First Visitors - Part 3 (and final)

On Thursday, we spent most of our time indoors and so do not have any pictures.  We visited The National Art Museum, located in the former royal place (http://www.mnar.arts.ro/Home). Here we concentrated only on the Romanian art.  Our time was limited, but we certainly were able to get a good overview of both medieval (mostly religious) and more modern art styles in Romania.  We then walked to SNSPA, my university, where we met my director, Diana Cismaru, and headed out to lunch.  Our restaurant is especially known for its fish dishes and other Romanian cuisine.  Patricia had some kind of fish that is a product of the Danube delta and was proclaimed to be the BEST piece of fish she or Jerry had ever tasted.

We then went to the Museum of the Romanian peasant (http://www.muzeultaranuluiroman.ro/home.html) where the first thing we did was to connect with a bookbinder I had been introduced to.  Razvan Supuran has a studio in the basement of the museum where he and others make paper, do some letter press and etching, and do some bookbinding.  He was very welcoming and enthusiastic, inviting me to come and work in the studio, a prospect I look forward to following up on.  We then enjoyed wandering the museum, viewing many costumes, household implements, and parts of building interiors that depict rural life in Romania.  There are many ethnic groups in Romania and so there are many different designs and methods used in the decorative work.

We ended the day with a relaxing evening at home: a supper of baked melon stuffed with a lentil/veg mixture (adapted from a dish Patricia had been served in Istanbul and which was excellent!) and a couple of games of Fluxx, a fast-paced card game that Amanda introduced to us.

Friday, Patricia and I went off alone to The Brancovan Palace at Mogosoaia (http://palatebrancovenesti.ro/en/) Unfortunately, Jerry had a head cold and Amanda had sore feet, but P and I enjoyed our sisters day.  This destination was recommended to me by the organist of the church Amanda and I visited last Sunday - an Anglican church to which I suspect we will return.  The grounds are large, lovely, and quiet.  The palace is interested and definitely human-scale, unlike many palaces one might view in Europe.  It was first built in the late 1600s and suffered much destruction and rebuilding throughout the succeeding centuries. 

 A view from the palace to the main gate (center) and the kitchen (left).  The building on the right is a more recent structure that was a guest house and now a hotel.

 The courtyard side of the palace, from the vantage point of the tower above the main gate.

 Although interior photography was not allowed, I was given special permission to photograph some of the doors, with which I was especially impressed.  I want to create a book of doors...

 This lovely small church was actually the first building on the site of the palace and has some lovely old paintings and icons inside.

 Many roses still in bloom...

The formal gardens in front of the palace, looking toward the lake.

It was a great visit!  I enjoyed spending time with my sister, especially, and I now have a much better overview of the city.  I know some places I definitely want to revisit for myself and I know some things I definitely want to recommend to my future visitors.  So please, let me know when you want to come to Bucharest.

And now it is time to finish up my syllabus for the class starting this week...

First Visitors - Part 2

On Tuesday we had a very heavy walking day.  We began at one of the large open-air markets that also has a large covered-market area.  We bought a few things for meals over the next few days, but mostly just enjoyed looking at the produce and the people.  Lovely fresh produce!

 

We then went downtown, stopping first at Cismigiu Gardens (http://www.spottedbylocals.com/bucharest/cismigiu-gardens/), a large and very lovely public park that I had not yet visited.  I continue to be impressed by the lovely green spaces that Bucharest includes. 

 

From the Gardens we walked part of the historic center, viewing some of the lovely old architecture from Bucharest’s heyday in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

 (Note that the upper right part of the building above is a trompe l'oeil mural on a flat surface.)

 

We had a few minutes of sitting in Piata Unirii (Union Square), munching on fresh, warm pretzels (a not to be missed treat!) and admiring fountains prior to the final part of the day - a guided walking tour of historic Bucharest.  If you do any travelling in Europe, do be sure to take note of this group: http://guided-bucharest.com/ue_free_tours.html.  The website provides information not only about the tour in Bucharest, but also the network of tours in Europe.  One pays a donation at the end, rather than a set fee, and our guide, Simona, was delightful and knowledgeable!  We were with her for almost 3 hours and received an excellent overview of the city.  I now know a number of places I would like to return to for a more extended visit.

 

 A mostly reconstructed exterior of the oldest church in Bucharest.  Its status as "oldest" is based on the presence of 2 medieval columns inside that are part of the original church on the site.

 A very-much reconstructed interior of Manuc's Inn, an inn built originally in 1808.  It is a rough square, surrounding the central courtyard, part of which is seen in this picture.  There is only one entrance to the interior which provided security to those staying at the inn.

