Debra and Tony in Romania

Frumoasa Timisoara

2009-06-30T00:39:00.000-07:00

This is my last Romanian post; tomorrow we sadly head home. Thanks to everyone--especially our Romanian friends from Timisoara, Sibiu, and Bucharest--for making these 5 months so terrific.

My little corner of the world

2009-06-27T03:58:00.001-07:00

Souvenirs and keepsakes that are lined up on my dresser--all reminding me of the wonderful places I have seen in these glorious five months.

Legend:

The Back Row (from left to right):

Picture of my mother(on one of her great adventures in Greece).

Blue and white wooden egg cup from Sibiu Village Museum.

White ashtray from the Meridien in Budapest (it says "To cease smoking is the easiet thing I ever did. I ought to know. I've done it a thousand times." Mark Twain. A most apt European souvenir). Sitting in the ashtray is a kind of Easter egg bought in the Timisoara Easter Market and two little black marbles from a Krakow restaurant).

A little wooden jewelry box, also bought in the Timisoara Easter Market.

A mug showing an old version of the Penguin fiction series (this one is Persuasion), bought in London.

In front of the picture:

A little stone that says "Home" bought at Edenside Gallery in Louisville,

A little pottery colander, bought at the Village Museum in Sibiu,

A little glass decorated box bought in Ravenna.

In front of the eggcup:

Terracotta figure of a cherub, bought in Venice,

A little handpainted bowl from Budapest.

In front of the ashtray:

Charles Rennie Mackintosh (seccesionist!) reproduction box from Edinburgh,

A colored tile bought in the Budapest Easter Market.

In front of the jewelry box:

A shard from the Fabric Synagogue in Timisoara, found in the street,

Painted box from the Timisoara Easter Market.

Pictures from a train

2009-06-24T07:59:00.001-07:00

Pictures taken from the train between Timisoara and Sibiu. Truly the Beautiful Romania.

(PS I couldn't have done these without my wonderful Nikon 18-200 VR lens.)

(Part of) What I Did on My Sabbatical

2009-06-17T07:45:00.001-07:00

Read a lot of books! (Starting to assemble stuff and sort out what--mostly--stays and what goes.)

Birthday Highs

2009-06-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

We had dinner on the 15th at a rooftop restaurant in Timisoara called Aquarium.

From which we could watch the sun set over Timisoara.

Tomorrow we're off to Sibiu for a last visit. Starting our series of sad good-byes.

Hives

2009-06-16T14:11:00.001-07:00

When we were in Budapest, we visited Odon Lechner's Postal Savings Bank. It's decorated by (among other fanciful creatures), large beehives to which ants (see below) are crawling upwards.

The hive, we read, is a symbol of the sweetness that is achieved by saving, and hence its presence signals the building is a bank.

Then we started noticing hives on buildings in Timisoara, like this one on the Banca de Scont right off Piata Unirii.

And this one on what was originally the Iosefin Savings Bank.

This is on a building in Piata Stantul Gheorge.

This figure, though, we don't get. Hives as headress. She's on a large building in Fabric that has a big boat coming out of the pediment and that seems to be a collection of apartments. I would love to know what her iconography means. I also wish I knew how to "read" the other images I see so often on these Timisoara buildings --how many are fanciful and how many signal something about how the building was to be used or understood as a civic space.

Casa cu Pauni: FTB 4

2009-06-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

The Case cu Pauni (Peacock House) is the first building I saw in Timisoara that I realized was something special. I had found it via the Blue Guide (during my first real walk), where I read that it was designed by Martin Gemienhardt, one of Timisoara's leading Seccesionist architects.

It wasn't until my next visit, that I realized that there are actually two Peacock Houses, both in the Piata Plevnei.

I kept coming back to these buildings and discovering how alive they are.

Images of animals and birds and plants everywhere.

Even here (under the cornice), where you can hardly see it, unless you look.

Even the door has these organic, curvy, peacock-looking lines.

