Romania and Moldova Part III: Chisinau

After our whirlwind trip to the painted monasteries, Emily and I managed to find the time to hunt down the fortress in Suceava. Currently little more than a pile of rubble, it is in the process of being rebuilt-- but nonetheless still impressive.

Our time in Suceava unfortunately over, Emily and I returned to Chisinau the same way we'd come-- in a very uncoordinated, ad hoc way. Again we missed our bus and had to go through Iasi. Still, we managed to have part of a day in Chisinau to see the sights, such as they were.

Chisinau's "arc de triumphe" in the main square

And of course, the ubiquitous Stefan Cel Mare

We made a short visit to the museum of history and archaeology.

The museum was like a palace inside.

Interesting fountain in the main park

This church became my favorite thing to photograph

And finally, some great engrish for your enjoyment

Sometime during our travels, I lost my cell phone. The next evening we called a taxi to take me to the train station to catch my train. Unfortunately, my horrible luck with taxis continued. Firstly, the taxi was very late and, in fear of missing my train, we jumped into the wrong one. Then, there were the language issues. My struggle to speak Russian instead of surzhyk continued. I asked the driver to take me to the "vokzal"-- which is both Ukrainian and Russian for "station". The driver thought that I meant the "avtovokzal"-- the bus station. Sadly, I did not remember the Russian word for "railroad" and he did not know the Ukrainian one, which I did know. So he took me to the bus station. Once we realized our mistake, I desperately flagged down another taxi driver who (after price-gouging) did take us to the train station. We arrived just as my train was pulling out of the station.

After a very harried discussion with the train station worker, I managed to buy a new ticket for an overnight train. Emily stayed with me as long as she could, since I lacked a cell phone-- but she had to leave to get her bus eventually. Fortunately, I caught the later train with no problem and made it back to Vinnytsia without any more problems. My travel adventures continued!

Romania and Moldova Part II: The Painted Monasteries

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! I know I was. Especially after how much grueling traveling I went through to get there... finally seeing the monasteries I'd come for!

We signed up for the monastery tour with a guy we met in the hostel. He'd already booked it for himself, but the cost was cheaper the more people we had. It turned out to be a good mood, not only because we didn't have to pay as much, but also because our tour guide was awesome. Gigi (Georgio) was a native Romanian who had grown up in the area and had spent a lot of time around the monasteries, just chatting with the nuns and learning all kinds of fun facts about them. He'd worked for a hotel there, and started giving tours for tourists at the hotel. When he realized how much he liked it, he learned English and started his own company. We liked him a lot because was very friendly and really knowledgeable. We asked a lot of questions, and he always knew the answers, and the one time he didn't, he asked one of the nuns for us. I learned so much about the history of Bukovyna!!!

We met our tour guide around 8 am, and took off for the first monastery. Along the way he pointed out to us some of the houses in the countryside, which were done up in the traditional Romanian style with intricate metalwork and woodworked trim and bright colors.

Then we stopped at the first of the painted monasteries: the Humor Monastery.

Then it was on to the Voronet Monastery, famous for its intense blue color.

Moldovita Monastery

I really want to go back sometime in the spring or summer, when those rose bushes lining the paths will be in full bloom.

I was attacked by a vicious Carpathian wolf!

We stopped in a mountain lodge for a lunch of soup (made of mushrooms gathered in the forest!) and for dessert-- an incredible cream puff with fresh berries on top. Our guide encouraged us to try the blueberry liquer, which was a local specialty made with blueberries gathered in the forest. Unwilling to drink a whole shot ourselves, Emily and I shared one. It was DELICIOUS, with whole berries still in it. I could easily have drank more... but wisely, I did not. Then we headed on to the last monastery, Sucevita.

I thought it looked like a spaceship.

Reviewing my pictures that evening, I asked Emily: "Is this MY life!?"