In My Mailbox

So, in the last two weeks, I've actually had mail. Twice!

Package #1: Tax papers...not that exciting, but at least the envelope was entertaining!


In case you can't read that, it says, "Why you should love me forever..." and shows Jenny standing in the long line at the post office (thus giving her time to draw on the envelope!). And the cultural observation, "At least they stand in line here" (here as in Georgia, not Romania, where we just mob).

Thanks, Jenny, for being my chief-mail-forwarder and for making mail even more exciting!

And THANK YOU, too, to the TumSuden family who sent me a fun (and very unexpected!) package from New Jersey.



Since I've had little appetite and absolutely no motivation to cook for the last 2 weeks, it's nice to have some things that take little time or effort!

And thanks to my Father, too, who knows exactly when I need unexpected blessings like these to keep me sane.

Unfortunate

Today I'm working on writing an article for ABWE's Message magazine and was just reviewing some pictures to find some possibilities to accompany the article. I came across this one, taken in the city of Tulcea in March 2006.

Unfortunate name. 'Nuff said.

(And, no, that one's not in the running for submission to ABWE!)

It's True...

I saw it with my own eyes. We will soon be eatin' good in the neighborhood!

is coming to the Bucharest Mall!

Um, of course, that means we won't be eatin' good in my neighborhood (not really in the cooking mood these days)...but at least there's a good reason for a road trip!

Playin' At the Park

The kids were all on Easter break this last week, so we took advantage of a beautiful Friday to have a picnic with the teenagers from church. Walks through the woods, group games, good food off the grill, and a little bit of sunburn - all in all, a great time!

Ultima Zi

The last day that Sarah was here we tried to fit in all of the things we hadn't been able to do before - all on our way back to Bucharest for Sarah's flight out early Wednesday morning.

The first stop was the ancient Saxon city of Sighisoara, about 50 km. from Targu Mures.


In a quiet room somewhere in this house, Vlad Tepes (later known as Vlad the Impaler, the "real" Dracula) was born. Do you see the "Dracula" in front of the door? There is now a restaurant in the ground floor, complete with Dracula-costumed waiters if you arrive at just the right time.











So while we were up in the walled part of the Old City, Sarah decided to take a look over the side of the wall. Nice...we felt so safe.

From Sighisoara, we went on to Brasov for lunch (the oh-so-Romanian KFC) and a quick tour of the Black Church and the downtown area.





Next stop, Castle Bran, traditionally known as Dracula's castle - even though the only real historical connection between Vlad and this castle was the time he laid siege to it. It was however a home to Romanian royalty, specifically Queen Marie, the last queen of Romania. And now a nice tourist trap, complete with bottles of "Dracula's Blood" wine.







After a kind-of-scary drive through the mountains with a misbehaving van, we made finally made it to Bucharest, and Sarah enjoyed her first visit to Ikea (seriously...we don't have such things in Grand Rapids!).



Late night dinner at "La Mama" ("at mom's" - Romanian homestyle food), and then we crashed at the guest apt. in Bucharest for a few hours. Most flights to the US with connections anywhere in Europe leave here between 6 and 6:30 am. Factor in two-hour-early arrival time and a 45 minute drive to the airport and...well, it was an early morning. But the misbehaving van and I made a bit of peace (at least enough to get to the airport and back). Then a quick trip to the doctor's office in the nether regions of Bucharest and then a long train ride home. Sleep for a week? Wouldn't that be nice!

Adevarat C-a Inviat!

Beginning on Easter morning, people greet each other - at church, on the street or even on the telephone - with "HRISTOS A INVIAT!" ("Christ arose!") and respond with "ADEVARAT C-A INVIAT!" ("It's true that He arose" or, as we say in English, "He is risen indeed!") On Easter and the days immediately following, even newscasts open with that greeting. That will probably continue for another week or so. Oh, that more people here would truly understand what Christ's resurrection could mean for their lives!


The teens and the children all had parts in the "2nd Day of Easter" service Monday morning. I wish I knew how to edit and post video - little kids with microphones are always good for a little entertainment :)

Easter Sunday I invited the staff from the English school here in town over for dinner. I have a hard time finding good ham here, so we had a good turkey instead (makes up for the ultra pathetic turkey I had at Thanksgiving!). More importantly, we had a great time just hanging out together and celebrating Christ's resurrection.



