Cozia Monastery

These little puppies are still sleeping when we walk around the corner to our waiting bus. They are alone this morning. They have probably been abandoned to the street. Bucuresti and all of Romania has a huge feral dog problem, but seeing these adorable little puppies makes me wonder how anyone could abandon them. It was a late night for some, but we are all coming up for light and manage to get to the bus with our bags. There is coffee and juice for all and we are off. We head out of Bucuresti for the Olt River pass through the Romanian Alps. Initially, we are all talking at the same time. We have a wonderful tour guide with us named Marius. He is a wealth of knowledge. How he keeps all those names and dates in his head is beyond me. We have 600 years of history at best and some parts of the country much less. I think Michigan has about 200 years of history and even that is not something I know for sure. I can't imagine keeping over two thousand years of history at my fingertips. He is able to answer every single question we pose to him.

We head for Transylvania. The traffic is busy as usual. I am just beginning to get used to cars driving all over and passing anything in sight, but it seems that buses do the same. We raced around and through all the traffic to get to our first destination of the day. Traffic in Romania is an interesting. As in other countries, new to automobiles for everyone, riding in a moving vehicle requires putting your life in someone else's hands. In America, if you were not arrested for reckless driving and a laundry list of other driving offenses first, you would be driven off the road by other drivers who do not share the road so easily. In America we actually expect you to drive in your own lane and making new lanes that are not there is not a good plan. Note that when you reach the curve, there are signs indicating that there is road construction, the road narrows to one lane, you should slow to 40km per hour, and it is a downhill grade. Also note that the guard rail is rather slender and the mountain drops off right there. This is no gradual rise.

As we approach the Transylvanian Alps, I am glad I sitting in the front so that I see out of the huge window. It takes the whole window to take it all in. These mountains are 3544 meters high. They are not as high as the other Alps at over 5,000 meters, but they share the same difficulty rating. They are some of the most difficult mountains to climb because of the cold and the sheer incline of the walls at the top. The incline at the top makes them nearly impossible to ascend in the winter. The trees are thick in this area. Lumber is a big industry in Romania and there are places where clear-cutting is still occurring. Hopefully, greed and desperation will not decimate the lovely forests here. The dew shimmers like Christmas lights in the early morning sunshine. It is going to be a glorious day!

We have been traveling through the Olt River Valley for some time when we finally come to the monastery. It continues to amaze me that these buildings were constructed in such a short time period with so very few tools. This one is also a fortified monastery that is built into the steep cliffs that lead down to the river. The monastery overlooks the river at this strategic point in the pass. Anyone plying the river would have to pass by the monastery directly. It is also on the road that runs by the river. It would have been an excellent vantage point to see all comings and goings in the valley. Without the modern sounds of civilization, any large force would be heard for miles around.

The monastery takes center stage as we enter the complex. A grand little priest tells us the story of this monastery. He tells of the battles that have been fought here. He tells of the leaders who have come and gone from this area. He tells of the restoration that is progressing. All of the walls had been black from soot and smoke not too long ago. The monks are working hard to bring the monastery back to its earlier glory. They are a friendly group.

We get a glimpse of the restorations in the monastery itself. The masters are at work near the altar working of the frescoes. They look just like they ought to, covered in plaster and dust, intent on the business at hand.

The toaca here is a bit different from those I have seen elsewhere. This one is not a long board but a piece of iron that has been wrought into a lovely circular pattern. It hangs gracefully in the breeze from the porch of the monastery. From here we walk into the monastery and are actually allowed to sit on the monks seats at the altar. There are five seats in each set, one on either side of the altar. They each form a semi-circle. The deep carvings are well-worn from hundreds of years of priests sitting in them. They are a bit awkward to get in and out of as there is a high, circular table right in front of them and the arms tend to hold you in rather than release you. Maybe the priests stayed at prayer a bit longer.

We wander back out to the back of the monastery and through the grounds. Flowers abound in this lovely little sanctuary from the hurry-scurry of our everyday lives. From the back of the monastery, the designs of the bricks in the stucco are much clearer. The soft red bricks decorate the white stucco. The roses are as tall as I am. How do they do it? I have been growing roses for years and mine are never so tall. Nestled in the flowers is a spring which constantly provides fresh water. There are tin cups on the ledge. It is said that if you drink of the water, you will return to Cozia Monastery. The water is fresh and cool.

We will be eating lunch here. I am looking forward to a delightful meal. We come back up the stairway and come around to the front of the monastery to the restaurant. This room is covered from floor to ceiling and the ceiling is covered too with frescoes. These are new frescoes, painted in the last few years. They are fresh and it is easy to see what is depicted here. What a lost art. We have a traditional Romanian lunch of ciorba (soup), sarmales (stuffed peppers), and fresh bread. This is served with tuica. We are set for the rest of the day.