Rhodes5 in Deutschland

Monday, July 11, 2016

Transylvania, Romania (Cluj Napoca)

Bailey and I went to the Transylvania Region of Romania for a getaway together and had such a great time! It is truly a beautiful country with so much to take in. It was actually a really neat time to go too because the country is on the cusp of becoming a much bigger tourist destination. It is still so pure and people were very nice (and the prices are ridiculously inexpensive still too). We rented a car and Bailey made a good navigator, as I tried to not get us killed with the driving. We were a great team though and there were no accidents to mention. Such a fun trip and so glad to have this special time with Bailey before she heads into a busy Senior year and then off to college!

As you are flying in, Romania has a much different look than Germany

We went to "Salina Turda" - a famous Salt Mine. The air was so clear and cold! No liability here - you get your ticket and have free reign in the Mine

As you head down (20 plus stories) into the earth, it is a scene out of a science fiction movie - really cool!

half way down, looking up at the glass elevator

Bailey looking down to the bottom (we were already half way down at this point). There is a lake at the bottom

We rented a boat to paddle around in the lake at the very bottom of the mine. The boat rental also had no liability (no life jackets - just free reign to paddle around :-)). You can see the side of the mine wall with beautiful natural salt designs...

CJ - stands for Cluj Napoca

Delicious home made breads...

The bustling town of Turda. Now this was funny... As we walked around this cute town, we noticed that ALL of the clothing shops in this town were second hand shops. One of the t-shirts in a window said, "MHS Homecoming 2014". Makes you wonder who is making money off of all of the donated goods to Romaia by churches and other organizations. I guess, if nothing else, the people living there can buy less expensive clothing.

The busting market...

No imported fruits and vegetables here - everything looked so fresh!

Bailey and I hiked down into the Turda Gorge - gorgeous!!!

Crazy bridge with nails popping uup - again no liability at all!!!

So pretty!!!

The Gorge from a distance...

Driving was a little crazy - there were no solid lines that were forbidden to cross - everything was dotted (so it was basically just a loose guideline as where you should drive), so you had to pay attention to on coming traffic.

Goegeous sunflower fields!!!!

This is inside part of the Banffy Castle. It is a neat story because the lady that owns it is 92 years old and she lived in this castle as a young child until her family had to flee during WW2. During the war, it was destroyed. Communism took over and her family still didn't get it back, and then finally after 60 plus years, she was given the castle back as the only surviving owner.

There is an unbelievable amount of renovating needed, but her Grandson (who is due to inherit it when she passes away) will hopefully see it in a finished renovated state within his lifetime. Pretty cool!

There was adorable character everywhere you looked!

These guys made themselves right at home on the telephone poles...

Still cigns of the Communist Era.

Romania is part of the Eu now, but still uses its own currency.

We went to a really cool street food festival. The smells were amazing!!!

It reminded us of China because in the evening everyone was outside enjoying life!

This made us laugh :-)

Germany has horrible Mexican food, so we were thrilled at the street food festival to find yummy burritos

and tacos...

The soccer stadium was the host to the festival...

a small, but friendly police presence

Adorable men playing chess in the park..

a gorgous river walk filled with bikers, kids, runners, rollerbladers etc.

A pedestrian bridge over the river had a neat art decoration of old burned DVD's that sparkled in the water. When you walked up to it, the DVD's were labeled with a marker (must have been someones personal collection :-))

a cat found the perfect place to take a nap

and the dog found a perfect place for a good swim :-)

I must have been a sheep or sheep herder in a past life because this sight brings me so much happiness and for some crazy reason, it really fills my soul. I love herds of sheep and a sheep herder with a herd of sheep is just icing on the cake! Just seeing this made my entire trip!

The roads had a nice mix of old and new modes of transportation

Lots of watermelon stands

adorable!

Bank of Transylvania :-)

We were surprised at how many flags we saw. They definitely have national pride (I think the Euro cup must have had something to do with it too)

Church in Cluj

Old city in Cluj Napoca

Monday, June 27, 2016

June Update and Random Photos...

Summer vacation has finally started (at least for 2/3 of my kids). The Euro cup is in full swing (which gives such a fun vibe over here). Even with one still in school, it is so nice to have the pace of life life slow down! My Aunt and Cousin came to visit for a week (we had such a great time with them). Camden went to a Military leadership camp for a week (yikes!). Bailey has been spending time with friends, planning for her senior year and beyond (and detoxing from such a hectic year). We have visited some fun fests with different friends. We've loved watching the Euro cup games and there are lots of public viewing places (Go Germany!!!) Mia is taking her last big test of the year today, so even with a month of school to go, the load will be a little lighter for her as well. Here ae some random photos...

pretty rainbow, after a typical Oberpfalz storm :-)

Camden at his awards ceremony for JROTC (he looks so serious!!!)

We had the Altstadt fest in our city - unfortunately, the weather was not so great

the food was delicious though...

Grilled fish!

lots of people!

and creative bars and music all over the city!

We have a had a few really nice days too (here are some roses from our garden - wish I could take credit for them, but they are the hardiest things and pop up magically each year)

Bryan and I rode bikes to a church fest in a neighboring town (notice the traditional Kerwa Pole in the background).

We stopped off at a little guest house - this seemed cool, but at the same time a little creepy :-)

...and there was a wedding with simple flowers on the bridge - so cute!

Frank has a new trick - he jumps up on the couch now for kisses. He is just like a little naughty dog :-)

This was a hilarious...In our local grocery store they advertised "the #1 selling American brand salad dressing" (they usually don't offer Ranch or Ceasar over here, but people really seem to like it. The only thing is....unless this is a new brand since we left 8 years ago, I have never even heard of Cardini's. Makes you wonder what advertisers get away with...

Bailey officially received her Canadian passport - very exciting!

My Aunt and her Grandson (my cousins' son) came to visit for a week. We had a great time with them. This was a funny picture taken in Czech Republic... Camden and Mitchell had just tricked My Aunt into drinking one of the healing waters at a Spa town. It was full of sulfer and tasted disgusting. You can see Camden's laughter - she was a great sport - so funny!!!

While they were here, we went to Zeppelin Field. It has really fallen apart over the time we have been here...

We went to Flossenburg (a former concentration camp not far from where we live). Probably fitting for the experience, but it was a rainy and miserable day.