The monasteries have a competitor - the Merry Cemetery!

Oh, and the Festival was definitely yesterday.  The music, or was it from the restaurant below us, pumped bass well into the night last night. I went to bed at 11 with the beat still drumming in my ears, but it didn't stop me from sleeping. Sleep was good. Sleep was a full 8 hours - yay.

We are down to breakfast as the pull down of the festival is in full swing and before we head over to the Merry Cemetery and the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance in Romania. They don't open until 10, so we have a bit of time.

We repacked the suitcase last night, so once we hit the road, we can just go straight to the airport and check in without drama.
Well, we left the hotel without any drama and as we head off in the car I plug in Sapanta where the Merry Cemetery is to the tablet. But then as we get back in to Sighetu Marmatiei proper, I spy the sign to the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance in Romania and it is only 500 m away, so a quick change of plans even though the GPS is very insistently telling us to turn right, in 50 m turn right, in 120 m turn right, we keep going straight. Thankfully, this memorial opens at 9:30 am, so we are right on time.  And as we are early, parking is a breeze - right at the end of the block where the Memorial is located.


The Memorial is located in the former Sighetu Prison and tells the story of the rise and impact of communism in Romania from 1945 to 1977. Like many of the ghettoes, gulags and prisons in other parts of Europe, it tells in detail of the atrocities that man can visit on his brother in the name of power.

• 1945 - the repatriation of former prisoners and deported persons from the Soviet Union happened through Sighetu
• 1948 - imprisonment of students, pupils and peasants from the Maramures
• May 1950 - 100+ government ministers, academics, economists, military officers, historians, journalists, politicians were transferred to Sighetu
• Oct 1950 - 50 bishops and Greek-Catholic and Roman-Catholic priests interred
• Prisoners could not look out the windows as they were all shuttered, with only a small patch of sky visible
• 1955 - Geneva Convention and Romania's admission to the UN - some pardons were granted and some prisoners freed, other sent to other places and the balance placed under house arrest. The prison returned to being a law prison.
• 1977 - the prison was put out of use and fell into disrepair.
• 1994 - Approval was given for the creation of a Memorial on the site.

 The names engraved in the memorial wall, and the photos that line the main corridors of the detainees are very sobering.
It began our day with a very different feel as we realised that the communists and their followers have so much to answer for.  In order to really do the Memorial justice, you would need to spend at least half a day here, alas, we give it 2 hours only, but enough to give another small insight into the nature of man.

So we are now off to Sapanta.  This is the home of Cimitirul Vesel - the Merry Cemetery. Relatively new, it came into being in its current form only in the 1930s when local artist Ion Stan Patras begins to celebrate the life of villagers by carving and painting headstones that depict something of their time on earth. Today, his work is continued by Dumitru Pop.
The artist alone decides on the picture and the epitaph - although he consults with the family to get information on the deceased. There are hundreds of these crosses in the cemetery and the following is a verse on just one:
Under this heavy cross
Lies my poor mother in-law
Three more days should she have lived
I would lie, and she would read (this cross).
You, who here are passing by
Not to wake her up please try
Cause' if she comes back home
She'll criticise me more.
But I will surely behave
So she'll not return from grave.
Stay here, my dear mother in-law!

There was one tragic one where a three year old little girl had been killed after being struck by a car.
All in all - a unique and quirky way at looking at life and I can't help but think that this is the way I would like to be remembered.  Heaven knows what would be written about me though!  😄

The Church of the Annunciation which sits beside the cemetery is still under construction. As we have said before, religion is big business and most of the tiling that is happening here is in rich colours and gold mosaics.  The church certainly does have a very colourful and impressive spire - I'll put some pics on Facebook.

Just a km further on is the Mănăstirea Săpânța-Peri which has the honour of having the tallest spire of a wooden in Europe.  No mean feat considering that this newly built church (1997) is constructed using traditional methods.

Set aside from the village amidst a forest, this place exudes a calm that was very welcome after the sombre and then light-hearted start to our day.

After this, it was time to turn for the south and a return to the International Airport at Cluj-Napoca to depart Romania.  A little over 200 kms, it will take us 3.5 hours.  We have grown to trust the predictions of the tablet and Google Maps and not to base our expectations on driving times from home.  So we know that we will get to Cluj around 3:40 pm.  In good time to return our hire car and make our departure at 4:55 pm.

The trip itself is relatively uneventful and very Romanian.  In any other country in the world, it is a well known fact that red cars go faster.  Here, they are the slow cars!  And after seeing an advertisement on TV last night for Prevomit, a medication for travel sickness, I can't help but think that the pharmaceutical companies are in carhoots with the road designers.  Apart from the two major motorways, there would not be more that 1-2 kms of straight road anywhere - even on the flat they meander along.


