Rabies? No Thanks.

Today I had the dubious honor of giving a dear friend of mine her last injection for her rabies treatment. Just yesterday I was commenting to Mark about my fears of a successful return to nursing if/when the time came.  It's been almost ten months since I've worked and I worry whether blood and guts would still be fascinating instead of creepy? Could I reasonably and responsibly assess a patient's status without missing something important? After watching a few episodes of Nurse Jackie, I was freaking out even more. However, in the time of need I was more than happy to help considering what she had been dealing with in Romanian hospitals.  Diplomats are really lucky with handholding when it comes to medical treatment, I will just leave it at that.  

My gal pal's story began 28 days ago when she was hiking in the mountains with her three year old while her husband participated in a mountain bike race. During her hike, five scrappy sheepdogs surrounded her, keen on protecting something or someone. They began attacking despite her best intentions to remain calm and fierce, sinking their fangs into her hips and legs. Despite all this whirlwind activity, she kept her daughter protected, hoisted high on her shoulders who thankfully didn't know what was going on. My friend is pretty amazing like that. I would have crapped my pants. Staying quiet clearly wasn't working, so the screaming began and it was only a short time later when the sheepherder emerged from the thick trees to call off his beasts. In the end she made it into town, tracked down her husband and drove straight back to Bucharest for medical attention where she was able to begin the rigamarole of rabies injections. 

A series of 5 injections for rabies precautions.
Back in the day, it used to be daily belly injections
over 3 crappy, long weeks.

Here's the coolest part of her story: despite all this trauma, (and believe me, she was bruised, swollen, and punctured EVERYWHERE), she still took a two week mountain bike trek through northern Romania with her husband and daughter. We're talking major mountainy terrain where sometimes the trails required more pushing than biking, and schlepping of two trailers worth of camping gear, food, and child behind them the whole time. If that isn't tough, I don't know what is.  It was admirable she didn't let that stop her. So with a few extra packed precautions and heightened awareness, they went for it and never looked back.

I was looking at the pink injection I was about to give, and admittedly my hands were shaking but I thought, "Big deal Schlink. It's just a freakin' injection and she's been through much worse. Get over yourself!" So I did. And it wasn't that bad. Just get back on that horse, because it's like taking candy from a baby... right?

Aftermath. 

Cluj Day 3: Botanic Gardens and Apple Strudel

And today, we had Mark all to ourselves. On my agenda? Breakfast at our "chosen cafe" right on the piazza, Cafe Corso. They had delightful espresso, so we returned for another round.

House dog. 

Pepperoni omlette.

Pancakes.

And off to the Botanical Gardens. I was determined to see their famous 2 meter wide Japanese water lilies. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. I had to settle on carnivorous plants instead. The gardens had much more than the greenhouse, it's spread out over several acres, awesome for meandering and enjoying the fresh air. It is probably better to visit in the springtime, but it was worth making the effort to get there.

 Before our trip ended, Mark and I desperately wanted to return to Cafe Vienna, for a pre-flight gut stuffing kasekreiner and  apple strudel. Their food probably deserves an individual posting, but let me just say that normally I don't even like strudel. However, their strudel is by far the best either of us EVER had. In Cluj no less! So worth the gut bomb and indigestion!

Oscar Meyer nor Betty Crocker stand a chance.

Cluj Day 2: Piatas and Churches

On Saturday Deets and I walked Mark to his next meeting taking opportunity to capture a brief glimpse the neighborhood. I did the best I could considering Mark pretty much speed walks wherever he goes, with or without a twenty pound baby weighing him down.

Centru

Wow. Cars all nicely parked on the street!

Orthodox Cathedral, built 1921-1933

Statue of a LAWYER?! Who knew?

Mark's meeting would be brief, so we hung out at a playground before resuming the sightseeing.

St. Michael's Church, built 1442-1447 

St. Michael's

ORIGINAL painting!

Not pictured: A gaggle of children practicing
their 1st communion prayers. So precious.

Mathias Rex, King of Hungary.

Popular meeting spot on the Piaza.

A gorgeously pink Catholic church.

Helloooo Mary! You look extra dazzling!

Cluj Day 1: Taxidermist Heaven. Or Hell

Mark treated Deets and me to a trip to Cluj, Romania this weekend. He had a few things to do for work, so Deets and I were responsible for finding our own fun.  The city is terribly pretty, and imminently walkable, so I smooshed Deets into his backpack and we were off. First stop, the Museum of Speleology. It was by far, the coldest freakin' museum I have EVER been to. The temperature outside was warmer than the inside, but then the animals are stuffed dead. What do they care?

