On Saturday (Nov. 10), Cristina and Marius wanted to show me some little-known treasures of Romania's past. I agreed full-heartedly and we took off at 5:30am on a train bound for Northern Romania. I had no idea what to expect and any questions related to what we were going to see were responded to with "You'll see" and a sly grin.
We walked out of the train station into the town. I think it would be called a village if it didn't have the station. The single main road through Gura Humorului lacked any streetlights, making the town a just a blur out the window for most motorists passing though. Most of the small towns in Romania remind me of towns throughout Oregon, and I sometimes forget the differences... until a horse and cart full of wood and farmers passes by. Although the horses used for such tasks would seem worn down after years of service, they keep their pride and trot proudly with their heads in the air down the road. A rhythmic geyser of heated air erupts out of the steed's nostrils as it pulls the cart.
I would guess the temperature was just a little below freezing. A silent flutter of snow fell and dampened the ground and our ears. Although I wore four layers of clothing, it wasn't enough to keep out the cold. Any exposed skin immediately became numb, as if I had been using them to dig in snow for an hour.
Cristina, wearing a brand new ski jacket which only left her nose and mouth exposed, was unsurprisingly joyful. "We will need to walk about a mile before we reach our first destination," she said with a smile. "Isn't this great guys? Can you feel the air?" Marius and I grumbled. I didn't know if our grumpy moods were due the white-knuckled chill of the mountain air or jealously towards Cristina's insulated attitude.
Nonetheless, the cold left my bones after we began out brisk walk on a country road lined by pines slightly covered by snow. My attitude started improving after yet another horse and cart passed us. I figured that if a naked horse could do this walk, so could I.
Monastery Voronet was built in 1488 as a token of gratitude by the Romanian hero Stephen the Great and Saint. As with the other thirteen others in the area, the monastery is covered (both inside and outside) with beautiful iconographic paintings of scenes from the Orthodox Bible. Forget canvas and frames, all the paintings here at the monasteries are done directly on the walls! The brilliance of the paint is amazing, especially considering that it has been exposed to the elements for centuries. Scientists cannot entirely explain what substances were used to get such amazing colors, but it is said that the composition is better than the productions at Athos and Camposanto (Pisa, Italy), up to the Sistine Chapel in Rome! Writer Carola Giedion-Welcker called it "an open book wiith a biblical content." It really is a Sistine Chapel facing the world.
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