Religion is alive and well in the Eastern states

Last night was probably the mildest we have had since we arrived in Romania. We slept with the balcony door open - made a really nice change from air-conditioning.

We needed another fairly early start today as we are off to see two more of the painted monasteries before we head across to Sapanta - at least four hours drive up and over the Maramures mountains - and going very close to some of the areas we visited at the start of our Romanian adventure.  The day is promising to be another warm one with the mountains in the distance clouded in haze.  The warm sun certainly does have its benefits though as the fruits of farm labours are transported to market.

Transport in Romania takes three main forms (if you don't include walking) - cars crawling, slower horse and cart for transporting goods and/or people, and local 'buses' - transporter vans that seem to operate to their own set of traffic rules - they pull up anywhere, often without warning and demand right of way at all times. This sign summed it up for me!!

We started with Sucevita Monastery, an hour from Surceava - arriving before the hordes and just as the sellers are setting up their wares.
It actually looks like a fortress from the outside, not a monastery. As we reach the entry gates, there is an animated conversation taking place between two of the nuns and a priest who is leaving the complex, driving like a mad-man.

This monastery was constructed in 1581 and the frescoes were completed in 1596 and painted by brothers Ion and Sofronie. Like many of the other monasteries, the northern exposed external walls are badly faded, but the others are still rich and vibrant. Of particular interest is the Stairway to Heaven, complete with sinners falling of the staircase and being clutched by the minions of Hell.

This, together with the Whore of Babylon (Michael's favourite!) are very prominent.

The interior of the monastery is covered with frescoes, six levels from the floor to the base of the start of the cupolas that lead to the main dome. There is also a collections of saintly 'relics' on display here - teeth, locks of hair, fingernails - even back when, religion must have been a big business with parts of the 'saints' shared out to keep the faithful focussed.

The nuns keep very busy with the 'business' of the monastery.  But quietly in the background, I also see a nun tending to the amazing displays of pelagoniums and miniature geraniums that adorn the balconies of the convent. She is so focussed on her work and moves diligently about her tasks.

Two large groups, complete with guides and microphones arrive as we are nearing the end of our visit. One final small act to light a candle for our niece, Rebecca, tragically killed in a car crash a week before we left. Shine brightly little one as you reach the top of that stairway.


From here, it is only another half hour to get to the last of the Painted Monasteries that we have time to visit - Moldovita. In order to get to it, we need to head up and over the 'lower' reaches of the mountains where, just like home, the timber jinkers rule the road - everyone got out of his way, us included - who cared if he wanted more than his share of the road?

We reach Moldovita and for once can park without payment!  A local policeman is on hand - probably to deter enterprising locals from trying to 'fleece' the Monastery visitors.  We do pay to use the toilets though 1 Lei to a wizened lady bent over in age. The toilets are spotless, but without paper - when I ask for some, I get the bright pink version!

Moldovita Monastery, also fortified, is less imposing than Sucevita.  The doors within doors, or gates, are a common feature, although most of the monasteries have the full gates open by the time the visitors arrive.  You really need to watch where you put your feet to make sure you don't trip on uneven and worn rocks and stones that have been embedded in the path.

This monastery has an interesting story.
Built in 1532, this replaced an earlier 13th century monastery that collapsed. At the time of this later construction, the fortifications surrounding the monastery was also constructed and the convent was also started.

The nuns here seem more modest. They all seem to have a knack with flower gardening. All the monasteries are undergoing active restoration and I guess that this is an ongoing task, for which the nuns tolerate the imposition of literally hordes of visitors in order to fund the ongoing works.

And don't ever think that graffiti is a modern trend - on the marvelous painted walls is clear evidence that others from time past also want to leave their mark - or maybe, instead of writing (and paying for) a prayer request, this was the 1800's way to entreat the gods.

All too soon, we need to be on our way.
We are travelling back into the Maramures Mountains and the high alpine environments. The vistas are perfect and if it weren't for the power lines that modern life has brung, you would find it hard to date the views of daily life.

The barns, the fences and that view!