Hedgehog habitat.

Killed' em with my own bare hands.

Monkey and sloth, friends 4Eva!

Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' badgers!

Scoping out the Wetlands Mural.

He could have spent HOURS here.  

Elephant OVARY! No joke!

I look happy, but really,
the smile was frozen on my face. So COLD.

I finally couldn't take the arctic temperatures anymore, so I packed Deets back up and headed to the Pharmacy Museum. What, you say? A museum dedicated to preserving the life and times of pill makers? Yup. Watch out. Row after row of ceramic containers and wooden spoons. Sad.

Spoonful of newted hogwarts
will clear that right up!

18th and 19th century ceramics
for all your purgative needs.

After a nap at the hotel, we were back in town for some highly recommended good eats at Baracca with Mark. We had their wood fired pizza, completed with beer and a grapefruit-mint-cooler for toasting.

Fresh basil right on your table. Whammy!

A Breath of Fresh Air: Winter in Translyania

Odorheiu Secuiesc this weekend was absolute paradise. We were treated to clear and balmy thirty degree, windless weather, a far cry from Bucharest's trodden ice sluice of a capital. Mark, Deets, Jim and I hiked ourselves silly up the snowy hills with our friends and played games of Jenga between gut-stuffing meals. Always a good time.

View from above: city of Odorheiu

Taking pictures as an excuse to catch my breath.

Wind sprints.

He just told a really funny joke.

Inseparable buddies.

Great Romanian 2/2012 Snow Dump

Snow, snow and more snow. A good friend sent me a photo blog on the Romanian Great Snow Dump of 2012 today, and while Bucharest has not gotten 15 feet, there's enough snow that even Colorado would have a hard time handling. So what have we been doing to prevent admissions to the looney bin? Lots of improvisation and experimentation: Trying to build snow castles inside, listening to John Lithgow tunes, snowshoeing through the forest (gotta love a dog who breaks trail), and escaping to far off lands for some bike riding. All that so we can eat our weight in Mark's homemade goodies: bagels, bread, Indian food, by springtime they are gonna have to roll me out of the house.

Brain freeze!

Taste the baloney Tony!

Only a few more miles to go Deets.

Good boy.

Le Tour 2010. It's like we are really there, yah?

Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

Peles Castle, Sinaia Ski Slopes

My best friend and I were joking the other day that we probably have forgotten how awesome the mountains can be, seeing as how both live on flat terrain. She's in North Dakota, whose motto is "Liberty and Union Now and Forever, One and Inseparable," which also describes how I feel about her. So serious. On the other hand, she is the pinnacle of comedy, capable of making me laugh under any circumstance. In fact she's even made me pee my pants, which as those who know me, is not hard. But on a bike? That takes skill.

At any rate, it was she who I was thinking about today, as I went north to Sinaia, for a quick power trip. After the massive cabin fever epidemic, I was giddy to escape the city! I went with a good friend (who was on a mission to preview the mountain town before a scheduled field trip), a gregarious and kind driver (who I want to be my friend), and of course Deets (who goes where I go). We were thrilled to escape a -14C temperature to a balmy -5C. 

No frozen snot today, so happy!

Quaint and beautiful, Sinaia has one the of oldest ski resorts that peaks out at a whopping 2400 meters (7,874 feet). Two gondolas are in operation for mountainy pleasures. I enjoyed a newbie skier in tight periwinkle pants fly-wedge his way down the beginner's slope ending with a backwards down-dog. 

The gondolas are PINK!

Pretending I didn't miss making my own fresh tracks, we moved on to check out the Peles Castle, an apparent summer house for King Carol I back in 1914. It's absolutely amazing, and the prettiest I have seen yet. Alas, they were closed for touring the inside, but I don't think Deets minded.

Um, please pay attention if you will.

Feeling extravagant and hoity, we countered with a humble trip to the Sinaia Monastery, founded in 1690. 

Turns out they are open everyday, but being fueled by a hangry baby, we continued onto lunch. Afterwards, we attempted to ride the gondola as a last hurrah, but missed it by 3 minutes. Not wanting to get stuck in Bucharestian traffic, or see an atomic baby meltdown, we headed home tired but pleased by our "discoveries" made on the day. To my BFF, this town is waiting for you.

Tram/ski map. So retro.