I figured I would find out all about Martin Gemeinhardt, but even after extensive (mainly internet) searches, I have discovered almost nothing at all, except that 1) he signed these buildings; 2) he designed another building (kind of Gothic revival but also with lots of organic details) on what is now Blvd 16 Decembrie 1989; 3) that he has some connection with the Anchor House in Iosefin; 4) and that he and his father belonged to a music society in Timisoara.

Back to the beginning

2009-06-13T14:26:00.001-07:00

Though it will be another two and a half weeks til we return to the US, the trip to Britain felt like the last great arc of this glorious Fulbright adventure. And that reminded me that I never wrote about its complement--the first great trip to Italy. These are some images from a 10 day visit to Bologna, Ravenna, Ferrara, and Venice in January, before the Fulbright began.

This is Bologna. One of the many arcades that connect the city. This one has 666 arches and leads to a shrine right outside the city.

These are the mosaics from Ravenna, something that after I read Yeats, I really wanted to see.

"Oh sages standing in god's holy fire."

"An enamelled bird to keep a drowsy emperor awake."

Also the city of Dante at the end of his life.

The images that follow are, of course, of Venice.

A city still filled with ordinary life.

As well as the extraordinary,

like San Marco in Acqua Alta.

But when the sun comes out,

The city shines like the jewel it is.

Back from Britain

2009-06-13T08:15:00.001-07:00

Just back from a visit to Great Britain. Birmingham (giving papers at the Narrative Conference), Edinburgh, then London. Birmingham and London were both (in different ways) demanding. Birmingham because of the Conference, and London because we arrived just in time for a 48 hour tube strike. And while we really enjoyed being in both cities, the highlight was Edinburgh. Actually, we LOVED Edinburgh. It stunned us with its combination of unexpected grandeur and alluring Scottish coziness. Grand vistas, perpindicular streetscapes, lovely little pubs. We had the best food of the trip there, both traditionally Scottish (Tony had "haggis, tatties, and neeps," which is haggis--don't ask--mashed potatoes and mashed turnips; it was a lot better than it sounds), and fresh-British classics (sweet pea soup with mint, lamb with new roast potatoes currant mint jelly, strawberries and cream). Yum. We loved it all so much, we have decided that our next vacation will be driving around Scotland. (We have visions of a tartan rug, a hamper, and picnics in the heather!) Here's a bit of why we loved Edinburgh so much.

The Scott Monument.

Ascending the Scott Monument.

Edinburgh roofs.

The Royal Mile.

Tons of (historicist) Gothic facades.

We had a terrific time!

Oradea 3: The Black Eagle

2009-06-02T02:02:00.000-07:00

When we were in Oradea, we stayed at the Black Eagle, a commercial center in the main square. It was designed by Komor and Jakab and was, according to Frederic Bedoire and Robert Tanner, "the most extensive effort to give Nagyvarad [Oradea] the appearance of a big city, with an elegant glazed arcade, inspired by the Gresham in Budapest." They also argue that its size and color made it the "riposte of Jewish enterprise to the three Christian churches which until then had dominated the [main square]."

The Black Eagle has recently been restored, though the arcade doesn't seem to be very busy.

From the only stained glass window that survived.

The hotel bursts with all kinds of intricate details. (This one is actually the top of a gutter).

(Tony said it felt a little like staying in a cupcake, but that's another story.)

.
It was an extraordinary experience, after seeing all those buildings, to be able to stay in one.

Komor and Jakab also designed two houses for Emil Adorjan, the Jewish entrepreneur who commissioned and financed the Black Eagle. Bedoire and Tanner use Oradea as one of their examples of the "New Jersusalem," and explain how the identity of Oradea's Jewish community was manifested as much, if not more, in the civic landscape of the city as it was in synagogues.

According to Bedoire and Tanner, Adorjan was "a man of about thirty, entrepreneur as well as intellectual, in close touch with the financial world and with the radical writers in the city, and a great collector of books."

Like Komor, Adjoran died in the Holocaust. Oradea became, next to Budapest, Hungary's largest ghetto; of the 27,000 Jews deported in 1944, Adjoran was the first to go.

