Roaming in Romania: Day 3

December 15th

Today is our last day in Romania.  Some of the group wanted to just relax, but Emily, Meagan, Savannah, and I decided to continue exploring.

Having decided that we had already done quite of a bit of walking, and time was short, we ventured into the metro to get out to the Village Museum.   In the metro they have a book vending machine. If you forgot a book to read, you can buy one!

Herăstrău Park -

Rather than walk directly to the Village Museum, we wandered through the grand park, 

Herăstrău Park.  There was some fun art in it that Savannah and I got into.

Meagan and Emily on their Bucharesti bench.

Wandering into another portion of the park.  Photo courtesy of Savannah.

Looking out across Herăstrău Lake.

This concludes the Herăstrău Park portion of our adventure.  There is much more to it, so don't be fooled by the limited photos.  We did not have time to adequately explore it all.

The Village Museum (Muzeul Naţional al Satului Dimitrie Gusti) -

The Village Museum covers 15 hectares (~37 acres) along Herăstrău Park.  It was erected in 1936 by royal decree and contains over 200 original structures from all over Romania.  Things like houses, mills, churches, stables, etc.  Most structures are from the 18th and 19th century. 

It was a very cool museum, however, it would probably be more exciting in the summer when there are more tourists and the buildings are open.  As it was, we could only look at the outsides of building or peer in through windows as most were locked for the winter.

A map of the museum.   The colors for the numbers correspond to the historic region from which the structure was acquired.  Pink is Transylvania, Orange is Banat, Purple is Muntenia, Green is Oltenia, Blue is Dobrogea, and Yellow is Moldova.

Who doesn't like a good wood carving?  I mean really.

This is a traditional Lippovan household from 1898.  The Lippovans were common in the Dobrogea regions of Romania and were big into agriculture, fishing, and wine.  They also liked to paint their houses with bright colors, like the blue shutter in this photo.  

This is a church from the village of Răpciuni from the Moldova region of Romania.  

It was built in 1773 out of fir tree beams.  

Details from the church including the swallow tail style of joining 

and the intricate carved wooden door. 

This is a swing or merry-go-round from the commune of Zăpodeni, which is from the Moldova region of Romania.   It was an entertainment for children on major holidays like Easter.  It was operated by two boys who would push up on something on either side to make the chairs move.  The English translation of the description isn't very clear.

I just thought this fence was interesting.  It's made from woven vines.

 

This is a house from the village of Vrancea Mountain which resides in the Carpathians.  It is an area where the predominate occupations are related to grazing livestock.
This house is from the early 19th century.

A room from the Vrancea house displaying textiles from the region.

Horse carts and plows.  We actually saw people using carts like on the left when driving up to see the castles yesterday.

Look!  A windmill!   This windmill was primarily used for grinding grains.  The base is made of stone, the skeleton is made of oak, and the rest of it is made of fir.   The window on the side is an outlook point.  This makes this a "mill with a bosom".  The last portion of the blades of the mill would have mobile panels on them when it was in use.  The panels enabled the mill to catch the best wind. It is from the early 19th century. Meagan and Emily make an appearance.

Savannah in a cutout!   I think she's being attacked by a goose...or....something...

More crazy carved wood.  This is a gate to...a house?  There wasn't a sign by this, so I'm not sure what it's for, but it's probably from the Oltenia region.  Anyway, it's neat.

Close up of the carving.

This is a typical 20th century home from the Şuici village in the Muntenia region. 

It is split into two to accommodate guests.  

Or when your kid doesn't leave/moves back in after s/he can't find a job.

This is the kitchen from the Şuici house.  

You are not imagining it, that table and those stools are very close to the ground.

This charming house and barn are from the village of Drăguş which is near Braşov, where we were yesterday.  That makes it from Transylvania.  This house is from the 19th century and is typical of the heavy agricultural area from which it comes.  This can be noted by the fact that the barn is bigger than the house.  The barn contains cereal and tool storage, as well as stalls for cattle.

I didn't have a placard for this one either, but there's clearly some sort of cool carriage in there.  So...yeah....moving along.

