A Daughter’s Tribute to her Father: Our Heritage Trip to Romania
Oct 3rd, 2007, 07:20 PM
#41
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The landscape became hillier as we approached the <u><i>boundary marker for Maramures Judetul (“county”</i></u
.which is located in a high pass with gorgeous scenery all around. There’s a complex of buildings which included a shop, restaurant (I think) and outhouses (yay!). On the wall of the shop was a newspaper clipping showing the proprietor dressed in full traditional dress, including a little straw hat perched on top of his head.
<u><i>a Word about Maramures</i></u>
<i>The houses in Maramures are constructed of wood, and wonderful wood trim and latticework. Little round wooden structures with roofs enclose the house’s well. Fences are made of vertical wood slats, or of horizontal woven saplings. Elaborately carved wood gates are common.
A commonly reported Maramures custom is the “pot tree.” According to tradition, people would put their cooking pots outside on tree branches to dry. The number of pots signified the relative wealth of the household; a red pot on the top of the tree meant there was a marriageable daughter at home. We saw a few of these trees, but they seem to have become a decorative statement at this point.</i>
We drove through the village of <b><i><u>Săliştea de Sus</u></i></b>, just as a funeral was ending. Groups of people were walking down the street, each carrying a loaf of “holy bread” with a candle in the center. The women were wearing traditional dress – not the festival dress, but black pleated skirts, heavy stockings, knit sweaters and black headscarves. When they saw us, the pressed around the car, holding out the bread loaves for us to take. So spontaneous, real and generous. And quick. In no time we had three loaves and had to turn down the rest.
At <b><i><u>Ieud</u></i></b>, we parked at the end of the village and walked up to the <i><u>Church on the Hill</u></i>, reputed to be the oldest wooden church in Maramures (built in 1364.) The steeply pitched roof and steeple are shingled with thousands of intricate hand cut wooden shingles. Apparently, this architecture is related to wooden churches throughout northern Europe, such as Norway’s stave churches. Admission was free (I think) but you have to pay a small camera fee to photograph the interior. Paintings cover every surface of the inside of this small church. Biblical scenes are painted on linen strips that were applied directly to the wooden boards of the walls and ceilings. Tiny windows give views of the roofed crosses that mark the graves in the surrounding cemetery.
Ieud’s other claim to fame is that it was home to over 50 women who earned the title of “heroine” under Communism for having 14 (or more) children. Even today Maramures reputedly has more children than adults.
Next stop was the workshop of a master woodcarver, Toader Barsan, who has done demonstrations in Washington, DC at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. His studio and house are covered with his intricate carvings. We bought a lovely crucifix that we gave to our brother from the DC area.
A kilometer or so later we reached the <b><u><i>Bârsana</i></u></b> monastery (actually an Orthodox convent), a group of buildings dotted around a manicured park-like hilltop. The buildings are all large, and newly built using the traditional techniques (thanks to donations received by the nuns.) Its church boasts the highest wooden steeple in Europe. The gardens were lovely, and the buildings were interesting, but the three of us felt that it was almost too perfect. I guess we just prefer older buildings. There were priests and nuns bustling about the complex – we even saw some nuns driving a Mercedes station wagon.
It’s around 7:00 when we reach our home stay lodging in <b><u><i>Vadu Izei</i></u></b>. The host/homeowner was quite surprised when we pulled up and handed him the three loaves of holy bread!
This was billed as a home stay with accommodations that “meet western standards.” That might be stretching it just a tiny bit, but there were certainly western style things about the house. It was modern and large, with a black and white ceramic tile fence. The bedrooms featured china cabinets filled with porcelain figurines. My ensuite room was off by itself up an exterior stairway. An uninsulated water heater in my bathroom turned out to be a nice source of heat for the bedroom. Mark and Dad were envious, as their bedrooms were a lot cooler. Mark had to go through Dad’s room to reach his. They shared a somewhat odd hall bathroom with Daniel. It was a quirky place but was friendly and comfortable.
We ate dinner in a spacious outdoor gazebo. Our genial host served us homemade palinca (a double distilled plum alcohol – about twice as strong as the tuica that is common in the rest of Romania). He told us that he makes 600 liters of this per year! He joked that he expected us to finish the 2 liter bottle, but we could muster just one glass each. I really liked the taste of it, but I was just too worn out for partying. We enjoyed delicious chicken soup with dumplings, then chicken & potatoes (Daniel had called ahead to alert them that Mark doesn’t eat red meat), vegetables, pickles and mineral water. Over dinner Daniel asked me which day I had enjoyed the most so far, and I honestly couldn’t choose.
I had not felt well all day – I suspect exhaustion had finally caught up with me. After dinner I welcomed my first (and last) 8 hour stretch of sleep. I think the dogs barked in the barnyard below my window, but I can’t tell you for how long!
Pictures of our first taste of Maramures (57 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzbzA
highlights (24 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb0c
.which is located in a high pass with gorgeous scenery all around. There’s a complex of buildings which included a shop, restaurant (I think) and outhouses (yay!). On the wall of the shop was a newspaper clipping showing the proprietor dressed in full traditional dress, including a little straw hat perched on top of his head. <u><i>a Word about Maramures</i></u>
<i>The houses in Maramures are constructed of wood, and wonderful wood trim and latticework. Little round wooden structures with roofs enclose the house’s well. Fences are made of vertical wood slats, or of horizontal woven saplings. Elaborately carved wood gates are common.
A commonly reported Maramures custom is the “pot tree.” According to tradition, people would put their cooking pots outside on tree branches to dry. The number of pots signified the relative wealth of the household; a red pot on the top of the tree meant there was a marriageable daughter at home. We saw a few of these trees, but they seem to have become a decorative statement at this point.</i>
We drove through the village of <b><i><u>Săliştea de Sus</u></i></b>, just as a funeral was ending. Groups of people were walking down the street, each carrying a loaf of “holy bread” with a candle in the center. The women were wearing traditional dress – not the festival dress, but black pleated skirts, heavy stockings, knit sweaters and black headscarves. When they saw us, the pressed around the car, holding out the bread loaves for us to take. So spontaneous, real and generous. And quick. In no time we had three loaves and had to turn down the rest.
At <b><i><u>Ieud</u></i></b>, we parked at the end of the village and walked up to the <i><u>Church on the Hill</u></i>, reputed to be the oldest wooden church in Maramures (built in 1364.) The steeply pitched roof and steeple are shingled with thousands of intricate hand cut wooden shingles. Apparently, this architecture is related to wooden churches throughout northern Europe, such as Norway’s stave churches. Admission was free (I think) but you have to pay a small camera fee to photograph the interior. Paintings cover every surface of the inside of this small church. Biblical scenes are painted on linen strips that were applied directly to the wooden boards of the walls and ceilings. Tiny windows give views of the roofed crosses that mark the graves in the surrounding cemetery.
Ieud’s other claim to fame is that it was home to over 50 women who earned the title of “heroine” under Communism for having 14 (or more) children. Even today Maramures reputedly has more children than adults.
Next stop was the workshop of a master woodcarver, Toader Barsan, who has done demonstrations in Washington, DC at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. His studio and house are covered with his intricate carvings. We bought a lovely crucifix that we gave to our brother from the DC area.
A kilometer or so later we reached the <b><u><i>Bârsana</i></u></b> monastery (actually an Orthodox convent), a group of buildings dotted around a manicured park-like hilltop. The buildings are all large, and newly built using the traditional techniques (thanks to donations received by the nuns.) Its church boasts the highest wooden steeple in Europe. The gardens were lovely, and the buildings were interesting, but the three of us felt that it was almost too perfect. I guess we just prefer older buildings. There were priests and nuns bustling about the complex – we even saw some nuns driving a Mercedes station wagon.
It’s around 7:00 when we reach our home stay lodging in <b><u><i>Vadu Izei</i></u></b>. The host/homeowner was quite surprised when we pulled up and handed him the three loaves of holy bread!
This was billed as a home stay with accommodations that “meet western standards.” That might be stretching it just a tiny bit, but there were certainly western style things about the house. It was modern and large, with a black and white ceramic tile fence. The bedrooms featured china cabinets filled with porcelain figurines. My ensuite room was off by itself up an exterior stairway. An uninsulated water heater in my bathroom turned out to be a nice source of heat for the bedroom. Mark and Dad were envious, as their bedrooms were a lot cooler. Mark had to go through Dad’s room to reach his. They shared a somewhat odd hall bathroom with Daniel. It was a quirky place but was friendly and comfortable.
We ate dinner in a spacious outdoor gazebo. Our genial host served us homemade palinca (a double distilled plum alcohol – about twice as strong as the tuica that is common in the rest of Romania). He told us that he makes 600 liters of this per year! He joked that he expected us to finish the 2 liter bottle, but we could muster just one glass each. I really liked the taste of it, but I was just too worn out for partying. We enjoyed delicious chicken soup with dumplings, then chicken & potatoes (Daniel had called ahead to alert them that Mark doesn’t eat red meat), vegetables, pickles and mineral water. Over dinner Daniel asked me which day I had enjoyed the most so far, and I honestly couldn’t choose.
I had not felt well all day – I suspect exhaustion had finally caught up with me. After dinner I welcomed my first (and last) 8 hour stretch of sleep. I think the dogs barked in the barnyard below my window, but I can’t tell you for how long!
Pictures of our first taste of Maramures (57 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzbzA
highlights (24 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb0c
Oct 3rd, 2007, 07:20 PM
#42
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,292
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
LOL, Nancy, you won't be making us happy by promising your trip report will be SHORTER! Gosh, don't you know us at all? 
Longer, more detail, and more pictures, that is our motto. I look forward to more of your trip, this is just great!
Longer, more detail, and more pictures, that is our motto. I look forward to more of your trip, this is just great!
Oct 4th, 2007, 11:27 AM
#43
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,860
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I agree, Nancy - the more details the better!
Really, I don't know when I will be able to visit Romania (and certainly not they way you have) so I am really enjoying traveling with you in this trip report.
Really, I don't know when I will be able to visit Romania (and certainly not they way you have) so I am really enjoying traveling with you in this trip report.
Oct 4th, 2007, 07:51 PM
#44
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,637
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
noe847 - I just caught up with your postings. It is lovely to read such detail and the subsequent photos.
What does it mean when you say 'fortified church'? As a Lutheran I was interested to read that the one church kept a section for those who remained Catholic.
I will be leaving on my own trip this coming week to the U.K. to visit my mum. I look forward to catching up on your tribute to your father when I return.
Thank you very much for taking the time to share so much about Romania. It is very much appreciated.
Sandy
What does it mean when you say 'fortified church'? As a Lutheran I was interested to read that the one church kept a section for those who remained Catholic.
I will be leaving on my own trip this coming week to the U.K. to visit my mum. I look forward to catching up on your tribute to your father when I return.
Thank you very much for taking the time to share so much about Romania. It is very much appreciated.
Sandy
Oct 4th, 2007, 08:24 PM
#45
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Sandy! The village churches were built in medieval times by the German settlers in Transylvania (brought there by the Hungarian king to stabilize the eastern border of his empire). In following centuries, the region faced numerous invasions by a variety of folks, including Tatars and Turks. As a means of protection, the villagers constructed fortifications around their churches, so the churches became a place of physical (as well as spiritual!) refuge for them at times of invasion. The churches have walls encircling them (and sometimes 2 or 3 rings of fortifications) complete with watchtowers and gates, and defensive towers were also added to the churches. The whole effect is quite striking, and very unusual.
Have a great trip to see your mum!
I'm not sure when the next post will be. The report is essentially written, but it does take a while to edit/format and organize the photos and I am really busy for the next few days. For all those addicted to detail (and you know who you are, LCBoniti and HappyCheesehead!) there will be plenty, and a hefty photo link as well.
Have a great trip to see your mum!
