Brasov and Bucharest – Magnificent Castles and the Megalomania of Ceausescu

Old Town Brasov

Anne is a “trainaholic” and thought it would be fun to ride a Romanian train.  After a 70-minute delay on our 1^st train here in Romania, she wasn’t so sure anymore.  The train ride was fine (once it arrived!); Romania acquires and refurbishes old trains from Western Europe and our train was the old style with individual compartments holding 6 passengers in each one (like you may have seen in the old movies).

Crumbled ruins of Rasnov Castle

Brasov is an attractive town with an historic Old Town and a small  "pedestrian only" shopping district.  Our main goal was to see the famous castles nearby.  Rasnov Castle is a ruined fortress with an imposing location high on a mountain.  During times of siege, the entire town would huddle in the castle – including all their farm animals that would be hustled into a large courtyard.

Bran Castle's secret passageway
makes Frank "thirsty" for Anne's blood!

Our favorite castle was Bran Castle although it turned out to be much different than we expected.  Bran is also known as "Dracula’s Castle" even though Vlad Tepes, the nasty historical figure who became the inspiration for Dracula, never even resided here.  This romantic castle seemed perfectly suited to writer Bram Stoker’s legendary tale, especially when a secret passageway was discovered that would have allowed the blood-sucking Dracula to come and go as he pleased.  But most of all, the local people saw a money-making opportunity for themselves and opened up souvenir stands selling Dracula T-shirts, strings of garlic, and gobs of made-in-China memorabilia related to the legend of the fictitious vampire.

Speaking of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, here are some interesting facts, or so we were told.  Bram Stoker, author of the infamous Dracula tale, wrote it in the mid 1800’s and never even visited the area for any research.  Also, his popular fictional book is the second most printed book ever, exceeded only by the Bible.

Bran Castle: Queen Mary's homey castle

Beyond the fake Dracula legend (now a fable which is downplayed here in Romania), the castle was the home of Queen Mary, granddaughter of Queen Victoria and a favorite of the Romanian people. The Romanians gave her this castle as an expression of their appreciation.  As we got to know Mary, Anne became enthralled with this enlightened queen who our tour guide told us “became more Romanian than the Romanians.” 



 During communism, it was a crime to say anything good about the royal family;  but now the people are rediscovering the contributions of these benevolent rulers.  The castle actually feels like a cozy family home and reflects Queen Mary’s feminine touch. 

"Interrogation Chair" in the Torture Museum,
replete with sharply pointed wooden spikes

Interestingly, what Frank enjoyed the most was the “Torture Museum” with its gruesome collection of authentic (i.e. actually used!) instruments of the most hideous tortures.

"Riddling" the champagne bottles
to get rid of the dead yeast

When we left Brasov for the capitol city of Romania, Bucharest, we had a driver guide who took us to two stops along the way.  Rhein Cellars was a low-key winery with a small but dedicated staff.  This winery was originally established by the Rhein family of Germany who were encouraged to come here as part of an effort by the Austro-Hungarian empire to establish industries in the Romanian backwater.  Their specialty was German-style sparkling wine (champagne!!) which was a favorite of the Romanian royal family.

After the arrival of communism, The Rhein family returned to Germany.  The communist government actually allowed Germany to “buy back” their citizens (as a moneymaking scheme – of course, no true Romanians were permitted to leave the country).  The communists expanded the winery (and no doubt lowered the quality of the wine) – they also exported all of it to Russia!  Today the winery is owned by a British company who is re-establishing the original methods of the Rhein family.

Love the bubbly!

We had a great tour with the hardworking winemaker who, like most Romanians, appears to do almost everything himself.  Our guide had to translate for us, but no language differences could hide the winemaker’s passion for his craft.  For example, he does all the riddling by hand (champagne bottles have to be turned a 1/8 turn every so many hours during a yeast collecting process called “riddling”).  He showed us how he turned them (man this guy was fast, using both hands, and working 2 rows at one time); he told us he could turn 4,000 bottles in an hour!  Of course, we got to taste the goods at the end of the tour – a marvelous bubbly!

Peles Castle

Our second stop was supposed to be Peles Castle, one of Romania’s most elaborate castles.  Unfortunately, it was closed for restoration, so we had to settle for the “Little Peles.”  Anne was pretty disappointed until she learned that the Little Peles was the home of none other than Queen Mary!  This relatively small castle had Queen Mary’s distinctive homey touch and an impressive array of different architectural and furniture styles. 