We pull in at the car parking lot at the Airport right on cue.
Double check the car and gather all our 'stuff' (there is that word again, Gen) and head in to return the keys.  The Dacia has been an interesting car. A workhorse for sure.  Michael and I lay bets on how far we have driven - we cannot find the odometer on the dash display and have to ask the rental clerk to tell us.  Michael suggest 4,000 kms while I say no, I think more like 3,000 kms. The clerk gets back to the office, our camera in his hand (it was left int he door pocket) and confirms me as winner - we have only driven 2,913 kms, even though it feels much more.  The clerk is quite impressed and tells us that we have just driven 6 times the length of the country.  Now, when you put it like that . . .


As we take off, we can't help but feel that the taxi-way at the airport really reflects the infrastructure of much of the country - patchy, bumpy and definitely in need of a bit of TLC. Thankfully, the runway proper is in better nick! We are again flying with Air Dolomiti - and for the grand sum of 20 euro extra per ticket have snagged business class.  This just means that we get two seats each - across the aisle from each other and extra special attention such as a served meal on china with real cutlery rather than the sandwiches in a box. And I get a glass of Prosecco to wash it down with.

Drum Bun Romania - it sure was nice getting know you a bit and our final view before we head into the clouds is of the outskirts of Cluj, like most of the rest of the country strung out in a line along the roadway.

Our trip is uneventful, although for most of it we are above the clouds and the smog with nothing to see.  There is a storm outside Munich, but as we come in toward our landing, there is a parting of the clouds and a late ray of sunshine to bring out a beautiful view of Germany.
We have decided to stay at the Hilton at the Airport again tonight before heading back to Steph and Felix in the morning.  Sort out the car that was originally booked for today, have some dinner - at the Route 66 Buffet (at 48 euro a head!), compile tonight's story and that is it - your lot for the day!

Byzatine masterpieces - the value of art in religion

Morning comes early to rural Romania.
Here at la Ferme Veche in Bogdana, the roosters were busy early and the dogs added to their chorus. The hens clucked busily, scratching just beyond the verandah around the accommodation building. Ah yes, agrarian life - NOT for me.

What is really appealing is that for much of our travels in Romania, we are either in the mountains, or surrounded by them. Few glacial valleys here - they are more the narrower river valleys with the occasional one broadened out enough to allow mass farming. Stunning!

Today we smell the late summer - the pollen on the wind as we cross the open plains of mid-north of Romania (Moldavia), the freshly cut corn as we pass open carts laden with them being pulled by patient horses, and the stench of the sunflowers fully ripe, filled with their precious oil, too tired now to hold their heads to follow the sun - you have no idea how much they stink just before they are harvested - especially when we pass through kms and kms of fields on both side of the roads.

We have a 3.5 hour drive to head to the region of Bucovina so we can visit some of Romania's artistic legacies - the Painted Monasteries.  Again, we are not really travelling all that far, but here in the north, the vehicle of choice is horse -pulled cart - and I guess that one-horsepower ain't got much grunt! (Sorry, couldn't help myself 😀) But seriously, this is the main reason that our average speed today hovers well under 50 kph.  That and many poor roads.

We have plugged in Bucovina and get taken straight to a historical monument for sure, with some frescoes, but not one of THE painted monasteries. Its
about now that we realise that they are not in the city of Bucovina, but rather, the region.  So back in to the car, we program the tablet with the name of oneof the most famous - Voronet. Sure enough - another hour!  Off we set and as we almost reach the site, I spy the signs for another nearby - the Monastery of Humor.  But first for Voronet.

This medieval complex was built in five months in 1448, dedicated to St George the Martyr and remembering two other figures: the founder - St Stephen the Great and the Hermit St Daniil. These frescoes are known for their rich use of blue - a blue that became to be known across the world as Voronet Blue.

And if you think that it is stunning on the outside, you should have seen the inside where we cannot take photos. The colours, protected from harsh light are so much more vibrant and frescoes cover every square cm of the interior. The internal construction is a simple series of stone walls supporting increasingly smaller arches that have then been plastered and then painted. Truly awe-inspiring and makes one feel very small and humble.

The monasteries here are kept by nuns, not monks. And for Voronet, these nuns are in charge of a big business. One nun mans the entry point deftly swapping 5 Lei (or 15 Lei for photographers) for entry tickets. She is working her fingers off - such are the numbers of visitors. It would take some income to upkeep such an important monument, so please don't think too harshly of me if I admire the beautiful new convent building set just aside from the monastery!

You can see that the frescoes on the northern facing walls are very faded due to the harsh sunlight, all the more apparent when you walk around to the southern side to see the less weathered side. And given that the purpose of the frescoes was to not only provide divine instruction for the enlightened, but also to educate the common man, the subject of hell features boldly with the devil about to devour a sinner.