I'm not sure when the next post will be. The report is essentially written, but it does take a while to edit/format and organize the photos and I am really busy for the next few days. For all those addicted to detail (and you know who you are, LCBoniti and HappyCheesehead!) there will be plenty, and a hefty photo link as well.
Oct 5th, 2007, 06:29 AM
#46
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 384
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What a touching tribute - so beautiful! Your trip report is spectacularly detailed and easy to read. My husband and I are going to Romania (first time to Romania, been to Europe many times) in May so this will be coming in very handy!
Thank you.
Thank you.
Oct 6th, 2007, 05:51 AM
#47
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
travel2live, I found Romania to be such an interesting destination, more 'adventure travel' than the other parts of Europe that I've visited.
<b><u>Wednesday, September 27: Maramures to Cluj-Napoca</u></b>
I awoke the next morning to the sound of the rooster crowing. We gathered in the barnyard and watched our host feed the animals. Our breakfast included eggs from the resident chickens; we ate in the gazebo, surrounded by flowers and grape vines. Our host cut a bunch of grapes for us to taste. Another bright sunny day awaited us.
Daniel gave us a choice for the morning:
Option A = the “short” walk to the palinca still, or
Option B = the “long” walk that would first take us through the byways of the village of Vadu Izei and then to the still.
We chose the longer walk, and we were in for such a treat. Now, I don’t think that Vadu Izei is more wonderful than any of the other Maramures villages. But it’s precisely the ordinariness of it that was so very extraordinary for us. After yesterday’s long stretches in the car, seeing intriguing sights whiz by, we now had the chance to drink in the village life and capture the little details. Fully armed with cameras, we made very slow forward progress.
People were beginning their day – walking to the fields with their implements slung over their shoulders, hitching up the horses to the carts, sweeping out the courtyard. Everyone was friendly and agreed to let us take pictures. Daniel told us that Romanians are the friendliest people in the world. We were inclined to agree.
By and large the houses were wooden with metal roofs, although there was some newer construction sprinkled in, and some houses with colored tiles in interesting patterns. Each house was actually a little compound surrounded by a high fence. The door of the house opened onto a courtyard (and not onto the road). The courtyard was very much an extension of the life of the family, and was filled with the household’s farm implements, animals, laundry, haystack, woodpile. Entrance to the compound is though a wooden gate, often carved in the characteristic Maramures style, wide enough for the horse cart. We caught glimpses over fences and through gates.
After walking some of the side lanes, we came to the main road, and stopped in one of the tiny stores. It was a hive of activity. Children came by for a glass of soda, older men for a glass of something stronger, which they enjoyed on a little side patio. Older women were doing their marketing.
The walking made us thirsty, but we had to stop in several stores before we found apa plata – most mineral water in Maramures seemed to be of the carbonated variety.
We stopped for a while at a community palinka still combined with rug washing facility. People were driving up with loads of carpets to be washed. There was a small stream that has been channeled into wooden chutes with round wooden baskets. Rugs are placed in the baskets and are agitated by the stream water flowing over them. Then they are hung over racks to dry. It was fascinating for us to see it in operation.
This walk was a highlight of the trip for all three of us. We reluctantly said farewell to Vadu Izei, and packed into the car. We drove to <b><i><u>Săpânţa</u></i></b>, famous for its <i><u>Merry Cemetery</u></i>. The grave markers in this cemetery are carved wooden crosses, each painted a bright blue and decorated with a scene and a poem appropriate to the person’s life or death. While the visual effect is cheery, the stories on the crosses are quite poignant. As is typical for me, I was drawn to the faded/weathered ones (I think that I’ve read that periodically all the crosses get fresh coats of paint.)
The cemetery was obviously a tourist destination. Various craft vendors set up shop across from the cemetery. We bought some lovely openwork white table linens. I enjoyed seeing a fellow up in a tree knocking nuts off the branches with a stick for a woman who was collecting them below.
When we were driving out of town we saw a woman sitting on a bench spinning wool with a hand spindle and of course we had to stop and meet her. She sat me down and showed me how to twist the wool into yarn. I’m certain that she had to redo the few inches that I managed to produce!
We drove to <b><i><u>Sighet</u></i></b>, where we visited <i><u>Elie Weisel’s birthplace</u></i>. We walked through the rooms, absorbing the exhibition of Jewish life in Maramures before the Shoah. The photos were such vivid reminders of the life – and lives – lost. Almost all of the text was in Romanian, but a museum guide gave us a very nice talk, that Daniel interpreted.
Lunch was in a nearby guesthouse/restaurant. We ate on a covered veranda in a leafy courtyard. Traditional Romanian fare, very comfortable and pleasant. I found it amusing that my cell phone coverage was being provided by a Ukrainian carrier – we were just a few kilometers from the border.
If we’d had more time, I’d have gone to see the <i><u>Prison museum</u></i>. But we had a long way to drive and had spent so much time strolling around the village in the morning.
In <b><i><u>Berbeşti</u></i></b>, we stopped to take pictures of the oldest wooden shrine in Romania (300 years) the <u><i>Rednic Wooden Calvary</i></u>. Memorable sights from this part of the drive: villagers carrying woven wooden baskets on their backs, horse carts with young horses being trained by walking alongside the bigger horses who were hitched to the cart.
The car began to climb an 8% grade, with stone walls lining the road. We had one final stop before leaving Maramures: the wooden church at <i><b><u>Şurdeşti</u></b></i>. Built in 1766, this church had the tallest wooden steeple in Europe until construction of the new church at Bârsana monastery (that we had seen the day before). I was grateful to have a wide angle lens!
The interior was striking: walls and ceiling surfaces were covered with beautiful paintings and framed glass icons draped with colorful woven textiles. We were not permitted to take pictures inside the church. There were only a few measly postcards for sale. If there had been a booklet with photos of the church, as you can find at so many European churches, I’d certainly have bought it.
As we were leaving the church, a young girl approached us with beaded jewelry that she had made. I purchased two lovely chokers for my daughters. They were quite expensive by Romanian standards, so she came out very well. I didn’t mind rewarding her enterprising spirit.
A word about the EU:
That was the day that the European Union voted to confirm Romania’s entrance to the EU effective January 1, 2007. It seemed somehow fitting that on that day we were in a region where so many things had not changed in the past hundred years, yet here was a child of the next generation, successfully competing in western economic terms. Of course there are many questions raised about the economy of Romania; much of the standard of living is financed by Romanians who have left to work in other parts of Europe, sending their money home.
We could sense the change in the air as Romania gets ready to join the EU. There were banner signs in the larger towns throughout the country – blue with yellow stars – celebrating Romania’s EU connection.
Another Maramures image: a young man riding on the top of a haycart, talking on his mobile phone.
It was well after dark when we reached the <i><u>Onix Hotel</u></i> in <b><u><i>Cluj</i></u></b>. The Onix had the nicest, most efficient front desk staff of any hotel on our stay. The rooms are well furnished, the towels are great, and each room has a computer with internet access (but the computers are Windows 98 boxes, and two of our three did not work properly.) Despite its advantages, I didn’t really like this hotel. Part of the hotel is a prominently featured strip club/limousine escort service, which made the whole place feet sketchy to me. It is also located in a blah part of the city.
We embarked on a quest to find something to eat. I think it was around 10:00 at this point. The hotel restaurant was a logical place to start. The menu was fine, but we left after 20 minutes when nobody had come by our table. We walked to the <i><u>Best Western</u></i> next door, which turned out to have a very nice little <i><u>cellar restaurant</u></i>. We ended up just ordering desserts and coffee.
Photo link for today (122 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb3Q
Photo link of just the highlights (51 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb2U
<b><u>Wednesday, September 27: Maramures to Cluj-Napoca</u></b>
I awoke the next morning to the sound of the rooster crowing. We gathered in the barnyard and watched our host feed the animals. Our breakfast included eggs from the resident chickens; we ate in the gazebo, surrounded by flowers and grape vines. Our host cut a bunch of grapes for us to taste. Another bright sunny day awaited us.
Daniel gave us a choice for the morning:
Option A = the “short” walk to the palinca still, or
Option B = the “long” walk that would first take us through the byways of the village of Vadu Izei and then to the still.
We chose the longer walk, and we were in for such a treat. Now, I don’t think that Vadu Izei is more wonderful than any of the other Maramures villages. But it’s precisely the ordinariness of it that was so very extraordinary for us. After yesterday’s long stretches in the car, seeing intriguing sights whiz by, we now had the chance to drink in the village life and capture the little details. Fully armed with cameras, we made very slow forward progress.
People were beginning their day – walking to the fields with their implements slung over their shoulders, hitching up the horses to the carts, sweeping out the courtyard. Everyone was friendly and agreed to let us take pictures. Daniel told us that Romanians are the friendliest people in the world. We were inclined to agree.
By and large the houses were wooden with metal roofs, although there was some newer construction sprinkled in, and some houses with colored tiles in interesting patterns. Each house was actually a little compound surrounded by a high fence. The door of the house opened onto a courtyard (and not onto the road). The courtyard was very much an extension of the life of the family, and was filled with the household’s farm implements, animals, laundry, haystack, woodpile. Entrance to the compound is though a wooden gate, often carved in the characteristic Maramures style, wide enough for the horse cart. We caught glimpses over fences and through gates.
After walking some of the side lanes, we came to the main road, and stopped in one of the tiny stores. It was a hive of activity. Children came by for a glass of soda, older men for a glass of something stronger, which they enjoyed on a little side patio. Older women were doing their marketing.
The walking made us thirsty, but we had to stop in several stores before we found apa plata – most mineral water in Maramures seemed to be of the carbonated variety.
We stopped for a while at a community palinka still combined with rug washing facility. People were driving up with loads of carpets to be washed. There was a small stream that has been channeled into wooden chutes with round wooden baskets. Rugs are placed in the baskets and are agitated by the stream water flowing over them. Then they are hung over racks to dry. It was fascinating for us to see it in operation.
This walk was a highlight of the trip for all three of us. We reluctantly said farewell to Vadu Izei, and packed into the car. We drove to <b><i><u>Săpânţa</u></i></b>, famous for its <i><u>Merry Cemetery</u></i>. The grave markers in this cemetery are carved wooden crosses, each painted a bright blue and decorated with a scene and a poem appropriate to the person’s life or death. While the visual effect is cheery, the stories on the crosses are quite poignant. As is typical for me, I was drawn to the faded/weathered ones (I think that I’ve read that periodically all the crosses get fresh coats of paint.)
The cemetery was obviously a tourist destination. Various craft vendors set up shop across from the cemetery. We bought some lovely openwork white table linens. I enjoyed seeing a fellow up in a tree knocking nuts off the branches with a stick for a woman who was collecting them below.
When we were driving out of town we saw a woman sitting on a bench spinning wool with a hand spindle and of course we had to stop and meet her. She sat me down and showed me how to twist the wool into yarn. I’m certain that she had to redo the few inches that I managed to produce!
We drove to <b><i><u>Sighet</u></i></b>, where we visited <i><u>Elie Weisel’s birthplace</u></i>. We walked through the rooms, absorbing the exhibition of Jewish life in Maramures before the Shoah. The photos were such vivid reminders of the life – and lives – lost. Almost all of the text was in Romanian, but a museum guide gave us a very nice talk, that Daniel interpreted.
Lunch was in a nearby guesthouse/restaurant. We ate on a covered veranda in a leafy courtyard. Traditional Romanian fare, very comfortable and pleasant. I found it amusing that my cell phone coverage was being provided by a Ukrainian carrier – we were just a few kilometers from the border.
If we’d had more time, I’d have gone to see the <i><u>Prison museum</u></i>. But we had a long way to drive and had spent so much time strolling around the village in the morning.
