On To Sinaia

Our road trip around Romania was about to come to an end and we were ready to get off the bus for a while and put down some temporary roots. Along the way we passed through Predeal and then Busteni where we saw the highest mountains in the area, Caraiman at 2384m, which is marked by a monument to World War 1. When the sky is clear this large white cross is visible for miles. Across the Alba valley is the sister peak of Costila, topping out at 2498m. The photograph shows Caraiman but the cross is obscured by the clouds. We returned later in the program to Busteni to attend a special performance of Dionne’s adaptation of Visniec’s Think You Are God at the arts center in Busteni. This troupe was composed of French Canadian and Romanian actors and was a very edgy and startling performance examining war from the US Indian wars up though Iraq wars. The work was a tableau of six different works with an eerie and thought provoking sound track. I was fortunate to be able to spend time with Dionne discussing her directorial choices, the challenges of working with actors from different nations, and her work on the soundtrack.

The bus rolled on and in a short time we were in Sinaia checking into our lovely mountain accommodations at Hotel Furnica. Our rooms were in a converted alpine villa across the road from the lovely Peles Castle and the Summer Presidential Palace which is named Pelisor Palace. The grounds of both are meticulously maintained by hand by many staff member who still wear the brown and blue work uniforms that I associate with the former Soviet Union. It is interesting to note that this same uniform seemed to be worn by the staff at all of the museums we visited. Outside my window in my room was a lovely creek and waterfall that provided soothing sounds eased my transition to sleep. As with much of Romania the dogs were evident but the country dogs being much friendlier than the dogs of urban areas. There are many statues of dogs to be seen as well. The Romanians have a love for these strays and we too fed them scraps left over from dinner. In the mountain areas the dogs play a very important role. Romania is one of the last free range areas for the European Brown Bear and the Wolf. These dogs keep the bears at bay and in the night you can hear them howling as the bears roam around. As we lived across from Pelisor, there always was a military guard in place. Many of us would wave to them and smile. One night upon returning from the workshop I received the flashlight in the eyes from one of the guards. I inquired if vampires were afoot in the land and he laughed and said no, but to be ware of the 500 kilo mother bear and her two cubs. I remained in my room for the rest of the evening as many dogs were howling up and down the mountains and were heard much of the night.