Architecture in Bucharest, Romania

Bucharest is a large city. I doubt that I will see all that there is to see in the few months that we intend to be here. There's a variety of architectural styles. There are many beautifully crafted homes and religious structures. My husband, who is a fine craftsman himself, appreciates the high level of skill that it took to build these. It requires time, care, patience, diligence, God-given wisdom and skill, as well as money to be able to do such things.

My friend who has traveled here with us, took the following pictures of these intricately made homes as we were out and about.

Similar to Paris' famous Arc de Triomphe, Bucharest has its own Arcul de Triumf, constructed after WW1.

Although there are these beautiful structures throughout the city, you can't miss the large, stark communist block apartment buildings throughout the city. Outwardly, many are unpainted, concrete structures. The first photo below shows a nice building close to the beginning of a long string of this type of building. These were constructed to house the people together during the communist years.

I imagine that inside the buildings, people have done what they can to make their homes pleasant, comfortable and beautiful for their families.

 Notice that the left side of the building below is bare concrete, while the right side as been painted. Isn't it amazing what a difference it makes!

Although it is interesting to see the different surroundings that make up Bucharest, I keep in mind that these external things are mostly unimportant. I'm reminded of 1 John 2:15-17 "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[d] is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever."

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Flowers Flowers Everywhere

We arrived in Bucharest late in the afternoon on Wednesday, February 28th. The kids and I stayed home on the extra day of this leap year, the 29th, to get our things in order at the apartment. 

The following day we headed out on a walk to the park. We passed a couple of nice looking bakeries and pastry shops. Not far after those, we passed a beautiful floral shop. I was very impressed with it. They had a beautiful display of arrangements outside, as well as inside. 

Almost immediately after, we passed another floral shop, just as beautiful! What was also very interesting to me was that they were busy!

We crossed a little side street, and soon after, we came upon flowers bursting forth from a fancy, colorful sports car parked on the sidewalk. 

I caught up to my friend who was holding one of my younger child's hand and I said, "I have never seen flowers…" and I intended to say, "like this!” However, as I was about to, I noticed a man with a big smile and wide, bright eyes walking in step with us. Apparently he and his wife owned the shop. He spoke English and must have overheard my remark and been very pleased at our natural appreciation of his creative display. He explained to us that on March 1st Romanians have a tradition of celebrating the beginning of spring. He went into the shop and came out with three pink tulips, enough for each female in our group. Every tulip had red and white strings with tassels tied around them.

From there, we continued until we came to the park. There were a bunch of toys to sit on that had big springs under the seats. They were very still, as if they had been sitting there unused for decades. One by one, the kids began to ride and rock on them until all eight kids from 3 years old to 15, were releasing all of their pent-up energy from traveling and being in the apartment for a day and a half. Those springed toys and the park were brought to life! The kids climbed trees, laughed and played. 

On the way home I made sure to stop and take pictures outside the shops. 

Later that day, I went online and to research, "March 1st in Romania." I found that this tradition is one of the oldest in Romania. In ancient times they would give gifts tied with red and white strings at the beginning of spring.

 A couple of days later, I read that flowers are very important in the Romanian culture. It said that they are given for almost every occasion, especially when going to someone's house. They advised to always give an odd number of flowers  because numbers are very important to the Romanians. 

The following week was Women's Day. I was unaware of that at the time, but I was so amazed when we were out for another walk to a different park, that people everywhere were carrying bouquets! I laughingly compared Romanian florist shops to Albanian cafes. They're everywhere!!! Albania is said to be one of the countries with the most number of cafes per capita. I believe it!!!

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The Cheer of Springtime

We made it through January. We all slept with several blankets on our beds and had electric heaters in use upstairs where the bedrooms are. The stone, uninsulated walls were cold! Downstairs, we kept the fire going and were warm enough.

A good friend of mine was planning on coming for an extended visit at the beginning of February.  I was hoping that the weather would be more comfortable around the time that she came. Thankfully, it was.

It was so much fun to take her around Shkoder and experience it together. It is quite an experience! The people are lovely. There are many older people out and about in the streets. Some are sitting outside their shops watching people go by. Others are sitting on their balconies doing the same thing. Some are walking to or from a store, while others are on their bikes. 

Most of them have lived in this small city all of their lives. You will hear them greeting each other, "Si je kalova" (See yeh kah-lo-vuh, literally, "How are you passing?” There are several other greetings that are commonly used as well. Shkoder has its own accent and slightly different dialect than the Albanian which is spoken in the capital city, Tirana, and is what is used in literature.

We enjoyed hopping on our bikes and going around the city.  As I do, she also appreciated the beautiful mountains that surround the city, as well as byrek, a traditional flaky pastry which can be filled with meat, cheese, yogurt, or spinach. From the ancient castle that rests high upon a hill, she was able to see the breathtaking views all around.

Believe it or not, I had never walked or seen around three sides of our neighborhood- the sides facing away from the center of the city. Without a reason or a car, I just never had!  We were waiting for a clear day, to go take a walk around our neighborhood with the kids. It was overcast for the first week and of a half of her visit, and we didn't want to miss the views of the mountains when we did talk a walk.

It was a beautiful day in the middle of February when we were finally able to take our walk around the outside of our neighborhood. The air was so pleasant and comfortable. There was green grass sprouting up in the fields and a mule standing there as I took pictures of him with the snowcapped mountain behind him. 