In <b><i><u>Berbeşti</u></i></b>, we stopped to take pictures of the oldest wooden shrine in Romania (300 years) the <u><i>Rednic Wooden Calvary</i></u>. Memorable sights from this part of the drive: villagers carrying woven wooden baskets on their backs, horse carts with young horses being trained by walking alongside the bigger horses who were hitched to the cart.
The car began to climb an 8% grade, with stone walls lining the road. We had one final stop before leaving Maramures: the wooden church at <i><b><u>Şurdeşti</u></b></i>. Built in 1766, this church had the tallest wooden steeple in Europe until construction of the new church at Bârsana monastery (that we had seen the day before). I was grateful to have a wide angle lens!
The interior was striking: walls and ceiling surfaces were covered with beautiful paintings and framed glass icons draped with colorful woven textiles. We were not permitted to take pictures inside the church. There were only a few measly postcards for sale. If there had been a booklet with photos of the church, as you can find at so many European churches, I’d certainly have bought it.
As we were leaving the church, a young girl approached us with beaded jewelry that she had made. I purchased two lovely chokers for my daughters. They were quite expensive by Romanian standards, so she came out very well. I didn’t mind rewarding her enterprising spirit.
A word about the EU:
That was the day that the European Union voted to confirm Romania’s entrance to the EU effective January 1, 2007. It seemed somehow fitting that on that day we were in a region where so many things had not changed in the past hundred years, yet here was a child of the next generation, successfully competing in western economic terms. Of course there are many questions raised about the economy of Romania; much of the standard of living is financed by Romanians who have left to work in other parts of Europe, sending their money home.
We could sense the change in the air as Romania gets ready to join the EU. There were banner signs in the larger towns throughout the country – blue with yellow stars – celebrating Romania’s EU connection.
Another Maramures image: a young man riding on the top of a haycart, talking on his mobile phone.
It was well after dark when we reached the <i><u>Onix Hotel</u></i> in <b><u><i>Cluj</i></u></b>. The Onix had the nicest, most efficient front desk staff of any hotel on our stay. The rooms are well furnished, the towels are great, and each room has a computer with internet access (but the computers are Windows 98 boxes, and two of our three did not work properly.) Despite its advantages, I didn’t really like this hotel. Part of the hotel is a prominently featured strip club/limousine escort service, which made the whole place feet sketchy to me. It is also located in a blah part of the city.
We embarked on a quest to find something to eat. I think it was around 10:00 at this point. The hotel restaurant was a logical place to start. The menu was fine, but we left after 20 minutes when nobody had come by our table. We walked to the <i><u>Best Western</u></i> next door, which turned out to have a very nice little <i><u>cellar restaurant</u></i>. We ended up just ordering desserts and coffee.
Photo link for today (122 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb3Q
Photo link of just the highlights (51 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb2U
Oct 6th, 2007, 10:27 AM
#49
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,818
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nacy;
Your pix are fab...brought back many wonderful memories for me...turning the clock back in Maramuresh is quite an exercise...without the tv antennae, I'd say centuries ago. Ieud was one of our favorites...I think I recommended Elie Wiesel's house/museum..
For those readers who may not know much about the Nobel Prize Winner (for Peace, 1986), he was born in Sighet in 1928. The Hungarian army, prodded by the Nazi's, moved rapidly into Sighet and vicinity in April '44..rounded up the close to 15,000 Jews, including 15 year old Elie...put them on trains after a few weeks and transported them to Auschwitz, where Elie immediately lost his mother and youngest sister to the gas chambers. His father eventually succumbed to the hunger. Elie survived three camps, and was reunited with his surviving sister after the war.
He lived in Paris for several years and writes in French..but lives in NY, and is a professor at Boston University. He was awarded the Nobel mainly due to his remarkable peace-seeking efforts during the Bosnian conflict ('90's).
His books on the Holocaust and its aftermath are nothing less than classic, and one in particular is widely used in the public schools.."Night" (Avon Books, 1958).
Stu T.
Your pix are fab...brought back many wonderful memories for me...turning the clock back in Maramuresh is quite an exercise...without the tv antennae, I'd say centuries ago. Ieud was one of our favorites...I think I recommended Elie Wiesel's house/museum..
For those readers who may not know much about the Nobel Prize Winner (for Peace, 1986), he was born in Sighet in 1928. The Hungarian army, prodded by the Nazi's, moved rapidly into Sighet and vicinity in April '44..rounded up the close to 15,000 Jews, including 15 year old Elie...put them on trains after a few weeks and transported them to Auschwitz, where Elie immediately lost his mother and youngest sister to the gas chambers. His father eventually succumbed to the hunger. Elie survived three camps, and was reunited with his surviving sister after the war.
He lived in Paris for several years and writes in French..but lives in NY, and is a professor at Boston University. He was awarded the Nobel mainly due to his remarkable peace-seeking efforts during the Bosnian conflict ('90's).
His books on the Holocaust and its aftermath are nothing less than classic, and one in particular is widely used in the public schools.."Night" (Avon Books, 1958).
Stu T.
Oct 6th, 2007, 06:31 PM
#50
Guest
Posts: n/a
Hello noe847!
I find your report very touching, and full of amazing descriptions that you clearly have worked in very well over a period of time. Although I really don't know much of Romania (I have a good friend who grew up in Cluj-Napoca... but, and this is rather unusual for me because I always get extremely personal with friends, I have never talked to him about his childhood), I started reading your thread after noticing the title's reference to your father. It is my hope, as you indicate in your first post, you find the process healing. Just the way you describe your trip, I know your father must have been very proud of you (as a father myself, I know).
p.s.: nice photos.... I can't get over the old ladies in the village, that short potato farmer's dance pose?, or the unusual stair-step risers!
I find your report very touching, and full of amazing descriptions that you clearly have worked in very well over a period of time. Although I really don't know much of Romania (I have a good friend who grew up in Cluj-Napoca... but, and this is rather unusual for me because I always get extremely personal with friends, I have never talked to him about his childhood), I started reading your thread after noticing the title's reference to your father. It is my hope, as you indicate in your first post, you find the process healing. Just the way you describe your trip, I know your father must have been very proud of you (as a father myself, I know).
p.s.: nice photos.... I can't get over the old ladies in the village, that short potato farmer's dance pose?
, or the unusual stair-step risers!
Oct 7th, 2007, 01:10 PM
#51
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes, LCBoniti, my father did walk the village with us (although he did not join us on our walks in the larger towns Sighisoara, Sibiu and Brasov). He took a bunch of pictures, pointed out little details, and generally reveled in the experience. I'd have to guess that the walk may even have been his favorite thing (aside from family events). Maramures was a new region for him, and he was very interested in the wooden architecture and the details of daily life that we saw.
Stu, thanks for adding that info about Elie Wiesel. Your suggestion to visit Elie Wiesel's house and museum in Sighet was one of many tips that you shared with me while I was planning for this trip. I have a question for you: do you know the story of the garden at the house? It's in the shape of a Star of David, and I know I read something about the particular plants that were chosen for the garden. I've looked and can't find the info.
Thanks, ComfyShoes, for your words. We couldn't get over those things either! I have a photo file on my computer called "Great Villagers" (and another called "Horse Carts I Have Loved"!). We had a hard time believing what we were seeing.
Stu, thanks for adding that info about Elie Wiesel. Your suggestion to visit Elie Wiesel's house and museum in Sighet was one of many tips that you shared with me while I was planning for this trip. I have a question for you: do you know the story of the garden at the house? It's in the shape of a Star of David, and I know I read something about the particular plants that were chosen for the garden. I've looked and can't find the info.
Thanks, ComfyShoes, for your words. We couldn't get over those things either! I have a photo file on my computer called "Great Villagers" (and another called "Horse Carts I Have Loved"!). We had a hard time believing what we were seeing.
Oct 7th, 2007, 01:21 PM
#52
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<b><u>Thursday, September 28: Cluj to Sibiu</u></b>
Our string of sunny days had ended. This was a gray day with rainy periods. After a decent breakfast spread at the Hotel Onix, we loaded up the car and drove to the <i><u>Piate Unirii</u></i>, which is in the center of <b><i><u>Cluj</u></i></b>. Lovely old buildings line the square, which is dominated by the medieval <i><u>Cathedral of St. Michael</u></i>. A large equestrian statue of King Matthew is surrounded by Romanian flags in an attempt to soften the Hungarian message. A block away we found a camera shop and bought some more film (yay!) near the <u><i>house</i></u> where <u><i>Matthew Corvinnus</i></u> (Hungarian king) was born (an old building with a lovely arched wooden door – not open to the public). Cluj was a Hungarian provincial capital, and 20% of the population of the city is ethnic Hungarian. In the piata we saw a little dug up section with some <u><i>Roman column</i></u> fragments lying around.
<i><u>A Word about Empires</u>:
Romania has a long and varied history, with an early stable Dacian civilization. The area then faced a succession of invasions and conquering empires. The Roman empire controlled most of present day Romania for nearly 2 centuries. In fact, the Romanian language is derived from Latin (it is one of the 5 Romance languages.) Others who made their mark on Romania were the Huns, the Tartars, the Magyars, the Mongols, and the Ottoman Turks. The Hungarian Magyars controlled much of Romania for 1000 years, and over 1 million ethnic Hungarians remain in Romania. Parts of Romania were controlled by the Ottoman empire for 400 years. The Hapsburgs also exerted influence for a couple of hundred years.
In general, Romania is proud to identify with its Roman legacy. Nearly every Romanian town of any size has a central statue of Romulus and Remus with the She-wolf. In Maramures, the Dacian connection is emphasized, as the Romans never made it up to that region.
In 1974, Cluj became Cluj-Napoca in an effort to underplay the Hungarian connection (the “Napoca” a nod to its Dacian roots) Interestingly, all of the towns and villages in Transylvania have three different names: German, Romanian and Hungarian. We found that some of the older Romanians referred to the Transylvanian towns by their German names. “Oh, they will be staying the night in Hermannstadt,” (referring to Sibiu).</i>
Our last stop in Cluj was the <u><i>Orthodox cathedral of the Dormition/Assumption of Mary</i></u>, erected in 1922, after the unification of Transylvania with the rest of Romania. The entire inside was covered with mosaics. On each side of the church there were little side rooms lined in copper. These were for lighting commemorative candles. I particularly liked the paintings on the iconostasis of this church.
And then we were back in the car. The road south out of Cluj climbs a big, big hill. I would hate to be a horse trying to pull a cart up this long grade. We soon passed through <i><u>Turda</u></i>, which had some very old churches in the town center. This town looks like it would be fun to explore.
A few kilometers later, we passed a “pot tree” with one red pot and lots of empty beer cans. We wondered if it was sending the message “yes we have a marriageable daughter, and we’ll throw in a six pack if you marry her.”
We had specifically requested to visit <b><u><i>Alba Iulia</i></u></b>. My father’s uncle, a priest, was Vicar General of the Greco-Catholic church there in the early 1900’s and Dad wanted to see his church, which would have been the cathedral. In correspondence with the diocese, Dad received some information about the general location of the Greco-Catholic cathedral.
Alba Iulia is famous for its baroque star shaped citadel. We only saw bits of it, however. We went right to the center and visited the <i><u>Orthodox cathedral</u></i>, built in 1922. It is surrounded by a lovely cloister. From the front door of the church, there is a great view through the cloister gate, along a park, and down a boulevard. The iconostasis is dark wood. A beautiful circular chandelier hangs below the dome. A steady stream of people came in to pay their respects and light candles. The church has a wonderful religious shop, and we each bought several items.
Next door is the medieval <u><i>Roman Catholic cathedral</i></u>, which was recently restored. It was built over the course of a few centuries on an 11th century foundation. The interior is very stark Gothic with some Baroque decorative elements.
