Barsana, Poienile Izei, Ieud
Reached the village Barsana, where we found that there is Sunday service going on in their church. Decided to take a look...
The service is already going on, and the church is full! The ladies go in by 1 entrance while the guys enter by another
Most of the locals will wear their traditional clothings to church. However, in more modern times, the younger ladies will wear brighter and more modern skirts. The upper attire usually remains quite traditional
The men who waited outside were at another side entrance. This one seems to be contemplating something...
The older folk usually will wear darker hues
This old traditional wooden church is common in MaramureÅ. They are supposedly completely made in wood.
The wooden churches of MaramureÅ are supposedly one of the highlights of MaramureÅ. Some of them are in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites
The wooden "nails" that secure the wooden church
End of Sunday service, as the residents slowly make their way back to their homes
The men are in their traditional attire as well
Visited the spanking new Barsana Monastery as well. It is one of the more touristy area in MaramureÅ
It is almost like a park, with lots of beautiful flowers, and beautifully built structures that are based in traditional design
Found this young girl delightfully dressed in traditional clothings, and found that she is in fact British!
The little girl's cousin, who's also dressed in the men's traditional garb
Her mother moved to England, and specially brought her back to Romania to experience her heritage
Found these children enjoying their Sunday...
Found this guesthouse in Poienile Izei that was recommended by Radu, our guide in Cluj.
Poienile Izei has an old church that was built in 1604 that has frescoes depicting hell in interesting detail. However, most of these old churches are locked up, and we're supposed to look for the keymaster somewhere in the village!
We walked around abit, but couldn't find anyone who could help us open the church :(
We could only peek through the windows
Poienile Izei is a village where many of the resident's lifestyle are still very much traditional
Met this old lady who doesn't speak a single word of English
Yet, she was kind enough to try to explain the vegetables and fruits in her plot of land, as well as her pet sheep of some kind...
She was so ernest in explaining things that she eventually took the melon she was talking about, and smashed it open onto the ground!!
We finally understood that these melons provide the seeds for snacking! She also brought out some already dried ones for us to eat!!
Growing together in her plot of land are also beans of some sort, which are grown on those poles!
As usual, we went back to our guesthouse for our traditional Romanian dinner, but after diner, we are treated to some local music!! Together with another guest, they played quite a few pieces of lively music!
Apparently, out host, Jon, is quite well-known in the area for playing the violin
And his wife, who's also the cook, sings!!
Early morning, Jon has already started working, bringing in firewood from outside the house
This pretty young girl, who's accompanying her mother, walking past Jon's house.
Another misty morning, but work continues
The sound of horses hoofs clapping on the track is very common here in MaramureÅ
Old shoes that the locals are still wearing
Visited the village of Ieud, which supposedly have the oldest wooden church in MaramureÅ
Known as the "Church on the Hill", we had to again look around the village looking for the person who had the key to open the locked church
Well, this time round, we found this old lady who had the key! The church had a very interesting door locking mechanism!
The paintings in the church are really really old. The church was supposedly built in 1364!
Villagers in Ieud
Horse carts as usual
