Leaving Bucharest at 9:27 p.m. for Suceava, Bucovina* Province in far northeastern Romania. I’m off to explore an area I had visited and photographed for a short 3 days in Winter, 2017.
The airport was empty. Everyone, I’m told, has abandoned the city for the holiday weekend bound for Constanza for sunbathing and swimming in the Black Sea. I fell asleep on the 1-hour plane ride, arriving in Suceava to winter weather hugging my thin sweater tightly to my body. A man stood in the arrivals room with a sign reading HAMBLETT, my car rental guy. I jumped in the car and made my way over dark country roads then the outlaying sprawl of Suceava town arriving directly at Villa Alice, my pensione. Thank you, Jesus. I was way too weary to be wandering aimlessly around an unfamiliar town.
Nearly midnight by now and a chatty night manager greeted me and professed that my Romanian accent was “very beautiful.” Next morning a piano serenade by an old gentleman who performed jazz and classical tunes all from memory as guests gobbled eggs and bacon in an adjoining room.
After breakfast, I headed out of town toward Sucevitza. And what did I photograph? In a village called Danilova a single cow grazed on the common and a bevy of geese marched about the perimeter on duty. Two old men sat in plastic chairs in front of the mini-market and were good models until the drunken one started getting grabby and I had to flee. In the next village, Volovat, a few willing older women stood proudly in their front yards in house dresses and headscarves. Gypsy boys selling watermelon—I bought a melon so I could engage them and ask for a photo. Two young men sitting outside a market—“Is this the way to Sucevetiza,” I asked? and then, “Please, can I take your photo?” They obliged sullenly. A handful of kids eating watermelon by the side of a country road near Radauti.
Today was visiting day in the villages being the feast of the Panagia, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Families and friends sat around outdoor tables, eating and drinking and talking. Tomorrow, I expect village life will return and with it the flow of work. I hope to find what first drew me to this place on those 3 cold winter days last year: the magical villages with gingerbread houses and intricate tin roofs, the carts drawn by carousel-like horses many decorated with red-ribboned bridles. And people everywhere even on the coldest days out walking, meeting, minding outdoor stoves, chopping wood, tending animals. Everyone is out and about. So much to see and for me to photograph.
*Among the most picturesque treasures of Romania are the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina (in northeastern Romania). Their painted exterior walls are decorated with elaborate 15th and 16th century frescoes featuring portraits of saints and prophets, scenes from the life of Jesus, images of angels and demons, and heaven and hell. Seven of the churches were placed on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1993. I DID SEE THE MONASTERIES AND THEY WERE ALL WELL WORTH THE VISIT.