We thought the <u><i>Greco Catholic cathedral</i></u> would be nearby, but it wasn’t that close. After driving around in circles for awhile when we finally located it, we found a very modern building – clearly built since the fall of communism. That’s when we realized that Uncle Leonte’s church would have been given by the communists to the Orthodox church. When communism fell and the Greco-Catholic church was again allowed, it was necessary to build a new cathedral. We just didn’t have the information as to which old church would have been his.
After Alba Iulia, we turned east towards Sibiu. It became obvious from the architecture of the villages that we were back in Saxon Transylvania – plaster houses with tile roofs. We passed through Sebes, Apoldu de Sus, and Christian – all pretty places that I’d love to explore some day.
It was getting to be late afternoon when we hit terrible traffic outside Sibiu. We crawled along, then turned south towards a little village that is one of Daniel’s favorites. Along the way we stopped at the <u><i>folk museum</i></u> to check out the craft shop there (thank you Fodorites!) It was a VERY nice shop, and we picked out many things: linens, more painted eggs, glass icons, a small rug. Mark bought a crazy Maramures carved wooden mask with sheeps wool hair.
While we still had a few shreds of light left on this overcast day we hustled down to the village – <b><u><i>Rasinari</i></u></b>. Some of the buildings had “eyes” – semicircular dormer windows in the roof that look like sleepy eyes - common in the environs of Sibiu. We were taking pictures in the village, and a young woman told us that we should drive farther up the road, “It looks like a fairy tale.” The unpaved road was muddy and kind of steep, but after a bit of difficulty the car was able to make it up to that far part of the village. It was indeed quite picturesque. A stream ran along the road, so all of the houses on that side had bridges. And flowers on the stream bank. And horse carts, of course. Various villagers just stood and watched us as we walked around with our cameras (I don’t think they get too many tourists.) Despite the gray sky we got some nice shots. In the right light, the village would have looked amazing.
We reached <b><u><i>Sibiu</i></u></b> and the <i><u>Imparatul Romanilor Hotel</u></i> just before dusk. This is a grand old hotel in the center of town, just off the main square. Emperor Franz Josef stayed at this hotel, and the bathrooms look like they were from that time! (Actually my bathroom looked like a 1970’s reno) We all had these odd loft rooms; a (very small in my case) living area and bathroom on the entrance level, and a sleeping area up a private little flight of steps. I was a little disappointed in the rooms, as I had visions of Dad falling down his steps if he had to get up in the night. When we all met in the lobby to go to dinner, I said, “I tripped on the door sill of my bathroom.” “So did I,” said Mark. “Me too,” said Dad. Luckily, Dad took lots of precautions – including putting a white towel on the bathroom door sill so he would be sure to notice it – and he didn’t fall overnight.
Daniel pointed us to the <u><i>Sibiul Vechi</i></u>, a cellar restaurant that was cozy and attractive, and left us with his food recommendations. We ordered the fish and the farmer potatoes. Everything was quite good. Dessert was berry and apple clatita (pancakes) with ice cream. Mark and I walked around the piata at night, found an ATM, and used the hotel computer to upload some photos. We created postcards online from our own photographs and worked on the travel journal.
Our fellow guests included a large well-heeled group from Austria. The lobby is lovely, and the hotel location is hard to beat. Although my loft room had a certain treehouse charm, I would have liked this hotel a lot more if we’d had more normal rooms.
Photo link (90 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb6k
Photo link, fewer pictures (38 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb7g
Our string of sunny days had ended. This was a gray day with rainy periods. After a decent breakfast spread at the Hotel Onix, we loaded up the car and drove to the <i><u>Piate Unirii</u></i>, which is in the center of <b><i><u>Cluj</u></i></b>. Lovely old buildings line the square, which is dominated by the medieval <i><u>Cathedral of St. Michael</u></i>. A large equestrian statue of King Matthew is surrounded by Romanian flags in an attempt to soften the Hungarian message. A block away we found a camera shop and bought some more film (yay!) near the <u><i>house</i></u> where <u><i>Matthew Corvinnus</i></u> (Hungarian king) was born (an old building with a lovely arched wooden door – not open to the public). Cluj was a Hungarian provincial capital, and 20% of the population of the city is ethnic Hungarian. In the piata we saw a little dug up section with some <u><i>Roman column</i></u> fragments lying around.
<i><u>A Word about Empires</u>:
Romania has a long and varied history, with an early stable Dacian civilization. The area then faced a succession of invasions and conquering empires. The Roman empire controlled most of present day Romania for nearly 2 centuries. In fact, the Romanian language is derived from Latin (it is one of the 5 Romance languages.) Others who made their mark on Romania were the Huns, the Tartars, the Magyars, the Mongols, and the Ottoman Turks. The Hungarian Magyars controlled much of Romania for 1000 years, and over 1 million ethnic Hungarians remain in Romania. Parts of Romania were controlled by the Ottoman empire for 400 years. The Hapsburgs also exerted influence for a couple of hundred years.
In general, Romania is proud to identify with its Roman legacy. Nearly every Romanian town of any size has a central statue of Romulus and Remus with the She-wolf. In Maramures, the Dacian connection is emphasized, as the Romans never made it up to that region.
In 1974, Cluj became Cluj-Napoca in an effort to underplay the Hungarian connection (the “Napoca” a nod to its Dacian roots) Interestingly, all of the towns and villages in Transylvania have three different names: German, Romanian and Hungarian. We found that some of the older Romanians referred to the Transylvanian towns by their German names. “Oh, they will be staying the night in Hermannstadt,” (referring to Sibiu).</i>
Our last stop in Cluj was the <u><i>Orthodox cathedral of the Dormition/Assumption of Mary</i></u>, erected in 1922, after the unification of Transylvania with the rest of Romania. The entire inside was covered with mosaics. On each side of the church there were little side rooms lined in copper. These were for lighting commemorative candles. I particularly liked the paintings on the iconostasis of this church.
And then we were back in the car. The road south out of Cluj climbs a big, big hill. I would hate to be a horse trying to pull a cart up this long grade. We soon passed through <i><u>Turda</u></i>, which had some very old churches in the town center. This town looks like it would be fun to explore.
A few kilometers later, we passed a “pot tree” with one red pot and lots of empty beer cans. We wondered if it was sending the message “yes we have a marriageable daughter, and we’ll throw in a six pack if you marry her.”
We had specifically requested to visit <b><u><i>Alba Iulia</i></u></b>. My father’s uncle, a priest, was Vicar General of the Greco-Catholic church there in the early 1900’s and Dad wanted to see his church, which would have been the cathedral. In correspondence with the diocese, Dad received some information about the general location of the Greco-Catholic cathedral.
Alba Iulia is famous for its baroque star shaped citadel. We only saw bits of it, however. We went right to the center and visited the <i><u>Orthodox cathedral</u></i>, built in 1922. It is surrounded by a lovely cloister. From the front door of the church, there is a great view through the cloister gate, along a park, and down a boulevard. The iconostasis is dark wood. A beautiful circular chandelier hangs below the dome. A steady stream of people came in to pay their respects and light candles. The church has a wonderful religious shop, and we each bought several items.
Next door is the medieval <u><i>Roman Catholic cathedral</i></u>, which was recently restored. It was built over the course of a few centuries on an 11th century foundation. The interior is very stark Gothic with some Baroque decorative elements.
We thought the <u><i>Greco Catholic cathedral</i></u> would be nearby, but it wasn’t that close. After driving around in circles for awhile when we finally located it, we found a very modern building – clearly built since the fall of communism. That’s when we realized that Uncle Leonte’s church would have been given by the communists to the Orthodox church. When communism fell and the Greco-Catholic church was again allowed, it was necessary to build a new cathedral. We just didn’t have the information as to which old church would have been his.
After Alba Iulia, we turned east towards Sibiu. It became obvious from the architecture of the villages that we were back in Saxon Transylvania – plaster houses with tile roofs. We passed through Sebes, Apoldu de Sus, and Christian – all pretty places that I’d love to explore some day.
It was getting to be late afternoon when we hit terrible traffic outside Sibiu. We crawled along, then turned south towards a little village that is one of Daniel’s favorites. Along the way we stopped at the <u><i>folk museum</i></u> to check out the craft shop there (thank you Fodorites!) It was a VERY nice shop, and we picked out many things: linens, more painted eggs, glass icons, a small rug. Mark bought a crazy Maramures carved wooden mask with sheeps wool hair.
While we still had a few shreds of light left on this overcast day we hustled down to the village – <b><u><i>Rasinari</i></u></b>. Some of the buildings had “eyes” – semicircular dormer windows in the roof that look like sleepy eyes - common in the environs of Sibiu. We were taking pictures in the village, and a young woman told us that we should drive farther up the road, “It looks like a fairy tale.” The unpaved road was muddy and kind of steep, but after a bit of difficulty the car was able to make it up to that far part of the village. It was indeed quite picturesque. A stream ran along the road, so all of the houses on that side had bridges. And flowers on the stream bank. And horse carts, of course. Various villagers just stood and watched us as we walked around with our cameras (I don’t think they get too many tourists.) Despite the gray sky we got some nice shots. In the right light, the village would have looked amazing.
We reached <b><u><i>Sibiu</i></u></b> and the <i><u>Imparatul Romanilor Hotel</u></i> just before dusk. This is a grand old hotel in the center of town, just off the main square. Emperor Franz Josef stayed at this hotel, and the bathrooms look like they were from that time! (Actually my bathroom looked like a 1970’s reno) We all had these odd loft rooms; a (very small in my case) living area and bathroom on the entrance level, and a sleeping area up a private little flight of steps. I was a little disappointed in the rooms, as I had visions of Dad falling down his steps if he had to get up in the night. When we all met in the lobby to go to dinner, I said, “I tripped on the door sill of my bathroom.” “So did I,” said Mark. “Me too,” said Dad. Luckily, Dad took lots of precautions – including putting a white towel on the bathroom door sill so he would be sure to notice it – and he didn’t fall overnight.
Daniel pointed us to the <u><i>Sibiul Vechi</i></u>, a cellar restaurant that was cozy and attractive, and left us with his food recommendations. We ordered the fish and the farmer potatoes. Everything was quite good. Dessert was berry and apple clatita (pancakes) with ice cream. Mark and I walked around the piata at night, found an ATM, and used the hotel computer to upload some photos. We created postcards online from our own photographs and worked on the travel journal.
Our fellow guests included a large well-heeled group from Austria. The lobby is lovely, and the hotel location is hard to beat. Although my loft room had a certain treehouse charm, I would have liked this hotel a lot more if we’d had more normal rooms.
Photo link (90 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb6k
Photo link, fewer pictures (38 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb7g
Oct 7th, 2007, 07:04 PM
#53
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<b><u>Friday, September 29: Sibiu to Brasov (Carta, Rasnov, Bran)</u></b>
The hotel was undergoing exterior work; the workers, hotel deliveries, and church bells all made themselves heard VERY early in the morning. So I had to get out of bed and walk down my steps to close the window to the noise. Luckily, I was so tired I was able to fall back asleep. The highlight of the hotel’s delicious breakfast was the machine where we could make our own fresh squeezed orange juice.
After breakfast, Daniel led Mark and me on a walking tour of Upper Town highlights. Sibiu is the European Cultural Capital for 2007, and the city had undergone quite a face lift in preparation. The piatas were newly paved with cobblestones in decorative patterns. There were even commemorative manhole covers that say “Sibiu 2007 Hermannstadt.” (Hermannstadt is the German name of the town) Much work was still being carried out when we visited – especially plaster restoration and painting. Scaffolding was everywhere. It was fun to see the Sibiu “eyes” on so many of the buildings. We even got to see a roof section (including an “eye”) that was being built on the ground before getting installed on the building.
