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Romania and Istanbul

September - October 2023
Back to Romania for 2 weeks, then 5 days in Istanbul Read more
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  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 11

    Breb Village walk

    October 9, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    With a frosty start we have a 2 hour walk around the small village. We walk along the pebbly roads, up people's garden paths, through the fields. We have 2 dogs follow us for a while, chat to a couple of cats and throw some grapes🍇 to some chooks.

    This village is typical of the Maramures area with their wooden houses and carved wooden gates, farm plots and vege gardens. There is the odd European house but since Prince Charles, now King, bought an old wooden house, people decided that their traditions might actually be worth keeping.
    There is an Australian couple living here, there used to be two couples named Long and Short!
    We visit 2 locals in their houses, see following pages for Vasile and Maria.
    We bump into another Vasile who was the village stonemason until fairly recently. He was picking his purple grapes for wine. He gave us some bunches to eat, very tasty. There was also a lady with a basket collecting fallen walnuts. She also brought Vasile something to eat I think.

    Tourism has come to Breb, thanks to local guides and some houses had stalls selling goods. There was a saucepan man following us for a bit.
    A young girl wanted to sell me a bracelet. Turns out Veronica's mother made me one and had it on the breakfast table for me.

    This village walk talking to the locals was a major highlight.    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 11

    Vasile, the village chronicler

    October 9, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    As we do our village walk Florin tells me about an elderly man who is the village chronicler, he collects all sorts of information, documents and takes photos. Next thing I know we're outside a house and Florin says "Let's go see if he's home".

    So we knock on his door, it's still a bit early and catch him with his teeth out😂.
    Once we let him put his teeth in all is good.

    His small house is cluttered and looks a mess but it it's clean and he knows where everything is.
    His walls are lined with photos he's taken.

    He is having trouble with his phone, apparently he needs to put in a new SIM card but has no idea how to do it. He asks Florin to do it. They need a pin thing that inserts in the hole to pop the simcard holder out. As chance would have it, I carry one in my phone case, so hey presto, his phone gets fixed!

    He loves receiving guests and taking photos of them. He asks me, via Florin, if he could take my photo and put on his Facebook page that a beautiful Australian came to visit 😂. Of course, I said yes. Within minutes, the post was up. Not bad for 74!

    He also writes poetry and obviously loves to promote the Maramures way if his Facebook page is anything to go by.
    He says he thought he saw me in the village the other day but it must have been someone who looks like me 😉

    We say goodbye with one of his lovely fresh apples off his tree.    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 11

    A visit to Maria the weaver

    October 9, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    We visited Maria on our village ramble.
    She has been weaving since around age 13 and is now in her 70's.
    She was very pleased to show me how she weaves. She also insisted she show me her house - guest room, passage and main room. It was very colourful and full of traditional Romanian decoration and articles.

    She wanted to dress me in traditional Maramures dress so I let her, she had such joy doing it. I wore a blouse, skirt and head scarf. Apparently it's a wedding outfit. She tut-tutted I was so tall I had to bend in half so she could put my scarf on.
    She couldn't speak English, I couldn't speak Romanian so of course Florin interpreted.
    Maria also said she thought she saw me in the village the other day 😮

    We then went across the yard to a small hut that I guess is her bedroom and bathroom. Her stove heats this small room well. She takes us there to show me how she spins her wool on a spindle. It was similar to how the Moroccan women did it. Her thread is very strong. When I tried it broke and she said I was not ready to marry!!

    She was a delightful lady and I feel privileged she wanted to share her way of life with me.    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    1
    Day 11

    The Merry Cemetery

    October 9, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    The Merry Cemetery is a cemetery in the village of Săpânța, Maramureș County, Romania. It is famous for its brightly coloured tombstones with naïve paintings describing, in a poetic and humourous manner, the people who are buried there in addition to scenes from their lives. The Merry Cemetery became an open-air museum and a national tourist attraction. It has been listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Romania.

    The cemetery's origins are linked with the name of Stan Ioan Pătraș, a local artist who sculpted the first tombstone crosses. In 1935, Pătraș carved the first epitaph after being at a funeral and hearing what people were saying about the deceased. He was amused and wrote a poem as the epitaph. As of the 1960s, more than 800 such oak wood crosses have been added and still are being added.

    This seems to be the most famous and loved....
    Under this heavy cross
    Lies my poor mother-in-law
    Three more days should she have lived
    I would lie, and she would read (this cross).
    You, who here are passing by
    Not to wake her up please try
    Cause' if she comes back home
    She'll scold me more.
    But I will surely behave
    So she'll not return from grave.
    Stay here, my dear mother-in-law!    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 11

    Wave to Ukraine

    October 9, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We start heading back to Cluj but we must see another wooden church rebuilt , the famous Merry Cemetery and a monastery of wooden churches that houses nuns built in 1977(?)

    Will elaborate later

    Home at 7.30pm. Check in back at Hotel Transylvania. A more basic but still very nice room this time.Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    Day 12

    In the air

    October 10, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Back to Bucharest today. Steve and I are both flying with Tarom from our respective cities and get in about the same time.
    We walk 5 minutes to our airport hotel and chill out.

    I can't believe it!! The tea and coffee service in the room has black teabags and milk!! Elsewhere, the tea is generally herbal and no milk. One time I tried to buy milk but got yoghurt instead 😞 so continued with the black teas.Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    12
    Day 13

    Turkey Adventure

    October 11, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    Flew from Bucharest to Istanbul. Only 1 1/2 hour flight.
    We have booked a ride to the hotel through the hotel driver. Due to traffic 🚦 we take a good hour or more meandering through streets to "avoid traffic" which was fine as the price was fixed and we got to see a bit of the Old Town and the traffic mayhem here .

    We check in and the boss man gives us a rundown of the area, what tours are good ones, etc.

    The call to prayer reminds me of Morrocco.

    We settle in and Steve sleeps all afternoon. The hunting has stuffed his body clock as they basically hunt at night.

    When Steve wakes we go for a walk around Old Town streets close to us.
    We get "conned", with our permission 😊, to "quick watch the sunset on the terrace" restaurant. It's time for tea so we say yes. View was spectacular, food was awesome.

    We like this place.    Read more

  • TravelerRomania and Istanbul
    1
    1111
    Day 14

    Turkish bath

    October 12, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Didn't do much today. Made our way to a Turkish Bath Hammam where we both had a 1 hour oil massage with face mask, followed by a sauna then into the Hammam for a wash down and then a bubble massage. We even had our hair washed with shampoo by the girls to get oils and face mask out.

    Even though it was a Turkish bath, we're pretty sure the girls were Thai. They didn't look Turkish and the massage was a good Thai-style massage. It was very good. Steve enjoyed the whole experience too.

    Then we went to an authentic restaurant called The Must, for lunch, about 2 pm by then. Very Turkish decor, wait people dressed traditionally.
    There were plush cushions around low tables or normal table and chairs. The walls were open and there were 2 ladies in the front making the pastry for the gozleme. It was a good atmosphere.
    I had a lovely salad and Steve had some gozleme.
    Then we shared a baklava and a Turkish coffee.

    A bit of an explore on the way back to hotel HaciBacram. Read books and I actually fell asleep. A nice relaxing day.    Read more

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