A few weeks ago my friend Mike pulled into Gara de Nord on a midnight train, officially ending his Trans-Siberian journey in Bucharest, Romania. I was determined to get him outside the city and had a weekend trip planned. Mike, Catalin and I drove north through the Carpathian Mountains on the Transalpina highway. This is a road similar to the Transfagarasan in that it goes through the mountains but unlike the aforementioned, it reaches the highest point of any road in the country 2,145 meters above sea level to be exact. It made for a beautiful drive and fantastic pictures. Take the drive if you have'nt yet, the road is newly paved and there are hotels along the way.

Peles Castle

Transalpina

It doesn't get any fresher than this. I drank my first glass of 'straight from the cow' milk thanks to this lovely woman.

Great friend of mine is in town after traveling the Trans-Siberian. His visit gave me the kick I needed to get some decorating projects done. Look what I made!

All hand stitched- unfortunately I don't have a sewing machine (yet). Below: After & Before. Ahhh much better I'd say.

I made a new friend this week. Morning or evening, I see her on my route to the metro. She's my main supplier for the apartment. Her clothes show the slight wear that comes from careful preservation over years of use but her smile is as fresh as the flowers she sells."Cinci lei, cinci lei" she says showing me this week's colorful batch from the garden. During our short conversations I usually tumble through Romanian (Good morning! How much? This one please. Thank you. See you next time.) What the language barrier can't block is the sharing of a smile. Mine coming from admiration at someone who is so kind and hard working. Hers warm and bright, revealing a map of soft wrinkles.

Yesterday she totally had my back. When I stopped to buy flowers another vendor started bagging prunes for me to buy (I did not want or ask for prunes). As I started to hesitate in Romanian, feeling like I should just buy the prunes. She looked at me and silently signaled "no" while the prune vendor's back was turned. There it was, the little confidence boost I needed. "Nu, multumesc frumos" came out clear and firm. I took my flowers and said goodbye; this time I couldn't stop smiling.

This week I bought Catalin flowers and he surprised me by coming home with a book. I love that my future husband surprises me with books.

No, I did not go back to Prague or Vienna but I did happen upon a folder of forgotten pictures. All were taken with my old (but great) Canon Powershot.

Vienna

I've been everywhere this summer--in a good way. After seven weeks on the run, my travels brought me home for good (or at least a good while). Normal feels nice. No more airports, carry-ons, or long drives. Just a cup of coffee who's familiar taste I'd been missing all summer and breakfast with my future husband. Hello Bucharest, I think I missed you a bit.

 ↑Two week tour of Transylvania. Find more photos on my photography blog here.

 My first inclination upon returning home was to do nothing. By nothing I mean staying home to redesign my photography website, watch all the tv shows I had missed, catch up with friends abroad on google phone and nap. Saturday was bliss. Sunday Cata and I joined friends at Summer Well, a music festival  held on about 65 acres of private property just outside of Bucharest. Photos:

At Summer Well.

Dinner with Unchiu Vasi and Tusi Doina at Le Teatru.

Did you know that on average women cry once a week? I heard or read that once and thought- ahhhh so I'm normal! Who cares if it is true; it makes sense to me. As for this week, the week of my departure back to Romania, my crying quota has been exceeded by far. There is just too much love and happiness coupled with too much hurt at the thought of missing the days and weeks that will make up 1 year of my familys' lives. I crack. I totally and completely can't hold it together...I cry. It hurts to stretch my heart across continents but perhaps these are just growing pains. In any case I'm all the richer for it.

Tomorrow I'll board a plane back to Europe, back to Cata, to friends and family. The adventure continues. For now, here are a few slices of American life:

Careful, Roland Jr. is a heartbreaker.

Before journeying to the USA to visit family I squeezed in a weekend trip to Vama Veche. This is the hippie place everyone has been telling me about all winter. So did it live up to the hype? Hmm, yes and no. I definitely liked the vibe, there are no snobby vacationistas here, just young people looking to relax. It is a clothing optional, drinking mandatory kind of town. As long as you're not bothering anyone, you can pretty much do whatever you want- including camp out by the sea. So what did we do? Well we ate, drank, swam, danced and slept (repeat!). It was a good time but I also found myself wondering "what are we going to do today?". The answer was simple; nothing. The point of Vama, I eventually came to understand, is to enjoy the simplicity of food, friends, and sea. Don't try to clutter your agenda with activities (an American tendency of mine). Vama is a great weekend getaway from Bucharest but I'd say the shine wears off if you stay longer. For me, two days was just right.
p.s. next time we are totally going to camp out

 

↕ Photo above and below by Catalin Abagiu

Trekking up Petrin Hill (on our way to the palace) -Prague.

Changing of the guard at Prague Castle.

En route to Vienna. Pardon the dirty sensor.

In the middle of downtown Prague, while sitting on a bench, we heard.... M I Z! Mafia is everywhere :)

This is my favorite photo. Cata had never been to an amusement park before.

Inside the State Opera House, Vienna, Austria.

Prague

Outside view of the State Opera House, Vienna. We saw "Manon"

My favorite museum: The Imperial Treasury in Vienna

Some truly great beer in Prague.

It was unavoidable. We were walking tourist cliche's.

Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial summer residence in Vienna, Austria. It has 1,400 rooms total.

A view of Prague castle (left) and Charles Bridge (right) at night.

It's been 5 months since I moved to Romania, time for me to reflect on it all before hoping on a plane to visit home. One of the first things I learned when I got to Bucharest was how to use a match to light a gas stovetop. Cata was bowling over laughing as I squealed and jerked my hand away before the flame even caught. One of the most frustrating lessons I had was the loss (at least temporarily) of my full independence. Constantly needing someone else to do or say things for me because (damn!) I don't speak Romanian tested my patience a lot. Sitting at a table where Romanian was being spoken sometimes felt like watching a foreign film without subtitles. But exposure works its magic; slowly my vocabulary grows and my understanding improves. Life has been full of "new", some of it stressful but most of it wonderful.

Today's new thing was something pretty old-- pizza...homemade pizza. I was in charge of the pizza sauce while Cata man-handled the dough. He happened to be wearing his Shakespeare's Pizza t-shirt, perfect!

p.s. Yes that is a wine bottle being used as a rolling pin. Didn't know that was possible did you?! Got that tip from Real Simple magazine (love that thing and kind of miss it).