The large plaza, the <u><i>Piata Mare</i></u>, is surrounded by large pastel buildings with red tiled roofs. It is a scene out of Germany or Austria. The <i><u>Roman Catholic cathedral</u></i> on the Piata is a Baroque beauty. In the smaller <i><u>Piata Hiet</u></i>, we saw the <i><u>Evangelical Cathedral</u></i>, a medieval church with one of the original large wall frescos remaining – the Crucifixion scene. In the <i><u>Piata Mica</u></i>, we saw and crossed the iron bridge known as the <i><u>Liar’s Bridge</u></i> (there are lots of legends about the name).
The town would have been striking in morning sunshine. Although the sun kept threatening to appear, the sky remained stubbornly cloudy. We spent our final available minutes climbing up the steps of the <u><i>Council Tower</i></u>, a 13th century tower, modified in the 16th and 19th centuries, which has great views of the city. If we’d had more time, I would have liked to see the <i><u>Brukenthal Museum</u></i>, especially the collection of wooden religious statues and icon paintings. Actually, we could have used a lot more time to explore Sibiu.
Today we had arranged to see one of Dad’s first cousins. We had a lovely visit with Nicu and his wife in their airy book-filled apartment not far from downtown Sibiu. We enjoyed a wonderful phyllo and meat dish called <i>picinita cu carne</i>, and I got step by step directions on how to make it. (I later made it for my Romania booth at our church’s international festival, and it was good, but nowhere near as wonderful as what we enjoyed at their apartment) Nicu’s wife found out that I “speak” French and switched to that language, which was unfortunate because that left everyone else out of the conversation, and she and I became the main communicators. At least in Romanian, Nicu could participate, and Daniel could interpret for the 3 of us.
We were disappointed that ill health prevented another of the first cousins, Lucu, from coming, as we hadn’t seen him on this trip. Dad did get to “talk” with him on the phone – with interpretation help from Daniel.
After a pleasant hour, we were back in the car, driving east. We soon saw a series of roadside stands selling cheese. We stopped at a particularly photogenic stand, with a woman in traditional dress. She was selling a wide variety of cheeses that she had made herself (she proudly showed us her cheese maker certificate). After tasting all of the available wares we settled on a <i>brinzâ in coajâ de brad</i> (cheese wrapped in fir bark); we were to give this a cousin later in the trip. We passed lots of horse carts, beautiful little villages, and people selling potatoes and honey.
Our plan for the day was Rasnov fortress, possibly Bran castle and then Brasov. Mark wanted to choose one additional (closer) place to stop and maybe enjoy a bite to eat as we explored. (Mark doesn’t eat red meat, so he had not gotten to eat any of the delicious picinita at Nicu’s apartment. On the other hand, I had enjoyed two pieces!) On Daniel’s recommendation, we chose <b><i><u>Carta</u></i></b>, which is just a short distance north of the main road – very near where the scenic road goes south over the Fagaras Mountains. (I WISH we’d had time to drive over the pass.)
In the little village of Carta we passed a funeral gathering, then came upon the sizeable ruins of a <i><u>Cistercian abbey</u></i> from 1202. The choir part of the church seems to have been enclosed at a later date (the rest is ruins), but it was locked and the key holder was most likely at the funeral. We were able to walk all around the ruins of church and cloister. By now the sun had come out, making for good pictures and a very enjoyable stop. We didn’t get any food, though. Leaving town, we actually drove right in the midst of the funeral procession that was wending its way through the streets.
After passing through Dridif and Fagaras on the main road, we turned right (south) onto a local road that took us most of the way to Rasnov. We loved this road – for long stretches it was lined with trees on both sides. We saw few other cars. Just horsecarts, bicycles, hand carts, cows, haystacks, farms and fences. Have I said how great this road was? The countryside began to get hilly. We could see barns and houses perched high up on the slopes above us. There was a little stream and field along the road – so pretty! Just a perfect little drive. If we saw something we could just pull over and take a picture, without worrying about traffic.
Eventually we drove through <i><u>Zarnesti</u></i>, which is a ski town, where we had beautiful views of the mountains. Dad wasn’t feeling well (traveler’s stomach), so he stayed in the car while we visited <b><u><i>Rasnov Fortress</i></u></b>. This was a good decision, because the walking path from the parking area was very steep. As we walked we were treated to piped-in Italian opera music. Um, okay… Apparently an Italian fellow has a 99 year lease on the property and is busy restoring it to become an inn.
Unfortunately, the fortress really rubbed us the wrong way. It has been over-restored and over-done in a kitsch-y kind of way. Hanging flower baskets and artifacts everywhere. As my brother said, “How many plows do you need to have lined up on the side of the road?” Not to mention that absolute piles of rubble seem to be being turned into buildings and rooms. It didn’t look like a particularly faithful restoration. We walked up to the top, and the views were pretty incredible. There may have been more to see – it really is a big site – but we were done and beat the proverbial hasty retreat.
At this point I was dreading <b><i><u>Bran Castle</u></i></b>. It had never been on my list – the Dracula hype holds absolutely no interest for me. Furthermore, I knew that it had been used as a royal residence in the early 20th century, and I don’t care for palaces. But, we were so close (a flat valley and maybe 20 kilometers separate the two strongholds), and Mark wanted to stop, so we did. Dad once again stayed in the car and napped, which was again a good idea, since we had to walk up a steep hill here as well.
Souvenir booths line both sides of the walkway to the Bran Castle entrance. I was expecting the worst kind of tacky trash, but actually we saw very few junky Dracula trinkets. There were lots of booths with folk crafts, especially in one particular side market. I found a Maramures wood-and-wool mask, which the lady kindly put aside for me.
Daniel showed us to the entrance and left to go to a Hungarian bakery he knew. From beginning to end, the castle surprised us. To its credit, it does not capitalize on the “Dracula’s castle” hype. In fact, we didn’t see any mention of Vlad. The castle is a warren of passageways, rooms, balconies, arcades, and staircases. Queen Marie decorated the place with simple, white walls, dark woodwork, medieval artifacts, and rustic carved furniture (well, there was one odd room of gilt furniture which I totally ignored.) I found the whole effect unexpectedly pleasing. There were a fair number of people snaking their way through the castle; we managed to finally get in front of two guys who were taking pictures of themselves in every passageway and stairwell. Silly guys, don’t you know that you’re supposed to waste your pictures on horse carts and road signs?
<i><u>A word about road signs:</u>
We absolutely love the little pictorial road signs in Romania: round signs with pictures of horse and cart (my favorite), cow, children playing, train (little choo choo), bump in the road (little round mounds). We were on a constant quest to capture pictures of the signs as we passed them on the roads. We felt a bit sheepish about this endeavor. Our obsession was somewhat vindicated when I realized that our old Lonely Planet guide featured a horse and cart road sign on its cover.</i>
Back at the car, Daniel was waiting with cinnamon cake – actually a rolled hollow pastry, very much like the ones we bought last Christmas in the market in Prague – hot off the fire. Since we’d had no lunch, this made for a great snack.
We reached <b><i><u>Brasov</u></i></b> around 7:00pm, and checked into the <i><u>Aro Palace Hotel</u></i>. Our rooms were in the original Art Deco part of the hotel. We had corner rooms, which were huge. And very comfortable. There was a lot of built-in furniture, soft seating and a table and chairs. My favorite part was the two toilets per room: a powder room on the left of the entrance and a full bathroom on the right. My father was amused to see huge mirrors over the tub in the shower. The closets contained lots of comforts: robes, slippers, huge shoehorns, shoe shine brushes. Usually I like small, intimate hotels, but this place was very nice. (Our pictures really don’t do it justice.)
We met Cousin Carmen, her husband and son for dinner. Dad had very little energy from his stomach bug, so we ate at the hotel restaurant. The food was fine, and they had three live musicians. One of the singers had a great voice; we asked her if she had a CD, but she had none with her.
We enjoyed looking at old family pictures and hearing old family stories. Carmen had corresponded with my sister years ago when they were both teens, and had seen my father on both of his prior trips. We were all say to say “goodbye” at the end of the evening.
Later on, Mark and I used the one guest computer in the lobby and got money from the ATM next door to the hotel.
Photo link (129 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb88
Photo link, fewer photos (43 pictures)
hare.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb94
The hotel was undergoing exterior work; the workers, hotel deliveries, and church bells all made themselves heard VERY early in the morning. So I had to get out of bed and walk down my steps to close the window to the noise. Luckily, I was so tired I was able to fall back asleep. The highlight of the hotel’s delicious breakfast was the machine where we could make our own fresh squeezed orange juice.
After breakfast, Daniel led Mark and me on a walking tour of Upper Town highlights. Sibiu is the European Cultural Capital for 2007, and the city had undergone quite a face lift in preparation. The piatas were newly paved with cobblestones in decorative patterns. There were even commemorative manhole covers that say “Sibiu 2007 Hermannstadt.” (Hermannstadt is the German name of the town) Much work was still being carried out when we visited – especially plaster restoration and painting. Scaffolding was everywhere. It was fun to see the Sibiu “eyes” on so many of the buildings. We even got to see a roof section (including an “eye”) that was being built on the ground before getting installed on the building.
The large plaza, the <u><i>Piata Mare</i></u>, is surrounded by large pastel buildings with red tiled roofs. It is a scene out of Germany or Austria. The <i><u>Roman Catholic cathedral</u></i> on the Piata is a Baroque beauty. In the smaller <i><u>Piata Hiet</u></i>, we saw the <i><u>Evangelical Cathedral</u></i>, a medieval church with one of the original large wall frescos remaining – the Crucifixion scene. In the <i><u>Piata Mica</u></i>, we saw and crossed the iron bridge known as the <i><u>Liar’s Bridge</u></i> (there are lots of legends about the name).
The town would have been striking in morning sunshine. Although the sun kept threatening to appear, the sky remained stubbornly cloudy. We spent our final available minutes climbing up the steps of the <u><i>Council Tower</i></u>, a 13th century tower, modified in the 16th and 19th centuries, which has great views of the city. If we’d had more time, I would have liked to see the <i><u>Brukenthal Museum</u></i>, especially the collection of wooden religious statues and icon paintings. Actually, we could have used a lot more time to explore Sibiu.
Today we had arranged to see one of Dad’s first cousins. We had a lovely visit with Nicu and his wife in their airy book-filled apartment not far from downtown Sibiu. We enjoyed a wonderful phyllo and meat dish called <i>picinita cu carne</i>, and I got step by step directions on how to make it. (I later made it for my Romania booth at our church’s international festival, and it was good, but nowhere near as wonderful as what we enjoyed at their apartment) Nicu’s wife found out that I “speak” French and switched to that language, which was unfortunate because that left everyone else out of the conversation, and she and I became the main communicators. At least in Romanian, Nicu could participate, and Daniel could interpret for the 3 of us.
We were disappointed that ill health prevented another of the first cousins, Lucu, from coming, as we hadn’t seen him on this trip. Dad did get to “talk” with him on the phone – with interpretation help from Daniel.
After a pleasant hour, we were back in the car, driving east. We soon saw a series of roadside stands selling cheese. We stopped at a particularly photogenic stand, with a woman in traditional dress. She was selling a wide variety of cheeses that she had made herself (she proudly showed us her cheese maker certificate). After tasting all of the available wares we settled on a <i>brinzâ in coajâ de brad</i> (cheese wrapped in fir bark); we were to give this a cousin later in the trip. We passed lots of horse carts, beautiful little villages, and people selling potatoes and honey.
Our plan for the day was Rasnov fortress, possibly Bran castle and then Brasov. Mark wanted to choose one additional (closer) place to stop and maybe enjoy a bite to eat as we explored. (Mark doesn’t eat red meat, so he had not gotten to eat any of the delicious picinita at Nicu’s apartment. On the other hand, I had enjoyed two pieces!) On Daniel’s recommendation, we chose <b><i><u>Carta</u></i></b>, which is just a short distance north of the main road – very near where the scenic road goes south over the Fagaras Mountains. (I WISH we’d had time to drive over the pass.)