There is a full treasure trove of icons and collectibles on sale at the exit point - again, the nun is kept busy. I add to her sales for the day with a memento for Mum. And as we both agree that this is a unique treasure that needs to be kept for future generations, we make a reasonable donation to the restoration fund.

Voronet done, we head back the way we have come and turn at the flower power car to head to the Monastery at Humour - only 7 kms from here.

If Voronet was impressive with its colour and vim, it was also milking the tourism trade.  Humor Monastery is slightly smaller, slightly poorer and in every sense a truer working monastery. No money changes hands on entry - the nun is busy and comments "pay on the way out".

As we enter through the gate, we hear the nuns chanting. It sets the vibe for our visit - more sombre, more 'real', more sincere somehow.

The colours at this monastery are less blue, more red, but no less stunning. 

There is a tower beside the monastery - and where there is a tower, there is Michael.  It certainly offers a different perspective!

This monastery is a renovation works in progress and one a timber scaffold above the entry door, two painters work at restoration very quietly. I see that very few people even notice the works. It pays to stand quietly and take in the surroundings!

Again, we can't take photos inside. And again, the colours and scenes are resplendent in their intensity. But you get a good idea from the outside.  In the inner sanctum, there are two nuns who in turn recite the prayers that we heard as we arrived and walk through the grounds.  Again, a donation to the restoration - it would be such a loss to the art world, the social history world and yes, the religious world if these treasures were not preserved.  

As we stand and take in the splendour outside, one of the nuns commences a round of the monastery, striking a long piece of wood with a small hammer - a leftover from when the bells were banned. It adds a touch of the authentic, but this is no show as she continues around the monastery and finishes with her blessing, touch the ground three times in the process.

As we leave, and pay, the younger nun asks where we are from and when we tell her Australia, she is delighted - "I KNEW you were from Australia", she exclaims, looking pleased with herself.  "So far to come, and for such a short time, but you leave a piece of yourself here."  We couldn't agree more.  If you want to read more of the monasteries, check out http://romaniatourism.com/painted-monasteries.html

I finished the day with a few souvenir purchases. One piece of handiwork for which the maker asked 5 Lei - less than $2. I gave her 10 Lei and still felt guilty knowing how long it takes to hand-make crafts. And the painted eggs that they were asking up to 18 Lei each in Sibiu and Brasov are just 5 Lei each here!


And as we near our accommodation at Curtea Bizantina at Scheia just outside Surceava, with a storm brewing behind us, the harvested fields high on the hills  gently tug a patchwork shawl over their shoulders against the cooling evening.

We are just in from dinner - and what a feast. Served by the very efficient, and proudly English-speaking Iuli, our hunger is truly sated. 
We began with Tripe Soup for Michael (of course) while I had tomato soup. Can't vouch for the tripe, but that tomato soup was amazing. Pure unadulterated tomato. So fresh with just a splash of olive oil. 
I followed with Byzantine Beef tenderloin cooked in butter and thyme with mint, orange, lemon juice and brandy and served with boiled potatoes in butter and herbs while Michael feasted on Tochitura (traditional old time dish) - pork sirloin, pork scratchings, pork neck, polenta, house-made feta cheese, local pickles and fried eggs. Looked good and he said it was wonderful.

We finished the night with coffee.

A Tales of Castles and castes

We began the day nice and early - leaving Bucuresti at 6:30 am with the sunrise as we have a few kms to do and two of Romania's best castles to see.
It is amazing how many people are headed to work at this time.
We often ask people we meet in the tourism industry how many hours they work and the standard answer seems to be 16 hour days.  Guess that goes for more than just the tourism industry.

We head out of the city, dodging the trolley buses and the trams.  Hate driving along the tram lines - your tyres seem to have a mind of their own as they follow the rails!

We are headed to the north west slightly to visit first Peles Castle and then Bran Castle.  we know that the tourist buses leave Bucharest at 8 am to do the day trip, so we want to get there ahead of the hordes. And with the help of one of the main motorways we do.  Amazing to see the motorway without traffic - not like or run in the other day.
We arrive at Peles Castle parking area at 8:30 am, only to be told that the castle grounds open at 9 am and the castle itself opens at 11 am!  We drive up to the top parking area and ask the attendant how far to the castle. He smiles and says enigmatically "5".  Five what we don't know. We haven't actually seen the castle yet. So off we set. Up a 8% slope. Cobblestoned. 