This is a church from Dragomireşti village which is also in Transylvania.  It was built in 1722.

The cross was beside the church.  I don't know anything about it, but I thought it was interesting. 

There's me on the steps of the Dragomireşti church.  This concludes the Village Museum portion of our adventure.  It is also the conclusion to our Romanian adventure.   The photo below (courtesy of Finesse - featuring Finesse and Brittany) is of the Palace of Parliament.  I did not make it over to view/tour the building, but we drove past it on our way out to the airport.   It is MASSIVE. It is the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon. It is also the most expensive and the heaviest building. Now you know.

Mulțumesc România! 

 I had a wonderful time. I hope y'all enjoyed the photos.

Roaming in Romania: Day 2

December 14th

Most of us got together and decided to take a castle tour today.  We piled into a bus and picked up five other Americans to go out into the Romanian countryside.  We had a guide, Alin, who spoke very good English.  He informed us that Romania is the largest producer of corn in Europe, but they also have the best/fastest internet (in the cities) in all of Europe.  Many software companies have offices in Bucharest.  Along the corn lines, more that 50% of Romania is rural and there are parts of it that have not been touched by modern technology.

This was a long day, so this is going to be a long post.

Go get something to drink and maybe a snack.

Peleş Castle -

The first castle is Peleş.  Peleş is in the Carpathian Mountains near Sinaia.  It was the summer residence of Carol I.  He's the guy on the horse from yesterday (not the first guy, but the second guy, though he might be the first guy as I don't know who the first guy is).

Blurry Romanian countryside!  It was also foggy out, so it might not all be blur.

Our first view of Peleş Castle and the Carpathians.

Outside and up close.

Inside the courtyard.

A smug statue.                                               Looking up from the courtyard.

       The detail on a lamppost.                                     A very ornate bell frame.

TO THE INSIDE!

Looking up from the Grand Staircase.  So much beautifully carved wood.

A spiral staircase that was only for decoration.  I would have used the heck out of that staircase.

The central skylight.

Looking back down the Grand Staircase.

We left this main room and headed to the Armory.

Royal Jewels (left).    Carved bear (right).  Romania actually has a lot of brown bears.

All the stabby and smashy things!

This is a lovely fireplace with some lovely wood carvings and a lovely sword that was reserved for chopping the heads off of nobility only.   You wouldn't want to mix your peasant beheading sword with your nobility beheading sword now would you?

Armor for rider and stead!  Also another beautiful window.

A distracted lion (left). Extremely intricately decorated guns and blades (right).

Some fun stained glass (left). The queen's room (right).  The painting at the top shows Spring, Summer, and Autumn.  She refused to have Winter.

The stained glass from the Queen's room.  It depicts traditional Romanian fairy-tales.

Large Italian glass chandeliers.  They remind me of the ones in the Caserta Royal Palace.

This is the Moorish Salon (I think).

And you can't have a Moorish Salon without having a Turkish Salon.

These are the stained glass windows from the Turkish Salon. Flash was not allowed, and it was difficult to get the Salon AND the windows. I opted to just get two photos.

Ladies in the castle!

Callie, Sandy, Amy, Jana, and Me.  Finesse, Brittany, Meagan, and Savannah.

Photo courtesy of Sandy.

Okay, prepare for a barrage of outdoor photos.  The castle is beautiful, the location is beautiful, the weather was great, and I took a lot of photos that turned out well (in my opinion).

                     This is Carol I again.

Our last view of Peleş Castle.

Pelişor Castle is next to Peleş Castle and was built for Carol I's nephew, who would become his heir.   We didn't tour this castle, but I liked the orange roof.

This concludes the Peleş Castle portion of our adventure for today.

Now would be a good time to get a refill on your drink, get snacks, go to the bathroom, and generally take a break from this post.

Bran and "Dracula's" Castle -

More Romanian countryside.  Photo courtesy of Savannah.

On top of this mountain is a giant metal cross that was erected in the late 1920's in memory of those who died in World War I.

