Thursday, December 27, 2018: Cluj to Sapanta back to Baia Mare:

            Wow, this has been a full day! We left the apartment in Cluj, driving north east, with a destination of the Maramures region of Romania.  Along the way there are many churches, primarily Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical (German Lutheran). We are most interested in the wooden churches.  We saw several wooden churches in Croatia last Christmas, but Romania has many more which are more ornate.  At one point in history, only Catholic churches could be of stone, whereas all others, had to be wooden.  The German Lutheran presence in Transylvania was strong. There was also a strong Hungarian presence in northern Romania.  

Farm Wagon

Scenic Romanian Countryside 

Romanian Rural Farm with Well

            When we left Cluj, our first destination was Sic, a traditional Hungarian town.  The guide books say that 90% of the residents wear traditional clothes/costumes.  We drove on back roads to get there, seeing horse drawn carts, and little farming villages. Once in the village, we found the church, which was open to visitors.  It was simple except for fabric with red designs done in embroidery, draped over the front pews in the 3 pew sections, and the table cloth on a table in the center.  This was an Evangelical church, with no altar, but a pulpit on the side. There were 3 sections of pews, around the pulpit with a square table in the center below the pulpit.  The church has been restored and was well maintained. 

            From the church we drove to the centrum, looking for a spot to have coffee.  Nothing was open.  But on our search, we saw several people in traditional dress.  Surprisingly they were pleased to pose for us. 

Sic Fortified Church

Native Costume

            Farther north on the main highway, we took another jog, looking for wooden churches and villages.  We found several more wooden churches before getting to the city of Baia Mare.  We have a reservation for tonight in Baia Mare, but before we stop, we need to drive farther north into the Maramures region.  There are many things to see there, so we do not have the time to linger. 

Corn Crib

Another Farm Wagon

Modern-Wooden Church Combination

But first on our way north, we had to cross the dividing mountain range.  This was more than I had imagined.  We drove 15 kilometers of tight switchbacks, up and then down the other side of the mountain. Getting behind slow vehicles or trucks was frustrating.  There were only a few places to pass.  They had a wet snow recently and the trees were beautiful with all the snow hanging onto them.  It was a winter wonderland.

We stopped to see wooden churches in Baia Sprie, Desestia and several other towns.  We could have spent another day or two in this region, driving from town to town, looking at their wooden churches and the more modern churches.       

Snow Covered Trees on Mountain Pass

More Wooden Churches

Decorative Entrance Arches

Tile Covered House

            We need to continue-on, if we want to see the Merry Cemetery in Sapanta.  Merry Cemetery keeps popping up as a “must see” location in Romana. If we do not get there today, we will not see it, as we have an overnight reservation back in Baia Mare.  It was nearly dark, almost 4:00 pm, when we arrived.  Oh, My Goodness, what a surprise!  It was a forest of unique cemetery markers.  The wooden markers basic color is blue. The engravings on them are carved with a scene from the deceased life.  After the scene is carved, it is painted, in bright colors, often outlined with colorful tile designs.  They all have messages, some of which, we understand, are humorous.

            We could not believe how large an area the Merry Cemetery covered.  There were lots of visitor there as well.  We heard more English spoken here than we have heard in the last two weeks!! Within a few blocks of the cemetery, Sapanta has a lovely wooden church.

Merry Cemetery

Nearby Wooden Church

            To get to Sapanta, we drove through the town of Sighet, before following the river Tisa, west to Sapanta.  On the other side of the river is the country of Ukraine. We were 1 mile from the Ukraine border.  At Sighlet there is a bridge over this river which has a history with smugglers. Today cigarettes and Petrol are being smuggled across the bridge from Ukraine to Romania.

            It was worth the drive, even though the drive back over the mountain pass will be in the dark, to get to our reserved hotel in Baia Mare.  We had said, we do not want to do night-time driving, but tonight will be an exception!  We have a full day of driving ahead of us tomorrow, leaving from Baia Mare.

            All went well with our night-time driving, and we arrived at our Hotel Europa in time for dinner