charlie’s is a good choice for a nice brunch and a comfortable writing session – I prefer the location on Avram Iancu Street. Wine Not? is perfect for a nice glass of wine in the evening and people-watching.
Flow Taproom for nice Romanian craft beer and a very laid-back atmosphere. You’ll find here all kinds of people, from tipsy locals reading and chilling to curious tourists resting their feet. There’s a particular table with a great view for people-watching (and/or writing), without too much disturbance. They sometimes organise small street concerts or parties.
I don’t eat out much, but I like Basak, a casual Korean restaurant conveniently close to the taproom. Consommé is also worth a visit; it has a nice vibe and is accessible yet away from the touristy area. The service can be a bit hit or miss, but the food is good, so it’s worth a try.
For groceries, Băcănia Albota (for local meat or dairy products, but they have other goodies too), and the farmers’ markets (the most picturesque one is on Friday morning in Piața Huet).
In which cities has your imagination been most abundantly nourished?
By far, my imagination was most abundantly nourished in Bucharest. I lived there for a year, and the city’s many quirky corners, nooks, and old houses provided endless inspiration. Although the general vibe is often one of “this could have been so beautiful”—largely due to the way the communists shaped the city’s aesthetic—if you walk and pay attention, you’ll still find moments where someone has transformed a stark corner into a space with genuine character. These moments constantly invited me to imagine what beautiful things could exist—or once existed—there.
If you could move to any city tomorrow with all expenses covered, which city would you choose?
Copenhagen for now 😀.
Thank you, Silvia!
Thank you for reading. As always, I look forward to your notes, emails, and stories. In the upcoming interviews, I will be exploring San Francisco with André and Kev, and walking the streets of Melbourne with Dean.
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Patricia Hurducaș
Thank you both for making me dream about places I’ve never been before and now I want to see 💛
What a terrific interview with Silvia. Best of luck to her in Copenhagen!