Today we will spend most of the day in the car. So as we were able to enjoy Sighisoara yesterday, we decided to head north just after breakfast in Sighisoara.
At 9:15 we left, stopping at 13:45 in a restaurant on the road and we were really lucky. We ordered schnitzel sandwich and tiramisu. They did not speak any English but more or less we understood each other with google translator, and the food was great. Probably the best meal we had in Romania.

On our way to the painted monastery…this a very common image of the Romanian roads

As we spend a few hours on our way to the north, we arrived at 16:00 in the painted monastery of Moldovita. 5 RON per person and 10 RON to take pics (only outside).

The monastery of Moldovita forms part of the set of painted monastery of the area, Patrimony of the Humanity according to Unesco.

Like all other temples in the Bucovina region, beauty emanates from frescoes that decorate the exterior of the monastery, colorful and lively, reflecting biblical and historical scenes. Inside the monastery, the grandeur of Romanian art is evident.

The frescoes of Moldovita Monastery are remarkable and well preserved. The predominantly gold and deep blue paintings on the exterior walls were completed in 1537.
The large and vivid Siege of Constantinople highlights the frescoes.

The Siege of Constantinople frescoes were inspired by a poem dedicated to the Virgin Mary in thanksgiving for her intervention in saving the city of Constantinople from a Persian attack in A.D. 626. In a wonderful political spin, considering the Ottoman threat to Moldavia in the 1500s, the Siege on the walls of Moldovita Church depicts the enemy as turbaned Turks rather than Persians.

Another stunning representation depicts the Tree of Jesse, representing Christ’s genealogy, a wide-spread iconographical theme in Europe during the Middle Ages.

From: http://romaniatourism.com/

Painted Monastery of Moldovita

Painted Monastery of Moldovita

Painted Monastery of Moldovita

Painted Monastery of Moldovita

Painted Monastery of Moldovita

After this wonder, we also managed to visit Suceavita Monastery, very close to our guesthouse. Apparently you have to pay 5 RON to get in, but I think we were not charged because we arrived at 17:30 and it was half an hour before they closed.

Interesting fact about Suceavita Monastery:

• Sucevita was the last of the 22 painted churches of Bucovina and has the largest number of painted images
• The western exterior wall of the church is not painted. Legend has it that work stopped after one of the painters fell from the scaffolding and died
• From: http://romaniatourism.com/

Painted Monastery of Suceavita

Painted Monastery of Suceavita

Painted Monastery of Suceavita

Painted Monastery of Suceavita

At 18:30 we were in our guesthouse which is 3 minutes from the previous monastery. We were greeted by the owners who are super friendly. My only complaint is that there were cats outside the hotel, but you probably already know how I am with the cats theme (a little crazy).

Guesthouse

We rested for a while in the guesthouse and then went to dinner at Popas Turistic Bucovina (credit card accepted). The food was standard, we paid € 12 per person without dessert and with wine. Probably this is the only restaurant of the area.

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