Now, there are two really good roads in Romania. And a million bad ones. And the one we are travelling on over these mountains is perhaps the worst we have found.  I imagine that it probably started as a logging trail. It is now two lanes, accommodating traffic over the mountains rather than a very protracted route around.  I can imagine that without this road, there would have not been any trade between the two sides of the mountain - it is just too far to travel.

To their credit, the Romanians are busy working on this road. They need to be. The nervous Romanian drivers are giving me the willies - no joke, they almost come to a complete stop at every piece of road that had been dug out and replaced with lose gravel (like every 250 m).  Good god man, just go over it! We do much of the trip at 20 kph or less. VERY frustrating. I can tell you from all the times that we have driven on corrugated forest roads out to the Puller's place, that you are better with a bit of speed, skimming the top of the corrugations!!

And at one point, I follow an Italian car as we are directed to a newly sealed piece of road at a green light, only to encounter impatient drivers who have come down the mountain road obviously on the red. There is a difference of about 45 cms to the unsealed right hand side of the road where we normally be driving. With no one giving ground, I eventually reverse 
back a couple of hundred metres - not usually a challenge, but there is a 10% slope on sealed road that is barely wider than the car, and meandering. Find a bit where there is a bit of loose gravel piled and ease the car down. Fun.  No wonder I am exhausted tonight and looking for alcohol!

Still, the improved road is amazing.  We pass at least two camps for the workers with 'cabins' the size of an outback dunny.  Lots of workers no doubt happy for the paychecks.

And in the midst of this calamity, there is still the beauty in the geometry of perfect hillsides of pine trees - and the smell of the pine on the air.

So from Moldovita Monastery to Sapanta is a distance of of 227 kms and it took us 5 hrs 40 minutes!  Just shy of arriving in Sapanta, we make a comfort stop and come across another Monastery - this one very modern.  As we leave, the nuns arrive in a black van to collect the 'rent' from the vendors down below the monastery. Yes, as I said, religion is big business here in Eastern Europe.

We come into Sapanta and are being directed down the side streets to the Hotel Gradina Morii, when we come upon blocked streets and a lot of gendarmes.  No English, but one speaks Spanish, but we make ourselves understood as to our accommodation booking.  They let us through, only to be stopped by the next lot of gendarmes - even more of them!  Again, they take pity on the poor english speaking ones and direct us through. The hotel is situated in a park and there is lots of activity.  For a moment, after the terrible events in Barcelona and Turku, I wondered whether something bad has happened.  But as we check in, the hotel clerk tells us a big festival starts tomorrow.

Down for an earlier dinner, we have an absolute feast. We began by sharing bruschetta and a cheese plate, then Michael had  'Gradina Morii' pork fillet with mushrooms and spinach mashed potatoes, while I enjoyed Snitel Solovan - pork fillet covered in hash brown potatoes with a salad of cucumbers, onions and mayonnaise.  The bread we shared was as light as cake.

Dessert followed - chocolate souffle and house made choc-chip ice cream for Michael and flambe ananas (pineapple) for me.
Topped it all with an espresso and I am ready for bed.  First we need to re-pack the suitcase so we are ready to fly back to Munich tomorrow late.  But not before we explore the Merry Cemetery and the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance in Romania.

Hope we don't have any trouble leaving here in the morning!

Paris - ring o ring the (roundabout) rosie

Things that make Hel laugh - sirens and burping irons that sound like growling lions! What a laugh huh! She was ironing her jeans when she came out with that little gem. Not a big brekky today - gosh, we were still full from the cheese last night - no, make that earlier this morning!

Planned for a big day today - over to the Arc de Triomphe travelling by metro and then down the Champs Elysee. Hels is not a fan of the underground rail system - whether it be the RER or the local metro. She finds it grubby and smelly and crowded - not good for someone who can get a little claustrophobic at times. All of a sudden I realise that she has never spent any significant time in anywhere with an undergound rail system - unlike Michael and I who commuted in Sydney for years and years. Now I am thinking that I should plan our trips around the bus network, but she insists she is OK - very brave of her (I am not being condescending).

