Village Museum

 The Gibbons invited to visit the Village Museum with them over the weekend and then go out to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. I couldn't believe how many different homes had been moved to the property over the last 30 years. Here is the map of whole property.

The nature of building homes is quite different depending on the geography of the country. Some have quite steep rooflines and some have thatched roofs.

We will need to travel to Maramures to see these steep painting churches. I love the brightly colored decks and fences.

This carousel was hand painted and hand crafted, but wasn't very old. Unfortunately, it wasn't operational. I would have taken a ride.

I appreciated the texture of these wooden door carvings.

This is the craziest foundation I have ever seen. 

This rug in the museum store was delightful. I would love to bring something like this home with me. The store also had some scary masks that were quite artistic.

After walking around for a few hours we stopped to have dinner and then Uber'ed back to our apartment. We had a great time with the Gibbons and learned a bit about Romanian culture.

King Mihai Park

 We decided to take a walk to King Mihai Park in the Primaveri sector of the city. It was a gorgeous day and the morning was perfect for a quiet visit. The park is 460 acres with a meandering lake in the middle. 

The Village Museum is nearby, but we will visit that on the weekend. This is the Charles de Gaulle entrance with these beautiful sculptures.

This man is Bulgarian Hristo Botev who was a poet and leader until he passed away in 1876 at the age of 28. The park is full of busts of famous individuals.

This little guy is Hooded Crow or a "hoodie" because of his coloring. This species is in central and eastern Europe.

Later we stopped by KFC and enjoyed some chicken. Paul likes to remind me about his connection to Pete Harman who struck a deal with Colonel Sanders to franchise the business. We have eaten KFC in Guayaquil, Hong Kong, Lago Agrio, Coca, and now Bucharest.

Hit the Ground Running

 When we arrived in the country, we found out that a flood had ravaged the northern areas. So we needed to put together a service project with the missionaries to go help. With the help of Brother Doru, we gathered supplies, and made a plan. 

The APs dropped us off at the office and we started making lunches for the next day. The travel was 3.5 hours up near the Black Sea so we'd need to start early. We arranged with a local mayor to help in a town called Cuza Voda.

The mud was so incredibly sticky that Sister Gibbons couldn't lift her boot up without pulling her whole leg out. And she went down. She took it like a champ and worked all day covered in mud.

The mud came up past 3 feet in the house so we were washing the walls and then the floors.

We would clear an area and then dump it in the street where a tractor would come by and collect it. Volunteers were everywhere. The NGOs were handing out food, fireman were loading garbage trucks with ruined furniture, and policemen were draining fields with water pumps.

Some of these missionaries had worked the day before as well. It was clear that they needed a week's worth of help.

We cleaned ourselves the best we could and headed back, arriving about 7pm. Thanks to everyone for making this project a success.

Arriving in Bucharest

 We left at 5am from the MTC to catch a shuttle to the Salt Lake Airport. It was quite easy and carefree compared to most of our recent travel. The first flight took us to Atlanta, where we settled in for a little while. Then we flew to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. Although my body said it was 11pm, it was 6am. Somehow we missed the evening hours. We landed in Bucharest at 1:30pm and were quickly met by the mission leaders and the Nielsens.

The Fowlers are a young couple and are a perfect fit for this area. Sister Fowler grew up in the Bothell area, so we have many friends in common. It's so nice to have senior couples to spend time with again. The Nielsens are delightful YSA missionaries, who have accepted office duties as well. 

We enjoyed lunch at Casa Doina where we had comida tipica of schnitzel and sarmale. 

Apparently it is an historic monument. It was quite lovely.

We were tired, but excited to see our new place. It is delightful, but temporary. A new apartment is being prepared for us north of town. However, this place is lovely. 

I admit the kitchen is small, but all of our kitchens have been tiny. It's a bit funny to have a door on the kitchen, but that is how kitchens used to be in the early days in the West. Before this open-room concept caught on.

This walk-in closet is amazing.

The tubs/showers here are built up with the plumbing below so the step out on to the floor is quite dangerous. In any case, we'll be here for three weeks and enjoy it immensely.