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THE BALKANS 2008

NORTH ROMANIA - MONASTERIES, RODNA MOUNTAINS AND MERRY CEMENTERY (Oct 2008)     photos

This last chapter is about Romania again, but this time the north of the country. The first town after arriving from Moldova was Iași. Exactly that day a huge pilgrimage took place and streets were full of people and cars. It happens every year on the 24 October but we didn't read about it until we were there. It wasn't the best time to come to Iasi because we couldn't get inside the cathedral and we had to be careful in the crowd. I saw groups of Gypsies preparing food and a someone taking photos of one group. I talked to him and I joined in. It turned out that Gypsies from all over the country come to Iasi that day to give food to the poor. After about 5 minutes of taking photos one big Gypsy guy demanded money from me for taking photos in 4 or 5 languages, but I played stupid and walked away.

There are many beautiful monasteries around Suceava and we visited a few. Slatina was the first one and we liked it the most. It was a quiet afternoon when we arrived. Everyone was inside the church singing Orthodox songs and it was magical. We read a lot of good things about Dragomirna Monastery but we didn't like it as much. It's beautifully built right next to the lake and it was also very quiet. We entered the church and nobody was there, so I took a few photos without flash. I'm not sure why photography isn't allowed inside monasteries but there are postcards available, so photos are taken inside from time to time. Another monastery we visited was Voroneț, the most touristy of the ones we saw. It was also the most beautiful, with it's painted outside walls and stunning interior, but it didn't have the atmosphere. They not only charge for entry and taking photos (outside only), but also more for a digital camera!

We wanted to spend a few days in the mountains before going back so we stopped in Borsa at the foot of Rodna Mountains. We bought food for 3 days and left the car on the side of the road. As we were leaving, someone told us it can be dangerous to leave a car like this and offered his garden. Of coarse we took this opportunity! We spent the rest of the day walking steadily up until we came across blueberries. Temptation was big and we ended up camping there. The next day was horrible. It rained all day and we were stuck inside our leaking tent, which became our tiny prison. Fortunately the following day weather cleared and we could go all the way to the top of Pietrosul 2303m, the highest mountain in Rodna. We could have done it in just 1 long day. We went back to Borsa where left our car. We wanted to camp in the garden but the couple why lived there offered us a room, hot shover and even made us supper! Not to mention some very tasty homemade blueberry vodka! It was a fantastic end to our Romania experience.

On the way to Poland we stopped in Sapanta to visit the Merry Cemetery. It's famous for colorful tombstones and paintings that describe persons buried or their life in a very original way. Every tombstone has a picture and a funny epitaph underneath. It all started in 1935 when a local artist, Stan Patras, made the first tombstone. Nowadays Patras's work is continued by his student and it's a big tourist attraction.    photos