I'm not a believer, but...

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:

 

for the leaping greenly spirits of trees

and a blue true dream of sky;

and for everything
which is natural

which is infinite

 which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:

and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

 

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

  i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

                                              

                                        e e cummings

Another catch-up

Can't believe I haven't posted anything since April! I haven't got a better excuse apart from the beautiful weather which kept me well away from the computer. But now that it's raining, maybe I should put you up to date with what I've been doing. Which isn't much, nor out of the ordinary.

Just a bit of climbing...

... some admiring of the scenery (finally summer! FINALLY!)...
...and of the silly sticky butterflies which seemed to enjoy our sunscreen.

Last but not least, I would like to present to you our latest leisure time muncher: the slackline. It's as fun as it is frustrating, difficult enough to be a challenge, but easy enough to allow you to improve daily. And I sure feel proud when I can stand up there for longer than 5 seconds!

I suppose you'll see more of my slacklining exploits in the near future. So far I only have videos of falling(repeatedly and not so gracefully).

Stay tuned for some big news! Coming soon!

(Special thanks to Radu and Judit for the first two pics)

And yet another!

...sunny weekend, that is. This time it was colder, but the same preposterously blue sky.

The mountain was teeming with people, everyone breathlessly enjoying their favourite activities: climbing, paragliding, trekking, photographing... as if we knew it couldn't last.

And it didn't. As I'm writing this, the first snow of the year is already melting outside, thus welcoming the season of slush, cold and darkness.

But at least, for the next 3-4-5 months, I will have this to think of and remember: the prettiest village in the world, the loveliest November sky, the craziest begging dog.
He managed to get half of my sandwich, with his exercised cuteness and athletic skills.
May the winter be merciful with you! :)

The 101st post

Yes, my dear hypothetical readers, I have thus far given you one hundred updates to my hectic, crafty, sunny and tough Transylvanian life! I never thought I would post so regularly, but I have really enjoyed keeping you up to date with my comings and goings. Let's have a virtual drink and toast to the longevity of my travel blog! For he's a jolly good social interaction mediuuuuum....

I'm tired as hell, I don't think I've had one whole hour to myself in the past month. On the upside, it seems that my life is heading into a new and thrilling direction. I'm curious to see how it will go and where it will take me. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted :>

Ok, now I guess it's time for an update to cover my 6 week absence from the world of blogs. The excuse for my absence? A new job (added to my previous 2). Can you guess what it is? Here, I'll give you a clue:
And before I got this new job, I had a month full to the brim with love. I don't know how else to express it better, except that I felt pure joyful love...
...for the people around me
...and the experiences we had together.
For the divine music we listened to...
...and the hungover exhaustion that followed.
For some indescribably beautiful places that are close to my heart...
...and the daydreams they usually bring to life in my overactive imagination.
For the unique beauty you can find on the dark side...
For simple things that never cease to awe me...
...and the liberating, tingling feeling commonly known as "being yourself".

This past period was everything I have ever been known to resonate to. It was fun, it was gothic, it was crazy, it was medieval, it was sunny, it was dark, it was tasty, it was me.

Omg... is it possible that I might actually be happy ?

Ode to anachronism

You're already familiar with Rimetea. However, one thing I have not yet talked about in relation to it are the roads you have to drive on to get to it. Absolutely terrible. Pothole after pothole stretching your car's patience to maximum and making you wish you hadn't had such a hearty breakfast as you jump and wobble like Ace Ventura in his safari car.

These terrible roads are in the process of being repaired: wider lanes, good markings, you know, all the stuff you need for a comfortable drive. Isn't that great?

Nope. As a matter of fact, it sucks.

You know why? Because bad roads doeth a nice place make. Only people who know and care, (and who don't turn pale at the thought of having to walk) seek and enjoy such places. And this keeps them free from orange villas strewn randomly across bald hills, bad music, bad manners, bad smells and bad people. And noise. And garbage. And commercial enterprises. And everything else that goes along with "civilisation".

Because my friend Eisenburg is as "uncivilized" as they come. Banks and shops and everything else one needs for a modern living are so discretely placed you don't even notice them. The only things that seem out of place are the cars parked outside the houses. Ignore them, and you are back in the 19th century. But now, with its peace and quiet easily accesible, who knows what it will turn into.

Leaving, yesterday evening, I had the odd feeling I would not see it the same again. Even writing this feels like some sort of an obituary: in loving memory of the many-named one - Rimetea, Torocko, Eisenburg - the prettiest, tidiest, most loved village in Transylvania. You will be sorely missed.

I really hope I'm wrong.
Fountain in the central square:
One of the two pubs. I can't help always imagining it full of merry hobbits:
Just a pretty gate:
And what used to be a gate in the 1800's:

The old inn building, now largely deserted, with the exception of a few rooms housing an ethnographic museum:

Just a window:

View from an old inn balcony. I wouldn't mind having my breakfast in front of this view every day!

The silhouette of a gypsy:
Oh, yes. We did some climbing too.
And a little buburuza for you. Just because.