My lovely country

Last week we took a trip into the country.

This is something we are doing each and every spring. It is the best way to find out the condition of the roads, if the crops will be good or if Ileana’s dog has had puppies.

On the first evening, as we were approaching Iasi, we were coming short on gas, but the petrol station we stopped at, could not provide any…since 1997.

In Iasi we have visited the Jewish cemetery. The oldest synagogue in Romania built in the 17^th century is also to be seen here yet it is nowadays under a well deserved restoration process.

The Jewish population in Romania decreased continuously after the atrocities in the WWII.

Sorin was the designated driver and whenever he started looking like this, we knew is time for lunch.

Our next stop was Voronet Monastery. The frescoes here are painted using a color blue which could never be reproduced. Built in the 15^th century, Voronet Monastery is a milestone of the Romanian Orthodox religion.

In Bukovina we have learned that our country has the second largest population of brown bears in Europe (about seven thousand). The brown bear can get up to 780kg (1700lb) and it can make quite a mess when bothered. The one we’ve met looked pretty angry.

In the evening we were invited by Aunt Ileana for dinner. She has also prepared the guest room for us to stay overnight.

Maramures was covered in snow and the air was so fresh…

In the morning we headed towards the “Merry Cemetery”.

This name is due to the vivid colours of the crosses and the amusing poems carved on them. It is said that this joyful attitude towards death is a legacy of the Dacians who believed in the immortality of the soul and that death was only a passage to a better life.

The whole afternoon we have spent visiting The Memorial of the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance in Sighet.

It was very difficult to imagine how could one live in such conditions,once imprisoned in here.

In here we have learned how in communism the reality was distorted.

People were prisoners in their own lives.

Justice was blind.

Few products were available and those were of a poor quality.

Thousands of people suffered during the communist regime, ruled by Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu.

It is our duty to remember those that lost their lives fighting for freedom.

„All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.”- George Orwell – Animal Farm.

Later that day we have crossed the mountains, and found more crosses. We’ve crossed ourselves and continued home.

Once again we found Romania inviting,impressive, interesting.