Queen Mary's Golden Room

 Art Nouveau was a favorite and many elegant Mucha paintings graced the walls.  Queen Mary’s favorite room is called the “Golden Room” with walls and ceiling covered with a thin layer of gold leaf.

Ceausescu's Parliamentary Palace

Bucharest was our last destination in Romania, and although it lacks the charm of other smaller places, it is rich in history.  We did a day tour to get a sense of this city and the revolutionary events that took place here.  We saw buildings still scarred by the bullets that flew when the Romanian people finally had enough of the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who was arrested and executed along with his wife, Elena.  Surprisingly, the Ceausescu duo were not at all well-educated.  Our guide told us that Ceausescu could read the speeches others wrote for him, but his wife Elena could not even read or write.  How do people like this get such power, we wondered?

Opulence of the Parliamentary Palace

Nicolae and Elena had 2,000 villas across Romania, and since they liked art, they stole whatever caught their fancy.  (Today their art collection is displayed in the National Art Museum).  But the best example of their ridiculous extravagance is the Parliamentary Palace, the second largest administrative building in the world (right after the Pentagon).  While their people were starving all over Romania, Nicolae and Elena decided to build what they called a “People’s Palace” at a cost of over 3 billion euros.  The inside of the palace is all chandeliers and tons of marble used for both massive columns and graceful staircases.  Knowing the history, in hindsight, it feels really creepy to walk thru the opulence garnered by the greed of the Ceausescu’s.  The only poetic justice is that all of the many palace meeting rooms are now named for revolutionaries, who had a hand in overthrowing this uncaring despot!

Ceausescu’s dream was to address 100,000 people from the Palace’s balcony, but it never happened.  He was deposed before even spending one night here.  Our guide told us the first person to ever address the multitudes from the balcony ended up being Michael Jackson who made a famous flub saying, “Welcome Budapest!”

On the Road to Sighisoara

After Bucovina, our driving tour took us southwest through the forests of the Carpathian Mountains to the medieval town of Sighisoara.  We always hate to leave our Poconos when the leaves are changing, but this year we got a full dose of fall foliage splendor in Romania.

Courtyard of the charmig Popa Museum

Anne is a loyal member of Fodor’s Forum (a travel discussion website), and a fellow Fodorite strongly recommended a visit to the Popa Museum.  Even our guide Andrei had never heard of the place, so it was a bit of a crapshoot, but we were all impressed by this gem of a collection dedicated to the peasant way of life. Neculai Popa was a sculptor and a collector of all kinds of local artifacts and especially anything related to the old Romanian peasant traditions.  For those of you familiar with the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Neculai was like the Henry Mercer of Romania. 

One of Neculai Popa's folklore sculptures

The museum consists of several traditional Romanian farm buildings, and the courtyard displays Neculai’s whimsical sculptures inspired by Romanian folktales.  Neculai spent 19 years in prison (one of many people arrested for political reasons) and his passion for collecting helped him to recuperate from that horrible experience. 

Collection of village masks at the Popa Museum

One of his favorite collections is a strange and unusual group of masks.  In a traditional Romanian village, no one talked about or criticized their neighbors or the whole village would turn against them.  However according to Neculai’s son (who gave us a heartfelt tour of his father’s work), on one day of the year “the gates of heaven opened,” and people were allowed to tell each other what they really thought. To encourage people to really open up, the “advice” was given from behind the anonymity of a mask.  So once a year, the entire village donned masks and told each other the truth.  The intention was that people would learn and improve, but we have to wonder how many hurt feelings (and personal grudges) may have resulted.

Collection of irons and other household items
 at the Popa Museum

The rest of the museum consisted of a series of small rooms displaying farm implements, household items including an extensive collection of old irons, pistols, and family Bibles.  Sadly, the museum has no funding and is struggling to survive – if you ever go to Romania, we highly recommend a visit here.

Late afternoon rays of sunlight on the
Izvorul Muntelui, a lake in the Bicaz area

Our scenic drive took us through the craggy Bicaz Gorge.  This was a peaceful drive that gave us the opportunity to ponder everything we have learned here in the countryside.  As much as we might want to romanticize it, these people have hard lives struggling to survive.  And yet, we can’t help envying their simple existence and their strong attachment to the land. 