There were sheep grazing, 

I would have loved to have a picture of the front of this woman. She was about as traditional as they come, with her outfit and babushka which she had tied under her chin. There she was, walking her large goat down the sidewalk past us. My older kids who are out and about frequently, said that they often see her.

Below  you can see part of a fence that someone had constructed using whatever branches they could get ahold of. It reminded me of the fences that my kids had so carefully built back in the United States to protect their gardens and animals.

It's amazing how cheerful a beautiful day can make you feel! God has made so many beautiful things- people, landscapes, plants and animals to name a few! Psalm 148:5 "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created." 

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From Albania to Romania

As US citizens, we are allowed to enter Albania and remain there as tourists for one year. If we leave for a period of at least 90 days, we are allowed to return as tourists for another year. The cycle can continue. 

We have chosen to do this to be able to live in Albania for a couple of years, if God wills it. Our one year mark will be in June, but we had the opportunity to rent an apartment in Bucharest that would only be available until the end of May. We have learned that it is difficult to find rentals for less than a year.

In the middle of February we were praying for God to help us with our plans for those three months in the upcoming spring and summer. We were hoping to buy a van and visit different people that we know in eastern Europe. 

We found plane tickets for $19 per person each way. That would be far cheaper than making the two-day drive and paying for a hotel along the way. It's just over an hour to get there by plane.

No other opportunities opened up for us. We bought the tickets a couple of days later to leave at the end of February. I was very disappointed that it would mean that we wouldn't be able to see our oldest two children in March when they were supposed to return to Albania from a three month visit to the United States. I was happy, though, that we would be scheduled to return to Shkoder at the beginning of the busy season there.

We have been here for almost two weeks now. We are staying in a three bedroom apartment on the ninth floor of a building that is situated in the midst of a nice section of the city.

I brought things to try to occupy the children and myself. I have no problem with keeping busy, but the children often get antsy. I look at boredom as a perfect opportunity to get creative and productive!

We have enjoyed getting to meet the Christians at one of the churches here. They have been very kind to us. We are doing our best to learn Romanian as much as we can, but I am so thankful that many of the people at church do speak English as well.

Isaiah 40:31 "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." May we all have our hope in the Lord so that we can leave the burdens of this life behind us!

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The Off-Season in Shkoder, Albania

 

We had prayed about whether to come here in May or September of last year. We were so grateful to God that we ended up coming in May. We enjoyed a very pleasant spring and summer here. 

Shkoder is a very beautiful city surrounded by rivers, mountains, lakes, and the sea. There are a lot of nice restaurants, cafes, and pleasant streets to walk along. The architectural style of some of the buildings along the quaint streets is Italian. The prices are very reasonable. There are many tourists that come here to experience it during the summer months. 

We have some friends that moved here a couple of years ago from Austria. They warned us that the winters here are very rainy. There was one day in early October that was very dark, and it rained heavily all day. It made me think to look up the average rainfall here in the winter. I wasn't very excited by what I saw. 

I began to think of the winter ahead and imagined that I wouldn't venture out much. I don't enjoy the cold, and without a vehicle, going out would mean being cold.

Thankfully, it warmed up for another week or two, enough for us to be like squirrels, going out and about, gathering warm clothes and other things that would be needed for the winter. The younger kids and I bought several different colors of yarn with which to crochet hats and scarfs for ourselves. My daughter and I got busy trying to finish up a blanket that we had previously been leisurely making for her bed.

November came and it was just as predicted. It rained and rained! Life in Shkoder had such a different feel than when it was sunny and warm. During the rainy weather, a laundry rack often crowded our kitchen with clothes drying on it. With no dryer, I really have to plan when I do the laundry. I try to wait for a sunny day, but back in November, there weren't many of those! 

My husband bought several ponchos which we ended up using often. We tried to coordinate when we needed to go out for when it would be dry, but that didn't always work out. Riding around on the bikes in the cold rain, there were times that we got pretty wet!

We were so thankful to make it through November! I don't know if this winter has been better than usual, but thankfully it hasn't been too rainy since then, with the exception of New Year's Day. It rained so much that evening that our yard was flooded with the water over a foot deep, as well as many of the roads.

During the summer months, I had wondered if the outdoor shops would be closed in the winter. Well, they're not. These hardy people endure the cold weather, bundling up, waiting for a sale. Many small indoor shops don't have heat and actually keep their doors open! The big grocery stores that are heated also keep their doors open! One cashier kept a couple of water bottles filled with hot water so that she could warm her hands in between customers! Perhaps they find that they draw more customers with an open door??? I admire them for their strong character. 

My husband also has to work out in the cold shed while we are in the warm house. He has done what he could to elevate the temperature out there with some heaters, but he says that he prefers it more than when it was over 100 degrees out there in the summer. We appreciate the work that he does and that God has kept his business going.

Hibernating wasn't so bad. However, I did bundle up and ventured out into the cold, but I definitely tried to take advantage when the weather was nice.

It is a nice treat for us to look out and see the mountains covered in snow sometimes. 

The older kids have kept busy finding ways to sell things online. Here are some mittens that they made from an old fur coat that they bought. 

They also continue to enjoy taking time to go on biking adventures in different areas outside of the city. 

It may have been cold and wet for a little while, but after all, the seasons are from God. “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Genesis 8:22

What a beautiful world He has made for us! 

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