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 →

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?

Places

A morning walk through Medias

The weather was lovely this morning, so Ligia and I took a walk through the city, in its historic district, which is where we also happen to live.

Continue reading →

Places

Autumn scenes from Maryland and DC

I took these photos in Rock Creek Park, DC, and in Grosvenor Park, MD. I selected them based on their ability to evoke the quiet hours of autumn afternoons, with the soft golden rays of the sun lighting up the burnished hues of the autumn leaves.

You might notice something else if you click on each photo to see it large… I’ll let those of you familiar with my photos to find out what it is. I may continue to do this in the future…

Places

Autumn in the hills outside Medias

We took a walk today on one of the hills outside Medias, possibly one of the tallest near the city, covered by a beautiful mixed beech forest. A thin layer of frost and a bitter cold lay over the city in the early hours of the morning, but thankfully, by lunchtime, with the friendly help of the sun, things warmed up enough to make it pleasant to venture outside.