How Helpful Signs Can Be

Despite all the beautiful scenery, richly historical sites and varied ways of life that Romania has to offer, the one overlying theme of my Dad's visit to Romania was that road signs, or a lack thereof, can be completely confusing and frustrating. Luckily, Dad was patient enough and a great driver, so renting a car and navigating the sometimes epically rough terrain of Romanian roads, didn't end in our terrible demise. I did learn that there are positives and negatives to both public and private transportation in Romania.

After meeting my Dad in Bucuresti on Sunday (and finding our hotel by following McDonald's signs) we headed back to Comanesti for a couple days. Dad got to attend a class and meet my counterparts. It was interesting to see my two worlds meet. After visiting my weekly piata, we ventured to a local dam and decided to go for a scenic drive around the lake. This turned into long, slow trek over the Carpathian Mountains into the Hungarian-speaking Hargita County. It was a beautiful, if not anxiety inducing, drive.


Thursday we began our cross-country expedition, winding our way through Neamt County among the changing leaves of Ceahlau National Park up to Maramures, the northern most region of the country. We spent the night in Sighetu Marmatiei right on the Ukrainian border. Maramures is known for its wooden churches and traditional dress. We read some ironic epitaphs at the Merry Cemetery and were astounded by the story of an imprisoned resistance fighter we met at the Museum and Memorial for Prisoners of Communism in Sighet. His story was very moving and I tried to translate the best I could as he pointed out his parents, sister and himself on the wall of imprisoned resistance fighters. It was a sobering moment in a very historically rich place.

Saturday we ventured to a fellow volunteer's Transylvanian site for a short break from driving before visiting some beautiful towns near Sibiu and even hiking to some Dacian ruins as night was descending faster than we could descend the hill. A late dinner of a shared Peasants' Platter filled us with five different types of pork and enough sodium to make any cholesterol-concerned doctor weep.

The next day we logged many of Transylvania's fortified churches from Sibiu to Brasov. The most impressive one was in the small village of Biertan; the church lending itself to any fairytale princess daydream. We lunched in Sighisoara, the birthplace of Vlad Tepes and an impressive citadel-city, complete with schools, churches, hotels and restaurants within the walls.

Monday and Tuesday were spent at the Danube Delta. By staying in a pensiune (bed & breakfast) we had a much cozier experience than at a hotel. We were greeted with tuica, though probably not as strong as the palinca in Maramures, and shortly introduced to the woman who would be cooking all our meals and the man who would take us out on that boat to see the Delta and the Black Sea. We got to try some traditional Deltan fish cooking and the scenery during the boat ride was gorgeous.

There are so many varied landscapes in Romania for such a small area. It was wonderful to see and compare them all in such a short amount of time. And it was amazing to share a little of my experience here and some of the Romanian culture with my Dad.

Summer Recap Three

Day Trip to Iasi:

In Early August, Marta and I decided to visit Iasi, which we had been told was the “Crown Jewel” of Moldavia. To summarize, we were a little disappointed with what we found. Iasi is mainly a university city and while we impressed by the beautiful buildings and the number of college-age Romanians we saw, we were disappointed by the promised cultural aspects of the city. Both the famous intricately carved Three Hierarchs Orthodox Church and the Cultural Palace were under construction. We also ventured to the Great Synagogue of Iasi, which the travel guide described as a “sad misnomer.” We returned to Comanesti hours earlier than expected.

Arts Camp in Palanca:

The next week, Marta, three other volunteers and I participated in an arts camp in Mil’s former site of Palanca, about 40 kilometers up the valley from me. We had a wonderful week teaching kids crafts (Marta), theater (Tessy and Candice), and music (me and Ben). We all stayed with gazdas (hosts) for the week and were extremely well fed. We had a few excursions into the hills surrounding the small village and had a presentation at the end of the week for the parents and townspeople. The kids really enjoyed the camp and it was very gratifying to see the fun they were having.

Peace Corps Conference in Sinaia:
The last week of August I spent in Sinaia, a mountain tourist town near Brasov. It is a popular ski destination in winter and home to Peles Castle, which I visited last summer with my counterparts during my site visit. It was nice to spend time with the other volunteers and I got to meet the volunteers from the new group, which will be the last group of Peace Corps Romania, since the post is closing in 2013.

Summer Recap Two

Lara Visits Romania:
One thing that made returning to Romania from my amazing trip to London more bearable was the fact that Lara was coming to visit the next day! We had two wonderful weeks of relaxing in Comanesti and touring some Romanian hot spots. It was so great seeing someone from home and sharing Romania with Lara.

Sighisoara:

We spent a rainy 4th of July at the birthplace of Vlad Tepes (Dracula). Sighisoara is based in Transylvania around an old German citadel on a hill with a gorgeous clock-tower and a few of its old guild towers.

Bran:

The next day we ventured to Brasov and after a few buses and lots of questions and help from a couple old bunicas, we made it to Castelul Bran, the medieval castle that Bram Stoker’s Dracula Castle is based on. Although Vlad Tepes was never actually in Bran, the castle still has a lot of significance in Romanian history.

Constanta:

Lara and I also spent a few days in Constanta, Romania’s main port on the Black Sea. There is another volunteer, Stephani, who lives in Constanta and was kind enough to let us stay at her apartment so we could enjoy the beaches and relax for a few days. There is more diversity in Constanta than in a lot of the country due to its proximity to Turkey and the East.