You emerge from the subway onto the Champs Elysee facing the Arc de Triomphe - and what an awesome sight it is. Helen had no idea how big it was - I think I felt the same the first time I saw it. And the traffic that rushes around it put her hearth in her mouth just like it did mine! You hold your breath thinking there is going to be one huge pile-up, but there isn't. It is just so crazy and frenetic. There are a couple of German girls from near Stuttgart of all places trying to get a photo and I offer to take one for them. And they are more than happy to reciprocate. They are excited - they leave the for the US tomorrow and I can't resist giving them a little advice to make dealing with the entry requirements a little easier.

Last night the American couple we met had given us their tickets for one of the open bus tours - the tickets are valid for 2 days and they were leaving today. As luck would have it, the correct bus was sitting at the bus stop at the Arc. Now, Michael and I have used these buses in many cities - some are great, some are very ordinary. I wasn't sure if Helen would be happy to do a tour - it limits you to the main sights route - according to someone else. But no, she suggested that we use the tickets.

It was the best thing we could have done. With the limited time that we have in the City of Light, this was a great way to see all the major sights - and especially those that we knew we are not going to have time to visit seperately. And it gives you a bigger look - you are off the ground and can get a clearer impression of the siting and impressiveness of a place this way. She moved from awed silence, drinking in the atmosphere and the magic of this place and verbal excited chatting. I am so glad that I have her here in Paris with me. I really don't think that there is another person on this globe who sees so close to what I see (and then some I suspect).

When I was downloading the photos we took today (733 between us - her 440 of them!), we have unknowingly taken so many the same or similar in terms of the style, subject and perspective of a photo. Wow, thats my friend, mon ami!

You know there was so much to take in. Helen more than me was in visual overload and I am so glad that she has so many pics because she won't really be able to process them mentally until she is back at home in Australia and over her trip. Been there, happenend to me too. So, what did we see?

So, we left the Arc de Triompe and headed bravely across the intersection where there are up to five lanes of traffic, no lines and almost no rules. But as I said to Helen, the bus is bigger than the rest of the traffic, so we are pretty safe!

The route we follow is:
- down the Champs Elysee, into Winston Churchill Avenue to the Grand and Petit Palaces
- across the Seine to the back of the Trocadero then crawled slowly past so that we could all get a photo with the Eiffel Tower in the background
- around the front of the Trocadero and across the Pont d’Iéna to outside the Eiffel Tower where today there are thousands of people queueing for tickets
- through the Champ de Mars looking on one side back to the Eiffel Tower and on the other to the Ecole Militaire
- around to the Musée du Louvre where we are going tomorrow, admiring the space and use of architecture
- onto the Ilse de Cité to the Notré Dame
- down the Rue Lille to the Musée d'Orsay where the statues on the outside of the building are amazing
- around pass the stunning Opera House with all its gilded statues atop the corners that gleam in the sun
before we turn back onto the Champs Elysee for the journey back up to the Arc de Triomphe. It was quite a journey and the fact that we took so many photos is testament to the amazing sights that the City of Light provides.

By the time we got off the bus a couple of hours later we needed to make a comfort stop. We are passing McDonalds on the Champs Elysee and off Helen trots to join a pretty long looking queue. I didn't expect her back any time soon. After quite a while, she comes out all flustered - she had been stuck, locked in the toilets in Maccas! Hot ladies room, dark walled loos and my poor claustrophobic friend. Gosh, why did it have to happen to her. Anyway, we leave and get her some air outside and look for a nice open cafe to have a coffee. A little further down the Champs Elysee we find it.

We sit inside at the Cafe George V (little tip guys, terrace or pavement orders cost considerably more and I am sure the waiters knowingly encourage tourists to sit outside!) We even managed to order and repsond to our very obliging and engaging waiter in understandable French (wow, I am impressed with us!). We ordered Cafe au Lait and Crepes - mine with Grand Manier and Helen's with Creme Marron - both with Chantilly cream - yu-um! He very kindly offers to take a photo for us as soon as we have the camera out! But it paid off - he got a nice tip!

