Tag Archives: Romania

Medieval Abstraction

05 Friday Dec 2014

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Raznov fortress.

Raznov fortress.

By JULIE SEYLER

I had an art teacher who said “The more you see, the more you see.”

It is true. I have never ceased hearing her speak that axiom, especially when I travel. There are the guide book sights to see and check off the list (the Painted Monasteries, Notre Dame, Big Ben, etc.) and then there are the crevices that make paintings.

Window. Sighisoara.

Looking up a window. Sighisoara.

We were in Romania for 14 days and although we spent all of our time visitng medieval monasteries and exploring medieval fortresses  while residing in medieval towns, I never got tired of seeing it. So while I made sure to hit the destination spots, it was what I did not expect that delivered so many revelations.

This is the staircase in the 13th century Clock Tower in Sighisoara. descending staircaseThe cityscape was an interlocking maze of houses, narrow and dense in their intensity of direction. P1280472And then there was the myopic view:

Close up of a wall on a home in Sibiu dating back to the 15th century

Close up of a wall on a home from the 15th century

What is the best part is that each photo brings me back to that day in that place at the time I snapped the photo. Ergo I get taken back to Romania.

Transylvania, Part 2: Checking Out Dracula’s Castle

02 Tuesday Dec 2014

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Count Dracula's Castle. Bran, Romania

Count Dracula’s Castle. Bran, Romania

BY JULIE SEYLER

No one plans a trip to Romania without making a visit to Count Dracula’s castle in Bran. Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel which inspired Bela Lugosi’s 1931 portrayal of the blood sucking Count and Klaus Kinski’s taloned apparition of Nosferatu the Vampyre in Werner Herzog’s 1979 version guarantees that Bran Castle will always draw the tourist trade. But sight-seer beware!

Looking up at Bran Castle

Looking up at Bran Castle

Dracula’s home, a conglomeration of medieval fortress and rambling 17th century castle stocked with the emblems of the landed gentry which became the abode of Romanian royalty in the early 20th century, is a bit of a disappointment despite the dramatic views of Transylvania available from every window.

View of Transylvania landscape from inside Bran Castle.

View of Transylvania landscape from inside Bran Castle.

The key is to approach the Castle for its sense of historical significance, knowing that its foundations date back to 1382 when it was built on a citadel as a defense against the Ottomans. Then, as you wander through the maze of rooms taking in the bear rugs, the exquisite details of the hand carved armoires and the displays of armor worn to ward off weapons, you see it holistically as footnote in the history of Romania, not simply as a movie set.

Bear rug. Bran Castle

Bear rug. Bran Castle

Carved wooden cabinet.

Carved wooden cabinet.

some weaponsThe room-by-room traipse is carefully orchestrated so that you and your fellow tourists can take in the 700 year history of the castle in an orderly manner as you are guided up to the Dracula section. Here you learn the story of the man behind the legend in words and pictures. Bram Stoker, a writer from Ireland, weaved remnants of Eastern European folklore, romance and fangs into an original horror tale based on Vlad Tepes, a 15th century nobleman renowned for the number of people he murdered. He used Bran Castle as a fortress haven.

The association between Count Dracula, the vampire imagined by Bram Stoker and the original chracter-Vlad Tepes- Dracula -Prince of Wallachia (1448, 1456-62; 1476), who spent his childhood in Transylvania, is due to the prince’s bloody avenger nature. The Wallachian volvode got this popular surname “Tepes”, (the impaler) because of his cruel habit to apply the capital sentence by impaling , and he inherited his second surname , ‘Dracula’ (meaning the Devil’s son in Slavonic language) , from his father Vlad Dracul

After all this, you emerge into the gift shop selling magnets of Vlad and the outdoor tourist stalls selling the standby tchochkalas of Romania. The perfect finale to a sight-seeing excursion.

Tourist stall. Bran.

Tourist stall. Bran.

Romania: The Royal Art Museum

20 Monday Oct 2014

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At the Royal Art Museum

At the Royal Art Museum.

BY JULIE SEYLER

We arrived home from Romania, and the sidebar excursions to Paris and London, around midnight Saturday, October 18. I have started culling the 3500 photos I took, and was brought back to the afternoon we spent wandering the National Art Museum in Bucharest. Architecturally, it is a testament to 19th century palatial elegance.

Postcard of National Art Museum 1937-38.

