yay daytrip!

sonia picked us up (do i mention at what time? it was before noon, ok?) and we settled in trip mode, i.e started...telling stories/eating nuts/bickering about wearing-sunglasses-while-looking-someone-else-in-the-eye...you know, trip stuff. the first part of the route happened to coincide with my commute of 10 years ago, in my first teaching job, so yeah - i had very quick looks at what used to be my daily view. (that school is still there, omg!).
the weather was brilliant, and people were selling onions by the side of the road in a village (romanians, you know the way: in bunches braided by the stems). there is touristic potential in the area: a monastery (remetea - quite new though, i'm told), a waterfall, plenty of woods and then more and more bits of rocky landscape. (we crossed into another county!)
...somewhere in judetul alba there are two villages close by: remetea and coltesti. mostly hungarian by culture. in remetea there's an etnographic museum, plenty of boarding rooms (they must have a fair number of tourists) and a few souvenir shops. in coltesti there's a very good restaurant where we'd made reservations, and outside the village on top of a hill there's a super old fortress/ castle?? whatever it was, well, what remains of it. this was the purpose of our trip: to acquire approx. 10748 photos of said fortress from all angles. success!


but first there's this special relief feature opposite the fortress hill, which we (some of us) promised to come back and climb some day soon.

aaand, get ready now to be impressed! (this thing was built in 13th century, to stave off Tartar invasions)

we didn't walk/climb much (half an hour? mmm less?) but sonia had left the car at some distance, and we were worried the slope was too abrupt. when we got almost there to the end of the path, we discovered another road, perfectly accessible by car.but  no big loss in the end.

there was a tower better preserved than the rest, so this is from inside it- the entrance 'door', stairs to a second level and the...sky through the lack of ceiling

dana, very picturesque with a walking/climbing stick

the tower seen from the outside/other side

standard "we were here" photo, so we don't have to go and scratch our names on the stones (why why why do people do that !:((

this is me trying hard not to pose in spite of the obvious pressure on me. ain't i a heroine! (i was caught in the act of fixing my hair, in case anyone's wondering)

and one more where you can read the clear assessment of me delivered by karma

window photos are everyone's favourite thing again

and a deep truth rediscovered today: the sky is always bluer when you see it through a hole. ours here is the happy case.

apparently dana has gotten very good and useful photographer skills (patience, good angles) from putting up with giulia for so long. thank you...both, i guess?

and more fun with stones! (not pictured: giulia looking for appropriate stones to take home, i.e. from the ground, not from the walls! she found two normal-sized ones and a very big one. and heavy i imagine. alright, i found 2 as well. imitator.)

on the way back, the light was falling differently and the colors got deeper. not pictured: the girls picking at all sorts of wild fruit, not at all connected with berries, the kind that makes your mouth pucker.

this is the small ornamental pond by the restaurant down in the village.( the food was soooo good and we spent a lot of time over that lunch. some people:) got doggybags. and they also have swings in the yard! and a tower! definitely a place to return to - Conacul Secuiesc de la Coltesti)

you can see the fortress up there by the side of the restaurant building.

and here are some lovely houses in remetea, with their souvenir displays. everything so clean and well-kept!! (white+green+clean and well-kept = usually hungarian. just saying.)

and i got this little bowl, to remind me of the wonderful day we had. (also because i was left without plates in my kitchen.)

c.