In the little village of Carta we passed a funeral gathering, then came upon the sizeable ruins of a <i><u>Cistercian abbey</u></i> from 1202. The choir part of the church seems to have been enclosed at a later date (the rest is ruins), but it was locked and the key holder was most likely at the funeral. We were able to walk all around the ruins of church and cloister. By now the sun had come out, making for good pictures and a very enjoyable stop. We didn’t get any food, though. Leaving town, we actually drove right in the midst of the funeral procession that was wending its way through the streets.
After passing through Dridif and Fagaras on the main road, we turned right (south) onto a local road that took us most of the way to Rasnov. We loved this road – for long stretches it was lined with trees on both sides. We saw few other cars. Just horsecarts, bicycles, hand carts, cows, haystacks, farms and fences. Have I said how great this road was? The countryside began to get hilly. We could see barns and houses perched high up on the slopes above us. There was a little stream and field along the road – so pretty! Just a perfect little drive. If we saw something we could just pull over and take a picture, without worrying about traffic.
Eventually we drove through <i><u>Zarnesti</u></i>, which is a ski town, where we had beautiful views of the mountains. Dad wasn’t feeling well (traveler’s stomach), so he stayed in the car while we visited <b><u><i>Rasnov Fortress</i></u></b>. This was a good decision, because the walking path from the parking area was very steep. As we walked we were treated to piped-in Italian opera music. Um, okay… Apparently an Italian fellow has a 99 year lease on the property and is busy restoring it to become an inn.
Unfortunately, the fortress really rubbed us the wrong way. It has been over-restored and over-done in a kitsch-y kind of way. Hanging flower baskets and artifacts everywhere. As my brother said, “How many plows do you need to have lined up on the side of the road?” Not to mention that absolute piles of rubble seem to be being turned into buildings and rooms. It didn’t look like a particularly faithful restoration. We walked up to the top, and the views were pretty incredible. There may have been more to see – it really is a big site – but we were done and beat the proverbial hasty retreat.
At this point I was dreading <b><i><u>Bran Castle</u></i></b>. It had never been on my list – the Dracula hype holds absolutely no interest for me. Furthermore, I knew that it had been used as a royal residence in the early 20th century, and I don’t care for palaces. But, we were so close (a flat valley and maybe 20 kilometers separate the two strongholds), and Mark wanted to stop, so we did. Dad once again stayed in the car and napped, which was again a good idea, since we had to walk up a steep hill here as well.
Souvenir booths line both sides of the walkway to the Bran Castle entrance. I was expecting the worst kind of tacky trash, but actually we saw very few junky Dracula trinkets. There were lots of booths with folk crafts, especially in one particular side market. I found a Maramures wood-and-wool mask, which the lady kindly put aside for me.
Daniel showed us to the entrance and left to go to a Hungarian bakery he knew. From beginning to end, the castle surprised us. To its credit, it does not capitalize on the “Dracula’s castle” hype. In fact, we didn’t see any mention of Vlad. The castle is a warren of passageways, rooms, balconies, arcades, and staircases. Queen Marie decorated the place with simple, white walls, dark woodwork, medieval artifacts, and rustic carved furniture (well, there was one odd room of gilt furniture which I totally ignored.) I found the whole effect unexpectedly pleasing. There were a fair number of people snaking their way through the castle; we managed to finally get in front of two guys who were taking pictures of themselves in every passageway and stairwell. Silly guys, don’t you know that you’re supposed to waste your pictures on horse carts and road signs?
<i><u>A word about road signs:</u>
We absolutely love the little pictorial road signs in Romania: round signs with pictures of horse and cart (my favorite), cow, children playing, train (little choo choo), bump in the road (little round mounds). We were on a constant quest to capture pictures of the signs as we passed them on the roads. We felt a bit sheepish about this endeavor. Our obsession was somewhat vindicated when I realized that our old Lonely Planet guide featured a horse and cart road sign on its cover.</i>
Back at the car, Daniel was waiting with cinnamon cake – actually a rolled hollow pastry, very much like the ones we bought last Christmas in the market in Prague – hot off the fire. Since we’d had no lunch, this made for a great snack.
We reached <b><i><u>Brasov</u></i></b> around 7:00pm, and checked into the <i><u>Aro Palace Hotel</u></i>. Our rooms were in the original Art Deco part of the hotel. We had corner rooms, which were huge. And very comfortable. There was a lot of built-in furniture, soft seating and a table and chairs. My favorite part was the two toilets per room: a powder room on the left of the entrance and a full bathroom on the right. My father was amused to see huge mirrors over the tub in the shower. The closets contained lots of comforts: robes, slippers, huge shoehorns, shoe shine brushes. Usually I like small, intimate hotels, but this place was very nice. (Our pictures really don’t do it justice.)
We met Cousin Carmen, her husband and son for dinner. Dad had very little energy from his stomach bug, so we ate at the hotel restaurant. The food was fine, and they had three live musicians. One of the singers had a great voice; we asked her if she had a CD, but she had none with her.
We enjoyed looking at old family pictures and hearing old family stories. Carmen had corresponded with my sister years ago when they were both teens, and had seen my father on both of his prior trips. We were all say to say “goodbye” at the end of the evening.
Later on, Mark and I used the one guest computer in the lobby and got money from the ATM next door to the hotel.
Photo link (129 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb88
Photo link, fewer photos (43 pictures)
hare.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb94
Oct 7th, 2007, 08:15 PM
#54
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,818
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nancy:
>>>do you know the story of the garden at the house? It's in the shape of a Star of David, and I know I read something about the particular plants that were chosen for the garden.<<<
When I first visited in the 80's, the house ws not open to visitors...but in the 90's the museum was established. Yes, it was Elie's family home, as is. When the family did not come back after the war (remember, only Elie and his older sister survived), a local man took possession.
Once Elie's fame spread to Sighet, he was invited back as a guest of honor in the early '90's and the house was taken back from the local man and returned to Elie who promptly declared his wish that it be made into a little museum. The remnants of the Jewish community, about 45 people, saw to it to do so. Money was provided by the government (!) and the town of Sighet.
I don't know the origin of the garden, but since it wasn't there when I first saw the house in the 80's, I figure the garden was planned as the museum took shape.
Nance: Keep up this very detailed, informative and very well written report...everyone of us is enjoing it.
Stu T.
>>>do you know the story of the garden at the house? It's in the shape of a Star of David, and I know I read something about the particular plants that were chosen for the garden.<<<
When I first visited in the 80's, the house ws not open to visitors...but in the 90's the museum was established. Yes, it was Elie's family home, as is. When the family did not come back after the war (remember, only Elie and his older sister survived), a local man took possession.
Once Elie's fame spread to Sighet, he was invited back as a guest of honor in the early '90's and the house was taken back from the local man and returned to Elie who promptly declared his wish that it be made into a little museum. The remnants of the Jewish community, about 45 people, saw to it to do so. Money was provided by the government (!) and the town of Sighet.
I don't know the origin of the garden, but since it wasn't there when I first saw the house in the 80's, I figure the garden was planned as the museum took shape.
Nance: Keep up this very detailed, informative and very well written report...everyone of us is enjoing it.
Stu T.
Oct 7th, 2007, 08:31 PM
#55
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,067
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh goodness. It does seem Rasnov has been taken too far. We enjoyed it, but it was still under severe renovations then, so it felt a bit more like ruins. Only a few wagon wheels in the main courtyard after you came in, and definitely no piped in music. I don't think we'd have liked it very much either, the way you describe it and I think I'd hesitate recommending it as I once did.
I agree about Sibiu. We felt like we could have used more time there too.
I agree about Sibiu. We felt like we could have used more time there too.
Oct 7th, 2007, 09:10 PM
#56
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Stu, I hope to finish posting very soon. We only have a few days left in our trip, and I believe the photo links will be smaller.
Interesting background on the Elie Wiesel house. I looked back though all of our guide books and did a Google search, and just can't find the sentence I read about the garden.
Clifton, for the most part our pictures don't actually show how tacky Rasnov looks (except for that one of the entrance courtyard with all the implements) - I think I was trying to frame the pictures without all the junk. You can see some of the flower pots, hanging things, etc., as well as the skylights(!! not sure how those fit on a medieval fortress).
In Sibiu we didn't even get to the Lower Town, nor did we see most of the interesting towers. But it was a similar story for Sighisoara and Brasov: just a quick morning walking tour of each. Oh well, something for next time!
Interesting background on the Elie Wiesel house. I looked back though all of our guide books and did a Google search, and just can't find the sentence I read about the garden.
Clifton, for the most part our pictures don't actually show how tacky Rasnov looks (except for that one of the entrance courtyard with all the implements) - I think I was trying to frame the pictures without all the junk. You can see some of the flower pots, hanging things, etc., as well as the skylights(!! not sure how those fit on a medieval fortress).
In Sibiu we didn't even get to the Lower Town, nor did we see most of the interesting towers. But it was a similar story for Sighisoara and Brasov: just a quick morning walking tour of each. Oh well, something for next time!
Oct 8th, 2007, 02:40 PM
#57
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oops, I just noticed that the photo link for the highlights photos (43 pictures) in the last entry was incorrect. Here is the proper link:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb94
<b><u>Saturday, September 30: Brasov to Bucharest</u></b>
True to our usual pattern, Dad slept in while we walked with Daniel around the <b><i><u>Brasov</u></i></b> town center. We didn’t have enough time to take the cable car up to the top of the hill, so we made do with a walk along the outside of Brasov’s walls and through some woods up to the <i><u>White Tower</u></i> and the <i><u>Black Tower</u></i> (named because of the damage it suffered in a 1559 fire.) We had some lovely views of the rooftops, squares, and plazas of the city although the light wasn’t optimal for photos, as the sun was shining over the opposite hill. We walked down and past the <u><i>Iron Bastian</i></u> and around to <u><i>Catherine’s Gate</i></u>, which is turreted and wonderful. Many of the main streets in the town center were totally torn up with construction, so we had to walk some different routes. We saw <u><i>Rope Street</i></u>, which used to claim it was the skinniest European street. Apparently but there were some competing claimants to that honor, so its claim has been reduce to being “one of the narrowest streets in Europe,” which sort of loses its punch! Anyway, we squeezed in there and took the obligatory pictures.
We visited the <u><i>Black Church</i></u> (so named because the charring it suffered in a 1689 fire when the Hapsburgs arrived to “protect” the town from the Ottoman Empire) which is the largest medieval church in Romania. This church is famous for its collection of centuries-old Islamic rugs that hang from pews and railings all around the interior. These were collected in lieu of taxes from the traders journeying through Transylvania from Turkey. Many of the pews were painted to show which guild had owned them. I think this was my favorite medieval cathedral of the many we saw on this trip. The church had a good shop, where we bought postcards and books about the Black church and the area (no photography was permitted in the church.)
We walked through the square to the <u><i>Orthodox Church</i></u>. At first I thought it was odd that there were shops on either side of the church doorway. Walking through, we found ourselves in a courtyard. The real church was straight ahead, with a lovely Art Nouveau metal grapevine over the door. We entered into the middle of a baptism ceremony. Although the priests were dressed in wonderful brocade vestments, we were interested to see that the babies were in regular street clothes. Along the side there were tables filled with baby items. We wondered if those were laid out to be blessed? We took a few silent photos and then slipped back out into the square.
<i><u>A word about Saturdays:</u>
We saw other baptisms and lots of wedding parties throughout the day on Saturday, in Brasov, small villages, and Bucharest. Cars decorated with balloons and brides and grooms being photographed in parks. Our cousin told us that she’d had a difficult time finding a restaurant in Bucharest for dinner that evening that wasn’t already booked with a wedding or baptism meal.</i>
We took <u><i>Republicii Street</i></u>, the main pedestrian shopping street, on the way back to the hotel. I actually bought more film. We really liked Brasov. Mark, who had not seen it in 2001, thinks it is his favorite Transylvanian town. Sibiu is more central to use as a base, but I would definitely spend time in Brasov.