Oradea 2: Darvas La Roche House

2009-06-01T14:27:00.001-07:00

But in the midst of all this rather ornate secessionist bravura, we discovered this gorgeous little modernist house. It was built 1910-1911 by Jozsef and Laszlo Vago, two brothers who were natives of the city and who were inspired by the undecorated architecture of Vienna.

Darvas La Roche was a Jewish banker, who had migrated from Switzerland. The interiors, which we weren't able to see, are also supposed to be very striking.

The outside is studded with these little ceramic spheres (each one is different), which recall rivets.

Oradea 1: Grand buildings

2009-06-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

We did an overnight in Oradea last week--our last stop on the Romanian architecture tour.

It too is a city with a beautiful history of late 19th century and early 20th century buildings--now in various states of repair.

Some are very grand.

And ornate.

It's been a busy week!

2009-05-30T05:29:00.000-07:00

Last week was unusually busy. First, we had vistors from Louisville. Then we had the British and American Studies Conference at Timisoara. Then we did an overnight in Oradea (the last stop on the Romanian Architecture Tour). And yesterday, I did a presentation on the writing process at the Polytechnic University and was taken (along with Tony; see above) to a very extravagant lunch.

On Wednesday, we are going to England for 10 days, but I will try to do a couple of blogs before we leave.

In the meantime, note to (one) faithful fan: Thanks for missing me!

Arad 2

2009-05-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

Lots of unexpected and gorgeous details.

Arad 1

2009-05-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in all this, I also went to Arad. I hopped on the train and spent about six (hot but wonderful) hours walking around the city. Arad has lots of really grand architecture (much grander and more ornate than Timisoara), but I most enjoyed finding houses with unexpected details.

Like this one that has green carvings growing all over its facade.

If I'm reading this right, this is first stage Secession (the organic, curvilinear style).

And this one is second stage (straight lines and geometrical forms).

Great colors

Synagogue in Fabric FTB 3

2009-05-18T06:25:00.001-07:00

This is the Synagogue in Fabric, one of the most beautiful (of the many extraordinarily beautiful) buildings in Timisoara. It was completed in 1899 and was designed by Lipot Baumhorn, a noted architect of synagogues (and other buildings) from Budapest. (There is a very moving description by the travel writer Ruth Ellen Gruber about uncovering his grave in Budapest: when she found the gravestone, she discovered it recorded a list of the synagogues he had designed, as well as a bas relief of his masterpiece in Szeged.) Though the synagogue is now hard to see, it originally faced a small canal and must have been beautifully situated. (This area of Timisoara was apparently a "little Venice," with many small canals, all of which have since been filled.)

It is a beautifully detailed "moorish" building. But I wasn't even sure it was the Synagogue until I found the lettering over one of the doors.

It is now sadly in very bad decay, one of the most endangered buildings in Timisoara. The wood is rotting and it's covered in fungus. No entry at all.

The facade is falling off (you can pick up shards from the ground below).

But the intricacies of its design are still apparent.

East-West Passages and Fulbright Conference

2009-05-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Sibiu, where we attended the East-West Passages Conference, co-sponsored by the C. Peter McGrath Center for Romanian-American Interactions at Lucian Blaga University and the Romanian-US Fulbright Commission. Almost all of the Fulbright visitors to Romania were there.

We all stayed in the lovely little village, Rasinari.

Where we had dinner in a beautiful garden.

An outing to Cisnadie, a fortified chuch from which one sees this lovely view.

2008-2009 Fulbright Group

Images fom the buildings on Blvd. 3 August 1919

2009-05-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

Entering Fabric, one of the expansion "towns," you walk down a grand boulevard, lined on one side by the beautiful and historic "People's Park," and on the other by "palaces" or large apartment buildings. The buildings date from around the turn of the century, and their style is described as "eclectic." Each of the buildings has its own characteristic ornamentation, and as you proceed you discover these intricate and surprising images:

A face growing out of a column on No. 3.

