Places

On the road in Moldova

We traveled to the province of Moldova recently (not the Republic of Moldova, the province of Moldova, which is part of Romania, as was the Republic of Moldova at one time), and while on the road, I recorded these videos.

The first is of the sunrise somewhere between Iasi and Piatra Neamt. I processed this to give it an old-time feel, with film grain, scratches and an appropriate soundtrack.

The second, filmed a little later that same morning, is of an historic piazza in Piatra Neamt.

The third, filmed that same day, is of a mountain brook in Cheile Bicazului, as we crossed the Carpathian Mountains from Moldova into Transilvania.

I hope you enjoy them! (They’re all in HD, so if you can’t see them at full res on my site, click through to YouTube and make sure to select 720p.)

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Events, Places

First snowfall of 2010 in Medias

We woke up this morning with a puffy white blanket of snow covering the town. It was the first snowfall of the 2010-11 winter, and while it didn’t cover the ground, it did manage to stay on trees and rooftops, providing a welcome change in the scenery. (It’s been ugly weather most of this week, with cold, rainy days and mud everywhere.)

Continue reading →

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Places

Inside the fortifications of St. Margaret’s Church in Medias

Built in 1488, St. Margaret’s Church in Medias, Romania, is the town’s most recognizable landmark, thanks to its leaning clock tower, which can be seen from miles away. Its tower dates from 1460, and left its originally vertical position due to some soil shifting. The photos shown below are from the church’s interior courtyard, inside its fortified walls.

A primary school is housed in its courtyard. I attended that school as a child, and have fond memories of playing in the courtyard, underneath a chestnut tree which is still there today.

Three other landmarks are inside the courtyard:

  • The birthplace of S. L. Roth, one of the town’s most famous citizens
  • Turnul Funarilor (the Rope-Makers’ Tower)
  • A chapel with beautiful frescoes (located outside the church, inside one of the defense towers) — I plan to photograph it in the future, but you can see it from the outside in one of the photos below.

This is the main passageway that leads into the interior courtyard.

This is Turnul Funarilor (Rope-Makers’ Tower) and S. L. Roth’s place of birth (next to the tower).  Continue reading →

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Thoughts

The kittens in the yard

It was one of the last few beautiful days of autumn, and our kittens were sure enjoying themselves, lazying and frolicking about, playing with each other, making googly eyes for the camera… We’ve got five of them these days — two tomcats (Mushu and Bubu) and three kittens (Sasha, Zuzu and Tira). Felix is gone — he disappeared more than two weeks ago, so if anyone’s seen him, please let us know. My guess is he’s gone off after females, and since he knows how to cozy up to people, he’s probably mooching off someone else’s food. He needs to come home. Enough is enough. We miss him.

I recorded the video with a new camera, a Fujifilm FinePix HS10. Sorry if the video’s a bit shaky at times, I should have used a tripod. I do love the quality of it though. It’s full HD (1080p), downsized to HD (720p) in iMovie.

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Places

Medias from above

During yesterday’s morning walk through the town, I got access to the St. Margaret’s church bell tower for a few minutes, and ran up to take a few photos of the historic district from above. I hope to be able to return to the tower at some point in the near future so I can take more photos.

Here you can see the King Ferdinand Piazza in the background.

This is the church’s interior courtyard, where I went to school as a child.

This is Str. Johannes Honterus. I’d run up the street toward the school every morning, almost late because I took too long to eat my breakfast.

I might have gone to the S. L. Roth high school, which you can see here, but instead moved to Cluj, then to the United States. And now I’m back in my old home town. Life’s little twists and turns are pretty interesting, aren’t they?

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