Cross the road to get a better photo of the Arc de Triomphe at the top of the road and find the banks are all on this side of the street - hurrah, we can replenish our dwindling cash! Then it is back across the road to go to the Virgin MegaStore so we can pre-buy our tickets for the Louvre tomorrow and so avoid the queues - we pay a tiny bit more, but well worth it. Continue down to get photos of the amazing gardens at Franklin Roosavelt Avenue - even though it is now winter and the blossoms are past their best, but the gardens are still stunning.

Then its on to the Metro to go back and have a look at Notre Dame and get there literally 5 minutes after they have closed. Helen had her first encounter with Gypsies around Paris today. Merv (the travel agent back in Maryborough) had warned her about the Africans selling souvenirs near the Eiffel Tower. But the Gypsies are another thing altogether. They are persistent and niggly - they invade your 'space' and here, the opening line is "Speak English?" so if you look dumb, don't make eye contact and just keep walking, the soon lose interest. I have been told by people in a number of cities as we have been travelling that the clever ones can bank up to €2,000 a week!

Afterwards we had a very ordinary dinner at Quasimodo Notre Dame. Guess that close to the Cathedral they serve a-la-tourist food - quick to cook, quick to serve. Get em in, get em fed, get em out!

So what stood out today? Gosh, what a stupid question - we are in Paris for gods sake! But the monuments and fountains are amazing as is the Paris skyline in general. And the Iron Lace on balconies gives the Parisian buildings a look of not only completedness, but also of eternal elegance. It does not matter that it differs from building to building. Because it all follows the same line, they look seamless. Absolutely fabulous!

We see the tunnel where Princess Diana met her death and remember where we were on that day. We hear the bells of the Cathedral chime out across the City.

The dinner cruise boats on the Seine are unbelievable. I mean there are boats running up and down all day long, but those at night have these incredibly strong lights that are directed to the shore. From the Eiffel Tower the other night they are so strong that when the are passing, you lose all your night vision. And when we are in the apartment, they light up both sides of the riverbank. I am so suprised that the powers that be have not legislated against them. It is the arrogance of the tourist industry and visual pollution at its very worst.

So a huge day and we get home knackered. Helen goes to bed early and will no doubt be up halfway during the night! Another big one tomorrow with the Louvre planned.

be. Berlin

I had tried to find out what the marketing tag for Berlin last night and couldn't find it anywhere on the web. But when we went in to Berlin this morning, it is everywhere (as well it should be!) - it is simply: be. Berlin

Doing the bus tour yesterday gave us a better idea of what we wanted to make sure we got to see today. So we spent a little time this morning planning a route. Given that they were scattered all over the city we decided to take the car in, knowing that if we could not find parking that we could bring it back only partway to one of the big rail parking stations. But you would not have believed how little traffic there was! Anywhere!!

First on our list was the Oberbaumbrücke Bridge. We had seen this bridge on the way through yesterday and it looked so amazing! When the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, the bridge became part of East Berlin's border with West Berlin and beginning in 1963, the Oberbaumbrücke was used as a pedestrian border crossing for West Berlin residents only - even though it is a two tier rail and pedestrian bridge with a road bridge joining it. Because of its length and the busy road at the end it is almost impossible to get a photo of the full bridge, but this one isn't too bad.

And for a length of 1.3 kms from the bridge, there is part of the former wall still standing. After the fall of the wall in 1989, artists began to paint messages and pictures. Today, it is the longest piece of the wall still standing where it had been situated and more than 118 artists from 21 countries have left their messages on this stretch. The story of the Berlin Wall and the Berliner people's determination not to let it tear them apart is very interesting reading. The link is above! This section of the wall is now known as the East Side Gallery and is a protected monument. There are conservation and rehabilitation works underway to minimise the affects of weather and dirt. Unfortunately, there are some pieces that have been vandalised with meaningless spray can graffiti tags - bloody blighters, lets hope that they never have the need to leave messages as those before them here had to.