A parade of "muses" on No. 5

And, strangest of all, a boat on No. 7. (This one is described somewhere as having been built by Miksa Steiner, 1907 and as "similar to the later Hungarian Naval Administration building in Budapest." Of course, as an explanation, this perhaps raises more questions than it answers. . . . )

Starting to think about what this means

2009-05-08T04:59:00.000-07:00

When we were first in Romania 7 years ago, we visited the painted monasteries in Bucovina. Although everyone had told us how beautiful they were, we were nonetheless unprepared for what they offered. They were perhaps the most unexpectedly rich sights we saw in Romania, and visiting them one of the most memorable events in our lives. In a way, discovering the secessionist architecture in Transylvania (Timisoara and now Targu Mures, next week Arad and then Oradea) has been the equivalent on this trip.

Why do these buildings have so much power for me? I am working my way through this question, and here is what I have come up with so far. First, they are constantly different in their intricacies and meaning. Second, I have had to learn about them by looking (rather than my usual way, by scholarship). Third, I enjoy the kind of intellectual quest that trying to find out about them has posed for me (mainly, until I can get to a libaray, hunting down clues online). And fourth, there is something about this kind of aesthetic that I respond to. (Why I respond is another question altogether. . . )

In particular, I love the Palace of Culture in Targu Mures. I love the simplicity of exterior and the complexities of the interior. I love the way the windows refer to specific details of Romanian life. I love that I have built (almost on my own) a framework for looking at such a building. And I love the fact that I can trace the architects' work. Finally, I find it extraordinarily poignant that Komor died in the Holocaust, and that here I am, over 50 years later, discovering him through his work.

Excursus: What makes a hotel quirky?

2009-05-07T06:27:00.000-07:00

Brief explanation for my (one) faithful fan, who asked me what made the Hotel Concordia "quirky?"

The hotel is really lovely. It's a refurbished "palace," with huge rooms. The rooms are nicely fitted out: comfortable beds, great toiletries, complimentary robes, access to pool and sauna, etc. It's most black and white, including some odd but interesting zebra fabric, and little red touches. So let me be clear: I really liked this hotel. But it also has some "quirky" touches, including the life-sized picture of a woman holding a duster, placed exactly so that she appears to be watching whatever is going on in bed:

Targu Mures: Palace of Culture Stained Glass Windows 2

2009-05-07T06:10:00.001-07:00

The most beautiful windows of all, I think, are a four three-part windows, based on folk ballads. They were painted/planned by Sandor Nagy. These are details from the center window of the set narrating the ballad of Kadar Kata (The Two Zion Flower). According to the guide book "This ballad is the tragedy of the forbidden marriage by the feudal-social differences. The lovers find each other in death." These images below are from the window in which the girl is "thrown into the bottomless lake."

Targu Mures: Palace of Culture Stained Glass Windows 1

2009-05-07T04:22:00.001-07:00

But the crowning glories of the building are the stained glass windows on the first (for us Americans second) floor in the Hall of Mirrors. One set of windows is inspired by Szekler folk legends. These were made from Thorocozkai-Wigand's paintings and reflect, according to the guide we bought at the museum, "the Szekler's material-social and spiritual ethnography, architectural styles, housing family life, important works." The windows were made in Miksa Roth's workshop in Budapest (1913).

This one is called Csaba's Cradle.

I love the stars coming in the window while the mother and the baby dream.

And these jugs, which I have seen still hanging in many Romanian homes.

Targu Mures: Palace of Culture Interior Ground Floor

2009-05-07T03:38:00.000-07:00

Main Hall, painted by Aladar Korosfoy-Kriesch, one of the founders of the Godolo artists' colony, and his students. It's dark and very grand. You enter on this floor to the theater. When we were there, we heard the orchestra rehearing for its next concert.

