Casa Elena Suceava

... and amongst themselves.

We discuss the economics of the hostel. Roughly, she pulls in $1,000/mo in revenue. $600/mo pays her rental costs. She has another $100/mo in utilities. It is enough to pay her bills and in Romania, she is doing pretty well. The extra $ comes in from tours and she freelances as a limo driver for one of the big hotels. She had a 3 AM airport pickup later this evening. She works really hard.

... me with the info on the one bus and calls to confirm that it will be running. Until this point, I was not even sure that it was possible (without backtracking way South to get around the mountains). Valerie, the only other person at the hostel, is on the same bus. The bus is an experience. It is a 7 hour trip and apparently such luxuries as shock absorbers are skipped. The music is awful, a mix of 50% Romanian folk, 30% urban, 20% euro-pop. The ride itself is beautiful. The ...

... de constructii ;


Case Lemn Suceava
Pergolele si terasele sunt acele elemente arhitecturale decorative care
pot fi atasate in exteriorul casei> pentru a crea spatii placute si
de multe ori sa contureze, prin amplasament, intrarea in casa>, sau
evidentierea unei terase.




Pergolele sunt executate din lemn masiv sau ...

Gura Humorului was our starting point for our visit throughout the Bucovina region of Romania, where we visited some of the most famous painted monasteries in this region. Starting in the second half of the 15th century, and continuing for more than a century, the princes of Moldavia would built monasteries in this region, many of which are fortified and have tiny churches in the middle, which ...

... own comments. Chad sure did. Sidenote: Leaving Voronet, I had just gotten into the car when all of a sudden an old man was standing RIGHT outside my window, which I ignored until Chad piped up with the helpful information "Ummm...I think that guy is trying to show you his dingle." Which he very well might have been. I burst out laughing and Chad backed the car out. Quickly. (C) I am sure it's NO coincidence that they scarlet lade is ALSO the ...

I'm finally getting around to posting about trip through the Painted Monasteries (Romanian orthodox churches) of Bucovina, in northeastern Romania, near Ukraine. This is not the official tour guide source, but I will try to give background as best as I can remember/find. There are 7 or 9 (sorry different sources list different numbers). Most are UNESCO sites. Some currently have active communities of nuns ("monasteries" here used for sisters as well as brothers). None are ...

Today is our last day in Botosani. Our luggage is going to be loaded on a truck headed overnight to Bucharest. We are going to the Mayor of Botosani's office this afternoon for a reception where we will get a formal certificate and invitation back to Botosani for next year. We then go to a glass factory in Dorohoi (Dorahoy). Romanians have many famous glass artists and their work is beautiful. I have a few pieces at home so just ask and I will show them to you ...

... have AC and so that is good. It is cold and rainy here tonight. We had a nice dinner of pizza and bear. For beer and pizza and some wine, it was about $60 for 8 of us. Very inexpensive. We saw the countryside today on our ride in the bus. It is beautiful and green here. Since it was Sunday, lots of people were out walking to church. They walk or bike or take their wagons to church or to markets. 98% of Romanians are Romanian Orthodox and their churches are everywhere. Today, we had ...

... at every corner to bow and bless, then mass started, with the priest singing his part and the nuns answering. The monasteries were fairly spread out. In the Northern area, the village signs were in both Latin and Cyrillic alphabet. Romanian and Russian? Copy and paste this link into a new browser for pictures of the painted monasteries: http://tinyurl.com/ynjurt

... bloody miserable at this point though, and it was now pretty friggin' cold out. I didn't have my jacket with me either, since it had been warm (and hazy) when I last set out from the hostel. Standing in the rain at 7pm in such circumstances isn't especially enjoyable, umbrella or no. The maxitaxi wasn't showing up either, which was a little disconcerting. I'd already come so far . . . only one more leg to go! Then suddenly a guy in a car going the other way pulled up and asked if I was ...