 A bust of Vlad Tepes, a 15th century ruler, on whom Bram Stoker based part of the story of Dracula.  Of course the truth about Vlad, the Impaler, is plenty gruesome enough without the fiction of his being a vampire.  In the 6 years of his reign he impaled some 20,000 people - mostly invading Turks, which is what makes him a bit of a hero for most Romanians.  Because of his strict policies regarding punishing folks, he was also able to leave a gold goblet by the public fountain for anyone to use... (It was never stolen.)

A section of the Princely court, from medieval times, being excavated.

And now one more post to complete the visit...

First Visitors - Part 1

It is a rainy dreary day today.  I am not complaining however, for it is only the second such day since our arrival in Europe and I need to be doing a number of indoor tasks today anyway.  It is time to prepare for teaching, which begins this coming week, ironic to me that I am beginning during the same week that Pfeiffer University is having fall break!

As I write this entry, my sister, Patricia, and her husband, Jerry, are in the airport waiting to board their flight home.  They spent about 3 weeks on a tour of Turkey and then came to Bucharest for 5 days of visiting with Amanda and me.  It was great fun hosting them and being both tourist and tour guide here in my adopted home city.  They arrived on Monday and I served my version of a Romanian lunch – and did a pretty good job of it.  The menu included an assortment of cheeses from the market; roasted red peppers and eggplant spread - both prepared according to my new Romanian cookbook; zacusca, a red pepper and eggplant concoction prepared by my landlady; pickles prepared by my neighbor’s aunt; peasant bread from the market; and some assorted fruits.  We mostly spent the day catching up – of course there was much to show and tell on both sides of the conversation – and planning our strategy for 4 days of sightseeing.

Herewith some of the week's highlights:

 

 

On Tuesday we went to Herestrau Park, home of the Village Museum (http://www.muzeul-satului.ro/) It is an open-air museum depicting traditional peasant life in Romania, with some 200+ buildings, many of which are open and furnished.  I especially appreciated looking at the wood carving done for decorative purposes.  Amanda, as always, found kittens to pick up and cuddle.

 

 Above, I am showing the typical information provided for most of the buildings: age, original location, photo of the original location, photos of local peasants, and written description, which is in both Romanian and English.

 

 

I will continue our week on another post, due to the quantity of pictures.

The Black Sea Coast

Unfortunately I got quite sick at the end of our time in Mamaia, the resort town on the Black Sea.  Our trip there was followed by official Fulbright orientation in Bucharest and travel back to Constanta, on the coast, for an American studies conference (which was an excellent way to network with a number of people, based in Romania and other parts of Europe).  Back home on Saturday, do laundry, clean house, and visit the grocery store on Sunday.  And, today - Monday - Patricia and Jerry arrive from Turkey for almost a week.  For all these reasons updating my blog this morning will consist mostly of posting some pictures and providing short captions.

Amanda, Ralph, and I travelled by train to Constanta and then took a taxi to Mamaia.

 Patiently waiting for the train...  (suitcase open to get out Ralph's water bowl)



I had to pay 1 leu (about 28 cents) for the privilege of using this "toilet".

 



 Our train coming into the station

 Amanda and Ralph both relaxing and enjoying the passing countryside.  We passed many acres of now fallow - following the harvest - fields.  Very large grain elevators and train cars marked "cereale" suggest the primary crop in this region.

 Crossing a canal that joins the Danube with the Black Sea at a place south of where it does so naturally.

 An abutment of a bridge built in the 1800's that at the time was remarkable for its span.

As we got closer to the coast I noticed a very large wind turbine area.

In Medgidia, I saw a train with a umber of flat cars on which were military vehicles - trucks and tanks.  As we passed, I saw a lovely white church behind it.  If I were more of a photographer and less of a picture-taker, I might have been ready to snap the picture.  It seemed an ironic juxtaposition of elements.

Finally - over an hour late - we arrived in Constanta.

 I do not claim credit for this aerial photo of Mamaia.  The Black Sea is to the right; Lake Siutghiol to the left.  Our hotel is located somewhere at the top of the photo, as it is on the far north part of the resort area.

 This is our hotel, the 4-star, Best Western Savoy.  When we checked in on Wednesday, we were literally the only guests at the hotel.  They did get some additional folks over the weekend.  We were disappointed to find that the swimming pool was unavailable and that there were no restaurants in walking distance.  We alternated between ordering delivered food and taking a taxi to Constanta to eat.

 Not disappointing was having the beach to ourselves.  Each morning except the last, when I was sick, Ralph and I went for long walks on the beach.  He loved being able to run without a leash. [Ralph is deaf and mostly blind, but has been trained with an electronic collar, which I was using.  He stayed near me most of the time.]

 The water was clear, and warm enough that Amanda and I went swimming 2 afternoons.  It is also a very gradual slope, so that one goes quite far from shore and is still standing on the sandy bottom.  The sand was not as fine as I'd been led to expect, but was a lovely spot to look for shells.  We were able to find several unbroken whelks, 3-4" long.