Cavernous Praid Salt Mine

We made another stop at the Praid Salt Mine.  Lonely Planet (who seldom lets us down) described the ride into the underground salt mines as practically apocalyptic, but for us, the site was a disappointment.  The salt mines have been turned into a playground for children, a great place if you are under the age of 12.  It was interesting to see the giant cavern carved out of salt, and the kids having a ball on a salty “rock” climbing wall, equipped with rope harnesses, helmets, and carabineers.  We also got a kick out of the incongruous sight of fathers working on their laptops as their kids played in this immense gymnasium !

Sighisoara

We said la revedere (goodbye) to our fabulous guide Andrei in Sighisoara and struck out on our own.  The small town atmosphere of Sighisoara offered a perfect spot to relax and wander on our own.  In addition to its medieval charms, Sighisoara is the birthplace of Vlad Tepes, aka Dracula. 

Here are pics of us having fun in Sighisoara:

On top of Sighisoara's ancient Clock Tower

Frank finds himself a wench
on the streets of Sighisoara



Anne offers up her neck to the statue of
Vlad Tepes (aka Dracula)







Bucovina: Painted Monasteries, Egg Decorating, and Cabbage



The beautifully painted monastery at Voronet



It was hard to say goodbye to our hosts and new friends Maria and Ioan, but we needed to move on to visit more of rural life in the adjacent region of Bucovina to the east.  One of the top sights here are the Painted Monasteries, the pride of Romania -- treasured churches that are covered with frescoes both inside and out. 



A devil throwing a sinner into the red river of fire!



The intensely colored frescoes from the 15^th century are remarkably well-preserved and describe many popular Bible stories as well as “frighteningly” detailed pictures of the last judgment.  A typical last judgment scene shows sinners (political enemies such as the Turks are at the front of the line) ready to be thrown into the red river of fire.

Resoration work at the Humor Monastery

At one of the monasteries, we were able to observe art restorers at work.  It appeared to be a painstaking effort to replace these unique colors that have faded with age, while restoring personnel stood on wobbly ladder set-ups, or crouched on hard tile floors on bended knee for the duration of the day.  Whisker-thin paint brushes and other unusual tools were the main means of the restoration.  We found it interesting that they do not fill the colors in completely.  This is done purposefully so the restored sections are always obvious -- this method ensures that nobody ever tries to pass off restoration work as the real thing.

Skilled potter in Marginea

We made a stop in the small village of Marginea which is famous for its black pottery.  Luckily, we were able to see a potter at work – he made it look so easy, transforming a lump of black clay into a perfectly proportioned vase in just seconds.  Note that the potter's wheel is operated with a foot pedal; it is not motorized -- everything in the countryside seems to be done manually. 

  

Anne examines a piece of Marginea's black pottery

This pottery is quite an unusual color: more silver than black, and the price was a steal.  Prices are so cheap here in Romania, it is hard not to scoop up all these amazing bargains; problem is that you need so much extra baggage to get all these “bargains” home.

Speaking of bargains, Andrei showed us a house for sale for 60,000 euros (about $78,000).  This was an unbelievably attractive, big house on about 6 acres of land.  Frank keeps telling everyone that if Obama gets a second term, we are going to move to Romania and buy this house!

Young girl shows us how to decorate an egg
the Romanian way

Andrei, our guide, had promised us an egg decorating demonstration, but we had no idea that we would get to decorate eggs ourselves.  This was so much fun – Anne was ready to embark on a new career as a Romanian egg decorator!  We got our lesson from a priest and his wife (sounds weird, I know, but Greek Orthodox priests are allowed to marry) and a young girl from their church who demonstrated the process for us. 



Melting the wax off Frank's egg (with a hair dryer)



Egg decorating is not at all easy.  You begin with a white goose egg (better than the brown chicken eggs, but both are used) and cover any areas with wax that you want to remain white, using a special “pencil” with a narrow metallic spike (that you dip into the hot wax).  After completing the 1^st wax application, you dip the egg in yellow dye and then do a second wax application, which preserves any areas that you want to remain yellow.  You repeat the process with red dye (covering any areas that you want to remain red with the wax), and finish with a dip in black dye.  It’s a layered method that forces you to think in reverse.  The best moment comes at the end when you remove the wax layers and all the colors appear!