Leaving Brasov, we drove along flat fields until we reached <b><u>Prejmer</u></b>, which is UNESCO listed. This Saxon fortified church complex had an actual attendant and an admission charge. We entered a Baroque arcade through the outer wall, then a tunnel entrance to the central courtyard. In the very center was the church.
The innermost wall is circular and has over 270 rooms on 4 levels. In times of invasion, the townspeople would gather within the walls, and each family would have a room. Wooden stairs and walkways connect the rooms in a very convoluted way. To reach any particular room, you have to track the pathways and stairs to the bottom, so you know where to start. We walked up to the top level under the roof – past some rooms with displays of old furniture and implements. You can walk all the way around the fortification in this ring of attic space.
The church has an octagonal tower with clock faces on 4 sides. In the light-filled interior we saw some Islamic carpets, painted wood pulpit, and the oldest painted altarpiece in Transylvania. Fragments of the original frescoes peeked out from the otherwise austere white plaster. (The frescoes have been covered over since the Reformation, when the original Catholic churches became Protestant.)
Two men were in the church, armed with lots of professional photographic equipment. I envied them their tripod, not to mention their cameras! (Daniel is an amateur photographer, and told us that had he known of our interest in photography he would have brought his tripod for us to use. If he had, we would probably still be there, shooting pictures!) I went up to talk with the guys, who, luckily for me, spoke excellent English. One of them was a photographer and the other a writer. They were from Germany and had been fascinated by the fortified churches for the past 17 years. They had documented nearly all of the 80 fortified churches over several years of September visits, in the course of working on a book (in English and in German) about the churches. (the book, called <u><i>Kirchenburgen in Siebenbürge,. Fortified Churches in Transylvania</i></u>, was published earlier this year, and I have ordered a copy from the German site amazon.de!)
The fortified church of <b><u><i>Harman</i></u></b>, located just 7 kilometers away, is similar to Prejmer, but on a somewhat smaller scale. It too was open, and had someone taking admission fees. The church tower is square, with the four little corner spires. Services are still held at the church, and there are little rugs and cushions on the pews, holding spaces for their owners.
By this point we were very hungry. Our lunch spot was a restaurant (<i>Pafta Bunam</i attached to a gas station (<i>Petram</i. Most of the tables had been pushed together to make one very long table for a baptism party. We managed to get served before the restaurant staff got too tied up with the big party.
We were finished with our sightseeing in Transylvania, and it was time to drive down to Bucharest, where a big dinner with relatives awaited us. We stopped once. At the Brasov county boundary, we hit the jackpot: we bought acacia honey, and we got a picture of a <i>“Drum Bun”</i> sign. Score!
<i><u>A word about Drum Bun:</u>
Road signs with the words “Drum Bun,” (Romanian for “good travels”) are a common sight when leaving a town, decent sized village, or county. We were on a mission to get a good photograph of one of these signs, but we seemed to never have the cameras handy when we saw one, and never saw one when we were armed and ready. </i>
The highway goes over the mountains, passing through the towns of Predeal, Busteni and Sinaia, before descending to the flat plains and the oil refineries of Ploesti. This is the main route from Bucharest and the south up to the mountain resort areas, and the roadsides were thick with vendor stalls selling various Romanian crafts.
The Wallachian architecture is very interesting – and very different from what we saw in Saxon Transylvania and in Maramures. The buildings had projecting bays on the upper floors, with elaborate arched lattice work and little roofs.
We crossed the 45th latitude! We drove through <i>Romanesti</i> (lots of roadside flower vendors, vegetable shops, and, of course, vulcanizing shops) and <i>Petigrafu</i> (many stands selling brooms, baskets and straw mats.)
And then, we were back in <b><u><i>Bucharest</i></u></b>. Daniel dropped us at the hotel. We had truly had a great guide experience with him for 6 days; he did an excellent job of staying flexible to the interests of 3 different people. And he even laughed at our jokes!
We checked back into the <i><u>Rembrandt Hotel</u></i>, again renting the laptop computer. We had less than 30 minutes’ time until we were collected to go to dinner. We ate with about 15 or 20 relatives in a somewhat touristy Romanian restaurant near the Triumphal Arch. The interior was fully decked out with folk art and implements. There was a group of icon paintings on the wall behind my seat. “Russian,” sniffed one of our relatives, “but they figure nobody will notice.”
I found the food quite good. Soup, a nice cold plate, then a mixed meat plate with amazing grilled sausage. I was seated across from one of Dad’s first cousins and her husband. Neither of them spoke a speck of English (or French or German). They really wanted to tell me about their life under Communism, but I wasn’t getting reliable translation help from the teenaged cousin sitting nearby (he just wanted to ask me about my favorite American TV shows, what kind of car we drive, and tons of other American pop culture info). So that was pretty frustrating. Also, we forgot to bring the tape recorder.
In the course of the evening I did get to have at least a short conversation with everybody there. One of the young cousins was studying at a German language high school, so we conversed just a bit in German (her English was also quite good). There were a few little speeches and toasts; the relatives said that they have become much more connected with each other because of my father’s interest in them and his visits to see them. (At the meal that we had in Transylvania the week before, a bunch of the cousins had sat at a table compiling charts of family members and their contact information.)
Everyone sang the Romanian version of “Happy Birthday” to my Dad – his 80th birthday was just one week away. We took lots of pictures before going our separate ways. The evening was too short!
Photo link (122 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb-0
Photo link, fewer photos (42 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb_w
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb94
<b><u>Saturday, September 30: Brasov to Bucharest</u></b>
True to our usual pattern, Dad slept in while we walked with Daniel around the <b><i><u>Brasov</u></i></b> town center. We didn’t have enough time to take the cable car up to the top of the hill, so we made do with a walk along the outside of Brasov’s walls and through some woods up to the <i><u>White Tower</u></i> and the <i><u>Black Tower</u></i> (named because of the damage it suffered in a 1559 fire.) We had some lovely views of the rooftops, squares, and plazas of the city although the light wasn’t optimal for photos, as the sun was shining over the opposite hill. We walked down and past the <u><i>Iron Bastian</i></u> and around to <u><i>Catherine’s Gate</i></u>, which is turreted and wonderful. Many of the main streets in the town center were totally torn up with construction, so we had to walk some different routes. We saw <u><i>Rope Street</i></u>, which used to claim it was the skinniest European street. Apparently but there were some competing claimants to that honor, so its claim has been reduce to being “one of the narrowest streets in Europe,” which sort of loses its punch! Anyway, we squeezed in there and took the obligatory pictures.
We visited the <u><i>Black Church</i></u> (so named because the charring it suffered in a 1689 fire when the Hapsburgs arrived to “protect” the town from the Ottoman Empire) which is the largest medieval church in Romania. This church is famous for its collection of centuries-old Islamic rugs that hang from pews and railings all around the interior. These were collected in lieu of taxes from the traders journeying through Transylvania from Turkey. Many of the pews were painted to show which guild had owned them. I think this was my favorite medieval cathedral of the many we saw on this trip. The church had a good shop, where we bought postcards and books about the Black church and the area (no photography was permitted in the church.)
We walked through the square to the <u><i>Orthodox Church</i></u>. At first I thought it was odd that there were shops on either side of the church doorway. Walking through, we found ourselves in a courtyard. The real church was straight ahead, with a lovely Art Nouveau metal grapevine over the door. We entered into the middle of a baptism ceremony. Although the priests were dressed in wonderful brocade vestments, we were interested to see that the babies were in regular street clothes. Along the side there were tables filled with baby items. We wondered if those were laid out to be blessed? We took a few silent photos and then slipped back out into the square.
<i><u>A word about Saturdays:</u>
We saw other baptisms and lots of wedding parties throughout the day on Saturday, in Brasov, small villages, and Bucharest. Cars decorated with balloons and brides and grooms being photographed in parks. Our cousin told us that she’d had a difficult time finding a restaurant in Bucharest for dinner that evening that wasn’t already booked with a wedding or baptism meal.</i>
We took <u><i>Republicii Street</i></u>, the main pedestrian shopping street, on the way back to the hotel. I actually bought more film. We really liked Brasov. Mark, who had not seen it in 2001, thinks it is his favorite Transylvanian town. Sibiu is more central to use as a base, but I would definitely spend time in Brasov.
Leaving Brasov, we drove along flat fields until we reached <b><u>Prejmer</u></b>, which is UNESCO listed. This Saxon fortified church complex had an actual attendant and an admission charge. We entered a Baroque arcade through the outer wall, then a tunnel entrance to the central courtyard. In the very center was the church.
The innermost wall is circular and has over 270 rooms on 4 levels. In times of invasion, the townspeople would gather within the walls, and each family would have a room. Wooden stairs and walkways connect the rooms in a very convoluted way. To reach any particular room, you have to track the pathways and stairs to the bottom, so you know where to start. We walked up to the top level under the roof – past some rooms with displays of old furniture and implements. You can walk all the way around the fortification in this ring of attic space.
The church has an octagonal tower with clock faces on 4 sides. In the light-filled interior we saw some Islamic carpets, painted wood pulpit, and the oldest painted altarpiece in Transylvania. Fragments of the original frescoes peeked out from the otherwise austere white plaster. (The frescoes have been covered over since the Reformation, when the original Catholic churches became Protestant.)
Two men were in the church, armed with lots of professional photographic equipment. I envied them their tripod, not to mention their cameras! (Daniel is an amateur photographer, and told us that had he known of our interest in photography he would have brought his tripod for us to use. If he had, we would probably still be there, shooting pictures!) I went up to talk with the guys, who, luckily for me, spoke excellent English. One of them was a photographer and the other a writer. They were from Germany and had been fascinated by the fortified churches for the past 17 years. They had documented nearly all of the 80 fortified churches over several years of September visits, in the course of working on a book (in English and in German) about the churches. (the book, called <u><i>Kirchenburgen in Siebenbürge,. Fortified Churches in Transylvania</i></u>, was published earlier this year, and I have ordered a copy from the German site amazon.de!)
The fortified church of <b><u><i>Harman</i></u></b>, located just 7 kilometers away, is similar to Prejmer, but on a somewhat smaller scale. It too was open, and had someone taking admission fees. The church tower is square, with the four little corner spires. Services are still held at the church, and there are little rugs and cushions on the pews, holding spaces for their owners.
By this point we were very hungry. Our lunch spot was a restaurant (<i>Pafta Bunam</i
attached to a gas station (<i>Petram</i. Most of the tables had been pushed together to make one very long table for a baptism party. We managed to get served before the restaurant staff got too tied up with the big party.We were finished with our sightseeing in Transylvania, and it was time to drive down to Bucharest, where a big dinner with relatives awaited us. We stopped once. At the Brasov county boundary, we hit the jackpot: we bought acacia honey, and we got a picture of a <i>“Drum Bun”</i> sign. Score!
<i><u>A word about Drum Bun:</u>
Road signs with the words “Drum Bun,” (Romanian for “good travels”) are a common sight when leaving a town, decent sized village, or county. We were on a mission to get a good photograph of one of these signs, but we seemed to never have the cameras handy when we saw one, and never saw one when we were armed and ready. </i>
The highway goes over the mountains, passing through the towns of Predeal, Busteni and Sinaia, before descending to the flat plains and the oil refineries of Ploesti. This is the main route from Bucharest and the south up to the mountain resort areas, and the roadsides were thick with vendor stalls selling various Romanian crafts.
The Wallachian architecture is very interesting – and very different from what we saw in Saxon Transylvania and in Maramures. The buildings had projecting bays on the upper floors, with elaborate arched lattice work and little roofs.
