Roman(ian) Holiday
Okay, really Romania is not much like Rome. In fact, the cities that we just visited are more German than Roman, I'm not Audrey Hepburn, and there was no Gregory Peck in sight, but what a great vacation!
It's been a while since I've written, and its been a busy and fun summer so far. The mid-summer week-end was spent in Orhei and Chişinău, mentoring the new volunteers, showing them around the city. It was a long, hot day, and week, before vacation. Work continues to go well, and I enjoy spending time with the kids so much. We have been playing a lot of water games in this heat and that has helped to cool off the hottest times of the day. All week I was at work, but really spending a lot of time thinking about my upcoming vacation. Some things are the same no matter where you live or what work you are doing!
Last Saturday Teresa and I left Chişinău on the only bus that goes to Braşov. The bus leaves at 7 pm and arrives around 3:30 am. Fortunately, we were meeting one of Teresa's friends, who was already in a hotel room, so we only had to get there and settle in for a few hours sleep. It was uncomplicated but tiring. Braşov is a very pretty city, set against the side of Mt. Tampa in Transylvania. The area was settled by Germans in the late 1400-1700's. (I guess they didn't all go to Berks County!). While the topography reminded me a little of Jackson Hole, WY, with ski slopes coming down right into town, most of the architecture was reminiscent of colonial Philadelphia. The German name for Braşov is Kronstadt. Of the three towns that we visited, it was by far the most cosmopolitan, and international. There were lots of tourists and students, and most people seemed to be able to speak English. Our Romanian was appreciated and understood, so that was cool, too. Teresa friend, Glenda, was with us for the five day vacation, and was a good addition. On Sunday afternoon, we hired a driver and went to see two different castles. The first one we went to was at Peleş, in the town of Sinaia. This castle was built in the late 1880's and is a little froo-froo, with fancy Rococco work, lots and lots of stained glass. Its very pretty, and looks like a fairyland castle.
It was the end of the day, but we found time to also visit Bran castle. This is the legendary home of Vlad Ţepeş, the inspiration for Bram Stokers' Dracula. It is a much different castle, and more impressive to me. It is more fortified and stark, and not a bit spooky. There are lots and lots of little nooks and crannies and places to explore. It is older, from the 1400's, and feels more like a fort than a castle. We were a little rushed going through, as it was late in the day. I do think we saw everything, and it was an impressive place. Just outside the entrance there were the usual tacky touristy kinds of shops. I didn't buy any vampire stuff although I had lots and lots of opportunity to. If you really want a tacky tee shirt, you'll have to go there to get one yourself. Its a place that I would recommend, if not for the souvenirs. After visiting the two castles, we also drove past the fort at Raştov. By this time it was after 8 pm, and this fort was closed. We did see it from the road, but didn't make a trip back to see it later in the week.
Monday morning we walked around downtown Braşov and just acted like the tourists that we were. It was fun. A nice lunch, some shopping for postcards and then on the train for Sibiu. What an awesome place. I'll bet most people haven't heard of it, but it is just such a pretty, quaint (I don't like that word, but I can't think of a better way to describe it) town. It is mid-sized, with three large open squares in the center of the old city. Again, the architecture is German, from the same period. The German name for the town is Hermannstadt, and there seemed to be mostly German tourists in the town. Many shops and restaurants seemed to be able to provide some German speaking staff. Glenda had lived in Germany for a few years, so she was able to converse here in German, along with our Romanian, so we were in good shape. We were here for Monday night and Tuesday, and I could easily have stayed longer. It was that pretty. Beautiful churches and museums, clean and friendly: It felt like a real vacation! Tuesday we spent the day just exploring and enjoying this city.
Wednesday morning, back on the train, this time to Sigişoara. Also German, known in German as Schassburg, it is the birthplace of Vlad Ţepeş. It was by far the smallest, most touristy, and dirtiest of the three towns that we visited. There is a small central square inside the walled part of the old city, with churches and a historic clock tower, but not a whole lot else. There are lots and lots of ticky-tacky Dracula gifts. Again, I didn't bite. (Sorry, I couldn't resist...!) We got to Sigişoara in the late morning, and by dinner time we were making plans to go back to Braşov earlier than originally planned on Thursday morning, which is what we ended up doing. Thursday Teresa and I spent the day in Braşov again, while Glenda went on to Bucharest to catch her plane home. There is a really cool gondola car which goes up the side of Mt. Tampa and a little hike at the top of the mountain. There is a big"Hollywood" kind of sign (it says Braşov, not Hollywood, of course) on the top of the mountain. We went up there and had a great view of the city. We had ice cream and coffee, and then we got back on the bus at 7 pm to come back to Moldova.
The ride back was prettier than the ride going to Romania, mostly because the evening hours when we were awake and able to see the countryside was spent driving up and down through hairpin turns as we left the Carpathians. It was a pretty sunset and really picturesque, and just a tiny bit scary. The only funny thing to happen was the bus driver stopping at the "Valley of Trousers" (written in English!) for about half an hour to go buy some pants, leaving us all waiting for him. Coming from Moldova, this is not at all surprising, but cracked me up anyway, as it is considered an "International" journey! Through many of the villages signs were written in Romanian, German and Hungarian. It was truly an international adventure and so much fun!