Targu Mures: Palace of Culture Exterior

2009-05-07T00:18:00.001-07:00

This is the exterior of the Palace of Culture, also designed by Komor and Jakab (1910-1911). It includes a theater, museums, conference hall---bringing together all the cultural activities of the city. It's an example of Gesamtkuswerk (a total, synthesizing work of art). The exterior facade is decorated with mosaics that illustrate Szekler legends. They were made by Sandor Nagy and Miksa Roth (we saw Roth's mosaic on the Turkish Bank our last visit to Hungary).

From the main facade.

A window from the secondary facade.

Details of the mosaics.

From the top frieze: (sexy) muses.

A detail of the balcony.

All of this (and more) building was because of a very active major, Gyorgy Bernady.

Targu Mures: County Council Building

2009-05-06T07:48:00.001-07:00

This was the City Hall in of Marosvásárhely (now the County Council Building of Mures in Targu Mures). The bell tower is supposed to be a reference to the Pallazzo Publico in Sienna, an "archetype for nineteenth-century city halls" (Stefanut). But the polychrome ceramics are inspired by Szekler embroidery.

It was designed and built by Marcell Komor and Dezso Jakab (1907-1908).

The details are gorgeous.

The polychrome roof.

From the ceiling of the Hall of Honor.

The tiled interior.

Targu Mures: Riches

2009-05-06T06:22:00.001-07:00

We just got back from 2 days in Targu Mures. We left on Monday at 5:15 (AM!) and arrived around 11:30. We spent most of the afternoon walking around, stayed the night in the lovely (though quirky) Hotel Concorida, and then spent the next day walking and visiting places til the train left at 4:40, leaving us in Timisoara at 11:30 (PM!) Tuesday night. It was, in a word, exhausting (but the good kind of exhausting, we kept telling ourselves.)

The city center is filled with beautiful buildings, dated from the 15th century onwards. But our particular focus were the glorious late 19th/early 20th century secessionist buildings which the city is famous for. The most important are the County Council Building and the Palace of Culture. (Each of these will get their very own blog posts.) But here's a start of the eclectic riches of Targu Mures.

Vamos House. Bela Keleti. 1908-1910. (Floral, ethnographic approach).

Apartments. Arpad Varadi. 1912-1013. (Functionalist approach).

Of course not everything is "technically beautiful."

But it's vibrant and colorful.

Filled with all kinds of details and views.

Komor and Jakab update

2009-05-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, in the spirit of an intellectual quest, I have uncovered a bit more about Komor and Jakab.

This is an excerpt from Answers.com Art Encyclopedia at http://www.answers.com/topic/komor-jakab-1

Hungarian architectural partnership formed in 1897 by Marcell Komor (b Pest (now Budapest), 7 Nov 1868; d Sopronkeresztur (now Deutschkreutz, Austria), 29 Nov 1944) and Dezso Jakab (b Rév (now Vadul Crisului, Romania), 4 Nov 1864; d Budapest, 5 Aug 1932). Komor trained in the studio of Alajos Hauszmann, and Jakab studied at the Hungarian Palatine Joseph Technical University, Budapest, before both joined the office of Odon Lechner.

They can be seen principally as followers of Lechner's attempt to establish a uniquely Hungarian style of architecture. Their early synagogue (1902) at Szabadka (now Subotica, Serbia) is built on a Greek-cross plan and is crowned with a great iron-framed cupola, with decoration derived from Hungarian vernacular forms. The neo-Baroque town hall (1905) at Marosvásárhely (now Tirgu Mures, Romania), has a stressed central projection and a tower similar to that used by Lechner on his neo-Baroque town hall (1883) at Szeged. On the building's exterior the use of Zsolnay ceramics, vernacular motifs and pierced cornice friezes directly follows the practice of Lechner. These ideas were further developed in their designs for Szabadka Town Hall (1907-12), one of the greatest works of the Hungarian Secession. . . .

