Day 9 - From Bucharest to Vienna

Bucharest is looking better every time I visit, which is about yearly. More buildings are renovated and therefore have clean facades that highlight their beauty. Most of them are historical buildings, like the Coltea Hospital in the center of the capital.  This is how it looks through the window of "La Placinte" - a fantastic restaurant serving traditional Romanian pies.

Romanian "placinta cu branza" is a traditional savory or sweet pie worth a million bucks!

We waved farewell to Bucharest and Romania with a visit to our "Central Park" named Cismigiu.  A quick paddle boat ride and we left...

La revedere, Bucuresti!

We arrived in Vienna late at night, but my guide for this trip, Chloe, pulled the city metro map out, got tickets and found the way to the hotel without a glitch! And this is our first time in a country whose language we don't speak at all. 

Day 8 - Back to Bucharest

We left Macin and my parents and drove to Bucharest - thank you, Elena! Smooth drive through the Baragan plains, warm and breezy... Of the almost 180 miles, only 50  were on a two-lane highway, when we approached Bucharest. The rest was on roads with one lane each way shared with horse-drawn carriages and bikes. But first, we crossed the Danube on the ferry boat.  It was hot enough for others to travel with minimalist wardrobes...

Understandably, the ride was long... But the company was great, sky seemed powdered in sugar, and the land was colorfully split in lots with sunflowers, corn, wheat, and more...

Finally in Bucharest again, and back to civilization again, we walked on Calea Victoriei from the University Square to the Romanian Atheneum. This is one of the most beautiful music halls I've ever seen- in the background below...

Even if they forgot to turn on the lights 😉, I loved its ghost behind this billboard announcing the "Festival Dilema" (yes, dilemma).  Thinking back about Macin, my dilemma from the past 40 years is why can't Romania build a bridge over the Danube at Braila! Such a bridge would spare me from watching confused people run in speedos on ferry boats and would strengthen Dobrudja's economy tremendously. Both are very important reasons.

The day ended at a really special boutique restaurant, Chocolat. Merci, Elena! 

Legend:

1. Cardio detox (yum if you add honey to sweeten it). 2. Salt and pepper mills with futuristic design that led Chloe into thinking that it was an anti mosquito spray 😆. 3. Gorgeous "martisor" dessert. 4. Menu encyclopedia with pictures.  

Day 7 - Countryside Beauties

We went to the forests of Luncavita today, about 30 km from Macin.  Luncavita is over the Macin Mountains, which are about 1500 feet high, but there is no road crossing over them, just mountains paths. The road goes around them through villages and fields cultivated with sunflower, wheat, corn and other crop. Here is a sunflower field.

In Garvan, one of the villages before Luncavita, villagers, who are also farmers, sit by the side of the road selling their produce. The freshest fruit and vegetables imaginable! The picture speaks for itself. 

Finally, here is a picture from the forest of Luncavita full of linden, ash and beech trees.  It was nice to enjoy the shade and cooler temperatures, the bright green and sound of forest birds.

Day 6 - The Danube

My parents inherited a small house in Macin, which belonged to a couple of elderly people.  Although unrelated with the couple, my parents were friends with them and my father gardened in their yard, sharing the harvest with them. My mother looked after the elderly lady before she passed away.  When they moved into the renovated house, my parents also upgraded the chicken coop, built a garage and did a lot of improvements to the garden. Thus, this amazing garden my father has and which feeds them all year round!  Many goods are shared with friends, too.  My mom preserves veggies and fruit for the winter and seriously, her rose, sour cherry, bitter cherry, quince, green walnut, red currant, blackberry, strawberry, and apricot preserves are scrumptious out-of-the-whole-world YUMMY! They have chickens, bees, a dog and the young tomcat, Nelutzu.

Here are my beloved parents, the retired teachers and current farmers:

But I said this blog was about the Danube, since Macin is on the old arm of the river, on one side of the Big Island of Braila, I feel like it is a pillar of the town's charm and history.  I take a walk on the Danube's edge every time I visit home.  In better times, a boat went from Macin to Braila, the bigger city.  The river is beautiful, but the problem is that it cuts Macin off from the rest of the country, and I am certain this affects the local economy and trade, and thus prices and businesses.  A bridge over the Danube at Braila would improve life in Macin exponentially and more people would use this path to go to the Black Sea also... For now, Macin is a deeply dormant port.

Last but not least, today I had the emotional reunion with some high school mates at 30 years from graduation.  I was touched to share the bench again with the woman who sat next to me for the whole four high school years.  I had not seen most of these people in 20-30 years although high school was the time of most school adventures and growth...

Day 5 - Tennis and Storks

Two great surprises in Macin today! A small tennis club, brand new with two clay courts. After seeing so many abandoned buildings, the old apartment buildings with peeling facades, the weeds popping through all roads and destroyed sidewalks, and the large number of streets paved with uneven granite blocks, I was happy to find two clay courts in reasonable condition.  They belong to a young guy who charges quite a bit for renting them, but he also teaches the kids from the Student's Club how to play tennis.  He built them on a house lot, thus the corn in the background. 

Next to the courts, on a wooden light pole, sat a beautiful, large stork nest with a family in it.  Today's pictures are not my best, but mom and dad stork are easy to distinguish.  I used to love seeing these birds when I grew up.  They'd be the good news that winter was over when they arrived in Macin from faraway warm places.  And when they took off for good in late August or September, I knew the summer ended, too.  

To end the short blog of today, here's a dahlia from my mother's garden, and of course a hard working bee...

Day 4 - Of Bees, Abandoned Buildings, and Heat

I perceive all the bees in one beehive as one body.   At least one truly Royal family!  Despite the heat (37C or 98F), they fly and harvest all day, then at night they buzz around the entrance of the beehive to cool off and ventilate it. My father has four beehives, but they are more like four pets to him. Years ago, he mourned when disease decimated his bees.  For a while he couldn't start his apiary activity anymore. Just a few years ago, he restarted with one beehive, then one more and then two more.  

Walking through the streets of Macin, whee I grew up four decades ago, I feel divided emotions of pride and disappointment.  The town's commerce flourished after the Revolution in 1989, but it's a trade of knickknacks, the stores are built in small houses and can be easily taken as mini bazaars.  Prices are all over the place. Some people had initiative and made efforts to start even other businesses, but overall the town is full of contrast. Many people also go temporarily to other countries in Europe, work hard to make money and then return to build big houses in Macin.  On one hand, I can see how some buildings are pretty and modern. On the other hand, many other buildings, some private homes and some old headquarters, have been left unkempt or were abandoned. Town sores like this litter Macin. There are no funds to restore and rebuild...  I am so sorry to see the cinema theater and even the bus station fall apart!  I remember them full of life, centers of urban activity... 

Another hot day, slightly humid, when everyone is hiding in the shade. Good time to read, write... or sleep...

Day 3 - Treats!

We're enjoying the best Macin and family have in store for us! 

My father's garden is THE cornucopia I believe. Here's a sample.

My mother's pantry partially filled with preserves and dried plants for infusion are an equal wealth. Everything comes from their garden, where even the bee hives reside. Yes, the jugs are filled with honey!

Not sure which preserve Chloe had in these scrumptious "clatite" (crepes) made by maitsa. 

Today's oddities were: 1) the church built in the school's yard; and 2) watermelon with seeds! 😂😂😂

Sadly, we had to go to the hospital today, and if I say it was depressing, everyone must agree with me. These pictures of a hallway and an exam room speak for themselves. Luckily, we're all well.