Postcard of National Art Museum 1937-38.

It was built between 1812 to 1815 (the approximate time the U.S. was engaged in the War of 1812 with Great Britain). It started as a private residence, was taken over by royalty in 1834, housed the seat of the State Council during the reign of Nicolae Ceausescu, and opened as an art museum in 2000. Its collection ranges from embroidered tapestries dating to the 14th century to paintings by European masters like Lucas Cranach the Elder and Rembrandt to sculptures by its native son, Constantin Brancusi, and others I never heard of.

Venus and Cupid by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Venus and Cupid by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Emroidery with silver gilt thread Neamt Monastery 14th century?

Emroidery with silver gilt thread Neamt Monastery, 14th century?

The Chimera of Air by Dimitrie Pachurea 1873-1922

The Chimera of Air by Dimitrie Pachurea 1873-1922.

But one of the best unexpected finds was the grand staircase leading up to the European galleries:

stairs at the Royal Art Museum Bucharest

It had endless angles …

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… and curves to explore.

National art museum stairs 1

It was like looking at a giant heart:

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A Few Bites from the Land of Dracula

14 Tuesday Oct 2014

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Enjoy this pictorial for the palate sent by Julie, who has been traveling through Romania for the past two weeks. Who knew? Romania is, apparently, a foodie destination — with menus rich in range and steeped in flavor. Meals, according to Julie, included “the best tabbouleh ever,” veal knuckles, and Spaghetti Bolognese.

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The square in Piata Mica, Sibiu Romania.

The food in Romania is decadent. From fried pork appetizers to papanash, a donut covered with cream and sweet berries, there is always something to make you worry about your cholesterol and waistline. Of course – salads are always an option.~Julie

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Julie said, even though “Martini” was “on” the menu, there were none.

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See below for what this is called …

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"Best Tabbouleh EVER!"

“Best tabbouleh EVER!”

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Bean and Bacon Soup in Bread.

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Salad.

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Veal Knuckles.

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Fried Pork with Raw Onion.

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Spaghetti.

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The servers.

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The desserts.

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Papanash (cheese and sugar).

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Romania Beckons

29 Friday Aug 2014

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romaniaBy JULIE SEYLER

Today is August 29 and in one month and a day we leave on our trip, arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on October 1 (my bday).  We’ll switch terminals, grab a bite to eat and board Tarom Airlines Flight 9382. We land in Bucharest at 7:15 P.M. and the next day the adventure begins!

Inevitably we are asked “Why Romania?” and all I can say is there is so much to see and do, I wish I had more than 14 days. As it is we are cramming in Bucharest, Count Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania, the medieval village of Sighisoara, the university town of Iasi, the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina and various places in between. We are missing the Danube Delta and the Black Sea. I’m already thinking “next time”!

I did a little prelim research and learned that Romania was the birthplace of Johnny Weissmuller, (the first actor to play Tarzan) and the great sculptor Constantin Brancusi. American pastrami owes a debt to Romania because Jewish immigrants imported the tradition of “goose-pastrama”. In the old country, to preserve the goose for as long as possible it was salted, seasoned, and smoked. There was no goose in NYC and so the technique was adapted to beef and voila pastrami. (Here’s to the the lower east side of Manhattan where old world pastrami sandwiches live on at Katz’s Deli.)

We shall visit grand synagogues, castles, wooden Saxon churches, traditional villages and always be amidst what looks to be gorgeous scenery. It sounds too enticing, and then there is the price point value. Real bang for your buck. We are staying in hotels that are classified as 4 or 5 star and are not more than $100 night including breakfast! We booked one night at the Grand Hotel Traian, designed by Gustave Eiffel, where I read that John Gilbert and Greta Garbo secretly nestled in the 1930s while they were romantically entwined. Perhaps the accommodations  shall not be akin to the Four Seasons, but nonetheless old world luxury from the belle epoque with whiffs of a pre-Ceausescu world.

And after Romania we stop four days in Paris. Steve has never been and I have never been to Versailles so it is on the list of things to do. And because we have an extra long stopover in London on our way back- hopefully we shall take the train into the city for lunch.

Now I more than anybody knows no trip is perfect. There will be snafus and disappointments and best laid plans that go awry (all of which Steve will weather with aplomb and me with not such great aplomb). But, it will be forever memorable, as every trip always is.