From here we set Kate to take up to the ruins of the Franziskaner Klosterkirche. In the twilight of last night when we were trying to find it, we had actually driven straight passed it, but as its not lit, we didn't see it! We are a little disappointed to find it locked up tight. After being struck by bombs in WWII and almost totally destroyed, it was never rebuilt. Now it has become a venue for the arts - we can see various sculptures both inside the former church ruin and in the grounds and there are advertisments for musical concerts on the front of the building remains. It is is a beautiful setting and must have once been a lovely piece of Berlin's architecture.

We are lucky enough to park the car in the street beside the ruins. Surprisingly, we are having absolutely no trouble either moving through the city, or finding (cheap) street parking. You would hardly know that you are in a capital city! But remember what I said yesterday about the lack of a single business area. That is coming though! In the area of Potsdamer Place which was the no-mans land between the east and west, there are multiple projects building a new commercial centre for the reunified Berlin. It will take some time to complete though - maybe another ten years?!

So once we had finished admiring the kloster ruins we were ready for some lunch. There is a shopping complex across the road (an 8 lane major road - Grunerstraße) so we dash across when the lights allow us to find a café. We figure that this will be cheaper than a restaurant. And it is. We sit on the sidewalk in the shade and have our lunch (we forgot to write the name of the cafe!) Michael has Hungarian Goulash with rice and I have chicken and peaches in curry sauce. Not big meals, but very tasty and enough to fill the holes. From here we can see a steeple which is very close to the television tower we went up yesterday (gosh, can't help but compare our small lunch with the magnificent meal yesterday). So lunch down, we go off to take a look.

This is the Marienkirche (St. Mary's Church) and while the exact age is unknown it was first mentioned in German chronicles in 1292 and is presumed to date from earlier in the 13th century. It was originally a Roman Catholic church, but has been a Lutheran (Protestant) church since the Reformation. There are major conservation works underway as we walk through.

So this was an added bonus as it wasn't on our list of to-does for today, but as we are so close, we can't leave without taking a look. It sits in Alexanderplatz along with the very impressive Neptune Fountain that the Italians are all climbing over making it hard to get a photo, and it is bordered by the Rathaus. When we walk in to take a look, we can't help but be reminded of the simple beauty of the Maryborough City Hall and Council Chambers. The Berlin Rathaus is much much more ornate, but in a dignified way that despite its glitz and bling manages to retain an air of glamour not gaudiness. It contains beautiful architectural touches such as highlighted capitals and ribbed vaulting, plus stunning stained glass window panels and cool marble floors.

So back out into a warm sunny day - although at 24.5°C, late summer in Berlin is proving cooler than late winter back home. I'm finding it hard to get my head around temperatures in the low 30's in August. What on earth will it be like next summer when we have to come home from the European winter? Yuk!

We walk back through the cool of the park around the kloster to the car to head for something totally different. While its nice to see the historical and cultural side of a city, its great also to get a sense of the today. And on an artificfal 'beach' established by the River Spree, we are lucky to visit the Sandsation - World Solo Championship. Lucky because the displays will only be up for another week! This is the result of a competition for solo sand sculptors. And what they have made out of sand with a little fixer and water is amazing. The theme for 2009 was 'City of the Future' and some of the artist's statements are truly thought provoking when you read their interpretation of the theme and the message they are portraying. There was an Australian entrant for the first time as well. Set against the backdrop of the Hauptbahnhof - the new Berlin central rail station, they looked quite stunning.

We continue to the last of the places that we had planned to go to today and for the first time since arriving here encountered real traffic. And this was on top of road closures for events and road works. Gosh, it was a total shambles. We wanted to go to the Brandenburg Tor (Gate) and then drive Straße des 17. Juní travelling through the Großer Tiergarten towards the Großer Stern (the Great Square) with its imposing Victory Column. And although we finally managed to get up close and personal with them both, it was the hardest thing we did today!

