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The Whole Picture

One morning last week I was trying to find the perfect vantage point to capture a photo of Biertan’s famous fortified church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Romania’s Transylvania region. The right angle and elevation would allow me to focus on the church without distracting visual noise – street signs, electric wires, antennas, etc.…
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Not stroller-confined – hiking in Transylvania

Unless you have been reading willtravelwithkids since its inception over three years ago, you probably missed the post about confining kids to strollers on outings. This week I’m in Transylvania, interspersing language school with adventurous outings in the area around Sibiu. This afternoon, during a secluded hike meandering with the children along a groomed path…
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Snapshots of Romania

As I mentioned in the previous post, we have now been in Romania over a month. We have also had the opportunity to travel across the country, from the Black Sea to the mountains, from the southern plains to the traffic-ridden capital, Bucharest. Summer is in full swing. I look forward to capturing snapshots throughout…
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First month in Romania – What I learned in June

At some point at the end of May we arrived in Romania by car. Exact dates and days of the week escape me. In late spring we stored our personal possessions, threw our furnished house on Airbnb and packed up our clothes and expectations into five totelockers, two suitcases and one duffel bag. Romania met…
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From those that labor

Since arriving in Romania several weeks ago, I have been gifted with three jars of honey, several dozen fresh eggs, ten cucumbers and two jars of jam. Many people in this region are subsistence gardeners and tirelessly work their land during daylight hours. Yet, they are very generous with the fruit of that labor. I…
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“Frozen” on a rural Romanian road
Before we arrived in Romania, Romanians and foreigners alike warned us of the poor quality of the roads. After expecting the worst, I have been pleasantly surprised. Perhaps compared to more developed (and not post-communist) European countries, the roads leave much to be desired. Few markings, no shoulders, ditches and drop-offs are a hazard at…
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Aiud, Romania; Bruchsal, Germany – The pride of the locals

When we moved to Germany eight years ago, my German landlord said we must visit the nearby Bruchsal Palace. It was one of his favorites. During our three and half years in Germany, we never made it to his favorite palace. We visited many other palaces and castles across the continent, but never his highly…
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Children of the Forest – the Waldkindergarten

As we tucked evergreen branches away from our faces, stepped over pools of mud, and climbed the steep embankment by the creek, I didn’t know what to expect. When the forest cleared slightly, it appeared we had stumbled upon a well-organized homeless camp, or, from the looks of the handcrafted objects hanging from the trees, a…
