Feeling a bit sad to leave the picturesque Maramures region, we nonetheless pushed on relentlessly towards Buchovina. We decided to take the pretty mountain road, which unfortunately also in very, very bad condition - with big potholes sometimes covering half the width of the road! The views were pretty and the sun was shining, so all was well - until we had the flat tire. Well, I suppose it was bound to happen at one point... But maybe we were hoping it wouldn't happen in quite such a remote area as it did....
Well, all turned out well, we got the spare tire changed, found a hotel to spend the night (we had a bit of a shock when the lady, who didn't speak a lot of English, said the room would cost 1,000,000 lei! Then we realised she was talking about old lei, so in new lei the price was a more reasonable 100 lei) - and of course the setting was very nice, in the middle of the mountains (we even had time for a bit of a hike). In the morning, we got the tire mended, and on we drove, to Buchovina...
Buchovina is a very rural area, much like the Maramures, very famous for its orthodox monasteries - which are beautifully painted both on the outside and the inside. On our first day in the region, we had time to visit two of them, Moldovita and Sucevita. Both of them were quite stunning, especially the well-restored and beautifully painted interiors. There's still quite a lot to do on the outside - but once they finish the restoration work these monasteries will be amazing! (well, they already are).
Buchovina isn't all about monasteries though - the scenery there is very beautiful as well, in the middle of the Carpathian mountains. There are also plenty of traditions and old rural life in Buchovina, and lovely little villages. We also had time for some hiking, and for visiting a real gem of a church Arbore - where we even got a guided tour in kind of a mixture of Italian and French!
We did get a bit of a taster of Buchovian life also, staying at a very remote farm (we were quite worried about getting another flat tire, driving there!) in the middle of Buchovina. Our host turned out to be quite a character. We were greeted by his dad, a cranky old Romanian, and had to wait for the son's arrival. He did finally arrive, in quite a merry mood after quite a few shots of Tuica (the local liquor, made from plums). Quite a place, his farm! Our living quarters were, by Romanian standards, pretty luxurious (kind of reminds me of a Finnish log cabin) - covered by animal furs (apparently from his hunting trips...). The dinner didn't disappoint either, almost everything on the table was produced at the farm or in the village (including the wine and tuica, both of which I had a wee bit too much of...). At this point, we found out that our host was also the mayor of the town (and later we heard that he used to be a general under Ceausescu!).
After such a great stay, we left with a heavy heart (and me, with a sore head), but such is life. The next day we visited some more Buchovian landmarks, starting with a salt mine in Cacica (which interestingly enough is a Polish village, complete with catholic church) - an interesting place with an underground sport hall, a couple of chapels and some nice carvings in the rock.
Then we visited 2 other monasteries, Humor and Voronet. Especially Voronet was absolutely stunning, with maybe the best-preserved paintings we saw in Buchovina (both on the inside and outside).
Then it was once more time to head off, as our time in Romania was nearing its end...
Well, all turned out well, we got the spare tire changed, found a hotel to spend the night (we had a bit of a shock when the lady, who didn't speak a lot of English, said the room would cost 1,000,000 lei! Then we realised she was talking about old lei, so in new lei the price was a more reasonable 100 lei) - and of course the setting was very nice, in the middle of the mountains (we even had time for a bit of a hike). In the morning, we got the tire mended, and on we drove, to Buchovina...
Buchovina is a very rural area, much like the Maramures, very famous for its orthodox monasteries - which are beautifully painted both on the outside and the inside. On our first day in the region, we had time to visit two of them, Moldovita and Sucevita. Both of them were quite stunning, especially the well-restored and beautifully painted interiors. There's still quite a lot to do on the outside - but once they finish the restoration work these monasteries will be amazing! (well, they already are).
Buchovina isn't all about monasteries though - the scenery there is very beautiful as well, in the middle of the Carpathian mountains. There are also plenty of traditions and old rural life in Buchovina, and lovely little villages. We also had time for some hiking, and for visiting a real gem of a church Arbore - where we even got a guided tour in kind of a mixture of Italian and French!
We did get a bit of a taster of Buchovian life also, staying at a very remote farm (we were quite worried about getting another flat tire, driving there!) in the middle of Buchovina. Our host turned out to be quite a character. We were greeted by his dad, a cranky old Romanian, and had to wait for the son's arrival. He did finally arrive, in quite a merry mood after quite a few shots of Tuica (the local liquor, made from plums). Quite a place, his farm! Our living quarters were, by Romanian standards, pretty luxurious (kind of reminds me of a Finnish log cabin) - covered by animal furs (apparently from his hunting trips...). The dinner didn't disappoint either, almost everything on the table was produced at the farm or in the village (including the wine and tuica, both of which I had a wee bit too much of...). At this point, we found out that our host was also the mayor of the town (and later we heard that he used to be a general under Ceausescu!).
After such a great stay, we left with a heavy heart (and me, with a sore head), but such is life. The next day we visited some more Buchovian landmarks, starting with a salt mine in Cacica (which interestingly enough is a Polish village, complete with catholic church) - an interesting place with an underground sport hall, a couple of chapels and some nice carvings in the rock.
Then we visited 2 other monasteries, Humor and Voronet. Especially Voronet was absolutely stunning, with maybe the best-preserved paintings we saw in Buchovina (both on the inside and outside).
Then it was once more time to head off, as our time in Romania was nearing its end...
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