The decorative tendency of their work is best illustrated by the Palace of Culture (1910), Marosvásárhely. Here they achieved a merging of various Transylvanian vernacular arts in a true Gesamtkunstwerk, which contrasts effectively with their earlier, adjacent, town hall building. Komar & Jakab also showed considerable ingenuity in the practical and functional aspects of architecture. The 'Black Eagle' complex (1905-8) in Nagyvárad (now Oradea, Romania) required a hotel, concert hall and businesses to be separately housed in one building. Their solution was to arrange the various elements in a L-shaped block and to modify the facade so that it stressed the entrance to this block. The partnership broke up in 1918 but was temporarily re-established when they built a unique Secessionist skyscraper (1930) as an addition to their earlier National Health Service Headquarters (1912), Budapest. Komor also worked as a theorist and architectural critic.

Also discovered online: "Marcell Komor was an exceptionally knowledgable engineer. He is also known as the author of books on architecture. His pen-name was 'Ezrey'."

Now here's the question: WHY is this so fascinating to me? I wish I knew. All I can tell you is that my husband and I are getting up at 4:30 tomorrow morning to catch a train and ride 6 hours to Targu Mures in order to see the Palace of Culture and other buildings. A report on our architectural adventures to follow!

Blvd 16 Decembrie 1989 FTB2

2009-05-02T00:22:00.000-07:00

Here is the building as you approach it from Strada Gheorge Doja.

This is the center window at the top. (Note the broken panes.)

A frieze below one of the windows.

In the late afternoon sun.

This is the second building I really fell in love with. I found it on one my first walks. It's on the other side of the Bega, on Blvd 16 Decembrie 1989, on the left hand side as you face the Traian Bridge. It's in a bad state of disrepair. Like many of the old buildings, it has broken glass, particularly in the top windows, which must hasten deterioration. I love the sinuous curving windows and friezes. I also love the way it takes on color, especially in the late afternoon.

This building, though, is a mystery to me; its picture appears in several guidebooks, but I have not found any identifying details.

Banca de Scont FTB 1

2009-04-30T06:52:00.001-07:00

The building itself (hard to photograph because it sits right on a narrow street).

Enamel decoration on the pediment; motifs drawn from Transylvanian folk art.

Details of enamels around a window.

Decorative supports for gutters. (I love these!)

An outdoor light.

Grillwork around a window.

Tiles on the roof.

This is the first [!] in a series about my Favorite Timisoara Buildings (FTB).

This is the Banca de Scont (Discount Bank), the first building in Timisoara I really fell in love with. I actually remembered this building from earlier visits to Timisoara (2002 and 2004), but it wasn't til this trip that I tried to figure out why I liked it so much.

First, it reminds me (weird though this sounds) of Santa Fe pueblo architecture (soft, curvy and brown like adobe architecture, plus lots of turquoise). Of course, this only begs the question of why I like Santa Fe pueblo architecture so much, but that is a story for another blog. Second, it is just so unexpected. Who would have ever imagined finding a building like this just off a baroque plaza in a Romanian city? Third, I have actually discovered something about it and its architects.

It was designed by Marcell Komor and Dezso Jakab and built between 1906 and 1908. Komor and Jakab were students of Odon Lechner. They also designed the City Hall and Palace of Culture in Targu Mures (which we are going to see next week; its my birthday present from my husband!) and the Black Eagle complex in Oradea ((which I also hope to see).

This is from the online Jewish Virtual Library:

JAKAB, DEZSÖ (1864–1932) and KOMOR, MARCELL (1868–1944), Hungarian architects, designers of synagogues, nursing homes, public buildings, and private villas. Their major projects, situated outside Hungary's present borders, include the synagogue of Subotica (Szabadka), Yugoslavia, the municipality building of Tirgu Mures (Marosvásárhely), Romania, and a concert hall in Bratislava, Czechoslavakia. In partnership they built the Erkel theater in Budapest according to the plans of G. Markus (1872–1912), another Jewish architect of the Secessionist era. Komor was a victim of the Holocaust.

According to Art Nouveau in Romania by Ada Stefanut (the one useful book I could actually get my hands on), "It was thanks to [Komor and Jakab] that the Hungarian version of Art Nouveau spread through the Carpathian basin." The Hungarian Secessionist features include "decorative details that reveal a focus on specificity of the place," including "ornamental motifs drawn from the local crafts." It's also noteworthy for the organic, curved walls and the amazing grillwork, including the lovely iron gutters.

