Here’s our final salute to Romania with a potpourri of people, places and things. And a nod to the Romanian language, which you know more about than you think, as it is derived mainly from Old Latin, not Slavic, and so is a lot like Italian and Spanish. For example, hour is ora, difficult is dificil, good evening is buna seara, goodbye is la revedere…or, ciao, Romania!
A river and lake are the centerpiece of the fine recreational Parcu Regele to the north of Bucharest’s center – biking, fishing, walking, boating, eating and drinking in a lovely setting.
There is room for all to park at the wooden churches.
We enjoyed a wonderful apartment high above this storefront, but whatever clientele it had proved to be no problem. What is left of historical interest and charm in Bucharest’s old town must live side by side with noisy tourist pubs, decaying buildings and seamier shops.
A reason to drink?
This Bucharest eatery has everything you could want, as long as what you want is a breakfast cereal…with any kind of milk or equivalent liquid. Ya want coffee with that?
The mausoleum of Marasesti, a massive structure memorializing the dead of World War 1, especially those who died in a notable battle nearby. We were driving quickly by and saw dozens of buses and cars parked here. So we stopped just to see what was here, and discovered that Romanians still honor the losses at this site.
The art of wood carving is still strong in Romania and especially notable at both new and old graves in the cemeteries of wooden churches, like this one at Maramures.
Painted eggs are a folk tradition in Romania from long ago. This is a display of eggs painted by a noted – and to our eyes very talented – artist who specializes in eggs. At her workshop, she displays hundred and hundred of artsy eggs from around the world…a truly amazing collection.
A local woman working a small farm plot in the west. We noticed that women in Romania often wear traditional outfits. In most other countries, you don’t usually see such clothing outside of festivals and tourist events. Sometimes the men dress up too, but mostly they wear western clothes, frequently without a shirt in warm weather.
You should see the milk that came from this cow in Brasov.
(Also, for more pictures from Romania, CLICK HERE to view the slideshow at the end of the itinerary page.)
