There was a funeral procession and burial at the cemetery outside the monastery. When Peggy and I were walking back from the restroom to the car, we passed by the processional. A kind man gave us each a loaf of bread that was given to all participants. We were touched by our interaction

On the grey and rainy drive back to Moldova on Sunday we passed another funeral procession. When we looked out our window to see the mourners, we also saw the deceased lying on top of the casket, exposed to the elements, en route (we assumed) to the cemetery.

Moldovita

Moldovita

The painted monastery of Moldovita

The Moldovita monastery is on the site of a church founded by Alexander cel Bun in 1410, which was damaged in a landslide. The monastery we visited was completed in 1532

Voronet

I was surprised that more families did not take advantage of this wonderful school trip to Romania. The painted monasteries were spectacular and well worth the trip. (It took us several hours to get to Iasi -- and then these monasteries were a couple of hours from Iasi)

That said, we were so pleased that our Swedish friends were a part of the caravan. Peggy absolutely adores these kids! I am sure she would have had even more fun if they were in our van, but, she had fun playing with her friends at the hotel and when we met up at the monasteries

Voronet

The Painted Monasteries in Bucovina: Voronet

On Saturday we drove from Iasi to see the spectacular painted monasteries in Bucovina. We visited Voronet, Moldovita, and Sucevita

The first photos are of the monastery in Voronet. Due to time constraints, I will need to let the photos speak for themselves. However, I did want to share a few tidbits from the books I purchased yesterday:

This beautiful blue that you can see throughout the frescoes is known as "Voronet blue"

Daniel the Hermit's tomb is here. Daniel had told Stefan cel Mare that he should not give up in his fight against the Turks. When Stefan cel Mare won those battles, he helped build this monastery in Voronet in gratitude to Daniel and to God.

It was completed in 1488.

The monastic life here was interrupted in 1785 when Bucovina was annexed by the Hapsburg Empire -- and it resumed in 1991