Flowers for a friend

2009-04-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

Debra in a Krakow garden.

Lilacs, bought in the market.

Tulips in the Piata Victoriei.

(Flowers for a friend on the death of her computer.)

Wyspianski 4

2009-04-26T05:04:00.000-07:00

Wyspianski also designed the interior of the building for the Society of Physicians.

Including stained glass windows,

the colors of the walls,

and the balustrade decorations.

And here his signature, as well as the sad subsequent history of the building.

Wyspianski 3

2009-04-25T05:15:00.001-07:00

Wyspianski also did the stained glass windows in the Franciscan Church. We timed one of our visits for when the sun caught the west window. This is God creating the world, also called "Let It Be."

Our guidebook says that this window was particularly controversial when it was first erected.

On the south wall, there are also stained glass windows with flowers.

Wyspianski 2

2009-04-24T06:00:00.001-07:00

A few more details from Wyspianski's paintings in the Franciscan church.

Wyspianski 1

2009-04-24T05:46:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about travelling is discovering something you didn't know existed but now love intensely. This happened to us in Krakow. We had heard that the Franciscan church was very lovely, with art nouveau paintings. We walked in, and it was indeed very beautiful.

But it wasn't until we had been in there for a few minutes and our eyes adjusted to the lights, that we realized how extraordinary the paintings are.

The walls in the nave, for example, are covered with pictures of flowers.

Flowers of all types and variety.

The interior of the church (paintings and stained glass windows) was executed by Stanislaw Wyspianski (1869-1907), a Polish painter, playwright, poet, furniture and interior designer, etc. We fell in love with Wyspanski and tried to track down as much as his work as it was possible to see in Krakow.

Krakow

2009-04-23T06:13:00.001-07:00

This is another gorgeous city.

With beautiful squares and streets,

Lots of juicy architectural details

of all sorts.

And what is called "the best bookstore in Eastern Europe" (Massolit, truly a book-lover's idea of heaven).

Back home in Timisoara

2009-04-22T06:38:00.000-07:00

Back home, and back to the blog! (Tony on his Krakow Birthday; more Krakow pictures coming soon.)

More Sibiu colors

2009-04-11T04:00:00.001-07:00

I took these in the eveninng.

Sibiu is in the mountains, and the air is remarkably clear.

It really is an extraordinary place.

Sibiu Sparkles

2009-04-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

We went back to Sibiu this week. We first went there in 2002, when Debra had a Fulbright. But this was our first visit since the city was refurbished. It was the European Cultural Capital in 2007, and all the attention has really made the city shine. This is the Piata Mare, the big square.

Many old houses in Sibiu have these very distinctive attic windows. They call them the "eyes of Sibiu."

A tiled roof that's part of the Evangelical Church.

And here's Strada Balcescu, leading up to Piata Mare. We had such a great time, and I have so many wonderful pictures of Sibiu. I'll try to do another Sibiu post before we leave this Sunday for Krakow.

(By the way, none of these pictures have been photoshopped. These gorgeous colors are "real"--or at least as real as my digital camera recorded.)

Spring comes (for real) to Romania

2009-04-05T06:04:00.001-07:00

The fountain has begun to spray water.

Things are beginning to bloom.

A sort of Easter Market has spring up in the Piata Victoriei.

And terasas (outdoor cafes and restaurants) are everywhere.

Student Symposium at the University of the West

2009-04-05T05:40:00.001-07:00

This week, the students at the University (mostly the M.A. students in English) gave a symposium in which they presented their work and generously invited us to give plenary papers.

(Tony, getting ready to deliver a paper on American poetry.)

(Debra making a point about something or other; picture by Andre.)

And to top it all off, the students prepared this gorgeous and delicious lunch for all of us. Romanian conferences showcase hospitality like no other place I've ever been.

Ustroi are us

2009-04-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

They may look like onions or scallions, but they are actually little baby garlics. Ustroi!

