Thursday, July 31, 2014

From Cluj to Dej and Rădăuți

Back to Romania! Let me tell you... that is one beautiful place to visit. We were so lucky to have friends from there who could show us around and translate. I know they were so exhausted trying to translate and remember who to speak English to and who to speak to in Romanian, which was switched up a few times to all of our amusement. They'd say something to one of us in the wrong language, and we'd just stare blankly and laugh. :)  We really appreciated it though. I did my best with Romanian spelling and names in this blog. Hopefully I didn't mess up anything too horribly! Feel free to let me know so I can fix it.

On day 2, we took a road trip to Rădăuți, where Dan grew up. On the way, we stopped in Dej to visit Ana's parents.

Ana's Uncle, Aunt, and Mom.
 After breakfast we got back on the road. We saw a sign for Hotel Castel Dracula and couldn't resist.  hehe.
Ana's brother Catalin, Ana, Dan, and Me!
Steve in front of the Bram Stoker statue, which is really funny because Bram Stoker has never been there, and this is not the real Dracula's Castle.

 But it was fun anyway... hehe
 I walked down the hillside for a better view of the countryside. It was worth it.
 Transylvania is beautiful. You really need to visit if you haven't been there. I mean, seriously, look at that.


 Coffee stop!

 Photo stop!


Me and Ana.
 We made it to Rădăuți! Dan's dad greeted us with some lovely gifts and had the restaurant, Pensiunea Tarancuta, ready to serve us breakfast!
Dan, Dan's dad, Me, Steve, Catalin

Cow, goat, and sheep cheeses with slanina (pork fat). So good!

Ana, Dan, Dan's dad, Steve, Catalin
 After eating, we took a trip to some monasteries. Stefan the Great was said to have built a monastery for each battle he won.

Putna Monastery





Dan's brother, Stefan, getting some well water.

Hermitage Monastery Putna


 It was so pretty inside. I could have spent hours looking at all of the paintings.
 Below is a replica of the Shroud of Turin. The image of the man shows wounds consistent with Biblical descriptions of crucifixion.  From what I've read, some people believe it's Jesus, but radiocarbon dating places this in the Medieval period. I suppose it's controversial. I'd never heard of it until I saw this replica. Either way, it's very interesting.

 On our way out we stopped to have a drink from a spring that locals and those at the monastery consider to be healing water.



Storms are coming. Hadn't seen those in a while.

 Rădăuți

Small monastery down the street from the restaurant, Pensiunea Tarancuta.



Radauti Cathedral





Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Immune system crashing - Advice?

Well folks. I think after being sick for over a week after travels that my immune system has crashed. Now I'm plagued with severe sinus headaches. I take meds when it's unbearable, but I don't like to take too many because after a while my stomach starts to hurt. I can't take vitamin C tablets because the high dosage makes me sick. I was taking them for about 2 weeks once to recover from something, and I got vitamin C toxicity. It was miserable. So that's not an option. I have some immunity boosting tablets. I guess I could take those? Any other ideas? I'm trying to eat healthy... lots of fruits (berries) and vegetables. I can't have oranges. I'm allergic. Seriously, I break out in hives. Crazy, right?

Green tea?

Are there specific fruits and veg that help the immune system (NOT oranges)?

Help! I'm tired of being sick. :(


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Cluj, Romania - City views

A couple of weeks ago, Steve and I met our friends, Dan and Ana, in Romania for some fun. Our first day was spent in Cluj, the capital of Transylvania, where they used to live.


They took us to a cafe for lunch. We had Varza a la Cluj, which is a dish made with seasoned cabbage mixed with minced meat and served with smoked pork. It was yummy!

 Then, we took a walk around town.




This is part of the original wall that used to surround the city.
 We took a short climb up a hill to get a view of the city from above!
 Colorful isn't it?


Dan decided to photo bomb the picture!

And here we are laughing at him!



Here is the menu from dinner. The current page lists the types of pălincă. It's their popular liquor made from fermented fruit.

Thanks to Dan and Ana for taking us around town!