Coming soon to a blog near you: Ultima Zi - the Last Day

Trip to the Countryside

Some of our teammates from Hungary decided to come to Romania for Easter weekend and take a quick tour of some of the Transylvanian sights (Transylvania has changed hands between Hungary and Romania several times and there are still areas - including Targu Mures - that are predominantly Hungarian). They came into town Thursday evening, and on Friday we drove out toward some of the Hungarian villages with them. After about an hour on the road, they went off in one direction and we headed toward the village of Korund, where a lot of the traditional Romanian pottery is made. More souvenir shopping! And, of course, more picture taking, too!

Storks' nests are pretty common here, and now's the time of year when they are finally occupied again. Sarah jumped out of the car (after I stopped...) and ran back a bit to catch this picture.







Next Up: Easter

Holy Week in Targu Mures

We spent the second week of Sarah's visit at home in Targu Mures. After being on the road for almost two weeks (one for ministry, one with Sarah), I was glad to finally get home, sleep in my own bed, do laundry, and cook my own food.

This week was Holy Week, and in Romania that means church...and lots of it! The church program is designed to help believers remember and really think about the events leading up to Christ's arrest and crucifixion - all in preparation to celebrate His resurrection, victory over death and sin. In total, 6 services in 5 days (some village churches have more!), starting with the Lord's Supper on Thursday and continuing through the "second day of Easter" which is apparently celebrated in many places around the world. I'm still not used to Romanian Easter music, much of which sounds more like a funeral dirge to me than a resurrection celebration (cultural adaptation never ends...my ears aren't there yet).

After church one evening, we did make time to go take pictures of the city. I'm still playing with my little camera, trying to find out just what it is capable of (or what my brain is capable of telling it to do). I'm still trying to figure out night shots - but here are a couple of tries!





Bet your city doesn't have random "Happy Easter" lights...

Going Home

As promised, here is the next installment of the "trip across Romania" travelogue. Sunday, April 1, we went to church at Holy Trinity Baptist Church in Bucharest in the morning and then immediately hit the road so that I could make it back to Targu Mures in time for choir rehearsal that evening (I had already missed the week before and we were preparing several songs for Easter). Sarah wasn't a big fan of the road from Bucharest to Targu Mures, especially the sections going through the mountains (it's hard to sleep in the car when the car keeps throwing you from one side to the other through those hairpin turns!).

I manned the steering wheel, so Sarah manned the camera. Actually, the video camera...which doesn't really take great pictures, especially when moving at 60 kph! But here are a few shots, anyway.






Up next: Holy Week in Targu Mures

A Day on the Town

By Saturday, I think Sarah & I were both a little tired of traveling, so we stayed in the city and did the tourist thing. We visited "old town" Bucharest (or what's left of it...Ceaucescu had much of it destroyed to make way for new "modern" construction), Piata Unirii (the "Times Square" of Bucharest), and Piata Revolutiei, where there is now a large monument to the 1989 Revolution. I didn't take any pictures, since I already have lots from all of these places. But, never fear, there was still a lot of day left and a lot of space on my camera card :)
From Piata Revolutiei, we walked to the Romanian Athenaeum, a beautiful concert hall in the heart of the city. The interior is even more impressive than the exterior; I went to a symphony concert there not long I arrived in Romania.

Mihai Eminescu, one of Romania's most famous writers, stands guard at the entrance to the Athenaeum.

And the pigeons stand guard over the entrance.

From the Athenaeum in the center of the city, we drove to the Village Museum at the edges of the city. The village museum was constructed to exhibit the different styles of village houses, churches, etc. from all around the country and from different time periods. Actual buildings were "deconstructed" in their original locations, transported to Bucharest, and then reconstructed in their new setting on the edge of a huge city park. Some are furnished and decorated as they would be in the traditional village setting.

This was my first visit to Muzeul Satului, and it was the absolute best time of the year to visit. Each year during the week preceding Palm Sunday the Village Museum hosts an exhibition of traditional village crafts and music. So, craftsmen from all over the country were exhibiting and selling their wares - all in one place. Sarah had the best souvenir shopping opportunities of anyone I've taken shopping in Romania! We also saw traditional singers and dancers in Romanian national costume. The men's chorus from Bucovina had amazing harmonies and the dancers, well, they were Romanian dancers. They basically shuffle 6 inches in either direction and then back the other way. Sarah says they dance like Baptists :)

I'm not sure that the copper still really qualifies as a "traditional craft", but I guess...

The next shot is my favorite from the whole day (although some of the pottery shots come close). It might even make it into a frame and onto the wall in my black-and-white hallway.


Coming up tomorrow: Going home