Tenth Entry: Romania and the Painted Monasteries

We left Kiev in a big rain enroute to Suceava, Romania, stopping for breakfast, lunch and customs. The border stops-one departing Ukraine; one for entering Romania-didn't seem to take as long as the one hour stop on the train. But, it did seem a bit tense. JP and I had to get out of the vehicle at one point. The passport stamps show the mode of transportation--a car, train, etc. Driving all day, we met our lovely hostess (our driver's sister) and their parents at their little grocery store. A delightful family! It was dark then so we didn't see Fernando's Hideaway until the morning. We stayed in their house that was modeled after the old-style Romania houses. (A portion of land had been returned to the family after the collapse of communism.) It's 'out in the country,' and is set away from the road. A neighbor lit the fireplaces prior to our arrival so we would be comfortable.

 

Hands preparing supper; Palinca and native pottery

The wood stove that serves as a fireplace, too.



Every bite and sip....delicious!
Sarniale and niamaliga (polenta), Palinca and white wine from Cotnari,
Cozonac (Moldovian cake), and Lavanda tea



The entrance to Fernando's Hideaway
We awoke to a beautiful day.

First stop of the day:  a tiny museum

Since the key wasn't available, we saw it the next best way.



Common transportation
The horses always have a touch of red for good fortune.



Selling extra crops along side the road



Knock or ring the bell to buy here.

Stork's nest
Unfortunately, they had just migrated south.

Voronet Monastery

Suchevista

Market

Author's house

Popa Museum-an incredible collection of art, masks,

artifacts, culture, and works of Popa. I bought one of

the last carved wooden bowls that was for sell.

 JP and Mrs. Popa. What a delightful little lady! She burst into

song as she took us through the hallway lined with a wonderful

collection of Romanian art.

Some of Popa's whimsical sculptures

Ninth Entry: Kiev-A Short, Memorable Visit

We arrived in Kiev from our night of rest in our sleeper car, exchanged some money, and caught a taxi to our 'apartment.'  The driver turned into the alley, but there were no signs. We all got out of the taxi and started looking. The driver asked me for the phone number which we had. He called, we piled back into the taxi, and he drove down another alley. After a couple of calls and talking with a couple of people in the area, we went into a building and down some stairs. The door's sign to the entrance stated, "Dating Service." We went in and waited. From where I sat, hanging strings of plastic beads revealed a room with a wall covered by girls' pictures and information. Since it wasn't check in time, we left the luggage and went out to get a bite to eat. Upon our return, the clerk insisted that we pay for our guide's room and take the keys as, "This is not a hotel. It's apartments. We don't have people on duty all night."

We paid for both rooms and followed her as she showed us the two apartments in two separate buildings on two separate streets. No signs of any kind. Now I had copied bits and pieces of info about our trip, and I had copied the driver/guide's phone number. I could not get a connection. We went into a building with a room of phones where one buys time. I did manage to get Flint who was just about to go the airport enroute home. He would try to call when he got home. I continued to call, but to no avail. I tried sending messages from the WiFi at McDonald's to Andriy and our Romanian guide's boss, but no luck. My dear Flint came through! When he got home, he managed to connect with our guide. As the guide was still a distance from Kiev, he would call Flint when he was closer to establish a meeting plan. In the meantime, JP and I roamed around our area. This is a great location for many of the sights of Kiev.

St. Sophia

Atop a wedding car

Looking to St. Cyril's

The Bell Tower

 JP and I strolled around the area, ate a bite, and waited. Flint finally called, and we established that O'Brien's Pub in the area would be the best place to meet. Flint called again when our guide arrived (9:00 p.m. or so), we walked down the street, met him, took him to his apartment with a plan to meet at 8:00 a.m. in the morning for our trip to Romania.

It may have been this day that JP said, "Aunt Jan, you're not as relaxed traveling as you used to be."

Part of JP's and my apartment. Newly refurbished, very clean, and three doors to unlock to get in....the building, a hallway door that opened into a small storage hallway, then the apartment door.

Eighth Entry: Ukraine Countryside to Kiev

The beautiful Carpathians

 Exterior of the fence house

No chimneys-just vents in the roof-as it served as

a smokehouse for meats.

The living area surrounded the center courtyard. Animals

lived in exterior rooms that provided insulation.

 A well

 As we walked to the musician's house, we came upon

a pig being slaughtered.

The musician's house...he collects a little bit of everything!

Traditional clothes

He plays many instruments. One of the first songs was

the same tune as "The Arkansas Traveler."

Wool on the fence

On up the road-the woolen products

Easter Egg Museum

Wonderful small museum with beautifully decorated eggs. The docents

apologized that the lights were out; therefore, we couldn't see exhibits in the

interior rooms. When we left the museum and walked through town, all the lights

were out. Shopkeepers took this time to sweep the sidewalks,

arrange outside displays, and chat with neighbors.

Great location for wedding pictures

Our dear guide, Andriy

The market...ladies stand in line to sell their goods, food, milk, etc.

Dining with Andriy and his beautiful wife....

It was at this time he booked our room in Kiev and one for our guide (from another

agency) who would meet us. The place looked fine, and since we only had an overnight

stay in Kiev....yes, we planned this trip in a hurry....it was in an ideal location.

Looking out the window in our rail car

Very pleasant sleeper car for our trip from Ivano-Frankivs'k

to Kiev. JP and I were extremely thankful for

Andriy because when we saw the big train sign in

Cyrillic, we just looked at each other! What would we have done

without him?!