We made it to Bran.  Lunch was the first priority, so some of us went off to this charming resaurant to have various dishes made of polenta and cheese.  They also had a garlic sauce that would peel paint. I like their vampire sheep mascot.

First look at Bran Castle. Before you get too excited, the reason this is called Dracula's castle is because it best fits the description from Bram Stoker's novel. The location described in the book is an empty mountain top in the Carpathians. Although this castle is in Transylvania, it has little to no connection to Vlad the Imapler (Vlad III). It is still a very neat and winding castle.

Looking up the steps to the guard's room (left). The central courtyard (right).

Traditional Transylvania dress - Men's (left) and Women's (right).

Sandy and the secret stairs (left). A view of the secret stairs (right). Photo courtesy of Sandy.

This is the best reading nook ever.  I would totally have a pot of tea, a blanket, and a book with that fire going.  I would never leave (left). A view from the terrace above the courtyard out into the countryside (right).

 The beautiful Transylvania countryside.  In case you were wondering, Transylvania isn't currently technically anything.  It is considered a historical region within Romania. 

More outfits and armor.

Meta photo!  (with Meagan and Jana)

Meta photo again!  (With Jana and Sandy - Jana's everywhere in this castle)

Looking into the courtyard from the walkway.  Finesse, Jana, and Sandy.

Looking back up and the castle from the inside of the courtyard.  

So if she weighs the same as a duck......she's a made of wood?  And therefore?  A witch!

According to the sign about these scales:

The practice of weighing convicts comes from the belief that followers or apprentices of Satan would be lighter than their physical appearance suggested.  

The accused was stripped and searched for any extra weight they may have tied or hidden on their body.  They were then weighed against an amount judged to be appropriate for their size and shape.  If they were too light, they would be tortured until they confessed to their crimes.  If they weighed the correct amount, they were cleared of charges and allowed to walk free.  

During the 18th century, if an accused was cleared, they were given a certificate to protect them against further accusations of witchcraft.

Another view out into the countryside.

There was also a Christmas Market here.  I ended up getting a wool shawl/wrap/thingie.

This concludes the Bran portion of our adventure.

Now would be another good time for a break.

Braşov-

Braşov was the next major town up the road from Bran and an easy place to get back on the highway (I think).  It is the birthplace of Romania's national anthem (Wake up, Romania!).  It sounds about how you would expect an eastern European anthem to go.

Driving into Braşov, we caught a glimpse of this church dome and this cute couple in their matching fur hats.

The town square with its beautiful tree.  Also they have a Hollywood style sign up on the mountain (it's off to the top right).

A close up of the tree.  It's kind of a conical decorated net that they just shoved over the tree.

Such a charming town square.  I really liked the street that is all lit up as well.

This is the Black Church and it is the largest Gothic church between Vienna and Istanbul.  It was originally Roman-Catholic but it is now Lutheran.  It was erected during the late 1300's/early 1400's.  It has the heaviest mobile bell in Romania (it's 6 tons).

I don't know what this building is, but it was all shiny and glowing like Cinderella's ball gown.

This concludes the Braşov portion of our adventure. 

We drove back to Bucharest and for a good chunk of the trip back, most of us slept.  I was amazed by the number of stars I could see out the window.  I really wanted to stop the bus and just take 10 minutes to enjoy them.  After awhile our driver started playing music, but I don't think he enjoyed our singing along.

Christmas Market -

There was a stage where each night different performances would happen.

This is a person puppet that I think is supposed to be a horse of some kind, but I'm not sure.  

It's very colorful and fluffy.

Some sort of traditional song and dance.  The men hopped, the women sang.

So much candy.  I later purchased one of the wafer/marshmallow looking things in the middle.  It was very good.  I want to figure out how to make it.

This kind gentleman sold me a skirt.  I caused much trouble as the skirt I originally wanted he didn't have in my size, which made him dig through all his bags and piles next to him.  We found a different skirt that had the same trim, which I was happy with.  He graciously let me take his photo.

This concludes our adventures for today.  I hope you enjoyed them and they were too long or boring.