Plums in Bloom

It’s springtime in Romania and the country is alive with blooming fruit trees. The new green of the grass and the first blush of the maples and chestnuts are backdrop to the whites and pinks of the blooms. There are pear and cherry and a great many plum trees. The plums are used to make the traditional Tusica and Polinka, powerful homebrews. The apple trees have not quite blossomed yet, but will within the week.

We rode through the countryside this weekend and the contrasts between beauty and ugly remain as jarring as ever. Seeing the erosion of the rounded hillsides is sad as is the debris of garbage that border nearly every stream in this country. Usually I try to edit my pictures to crop out the unsightly portions but I’ve included one above that shows both the beauty of the blooms and the backdrop of cement towers and old tires.

Nancy and I take our first vacation starting this week. We’ll spend seven nights on the Greek Island of Rhodes (Rodos). The Peace Corps encourages us to travel and see the surrounding countries and this is our first trip out of the country. It’s now been eleven months since we packed our bags and a short break from the routine here in Cluj will be nice. I’ll hopefully have some interesting pictures to post upon our return.