Gordon:  

Ruth: Just before we started the more serious climbing we passed through a village on market day where everything needed could be found  from bicycle tires to tomb stones. We stocked up on some of the local sheep cheese and so lovely peaches. 

Ruth: My blogging app is misbehaving so I am drafting this one in my notes so I don’t have to write it over and over again. As I write this a thunderstorm is raging outside. Each day the weather forecast has looked very grim but so... Read More

Last night we stayed in Sapanta up near the Ukrainian Border. Sapanta is best known for the Merry Cemetery. Stan Ion Patras carved, painted and added the sometimes irreverent verses. Here I lie to take my restThey call me Gogea GeorgeGreen leaf of DogwoodI was a... Read More

Ruth: Today we climbed over a 1070 meter pass and descended into the Mara valley. This is the heart of the historic region of Maramureş. Things are suddenly much more traditional. Horse drawn carts are common, as are the traditional wooden homes. When we are not... Read More

Gordon:  Yesterday we left the comparatively flat roads of Transylvania for the hills of Maramures.  Travellers come here for two reasons: to see one of the most traditional cultures remaining in Europe, and to visit the UNESCO designated wooden churches sprinkled across the region.We dropped... Read More