Five? minutes?  Nope, that doesn't do it. Dear God, I hope it isn't 5 km up this blasted hill.  Coronaries averted, we finally view the castle, and the lower buildings - thank goodness, with a coffee shop. Make a bee-line for that and for an sweetened iced coffee to bolster the energy.   It now house residences, a hotel and a restaurant and coffee shop. 
It is actually 1 km up the hill, so to someone that works there, and who does the dash regularly, I suppose that 5 minutes might do it.  Not for me though - give me the flat walking anyday! That slope damn near killed me!

From here, I let Michael head up to have a look inside by himself - there is no way I could manage the stairs after that slope!

When I muse on 'castles' my mind manifests images of masonry, parapets, arrow loops, barbicans, hoardings, murder holes and garderobes. However, nothing could prepare me for the sight I was to behold as it appears more like an Baronial Manor or majestic hunting lodge. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. No evidence of the Nosferatu.

Now should you, dear reader, decide to visit Romania and its castles a word.... Be prepared for a protracted wait in purchasing your entry tickets. The wait can be longer than the line!

Albeit, pay the additional ticket which enables you to take photographs. The wardens are vigilant when comes to pouncing on patrons who have not paid the 'photography tax'. I purchased mine which was worth the freedom.

As soon as you join your tour group and enter the castle, you shall find yourself entering another world. Due to time constraints, I had opted for the ground floor tour which in reality was enough.

The Peleș Castle was build 1873-1914 by King Carol 1 and occupied by himself and his wife Queen Elizabeth upon its completion. In 1872 the Crown had purchased 1500 hectares of land which the castle occupies. In 1873 construction commenced on building the castle.

In Peleș you will be transfixed by an era of opulence, flattery and obscene wealth. However, I was transfixed by the work of those artists and artisans past who had enhanced the castle with their mastery.

We were directed from the main lobby through the various rooms of state, reception, music, recital and many others. It is very surreal to digest the notion that people actually lived here! Exploring the grounds is a must as many of surrounding buildings were constructed at the same time as Peleș. 

We left Peles at 12:30 pm so that we could travel around to that other famous castle - 'Dracula's Castle - Bran Castle. A mere 48 kms away, the GPS is telling us it is 90+ minutes - with slower than usual traffic due to roadworks and congestion.  Turns out that we discover later that at the time of the year, Wednesday is the most popular day to visit the castles - go figure, we thought that we would be safer mid-week.

Soon enough we arrive in Bran - and if there were people in Peles, you can triple the figure here. Parking is a nightmare, and there is a climb up many steps to the castle itself. Still recovering from the climb a couple of hours ago, I send Michael up alone!  I mean, he can't come to Romania without seeing 'Dracula's Castle' - right?

Bran Castle is for more forbidding than Peleș. Being a medieval castle it displays those hallmarks of a fortress - a rabbit warren - albeit, one of the most beautiful castles in Romania. 

Situated on the border between Transylvania and Wallachia, Bran has no tangible correlation to Bram Stoker's fictional character - Dracula. However,the name 'Dracula' is derived from the surname of Vlad the Impaler's father, the Dracul, he was a member of the Dragon Order.

One has to navigate this wonderful building through halls, rooms, narrow passages and humanity. Gaining entry into the castle is just as daring. One passes 

through 'alleys' and purveyors of souvenir porn. Then you the end of the queue to purchase your entry into the castle.

It is truly a place to discover and appreciate the level of conservation undertaken to restore Bran into the jewel it is today.

By 4:15pm, I am messaging Michael to say that we need to get going.  We are booked in to an agrotourismo venue in Bogdana just outside Onesti tonight - half way to the painted monasteries that we intend to explore tomorrow - and it is a 3 hour drive away.  Well, it is only 169 kms, but if we have learned anything, it is to throw away any preconceived idea of how long it takes to travel between places in Romania -

what with the road conditions and local traffic, time loses meaning! And the Roma people are out in hordes at every lot of roadworks hawking fruit and bric-a-brac.  You have to hand it to them for their persistence.  We find that a closed window gives the clearest message.

As we travel though Busteni, we can see that this bustling town is part of the reason for delays - everyday life gets in the way of the tourist travelling through.  High above the town on the peaks of the Carpathians above the town, there is a huge cross. Hopefully not an omen.  And then it is on through Rasnov, a partner to Brasov with its cheeky Hollywood styled sign just below the citadel.  impossible to get a photo without the blasted power wires in the view.

We are the only ones here tonight at La Ferma Veche - on weekends it must pump - lots of sun lounges, a huge dining room and a large inflatable pool.

Our host speaks no English, and us very limited Romanian.  Pictures on the menu soon have us eating cevapi, fries and a small salad with dijon mustard - it does the trick!  I have the better part of half a bottle of local white - a little rough around the edges, but very drinkable as spritzers with sparkling water. Michael just has the water - poor him!