Outside Brasov - part 2

 

We went to another monastery because the church was made from the wood of one tree.

                                                            

When we got there, I noticed that there were monks eating lunch and it looked liked visitors were eating with them.  So we asked if we could eat with them and they joyfully said yes.  This monk

  seemed overjoyed to serve us our food, it made us feel good to eat it.  We had soup and potatoes and bread, all made by the monks from their gardens.  We even drank water from their wells. 

                               

While we were there we observed a priest blessing a family’s new car.  We understood that this was normal.  The priest would bless the car and all who rode in it. 

                                                           

We then hiked up to the shrine of St. Theodora, who lived in a cave during her devotions.  We went to her cave, which is very small and dark.  On the way up we passed a dozen nuns coming down the path

                     

We passed an interesting guest house on our way back to Brasov.

                                                        

                                                                                          

                                                                                              

We stopped and talked to the owner.  He told us he was in a terrible accident and his car saved his life, so he saved it and used it in his inn.  He used the door as a cover for a cabinet and the wheels he used as light fixtures.

                                                                                   

Luckily we stopped for lunch when we did because the weather changed………..It turned violent.  The wind picked up….actually it seemed more like a tornado than a wind storm.  The wind came from all directions with such force that it blew all the planters off the patio and it rained so hard that the inside of the restaurant, where all the patrons had taken cover, had 4 inches of water on the floor.  When the storm slowed down, which was after about 1/2 hour we headed out.  Boy were we glad there was no hail, since we were traveling in a rented car.

What we found as we drove away was that the storm had blown down trees and branches onto the road and had downed power lines onto the road.  The drivers were great.  They got together and moved enough trees to open one lane of traffic and took turns going through the maze.  No one directed when it was your turn to go, but it worked out well.

                                      

                                                                                                                              

We made it back safely because Ciprian is a terrific driver.

                                                                       

We were sad to say goodbye to Romania and even sadder to say goodbye to Ciprian and Racula.