This is one of the biggest treats we remembered from our first visit to Romania, and we've been eagerly waiting for them to appear in the market. They cost about $.30 a bunch (that's 30 cents) and are pretty much unattainable at home.

I sliced them thin, sauteed in olive oil, put them over pasta, and sprinkled a little parmesan. Absolutely delicious.

What are you looking at?

2009-04-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

I have been going for walks, wandering neighborhoods, scrutinizing buildings, and taking pictures. Several times people have stopped and asked me "what are you looking at?" (Or at least I think this what they asked me; I don't really speak Romanian.) A good friend also recently asked me "why are you so interested in architecture?" And I didn't really know how to answer him. So I'm embarking on a project in which I'm trying to figure out what I'm looking at and why whatever it is that I'm looking at is so appealing (actually at present so fascinating).

A walk in Iosefin (one of Timisoara's "towns")

2009-03-31T09:25:00.000-07:00

Can you tell? I am in love with this city.

But when the sun shines (to continue the weather theme), the colors of the buildings glow

2009-03-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, it rains in Timisoara

2009-03-26T04:08:00.000-07:00

Note to my (one) faithful fan, who pointed out that the sun was shining in all my pictures and asked if it ever rained here. Actually, we have had almost no sunshine at all; it's just that whenever the sun comes out, I run out and take a picture! But this is a more typical view from my window.

Look up!

2009-03-25T06:37:00.001-07:00

After being in Vienna, I began to notice all the architectural details and designs in Timisoara.

They are on balconys

and pediments.

This one I particularly like is from the Peacock House (early 20th century Secessionist).

We just got back from a wonderful week in Vienna with great friends

2009-03-24T05:18:00.000-07:00

A city filled with amazing architecture,

of all sorts

and styles,

and art everywhere.

Happiness is Clean Laundry!

2009-03-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

This week our life returned to order: back on the internet, phone repaired, bathroom repaired, and 3 weeks of piled-up laundry taken care of in a new washing machine!

Spring comes (sort of) to Romania

2009-03-13T08:00:00.001-07:00

Romanians celebrate spring coming in March--Marti.

And even though it's still cold people sell little spring-like pins and objects in the squares.

OriginallyI think they were hand-made. Now they seem mostly mass produced. Though they're still pretty.

Last week we went to Budapest

2009-03-11T05:22:00.001-07:00

A city that we love.

Where we walked around.

And revisited favorite places.

But mostly enjoyed (and acquired for Romania) creature comforts.

Return to the Blog!

2009-03-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my (one) faithful fan: After 5 days off-line, we are back on the internet! More later.

Comfort in Romania (or how we finally made a warm and cozy bed)

2009-02-26T00:46:00.000-08:00

First we relied on this rather strange tiger blanket supplied in the flat (that is now lying on top of rather nice Italian sheets we bought on sale at the Timisoara Mall). . .

And later, on top of that, we put a blue wool blanket we bought (and hauled in our suitcase) from an Italian bedding store. . . .

And finally we added the most comfortable part of all: a comforter from the Romanian Modex. And now we are totally warm and cozy!

The best gin and tonic in Timisoara

2009-02-24T04:35:00.000-08:00

Here it is. At the Segafredo Cafe in the Piata Victoriei. Note the two limes. And the fizz. And (wonder of wonders!) the large amount of ice.

And here am I. Getting ready to drink it (in my new haircut) before strolling over to the Opera House to see Madame Butterfly.

We live just around the corner from the Piata Victoriei

2009-02-21T06:01:00.000-08:00

which has a McDonald's

where you can buy beer (ah Europe!)

and a cathedral

and an Opera House (where we saw Carmen)

But today it is just starting to thaw!

2009-02-20T07:56:00.000-08:00

We have arrived!

2009-02-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

We are arrived! (And finally on-line!) After already a month away, we have settled into a flat in Timisoara, gone to Italy on a holiday, returned to snow, and (one of us) started to teach!

More to come. . . . .