Anne shows off her decorated egg

Our eggs were pretty pathetic, but the experience was terrific.  And of course, the priest and his wife gave us palinka (traditional plum brandy of Romania) to drink, and sweet rolls to munch upon.  The hospitality in the Romanian countryside is simply heartwarming.

This is what Romanian eggs look like
when they are decorated by the expert women in the village

Frank stares enviously at the fruits of Bucovina

We have saved the best story for last.  Frank’s favorite experience in Bucovina was visiting “cabbage town” – a village famed for their plethora of cabbages.  We have never seen so many cabbages in one place at one time.  Andrei promised us “mountains of cabbages,” and that is exactly what we got.  Cabbage is easy to grow and consequently, a big staple here in Romania.  A constant stream of customers were buying these cabbages by the sack full.

Frank checks out the kraut-in-a-barrel

Since Frank makes his own sauerkraut back home, we found it interesting to see how they make sauerkraut here in Romania.  Basically, they fill big old wooden barrels that are sitting open out in the fields with as many cabbages as they can jam in there, add  lots of salt, place some large river rocks and old tires on the top (to press down on the cabbage), and let fermentation do its thing.  These vats are about 8 feet in diameter and 6 feet tall, and the strong cabbage juices permeate the air as you approach them. 

Our FDA would go nuts, but apparently, this is the way they have always done it.  Have to admit that it smelled really good!  (Although Frank would love to try this method, Anne says,"Don’t expect to see a big barrel of kraut in our backyard anytime soon!")

More cabbage pics from the cabbage capital of Romania:

Maramures, our “Romanian Brigadoon”

Some of you may remember the wonderful Lerner and Loewe musical “Brigadoon” about a Scottish village that remained unchanged and untouched by the modern world because it only appeared for one day every 100 years.  Well, Maramures is our “Brigadoon,” a land of horse-drawn wooden carts where hand-pitched haystacks dot the landscape and the spires of simplistic wooden churches pierce the sky.  This area is also home to some of the kindest, most genuine down-to-earth people we have ever encountered.

We were fortunate to have Andrei Mahalnischi as our driver/guide through this amazing time warp.  Andrei has a remarkable talent for relating to the local people, and he gave us an unforgettable glimpse into a way of life that has disappeared from the rest of Europe.

We spent three nights in Maramures in the home of Maria and Ioan, the nicest couple you could ever meet who welcomed us into their home and into their hardworking lives.  Ioan is a true proud peasant, a farmer who works the land and cares for his farm animals from dawn to dusk.  He is also a gentle soul who touched Anne’s heart when he handed her a perfect white rose on our last day.

Maria holding a painting of her and Ioan on
their wedding day

Maria is a retired elementary school teacher who fills her days making gorgeous handicrafts and creating the most delicious dishes – every meal was a culinary adventure from incomparably creamy polenta called “mamaliga” (made with sour cream) to an assortment of delicious soups, all made with the freshest ingredients.  Dinner each night consisted of a starter, a soup, a main entrée, and a dessert.  Everything made from scratch with local ingredients – baskets of just baked bread, extra spicy pickles fermented with horseradish, featherweight crepes served with homemade jam.  In Maramures, people never want to appear ungenerous, so the amount of food delivered to our table each night was always overwhelming.  We were constantly torn between not wanting to offend Maria and wanting to be able to fit into our clothes!

Maria and Ioan spoke no English, but they did speak French so that worked out pretty well since both of us have a few years of French under our belts.  Frank and Maria were able to speak Russian as a backup; altho reluctant to do so, Maria understood/spoke some Russian, as we found out. 

Ioan, Andrei, and Maria celebrating
Andrei's 61st birthday

Staying with them was so much fun.  Andrei celebrated his 61st birthday while we were here, so one night Maria and Ioan presented him with a huge homemade cake and sang a Romanian birthday song.  Not to be outdone, Frank played his harmonica and Anne sang “Happy Birthday to You.” 

Creek water for an impromtu "shower"

Of course, rural life is full of surprises.  One morning the entire town was without water.  Unfortunately, Anne was just heading for the shower, but no worries, Ioan arrived on the scene with a big pot of warm water (from the nearby creek, we assumed) along with a smaller saucepan to use as a ladle.  What can you do?  When in Romania, you do like the Romanians!  When the water goes down, you sit in the bathtub and scoop warm creek water over your body as you scrub to get clean.

