Sept. 14-15: Breb, the Merry Cemetery and waiving to Ukraine

[ES]

Maramures continues to amaze. We woke up in Glod to a delicious mic dejun that had us fueled for the day. Breakfast here typically consists of assorted meats, some eggs, cucumbers and tomatoes, cheeses, and bread with jam and honey. We headed down the valley glad to have more days ahead of us in this part of Romania. As we were in a narrow valley the ride our started out quite cool, yet it was also quiet and fun riding down a little valley. When we got to the bigger road eventually, we saw lots of cars parked - turns out it was a big market! There were not only produce stalls but everything else one in a rural area might have on their shopping list - shoes, housewares, and hardware. It was hopping. 

Women in Maramures dress like hipsters in Brooklyn. Cardigans, pleated skirts, bright socks.

Need a sofa? Yes, maybe you do.

Some traditional wear.

Shadow of a bicyclist, so out of place among the Romanian marketers.

Next we headed to the monastery and wooden church at Barsana down the road. The monastery had an abbess in charge and two nuns were leading a service when we arrived with singing. The monasteries here in Romania appear to be both a spiritual and tourist destination.

Our trusty bicycles.

As we headed down the road there were of course more wooden churches to see. The church in Sarbi is still in use and had a service actively going on. The priest was even directly addressing the people congregated, in contrast to most Orthodox services we have seen. We later learned this church must have been having a Greek-Catholic service actually. Great thick wool carpets line the floors and colorful tapestries don the walls.

Along the way, we saw this mobile bee-hive truck.

The vaulted church interiors are sometimes decorated with stories arranged almost like comic books.

Sarbi, with yet another wooden church.

Women exiting church.

Traditional house

Losing track of how many wooden churches we've seen...

So beautiful

Grapes were trellised along every old house.

We found these pitchforks in the road, and soon after this selfie a tractor came along to rescue them.  Sheepish grins were exchanged.

We made it to our home for two nights in Breb at a family-style pensiune at a village house. Breb is off a main road on a very narrow kind of paved one lane road. It was oh so lovely, quiet and filled with families making their living on land and with crafts and pensiunes (vacation stays). Although many tourists seem to stay here (Romanian tourists from elsewhere in the country, Europeans, and even a couple from Georgia we met.) Our hosts Ana and Gheorghe were very welcoming and later more guests arrived for a low key yet intimate bed and breakfast experience. We stayed in likely the more tradional room with tapestries covering every wall and thick wool carpets and blankets hanging from one wall. We met a really friendly, welcoming, and interesting Romanian family also staying a couple nights for a long weekend. Iulia and Cipri and Cipri’s parents were visiting from Cluj, and over the course of two days and several meals we came to have a deeper understanding of life in Romania and its hopes and challenges from these interesting and smart people. On the list for a next visit would be Cluj-Napoca as it seems to be really dynamic with many universities and young people.

Our very cozy room in Breb.

We took a side trip north to Sighetu Marmatiei and Sapanta to visit the Merry Cemetery, the museum for the resistance to communism, and to wave to Ukraine. It was nice to bike without all our luggage, and Ukraine was but a stone’s throw away across the Tiza River at one point. The Merry Cemetery is famous in Romania (and the world) for each tombstone being carved wood and painted in a folk art style depicting what each person was known for in life and also including a sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, sometimes grave inscription. Many people were depicted with objects and trappings of rural life - scythes, tractors, forests - while others were newer and included computers and pharmacists in the art. We then headed to the museum of the resistance to communism housed in a former communist prison in Sighet which was extremely powerful and included so many personal stories and information. On the way back to Breb we cycled through rain and some thunder. We have been so lucky with weather on this trip, and the rain was drenching but at least warm:)

Some of the depictions were clearly humorous, and some were sad. 

Man behind computer: though many of the grave markers depicted old-fashioned scenes, many were images of modern life.

We saw many women exactly like this woman: walking to their haystacks, tools slung over their shoulders.

At the Ukrainian border.

Inside the communist former prison/current museum.

The communist museum/former prison was heavy.

Our crew at the guesthouse in Breb.