Friday and yesterday were spent in Chişinău, with the big US Embassy party last night to celebrate the Fourth of July. It was a good time, with hot dogs, hamburgers and potato salad. There were no fireworks, but still lots and lots of fun, with almost all of the volunteers attending, along with lots of other Americans and Moldovans. Now I am back in the village, catching up on all that I've missed here. Its back to work tomorrow morning, and I'm looking forward to getting back into my routine.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. Thank you Mom and Dad, Linnea and Joe for more packages! I miss you all. xoxo, Jami
It's been a while since I've written, and its been a busy and fun summer so far. The mid-summer week-end was spent in Orhei and Chişinău, mentoring the new volunteers, showing them around the city. It was a long, hot day, and week, before vacation. Work continues to go well, and I enjoy spending time with the kids so much. We have been playing a lot of water games in this heat and that has helped to cool off the hottest times of the day. All week I was at work, but really spending a lot of time thinking about my upcoming vacation. Some things are the same no matter where you live or what work you are doing!
Last Saturday Teresa and I left Chişinău on the only bus that goes to Braşov. The bus leaves at 7 pm and arrives around 3:30 am. Fortunately, we were meeting one of Teresa's friends, who was already in a hotel room, so we only had to get there and settle in for a few hours sleep. It was uncomplicated but tiring. Braşov is a very pretty city, set against the side of Mt. Tampa in Transylvania. The area was settled by Germans in the late 1400-1700's. (I guess they didn't all go to Berks County!). While the topography reminded me a little of Jackson Hole, WY, with ski slopes coming down right into town, most of the architecture was reminiscent of colonial Philadelphia. The German name for Braşov is Kronstadt. Of the three towns that we visited, it was by far the most cosmopolitan, and international. There were lots of tourists and students, and most people seemed to be able to speak English. Our Romanian was appreciated and understood, so that was cool, too. Teresa friend, Glenda, was with us for the five day vacation, and was a good addition. On Sunday afternoon, we hired a driver and went to see two different castles. The first one we went to was at Peleş, in the town of Sinaia. This castle was built in the late 1880's and is a little froo-froo, with fancy Rococco work, lots and lots of stained glass. Its very pretty, and looks like a fairyland castle.
It was the end of the day, but we found time to also visit Bran castle. This is the legendary home of Vlad Ţepeş, the inspiration for Bram Stokers' Dracula. It is a much different castle, and more impressive to me. It is more fortified and stark, and not a bit spooky. There are lots and lots of little nooks and crannies and places to explore. It is older, from the 1400's, and feels more like a fort than a castle. We were a little rushed going through, as it was late in the day. I do think we saw everything, and it was an impressive place. Just outside the entrance there were the usual tacky touristy kinds of shops. I didn't buy any vampire stuff although I had lots and lots of opportunity to. If you really want a tacky tee shirt, you'll have to go there to get one yourself. Its a place that I would recommend, if not for the souvenirs. After visiting the two castles, we also drove past the fort at Raştov. By this time it was after 8 pm, and this fort was closed. We did see it from the road, but didn't make a trip back to see it later in the week.
Monday morning we walked around downtown Braşov and just acted like the tourists that we were. It was fun. A nice lunch, some shopping for postcards and then on the train for Sibiu. What an awesome place. I'll bet most people haven't heard of it, but it is just such a pretty, quaint (I don't like that word, but I can't think of a better way to describe it) town. It is mid-sized, with three large open squares in the center of the old city. Again, the architecture is German, from the same period. The German name for the town is Hermannstadt, and there seemed to be mostly German tourists in the town. Many shops and restaurants seemed to be able to provide some German speaking staff. Glenda had lived in Germany for a few years, so she was able to converse here in German, along with our Romanian, so we were in good shape. We were here for Monday night and Tuesday, and I could easily have stayed longer. It was that pretty. Beautiful churches and museums, clean and friendly: It felt like a real vacation! Tuesday we spent the day just exploring and enjoying this city.
Wednesday morning, back on the train, this time to Sigişoara. Also German, known in German as Schassburg, it is the birthplace of Vlad Ţepeş. It was by far the smallest, most touristy, and dirtiest of the three towns that we visited. There is a small central square inside the walled part of the old city, with churches and a historic clock tower, but not a whole lot else. There are lots and lots of ticky-tacky Dracula gifts. Again, I didn't bite. (Sorry, I couldn't resist...!) We got to Sigişoara in the late morning, and by dinner time we were making plans to go back to Braşov earlier than originally planned on Thursday morning, which is what we ended up doing. Thursday Teresa and I spent the day in Braşov again, while Glenda went on to Bucharest to catch her plane home. There is a really cool gondola car which goes up the side of Mt. Tampa and a little hike at the top of the mountain. There is a big"Hollywood" kind of sign (it says Braşov, not Hollywood, of course) on the top of the mountain. We went up there and had a great view of the city. We had ice cream and coffee, and then we got back on the bus at 7 pm to come back to Moldova.
The ride back was prettier than the ride going to Romania, mostly because the evening hours when we were awake and able to see the countryside was spent driving up and down through hairpin turns as we left the Carpathians. It was a pretty sunset and really picturesque, and just a tiny bit scary. The only funny thing to happen was the bus driver stopping at the "Valley of Trousers" (written in English!) for about half an hour to go buy some pants, leaving us all waiting for him. Coming from Moldova, this is not at all surprising, but cracked me up anyway, as it is considered an "International" journey! Through many of the villages signs were written in Romanian, German and Hungarian. It was truly an international adventure and so much fun!
Friday and yesterday were spent in Chişinău, with the big US Embassy party last night to celebrate the Fourth of July. It was a good time, with hot dogs, hamburgers and potato salad. There were no fireworks, but still lots and lots of fun, with almost all of the volunteers attending, along with lots of other Americans and Moldovans. Now I am back in the village, catching up on all that I've missed here. Its back to work tomorrow morning, and I'm looking forward to getting back into my routine.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. Thank you Mom and Dad, Linnea and Joe for more packages! I miss you all. xoxo, Jami
posted by Jami | 11:34 AM
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