To take these memories in
Once I’ve cleared my head and heart
I’ll come back to you again
Monday, April 30, 2018
Day 11 - Suceava to Bucharest
I’ve never driven through Kansas, but I now have a pretty good idea of what it must look like. Eastern Romania is flat and covered with expansive fields of crops. The six and a half hour drive wasn’t terribly interesting. It was mile after mile after mile of the same flat fields.
We arrived in Bucharest and drove straight to our hotel to check in and drop off the suitcases. We then went to another part of town to drop off the rental car. We took a taxi to the old town; the driver was very chatty. He had a lot to say about politics and the horrible times under Communism, first, and then under the dictator Ceaucescu. Romanians now complain about corruption in their government, but they are very happy to be out from under the oppressive rule of past regimes. Our driver told us that Romanians love American visitors. “We waited fifty years for the Americans to be able to visit us,” he remarked earnestly.
In the old town, we did a bit of last minute gift shopping and visited a couple more churches. We had a fabulous dinner at a historic restaurant called Caru’ cu Bere (“The Beer Wagon”). I’m not usually much for loud, frantic restaurants the cater to tourists, but I have to say that if you’re ever in Bucharest, Caru’ cu Bere is an experience that you won’t want to miss. The food is excellent, the staff is hard working, and the atmosphere is sans pareil. It’s a great place for people watching.
Our server, who seemed to be by far the oldest person on the staff, didn’t speak much English. By pointing to the menu and using some of the words that we had picked up along the way, we were able to communicate with him.
After dinner, I went out to take some more of my night photos. I appreciate how low key the police are in Europe. A couple of guys from the gendarmerie passed by as I had my camera on the tripod. Not only did they not give me a hassle, they went out of their way to avoid walking into my shot, and then they had a friendly conversation with some gypsy ladies who had been selling flowers in the area.
What a beautiful thing to see on our last night in Romania!
Day 10 - Suceava Monasteries
We jumped in the car in the morning and drove out of the city center to visit three more of the painted monasteries. They call them painted monasteries because they are decorated inside and out with detailed colorful frescos. Each monastery is uniquely beautiful, and as a collection, I have never seen anything like them anywhere in the world.
Back in the city of Suceava, we peeked inside a Romanian Orthodox church, the Biserica Sf. Gheorghe (St. George Church Mirauti) as a mass was being held. St. George and St. Michael are popular religious figures in Romania. Many towns and cities have churches named after one or the other. As we were there during the Feast of St. George, the churches dedicated to him were all very busy.
We ended the day with dinner at an Italian restaurant called Latino. For the second evening in a row, a friendly cat stayed near our table as we dined.
Day 9 - The Drive to Suceava
We spent a good part of the day in the car driving between Cluj-Napoca in the northwest or Romania to Suceava in the northeast. Ukraine borders Romania to the north. It was tempting to make a detour just to claim that we had visited another country, but our schedule was tight. We wanted to have time to visit some of the famous monasteries on the outskirts of Suceava. To do so, we needed would need to make the best time we could on the road.
The route took us through some dramatic mountains and valleys. I remarked that the countryside here looked like a bland version of Switzerland. (No offense, Romania. Every mountain area looks bland when compared with Switzerland.)
We made good time and visited three monasteries before giving up and going for dinner.
We checked into our hotel at Suceava. The property was posh but nearly empty. Looking down the eerily quiet hallways with fine furnishings and dark wood trim, I joked that our hotel reminded me of the off-season lodge in the movie ‘The Shining’.
We walked a few block to an excellent restaurant where I enjoyed my now typical tuna salad and “wedge potatoes” with a cappuccino viennese, a cappuccino blended with cinnamon and topped with whipped cream. Ooh, that was a sinfully delicious treat!
At night the hotel hosted a wedding reception that went on well into the night. We awoke to the sound a group of men carousing and yelling outside shortly before dawn. Suddenly, I found myself missing the stillness that a few hours earlier had seemed so unnerving.
