Blogs from Gura Humorului, Suceava, Bucovina, Romania, Europe

Europe » Romania » Bucovina » Suceava » Gura Humorului May 10th 2010

I was up early and R. and I went into town where we met a couple teachers and some students at the high school. After that we saw a friend of his on the street and visited his school. After chatting for quite some time in the teachers' lounge with the English, Math and Religion teachers we dropped in for a quick visit with a small group of kids doing some extra-credit work. I peered over their shoulders, helping them from time to time. The teacher told us that the kids were a bit edgy, because they were all performing in a pageant the following week and were all thinking of that above all. Then one of them said something to the teacher and when I inquired what was said, she said the kids wanted to ... read more

Gura Humorului - day 3

Europe » Romania » Bucovina » Suceava » Gura Humorului May 9th 2010

JohnUSA

As is my habit, I rose before 8 and with no ill effects from the previous night I had my morning coffee/cocoa. During the previous night I filled the memory card of my video camera and sought to transfer the files to one of my thumb drives. After a number of failed attempts I discovered a direct transfer was not possible, I had to transfer them to R.’s hard drive and only then download them successfully. Thank God R. had a lot of room. I looked at some of the video and it seems I’ll be able to do something with it if I can sufficiently master my software back home. I hitchhiked ("made an autostop") into town, even if it was a Sunday and I fully expected things to be pretty quiet. I walked around ... read more

Gura Humorului - day 2

Europe » Romania » Bucovina » Suceava » Gura Humorului May 8th 2010

JohnUSA

In the morning it became apparent that R. caught some sort of bug and was stretched-out in his room when he wasn’t in the toilet. Natalie, one of the nearby Peace Corps workers had contacted me and I set out on the 40km trip to Campulung Moldevenesc. To meet her, I took the maxi from the front of the monastery into the next town and lucked upon an almost immediate connection with another one that took me directly to her. We went on the obligatory and always fascinating walk through portions of her town. She was given a dog, a gun-shy but frisky thing that she says she’ll keep and take to Spain with her when continues her masters education there in the fall when she finishes her two years service here. She called a Rachel, ... read more

Gura Humorului - day 1

Europe » Romania » Bucovina » Suceava » Gura Humorului May 7th 2010

JohnUSA

Ross is an ex-Peace Corps worker who visiting his old friends and colleagues for the summer and when he saw this travel blog he invited me to visit him. Some years ago he was the beneficiary of my ongoing book program - www.AThousandBooks.us - and we both thought it would be cool to meet up. Most Peace Corps workers do their two years and then close the book on that chapter of their life and move on, only thinking of those times sporatically. That's understandable, but for others the country of service gets under their skin and refuses to leave them in peace. A surprising number marry HCNs (home country nationals) and even settle in their adopted country. Others more simply keep in close touch with their old friends and visit. Some even marry. After the ... read more

trying to get to Gura Humorului

Europe » Romania » Bucovina » Suceava » Gura Humorului May 6th 2010

JohnUSA

The original plan was to go to Humor from Sibiu using two trains, but the schedule said they missed connection by a half hour. Plan B was a bus to Cluj to catch the train, but N. suggested Plan C. Simply taking the autobuz all the way instead. It was a good suggestion, as it would avoid a frantic rush from the bus garage to the Cluj train station and the second bus I had to connect with left minutes after I arrived. At 5:00 we woke up and N. drove me to the bus stop and saw me off. The first part of the trip was an experience of what I take to be the "classic" Romanian roads of legend. It wasn't that it was so pot-holed as seemingly designed to be rough. It made ... read more

Voronet Monastery

Europe » Romania » Bucovina » Suceava » Gura Humorului June 29th 2009

Voronet Monastery

ConnieF

The most famous of Romania's "Painted Monasteries" Romania's "Painted Monasteries" are UNESCO World Heritage monuments. Perhaps the most famous and stunning of the painted monasteries is Voronet. Widely known throughout Europe as "the Sistine Chapel of the East" due to its interior and exterior wall paintings, this monastery offers an abundance of frescoes featuring an intense shade of blue commonly known as ‘Voronet blue.’ The composition of the paint continues to remain a mystery even now, more than 500 years after the church was built. Voronet Monastery was founded by Stephen the Great in the year 1488. Stephan, the ruling prince of Moldavia, built the monastery to fulfill a pledge to Daniil, a hermit who had encouraged him to chase the Turks from Wallachiia, one of the 3 ancient provinces of Romania which Stephen succeeded in ... read more

Brief history of Romania

The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adopted the new name of Romania. The country gained recognitio...more history

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