We crossed the 45th latitude! We drove through <i>Romanesti</i> (lots of roadside flower vendors, vegetable shops, and, of course, vulcanizing shops) and <i>Petigrafu</i> (many stands selling brooms, baskets and straw mats.)
And then, we were back in <b><u><i>Bucharest</i></u></b>. Daniel dropped us at the hotel. We had truly had a great guide experience with him for 6 days; he did an excellent job of staying flexible to the interests of 3 different people. And he even laughed at our jokes!
We checked back into the <i><u>Rembrandt Hotel</u></i>, again renting the laptop computer. We had less than 30 minutes’ time until we were collected to go to dinner. We ate with about 15 or 20 relatives in a somewhat touristy Romanian restaurant near the Triumphal Arch. The interior was fully decked out with folk art and implements. There was a group of icon paintings on the wall behind my seat. “Russian,” sniffed one of our relatives, “but they figure nobody will notice.”
I found the food quite good. Soup, a nice cold plate, then a mixed meat plate with amazing grilled sausage. I was seated across from one of Dad’s first cousins and her husband. Neither of them spoke a speck of English (or French or German). They really wanted to tell me about their life under Communism, but I wasn’t getting reliable translation help from the teenaged cousin sitting nearby (he just wanted to ask me about my favorite American TV shows, what kind of car we drive, and tons of other American pop culture info). So that was pretty frustrating. Also, we forgot to bring the tape recorder.
In the course of the evening I did get to have at least a short conversation with everybody there. One of the young cousins was studying at a German language high school, so we conversed just a bit in German (her English was also quite good). There were a few little speeches and toasts; the relatives said that they have become much more connected with each other because of my father’s interest in them and his visits to see them. (At the meal that we had in Transylvania the week before, a bunch of the cousins had sat at a table compiling charts of family members and their contact information.)
Everyone sang the Romanian version of “Happy Birthday” to my Dad – his 80th birthday was just one week away. We took lots of pictures before going our separate ways. The evening was too short!
Photo link (122 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb-0
Photo link, fewer photos (42 pictures):
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzb_w
Oct 10th, 2007, 09:34 AM
#59
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
OK, so I'm close to winding up this report!
<b><u>Sunday, October 1: Bucharest</u></b>
Cousin Diana arrived at our hotel right after breakfast and drove us to <i><u>St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cathedral</u></i>, where we attended services. There was controversy at the time about a huge commercial development under construction next door to the cathedral and the effect it would have on the cathedral. I’m not sure how that has been resolved.
After church we drove to an obscure <i><u>little street</u></i> that we’d spotted on the Bucharest map that was named after some military guy (we had no idea who this was) who shared our last name. This was cause for huge excitement! Mind you we’d found this street about a month before our trip and had hoped to visit it. Diana clearly thought we were nuts, but was kind enough to humor us. We photographed every inch of this one-block-long street, including many pictures of us with the street signs. It was really quite a joke with us, and the street was quite humble (if not downright shabby). A bonus: we saw our last horse and cart of the trip come down this Bucharest street.
We ate lunch at <i><u>Casa Mama</u></i>, which has an extensive outdoor terrace, but unfortunately it was fully reserved on this bright sunny Sunday. We were able to get the last table inside, and we enjoyed our final Romanian meal. Then Diana drove us back to our hotel and it was time to bid her adieu. It was hard to leave Diana, who had done so much to contact relatives and arrange the dinners in Fagaras and Bucharest. She had also been the guide for my father and brother’s 2001 visit to Romania.
Dad took a late afternoon nap, and Mark and I walked the <i><u>Lipscan</u></i>i area around our hotel. We walked down to the <i><u>Dambovita River</u></i>, and ended up in <i><u>Gradina Cismagiu</u></i>, a beautiful park. Everyone in Bucharest was out in the park on that glorious Fall day, rowing in the lake or sitting on the many benches lining the paths. This was the kind of afternoon that cried out for an ice cream, but we didn’t come across any. Mark finally made do with a McFlurry from McDonalds. Oh, the shame! I wasn’t that desperate.
We enjoyed the streets of Bucharest. Many of the lovely old buildings are being renovated. One example was the beautiful building next door to our hotel which was being redone into a new upscale restaurant. On one little street we stumbled onto the Orthodox church/monastery of <u><i>Stavropoleus</i></u>. There was a group of pilgrims praying there. Once the prayers were over, a young Orthodox nun motioned us to come see the church interior before it was locked up. It was like a little jewel box, and we were glad we got to go inside. The adjoining (newer) cloister and garden area is lovely.
Along our walk we visited some shops and stocked up on Joe wafer cookies, pastries for the next morning’s breakfast, and some ham and cheese pastries for a picnic dinner. If we had more time, we would have gone to the <u><i>Museum of the Romanian Peasant</i></u> (which apparently has an excellent craft shop – one cousin gave us some beautiful presents from this shop.)
That evening we ate our take out savories in the hotel bar with our complimentary drinks. Then Mark and Dad went to sleep and I had a marathon packing session, making sure all of our souvenirs got safely stowed either in carry on or checked luggage. This time I was in the big room and I had most of our luggage spread out all over the floor. We had brought an empty mailing tube and some empty small corrugated boxes with us, and they were very handy for the posters and the breakables. Our little painted eggs stayed in their water bottle packaging. While I packed I uploaded hundreds of our pictures to shutterfly.com. I had just a few short hours to sleep before our 4:45am taxi to the airport.
Photo link:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzUQDg
Photo link, fewer photos:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzUQHw
<b><u>Sunday, October 1: Bucharest</u></b>
Cousin Diana arrived at our hotel right after breakfast and drove us to <i><u>St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cathedral</u></i>, where we attended services. There was controversy at the time about a huge commercial development under construction next door to the cathedral and the effect it would have on the cathedral. I’m not sure how that has been resolved.
After church we drove to an obscure <i><u>little street</u></i> that we’d spotted on the Bucharest map that was named after some military guy (we had no idea who this was) who shared our last name. This was cause for huge excitement! Mind you we’d found this street about a month before our trip and had hoped to visit it. Diana clearly thought we were nuts, but was kind enough to humor us. We photographed every inch of this one-block-long street, including many pictures of us with the street signs. It was really quite a joke with us, and the street was quite humble (if not downright shabby). A bonus: we saw our last horse and cart of the trip come down this Bucharest street.
We ate lunch at <i><u>Casa Mama</u></i>, which has an extensive outdoor terrace, but unfortunately it was fully reserved on this bright sunny Sunday. We were able to get the last table inside, and we enjoyed our final Romanian meal. Then Diana drove us back to our hotel and it was time to bid her adieu. It was hard to leave Diana, who had done so much to contact relatives and arrange the dinners in Fagaras and Bucharest. She had also been the guide for my father and brother’s 2001 visit to Romania.
Dad took a late afternoon nap, and Mark and I walked the <i><u>Lipscan</u></i>i area around our hotel. We walked down to the <i><u>Dambovita River</u></i>, and ended up in <i><u>Gradina Cismagiu</u></i>, a beautiful park. Everyone in Bucharest was out in the park on that glorious Fall day, rowing in the lake or sitting on the many benches lining the paths. This was the kind of afternoon that cried out for an ice cream, but we didn’t come across any. Mark finally made do with a McFlurry from McDonalds. Oh, the shame! I wasn’t that desperate.
We enjoyed the streets of Bucharest. Many of the lovely old buildings are being renovated. One example was the beautiful building next door to our hotel which was being redone into a new upscale restaurant. On one little street we stumbled onto the Orthodox church/monastery of <u><i>Stavropoleus</i></u>. There was a group of pilgrims praying there. Once the prayers were over, a young Orthodox nun motioned us to come see the church interior before it was locked up. It was like a little jewel box, and we were glad we got to go inside. The adjoining (newer) cloister and garden area is lovely.
Along our walk we visited some shops and stocked up on Joe wafer cookies, pastries for the next morning’s breakfast, and some ham and cheese pastries for a picnic dinner. If we had more time, we would have gone to the <u><i>Museum of the Romanian Peasant</i></u> (which apparently has an excellent craft shop – one cousin gave us some beautiful presents from this shop.)
That evening we ate our take out savories in the hotel bar with our complimentary drinks. Then Mark and Dad went to sleep and I had a marathon packing session, making sure all of our souvenirs got safely stowed either in carry on or checked luggage. This time I was in the big room and I had most of our luggage spread out all over the floor. We had brought an empty mailing tube and some empty small corrugated boxes with us, and they were very handy for the posters and the breakables. Our little painted eggs stayed in their water bottle packaging. While I packed I uploaded hundreds of our pictures to shutterfly.com. I had just a few short hours to sleep before our 4:45am taxi to the airport.
Photo link:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzUQDg
Photo link, fewer photos:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZsmzZuzUQHw
Oct 10th, 2007, 06:01 PM
#60
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Saxon fortified church book that I ordered from Germany arrived today, and it is quite good. I think I'll order another one for my brother for Christmas.
<b><u>Monday, October 2: home again</u></b>
The flights home were largely on time. Security was astonishingly tight at CDG; we must have showed our passports/boarding cards 12 times in the connection between planes – and we stayed airside! We still joke about the very haughty woman security screener. We got stuck on a hot stuffy standing room only bus on the flightline while our plane received its finishing touches. And there was a busload of Mumbai passengers dropped at our plane by mistake. Once this was ironed out we had an uneventful trip.
Back in ATL, we truthfully answered “yes” to the Customs questions about bringing in food, and having been on a farm. This led to spraying of our shoes and thorough inspections of all our luggage. Our honey was permitted, but our painted eggs were discovered and then confiscated because they were from a country with avian bird flu. Not that we were hiding them - that was the first we’d HEARD about eggshells being a problem. The inspectors weren’t even sure themselves, and had to look it up in a huge binder of regulations.
This is the conclusion I wrote when I first got home:
I almost cried to leave my 7 little eggs behind. But at least I still had 3700 pictures! And a lifetime of memories of Romania – unchanged in so many ways from when my grandfather left 100 years ago, and yet racing to embrace its future on the European stage.
What I’d say now:
The most important thing I brought back was the satisfaction of having shared this trip to the land of our heritage with my brother and my father – as it turned out to be one of the last purely enjoyable things Dad was able to do. We had savored every moment of the trip together.
It was sad at times for me to write this report, but also it was healing. Thanks for reading along, and I hope some of this information is of use to someone!
<b><u>Monday, October 2: home again</u></b>
The flights home were largely on time. Security was astonishingly tight at CDG; we must have showed our passports/boarding cards 12 times in the connection between planes – and we stayed airside! We still joke about the very haughty woman security screener. We got stuck on a hot stuffy standing room only bus on the flightline while our plane received its finishing touches. And there was a busload of Mumbai passengers dropped at our plane by mistake. Once this was ironed out we had an uneventful trip.
Back in ATL, we truthfully answered “yes” to the Customs questions about bringing in food, and having been on a farm. This led to spraying of our shoes and thorough inspections of all our luggage. Our honey was permitted, but our painted eggs were discovered and then confiscated because they were from a country with avian bird flu. Not that we were hiding them - that was the first we’d HEARD about eggshells being a problem. The inspectors weren’t even sure themselves, and had to look it up in a huge binder of regulations.
This is the conclusion I wrote when I first got home:
I almost cried to leave my 7 little eggs behind. But at least I still had 3700 pictures! And a lifetime of memories of Romania – unchanged in so many ways from when my grandfather left 100 years ago, and yet racing to embrace its future on the European stage.
What I’d say now:
The most important thing I brought back was the satisfaction of having shared this trip to the land of our heritage with my brother and my father – as it turned out to be one of the last purely enjoyable things Dad was able to do. We had savored every moment of the trip together.
It was sad at times for me to write this report, but also it was healing. Thanks for reading along, and I hope some of this information is of use to someone!