In A Roundabout Way
While driving in Europe recently and negotiating countless roundabouts along the roadways, I thought repeatedly of the song ‘Roundabout’ by the rock group Yes. I promised myself that I would listen to the song upon returning home, and since I am back, I have have done just that.
Roundabout is an incredible piece of music that seems to get better with each successive listening. The song is primarily a bouncy uptempo jam. Jon Anderson’s clarion vocals and impressionistic lyrics soar over a counterpoint of complex guitar, organ, and synthesizer melodies, propelled energetically by Chris Squire’s driving staccato basslines. It’s lively and full of fun and fire, but it starts out with the breathtaking delicacy of Steve Howe’s harmonics-laced guitar intro. After a couple of energetic verses and an extended bridge, the delicate guitar returns and takes our breath away once more.
I remember when Roundabout was first release. I remember, because it was played extensively on the radio in the US. I remember hearing it on the public address system at the local lake that summer. (“In and around the lake...”)
It didn’t seem usual to hear this complex and relatively long piece of music being played on the radio. In those days, we expected music to be fresh and exciting and even a bit challenging.
Roundabout is a wonderful piece of music, a rock classic, and a long-time personal favorite that I never tire of hearing. The song, and the whole ‘Fragile’ album on which it was release, has inspired me as a musician, as a composer, and as a fan of great music.
Day 8 - Bánffy Castle and a Night at the Opera
My travel companion continued to mull over the possibility of catching an opera at the National Theater. We asked the concierge about tickets, and he gave us the location of the ticket office. They weren’t open yet, so the opera fan tried to book the tickets online. A technical glitch interfered with the translation, so we ended up walking to the ticket place anyway. We were the first ones in the queue when the place opened.
The initial plan was to start the day at St. Michael’s Church and the art museum at Bánffy Palace. Then we would drive to an out of town destination. Given that we now had opera tickets in hand, I was concerned about getting back into the city at rush hour. We inverted out schedule and drove out to the village of Bonțida to see Bánffy Castle (not to be confused with Bánffy Palace which was here in the city).
The weather was beautiful when we reached Bonțida, and the light was perfect for photography. The only complication was that a kids from a local high school were on the premises having their senior pictures taken. We did our best to work around them, but they did get into a few of our shots.
Bánffy Castle was once a grand country estate. Unfortunately, the Nazis decided to burn it to the ground during World War 2. A long-term restoration project is underway. The restoration is funded in part by an annual music festival that’s held on the grounds in July.
After our excursion, we headed back to Cluj-Napoca to see St. Michael’s and the art collection at Bánffy Palace, and then we were off to a night at the opera. The National Theater at Cluj-Napoca is somewhat small, but it has a very intimate feel. The upholstery on the orchestra seats was a bit worn, but we sat comfortably through the entire evening.
After the program, which for the record was delightful, we asked for a restaurant recommendation from our hotel. They sent us to a restaurant called Bohemia, which is situated in a grand courtyard. The food was good, but of all of this places where we had dinner through the week, this was the only place that we felt was overpriced. Part of the appeal of Eastern Europe is that it’s inexpensive. Paying too much for a meal, even a tasty meal with good service, reflects negatively versus expectations. All in all, though, it was a memorable evening to cap of a beautiful day.
Day 7 - Cluj-Napoca
In the morning, the weather was beautiful. After breakfast, we took one last stroll through the square at Sibiu under clear skies and with abundant sunshine. It was too warm to wear a jacket.
We checked out of our hotel and drove north toward Cluj-Napoca, Romania’s second-largest city. After locating our next hotel and figuring out the parking situation (in the hotel’s impossibly small garage), we took an unguided stroll through the city center. Our first stop a beautiful Romanian Orthodox Cathedral (“Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral”) that was visible from our hotel window. (This hotel room had the best view of all of the places where we had stayed.)
As we walked, we passed the National Theater where operas and concerts are presented. This gave my travel companion an idea. More on that later...