The night view from the hotel balcony...

Activities of Daily Living

Today we go on an adventure!  We are headed to Mamaia, on the coast of the Black Sea for 5 days of rest and relaxation - this transitioning to a new culture has been hard work!  I am most looking forward to the quiet, I think, but I will be sure to let you all know in a few days with the next post.  For today, I thought I would focus on some of the basics of living...

The bathroom

I have had to get used to taking a bath instead of a shower, but it is not so bad in the luxury tub I have… (Notice also the towel warmer hanging on the wall, which at the moment of this picture was being used as a drying rack for pillow cases.)

 

The toilets are equipped with 2 flushing mechanisms: full and half flushes.  I leave the details to your imaginations…  Suffice it to say, this serves to conserve water.

The bed

Beds are made with a bottom sheet and a duvet (observed in each of the hotels and all furnished apartments I was in).  I stripped the cover off the duvet to wash it (see "laundry" below) and quickly realized I will not be washing that quite as often as I wash the bottom sheet.  Getting the duvet in and out of is cover is not an easy one-person task.

This is Amanda's room.  We bought the duvet cover and pillow cases to coordinate with the painting on her walls.

Laundry

We have a front-loading, very low water washer and no dryer.  I purchased a large drying rack from IKEA to set up in the house.  The method works fine, but is definitely not quick and so we are learning to plan ahead for getting clothes clean.

Drinking water

The water from the tap is reported to be perfectly safe and we do use it for brushing teeth, making tea, cooking food, etc.  Because of the taste I was buying bottled water, but now have a water cooler with really big bottles that get delivered.  The machine also dispenses hot water, which I am especially looking forward to in cooler weather when I drink more tea.

Doing errands

Because of reliance on walking and/or public transportation, doing errands can be quite time consuming.  Add to this that the economy is cash-based and personal transactions are the norm.  Making arrangements for our upcoming trip to the Black Sea meant two trips: on Monday, I walked to the bank (atm) to get sufficient cash then took a taxi to the travel agent (with whom Diana had already had several phone conversations on my behalf) – this took almost 2 hours total; on Tuesday, I again walked to the bank for more cash, took a taxi to the train ticketing agent, which was not where I had been told, so walked to the train station itself, purchased tickets, and returned via metro – total time about 90 minutes.  Very different from making a few clicks on my computer or picking up the telephone and paying by debit card!

As I mentioned in a previous blog, taking the recycling out means walking to these large bins that are on the streets or in parks.  I try to remember to take a few things with me when I am going that way for another errand.

 

Amanda bought something from a natural cosmetics store - this was the bag it came in.  (Sorry I couldn't get the picture to rotate.)  An amusing reminder to avoid landfills when possible.

Medical attention

For some unknown, unprovoked reason, Ralph bit one of Amanda's fingers Monday night.  I washed it and bandaged it, but decided Tuesday morning that it should be professionally examined.  I now have great empathy for immigrants and the poor in our country to have to navigate our US healthcare system!  Again, I started by calling one of my contacts – Mihai, this time – for a recommendation of where to go.  He recommended a private clinic and gave me the number to call.  During the phone call I was transferred among 3 different people and the phone call was dropped when we were part way through setting up an appointment.  When I called back, I repeatedly got a recorded message in Romanian and was unable to get through.  So we got in a taxi and just went…  When we arrived, the receptionist said, "you do not have an appointment and need to go to the hospital" (one associated with the clinic) that is about 6 blocks away.  So we went.  And then the story improves greatly…

We were seen almost immediately upon checking in at the desk.  Here are a few aspects of the interaction that I really appreciated:

·       I was told up front what the charges would be

·       The physician spoke English fairly well and was quite pleasant

·       She (the physician) paid attention to my caution about Amanda’s autism and hearing impairment

·       She also listened to my assurances that Amanda was up-to-date on tetanus and Ralph was up-to-date on rabies vaccine

·       The nurse, who did not speak English, was very gentle and patient with Amanda while cleaning the wounds

·       The wound was well cleaned and bandaged, while the physician wrote notes for what we needed to obtain from the pharmacy (antibiotic) in the same room.

·       We were in and out in half an hour with a bill of 125 lei (about $35)

The one thing I was less pleased by was that there was an assumption by the receptionist and by the physician that Amanda might need tetanus or rabies shots before we were asked her history.  However, that may have been a product of the fact there are so many stray dogs here in Romania and I suspect dog bites from them are more common than from pets.

All in all, we are still learning how to live in this new and different culture - and learning to count the blessings of our American life-style.  At the same time, there are many aspects of living here that are an improvement over the US.  My focus in these blogs is to provide my observations and perspectives...