1- The Byzantine Catholic Church in Romania was legalized in 1990 after losing all their churches to the state church under communism. Most churches have not been given back, so they are constructing new ones. The icon screens are usually much simpler than in the old days.
2- Romania is well-known for its use of wood. Here are the little ones playing with a wooden slide at a trout hatchery restaurant.
4- We climbed the 'secret staircase' at Bran Castle, supposedly Vlad Tepes' castle (of Dracula fame) but really a fortress and then the palace of the royal family in modern times.
5- Boy relaxes on the balcony on the eighth floor in his grandparents' apartment in the 'new center' of the city.
6- We are lucky to attend the feast day Divine Liturgy and celebration of a friend's village in 'Historic Maramures,' northwest Romania close to the Ukrainian border.
Bonus cuteness: our 5 year old cutie-pie
Beautiful pictures!! Thank you for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous. And Romania is moving up in my "visit with the girl" in our world tour list :)
ReplyDeleteit is worth it- still a bit like 'adventure traveling'- but it is home...I am willing to give tips!
DeleteThanks for giving me a smile this morning.
Deletewaiting for you to come and visit! I'm only teaching half a class at the college- so I have loads of time!
DeleteThanks for sharing! I was just in Budapest and the Balkans on a 2 week group travel tour. :) The churches (Catholic and Orthodox) are no less magnificent. Not every church allows photos though so check the signs at the door. Finally, hours are subject to change for visiting!
ReplyDeleteI also attended weekend Mass in Budapest and Dubrovnik so it was worth the experience to hear it in Hungarian and Croatian. The locals didn't notice I was responding in English and weren't put out when I said "Peace with you" during the Sign of Peace.
Budapest is so beautiful- I haven't been to Dubrovnik- but I spent time in Zagreb, Vir and Krk- such awesome places- we are blessed to visit!
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