We walked into a “less touristy” part of town in search of the birthplace of Matthias Corvinus and discovered a small square that was frequented mostly by locals. We decided to stop here for dinner. As with most of the restaurants where we enjoyed outdoor seating - the weather was still lovely - we found ourselves surrounded by smokers. Tobacco usage in Romania is rampant. The alternative is to sit indoors where smoking is prohibited, but in this gorgeous weather, we felt that it was worth enduring the puffs of smoke that the breeze guided over to our table.
After dinner, we peaked into a Franciscan church on the same square and wandered further. A few blocks away, we wandered into a much larger square, the site of St. Michael’s Church, one of the city’s main attractions, and the Bánffy Palace, home to yet another art museum. It was too late to visit either of these places, but we noted their location for exploration on the following day.
We finished our stroll with a walk along a street that had an adjacent walkway for pedestrians. I ran out to capture photos of the concert hall and the Orthodox church before we settled in for the evening.
Day 6 - Corvin’s Castle and Alba Carolina
After breakfast, we took s short walk through the square and visited Sibiu’s art museum, one of the city’s main attractions. Next, we took the car out of the parking lot - this took some effort, as the machine where you pay wasn’t working properly - and headed west to Huneadoara. We parked and walked up a small ramp to Corvin’s Castle, which was built by Matthias Corvinus, one of the most important figures in Romania’s turbulent history.
Like Peleș Castle, Corvin’s Castle seems almost too amazing to be real. It is easily one of the most impressive castles that I have seen anywhere. (We snapped LOTS of pictures!) Tall towers reach skyward from flawless stone walls. The long bridge that leads to the main entrance crosses a rushing creek nearly ten meters below. The entire structure is surrounded by a daunting moat-like excavation.
The castle is amazingly well-preserved, and visitors can walk though a good bit of it. Impressive views are available from the towers and the outer walls. There’s even a torture chamber, a feature that fascinated a group of teenaged tourists as we walked past.
After touring Corvin’s Castle, we walked back to the parking area and browsed a row of vendors selling drinks, clothing, and memorabilia. Across the street from the parking area was a small pizza place called “Pizza Hot.” I got a chuckle out of the similarity of the name to that of the a American pizza chain. We passed a nice restaurant on our walk back from the castle, but we didn’t have time to sit for lunch. There was more touring to do!
Our next stop was the city of Alba Iulia, named for a Hungarian king (Julius) and a Roman city that once occupied the site. The Roman city had white walls (alba). The main attraction at Alba Iulia is the massive citadel of Alba Carolina.
Unlike the crumbling citadel at Rasnov, Alba Carolina looks as thought it could have been built in the last fifty years. All of the buildings are spotless, as are the massive outer walls which form a seven-point star. The fact that Alba Carolina was was constructed in the 1700s under King Carol the 6th, defies imagination. The citadel, which covers an area equivalent to several city blocks, has the feel of an open, family-friendly park. A steady stream of locals strolls through on foot and on bicycles.
Our first stop in the complex was a museum where we took in a lecture on the history of the site dating back to Roman times. On ongoing project excavates and studies details of the original the Roman city, which in itself was quite expansive. - The lecturer, who participates in historic reenactments of Roma times, told us that they had not yet found the outer borders of the Roman settlement; they keep finding more to it as they dig. - Alba Carolina hosts several houses of worship including the grand St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Cathedral and a towering Romanian Orthodox cathedral. The Orthodox cathedral is referred to a Coronation Cathedral, as King Ferdinand was crowned here in 1922.
After a long day, we returned to Sibiu. I went out to the big square to shoot some photos as the light was changing over, and we went to dinner at a restaurant on the smaller square called Tango.
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Expression
Expression is important. When no one appears to be listening, we are listening and we are feeling. When our words or efforts appear to do no good in the world, they have the potential to do good for us, to help us make sense of what happens and how we feel about it. Let the words and feelings fly. Let them settle where they may. Let them find their own reason for showing up when they do.
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