There has been some sort of event at the Brandenburg gate and the roads leading into it are congested as nothing we have seen yet in Berlin while the scaffolding that rings the edge of the Tiergarten and that has closed the Straße des 17. Juní is dismantled. The worker ants (cos that is what they look like!) are scurrying busily, working efficiently and quickly - but there is so much to do. The local drivers are as impatient as some angry hornet - they don't like not being able to travel their normal routes and you can feel the road rage building as we crawl forward inch by small inch. And it is truly a pity as we cannot get a photo of this impressive reminder to the might of Germany as a nation from back. It is hard to demonstrate its size with the ones we can get, but hopefully you will be as impressed as we were.

The Victory Column at this hour of the day casts it shadow and points towards the east as if it is the needle of some huge sundial. Yes, 5:50 pm - right on the mark! Now, THIS is some monument - built in the days when honour and pride in the achievements of a nation were paramount in demonstrating might and power to others, and engendering the soul of a nation. This column commemorates the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War, but by the time it was inaugurated in 1873, Prussia had also defeated Austria (Austro-Prussian War,1866) and France (Franco-Prussian War, 1870–71), giving the statue a new purpose.
It is magestic sitting in the middle of the round square of the only major intersection in the Großer Tiergarten - meaning that you look down a wide avenue to see it in the centre of this magnificent park. This monument is a masterpiece of design and construction - check out the link if you want the details, but you have to see the mosaics that form the entire wall of the monument inside the collonaded portal - artistically and aesthetically these are just stunning.

What is disgusting is the lack of respect sho to the monument by many many visitors. You see you can climb up 301 steps to the top of the monument for amazing views over the Großer Tiergarten and up the Straße des 17. Juní to the Brandenburg Tor and indeed right across the city skyline. And the inner stairwell from bottom to the very top is covered with graffiti - as though adding your name to an immortal statue brings one a place in history - NOT. Absolutely disgusting (in my humble opinion).

London has Harrods. Berlin has Ka De We (Kaufhaus des Westens). But here the comparison ends. While Harrods relies on its name and its 'connections', it is old and dated with threadbare fittings and a desperate need for a makeover. Ka De We on the other hand is total chic.
There are two restaurants here and as the one on the lower floor is closed for the day, we head for the 7th floor and the Wintergarten International Buffet. You can choose from an incredible array of foods all cooked to order (except the roasts) - from fish and shellfish to steaks, from salads to asian, from pizza to crépes to cakes and coffee. We are hungry and so decide to have dinner - well, it is just before 7pm!
Mains:
Lamb shaslick auf Rosmarin Kartoffeln backen und Gemüse überbacken (Lamb shaslick on rosemary potato bake and vegetables au gratin) Michael
Gegrilltes Rumpsteak mit Whisky-Pfeffersauce, Pommes backen und Gemüse überbacken (Grilled rump steak with whisky pepper sauce, potato bake and vegetables au gratin) Maria
Frische Brötchen mit Butter, Knoblauch und Zitronen-Butter (Fresh breadrolls with garlic butter and lemon butter - savoury not sweet and oh-so-yummy!)
Dessert:
Erdbeer-Gelee Scheibe mit Kiwis (Strawberry jelly slice with kiwifruit) Michael
Fresh Krepp gefaltet mit Kirschen (Fresh crepe folded with cherries) Maria

And as we are leaving we get a little treat for later - fresh marshmallows, nougat and licorice! The lady in the confectionary sales area tells Michael that I am 'just like a little girl' as I giggle and grin with our selection. Yep, thats me!!

And just when we thought the day was as full as, we are caught in the middle of a VIP (very important politician) motorcade. We are not sure that the German Chancellor is in one of the cars, but it is a pretty safe bet as there are police and military police cars and motorcyles surrounding two cfars travelling at speed, ignoring traffic rules and almost bludgeoning other traffic into pulling aside to let them continue unimpeded (albeit with a polite bitte over their loudspeaker as they rush past). Wen the motorcade pulls into the grounds of the German Federal government building - we just put two and two together.

Once back at the hotel (via the motorway this time which took us through places we had not yet seen), we spend the rest of the night booking accommodation through to the end of the month, making plans to visit Felicitas (our last exchange student) and her family, and planning for the Western Front tour!