My Heart Soars: Romania : Part 9 - Day 11 : Neamt Citadel and Voronet Monastery

Day 11 of Romanian Drive

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 11.

25/9 Day 11: Baltatesti, Neamt -- Neamt Citadel -- Voronet Monastery -- Ieud

We slept in the car.

Must-Incur Costs

(1) Entrance fee to Neamt Citadel - LEI5 / EUR1.11
(2) Parking at Neamt Citadel - LEI2 / EUR0.44
(3) Entrance fee to Voronet Monastery - LEI5 / EUR1.11
(4) Parking at Voronet - LEI2 / EUR0.44

Optional Costs

(1) 25/9 Brunch in Neamt - Meat plate LEI15/ EUR3.32, Coffee LEI3 / EUR0.66, Cheeseburger LEI5 / EUR1.11, Water LEI2.50 / EUR0.55
(2) 25/9 Dinner in Voronet - 2 sandwiches LEI8 / EUR1.77, Orange fanta LEI4 / EUR0.89

(3) Tip in lunch - LEI0.50 / EUR0.11

The Story

250916 - The night before, Prof Sweet Tooth had parked by an apple farm. It would have been nice to take one of the apples but Prof Sweet Tooth is a law abiding citizen. *roll eyes*

Before heading on to our next destination which is Neamt Citadel (well, we were actually close by as we have stayed the night in Neamt County itself), so we decided to have brunch. I did not understand what was stated on the menu and I did not expect the plate of cold meat. Thankfully, I am hungry to finish most of it with the help of Prof Sweet Tooth who has his own cheeseburger too.

We were at Neamt Citadel by noon. Not all of the souvenir booths were opened but Prof Sweet Tooth already has an eye on the souvenirs.

I don't know how such a big spoon could be of any use..

It was just a 700metre walk from the car park to the Citadel. It was an uphill climb.

Neamț Citadel (Romanian: Cetatea Neamț or Cetatea Neamțului) is a medieval fortress located in north-eastern part of Romania, near Târgu Neamț, Neamț County. It was built in 14th century Moldavia during Petru I of Moldavia's reign and expanded in the 15th century. The citadel played a key role in Stephen III of Moldavia's defense system, along with Suceava, Hotin, Soroca, Orhei, Tighina, Chilia and Cetatea Albǎ. Source from Wikipedia.

There were no photography allowed unless you pay a photography fee. I was a bit excited to be in a Unesco compound but got badly disappointed when everything in the Citadel was in Romanian. Really, they don't expect international visitors? You mean, the souvenir booths cater to only Romanian visitors? I walked inside each room not being able to comprehend anything. Well, I have an idea of what this place is but detailed descriptions would have been very much helpful.

Finally, got a picture of horse cart on the roads.

Stopped to let the train pass through.

We head on to Voronet Monastery, another Unesco area for the day.

The Voroneț Monastery is a medieval monastery in the Romanian village of Voroneț, now a part of the town Gura Humorului. It is one of the famous painted monasteries from southern Bukovina, in Suceava County. The monastery was constructed by Stephen the Great in 1488 over a period of 3 months and 3 weeks to commemorate the victory at Battle of Vaslui. Often known as the "Sistine Chapel of the East", the frescoes at Voroneț feature an intense shade of blue known in Romania as "Voroneț blue."

The monastery is located to the south of Gura Humorului in Suceava County, in the valley of the Voroneț River. The legend of the origin of the church unites two men central to Romanian history: the founder of the monastery, Stephen the Great, and Saint Daniil the Hermit, the first abbot of the monastery. The tomb of Saint Daniil is located within the monastery. The church is one of the Painted churches of Moldavia listed in UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites. Source from Wikipedia.

As you can see, there was no photography allowed inside. They even built a big wall surrounding the Monastery. The Monastery that faces the entrance of the main gate was painted with beautiful sharp bright colours as depicted in all websites, but when we walked around the Monastery facing the back, the paint had peeled and had no colours. We spent less than 15 minutes inside the Monastery and I saw 3 nuns singing verses from the Bible. I think it is the Bible. The interior of the Monastery was beautiful and colourful with paintings on the walls and ceilings.