Hotel Mario & Ema Suceava

... frescos. Each is surrounded by a fortification and flowers growing around its courtyard. In our last monastery, the nuns are beginning mass. They are chanting. It is only us as observers in the tiny interior. Pretty amazing.

Since the nuns get out rarely and transport costs are very high relative to local salaries, Monica turns out to be the transport provider for many of them as they send goods to/from their ...

Before I leave the hostel, I get my laundry back. It has been 24 hours and the laundry is folded but is very wet. I am guessing that they had it had been drying outside when the rain hit last night. Yuck!

I am crossing the mountains to get to the Northeast section of Romania, apparently an uncommon path. There is only one mini-bus per day. The availability of such buses is difficult to ascertain until one is actually at the departing location. The hostel is able to ...

... ceea ce
inamicii caselor de lemn, considera ca fiind marele lor dezavantaj –
rezistenta la foc si daunatori, si faptul ca o casa de lemn scartaie.


Vanzari Case Lemn

O casa de lemn este cum nu se poate mai binefacatoare. Dupa anumite
studii, bine cunoscute de medici, constructiile din lemn, inclusiv
casele de lemn nu intrerup campul ...

... and where cows and horse-drawn carts are a very common cause of traffic jams on the road. Many of the young men of the region have gone to work in Western Europe and they send money back home which is used to built these new houses, but the old traditional culture is still very much alive in these parts. One wonders though what will happen to this culture when all the young men come back...

... arriving to Suceava, we went for a lunch to a certain tavern. Mrs Eugenia, that was being sooo nice when welcoming 17 of us, she became a grumpy jade, when it came to paying the bill. We wouldn`t let her cheat on us, but it meant a massive argument with her. Probably her poor Russian and our Polish didn`t work out with each other. Already at 3 pm we were standing at the exit road from Suceava. Our goal for that day was Marasesti, a tiny town with a mausoleum famous all over the ...

... egg, pork and cheese. Awesome and I know you are thinking it doesn't sound good, but it is amazing! Plus there was dessert, wine, beer and good fellowship. My best to all of you and I will update again tomorrow ! ps. The title of my blog today was Vitamins from America. Why, you ask ? Well, every patient we saw thought all their problems would be solved if they got "Vitamins from America!" It is funny and sad, but most people got their wish.

... filled in parts of the design with colors. Before we even started on our demonstration/lesson on how these eggs are created, Letitia gave us a tour of her museum of eggs from around the world. Sound boring? It wasn't - it was fascinating. There are some museums that have her eggs on display. There are thousands of examples of Romanian eggs on the Internet.

... tries. However, right after one of them, I started to walk past a mini-market where a local man had just gotten out of his truck. He asked me where I was going, and I answered "Suceava or, if not, Radauti." Well, he wasn't going as far as Radauti, but he could take me to Marginea - a village famed for its black pottery (that I visited yesterday), which was at least six or seven kilometers closer. A step in the right direction, but not quite on target. Anyhow, I thought it was a good ...

... beautiful and still looking very Swiss. THe guys were going to Sucevita, but when they heard we were going to the monastery, they insisted that they drive us there Sucevita Once again, these walls surrounding the monastery were huge. After paying and going in, this monastery was the biggest of the lot. It had stories about some Virtous Ladder, which is about the 30 steps from Hell to Paradise. There were stories of the Old Testament and the New Testament. They ...

... fruitful...as the going price was over USD$350!!!! So...instead of complaining...I enjoyed 3 days in Tulcea with my new friends from Ireland and Romania! Chatting...going to cafes...meeting with boat captains and government officials (who wanted a "cut" of my travel "action")...and...finally...departing northwards. Aug 29--a stop in Galati overnight (a FREE stay with a shop owner I met on the street--THANK YOU SO MUCH! Her family invited me ...