One of the wooden churches of Maramures

The pride of Maramures are the fabled wooden churches – impressive small buildings with towering Gothic spires completely made of wood.  The government at one point in time disallowed any new churches from being made of stone, so not to be deterred, the peasants made them of wood instead.  Inside, the church walls are decorated with unsophisticated paintings by local talent.  The overall effect is a simple devotion that perfectly matches the people who live here.

Ladies of Maramures shopping at
the Animal Market

On one day, we visited the Animal Market, a traveling band of vendors who move from town to town selling animals and just about anything you would need to buy: horses, cows, pigs, shoes, clothes, furniture, leather goods, cabbage, beets, other food staples, and trinkets galore.  What a zoo!  And the best part was watching all the people of the town doing their shopping.  Everyone was so friendly, and they all seemed amused when we took picture after picture of what to them is just a routine event. 

Vendor bagging a piglet for a lady customer

Anne still can’t get over seeing a woman purchasing a live piglet – the piglet was hoisted up and dropped into a burlap sack by the vendor, and the happy buyer went on her merry way, carrying her squiggling, squealing shopping bag over her shoulder!

Unique grave markers of the Merry Cemetery

Another highlight was the Merry Cemetery (which Anne wrote about in her latest cemetery article).  This was the most colorful cemetery we have ever seen with hand-painted bright blue crosses.  Each cross has a painting of the deceased and a personal epitaph (that Andrei translated for us).  The bright colors are intended to remind us that death is not a sorrowful thing but a new beginning, and each epitaph begins with the reassuring words of the dead person, “I am relaxing here…” 

Cells inside the former prison from the Communist era

The Memorial of Anticommunist Victims was a much more sobering sight because it addressed a period of nasty history on the Romanian calendar.  This museum was dedicated to all the Romanians who suffered imprisonment and often death at the hands of the Russians and the infamous Romanian dictator, Nicolai Ceausescu.  It is impossible for us as Americans to imagine living under these regimes, and the tyranny they rained on their citizens.  One small example:  you needed a permit to own a typewriter and permits were given only to those who needed a typewriter for their jobs.  But it didn’t end there -- every year you had to submit a designated text typed on your typewriter which was kept on file so that it could be used to identify the source of any subversive pamphlets or documents.

Artisan milling corn --
note his traditional Maramures hat

We also visited a local Maramores artisan who seemed to have a regular “industrial complex” in his front yard.  Since his place was located next to a small creek, an active water wheel was able to provide power and water to wash major sized blankets and rugs in a large conical wooden barrel; at the same time, it could also operate a mill stone that ground grains like corn and wheat into flour. 

Making "palinka" in a wood-fired still

But the most interesting operation was the brandy distillery, a rough looking set-up fueled by a wood stove to accelerate grain breakdown and fermentation, and where alcohol was cooled at the final stages by the waters of the creek.  We got the full tour including a taste of the home-brewed palinka (plum, apple, or other fruit brandy).  We were never sure if homemade palinka is exactly legal.  But in this country of Romania, everybody drinks it, everybody makes it, and everybody swears it is medicinal.  Yes, Frank bought a few bottles, and we’re bringing ‘em home to America for those times when we need to fight off those nasty colds!

What a cute Maramures peasant couple!

One morning, Maria gave us a demonstration of carpet-making on her loom.  She is an incredible talent, and weaving on a loom, as we discovered, is just one more of this woman’s long list of capabilities -- and she has been weaving since she was five years old!  For some fun, Maria decked us both out in a selection of her best Romanian garments.  We made quite a pair, and Andrei took lots of pix to capture the moment.

Frank drives the hay wagon with some of the locals

A favorite activity in Maramures was just driving around and stopping whenever something caught our eye.  One day, we stopped to talk with two farmers who had just finished loading their hay wagon, and before we knew what was happening, Andrei had arranged for Frank ride on the wagon and drive the horses.  What a thrill!

We hope this report and these pictures give you a taste of what we experienced in our “Brigadoon.” According to the legend of Brigadoon, no resident can ever leave the town or Brigadoon will disappear forever.  Even in this regard, Marmaures is somewhat similar.  Recently after an especially difficult winter, Maria suggested to Ioan that they sell the farm and move to the city.  Ioan replied, “I can’t leave; this land is my life.”

Faces of Maramures:

Frank hunkers down with the locals and entertains
them with his harmonica