Date Night

"Happiness depends upon ourselves and a good steak." Aristotle & Schlink 

Last night we joined four other couples for a lovely evening at Osho, a steak restaurant downtown. The restaurant prides itself on using locally raised cattle in the Hungarian region of Covasna, which is also known for its thousands of mineral springs and spas.

Regions of Romania.
Of note, Harghita is where our friends in Odorheiu live.

Now traditionally if you are a Schlink, a fancy dinner means ordering NY strip, so it wasn't quite treason when I ordered a cheeseburger, but it was close. No matter, Mark was busy demolishing his dinner in absolute happiness. The company was great, wine was tasty, and the meat was perfect. Good beef in Bucharest is quite hard to find, and the last time I had a burger was in D.C. back in October (thank you BTS.) So I was a pretty happy camper too. 

Flat screen decor: so in. 

Blue steel.

Emburger.

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.

Museum trip: MNAC

Friday's weather was just gross: negative-digit wind chill, sleet and fog. Anyone sane would have stayed indoors, but Deets and I wouldn't hear of it. The two of us busted out of our cozy abode to visit the National Museum of Contemporary Art. 

We're going downtown!

Deets looked like a rosy cheeked starfish as I stuffed him into his snowsuit and loaded him into his backpack, for a bus/metro/walking excursion to Parliament, the second largest building in the world where the museum is located (aka BFE). And as if doing Jillian Michael's "Get Ripped in 30" wasn't enough this morning, I got two more workouts hiking with a twenty four pound baby on my back. 

Museum located on exact OPPOSITE side. Keep walking lady.

20 minutes later, still not there yet.

*huff*wheeze*pant

 Apparently I was the only one who thought this was a good idea as the security guard and museum guides fussed over Deets while I peeled the layers off. We arrived at 3:00 PM and were the only visitors that day! At least we could explore all four floors of their hodgepodge collection without risk of annoying anyone. Ranging from weird to unusual, MNAC had mixed media, audio-art, tapestries (yes!), photography, and statement pieces, we saw it all. I couldn't even pretend to understand most of it, but that's contemporary art for you I guess.

Moldy violin?

Matisse did tapestry!

Even Picasso dabbled in weaving.
 Told you it was a man's job.

Artist named Flux.
I don't really know...

More Flux. 

Deets showing of his boots.

Toilet paper dust pan. I love it.

Snack time.

Geared up to hike back home.

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. 

Snowed In

Snowed in!
Today I woke to Deets judo kicking his crib, an unhinged gate smacking into a fence, and howling winds that have permanently tilted one of our newly planted trees. I am pretty sure I saw the Wicked Witch flying by our home in the 'burbs only to be buried in untouched snowdrifts. Apparently my plans to head downtown were not meant to be.

Plan B: pretend none of this annoyed me and prepare Deets for some more in-home entertainment. He seemed successful with painting at his play group earlier, so I cracked open a shiny new package of Crayola brushes with built in paint.

Before:

After: (We're talking mili-seconds!) 

Just for comparison purposes, if there was ever any doubt of who's child he is...

1984?

Still, I was determined to make the most of my day. So several layers of clothing were applied and Jim, Deets and I went out to get some fresh air. Caterpillar tractors were pushing snow around, and hordes of shovelers were attacking the several feet of snow that dumped in the hallowed Oxford Gardens. They put a pretty good dent in snow removal, but not before gesturing my kid should be better dressed. Seriously?

Are you ready to rock?!

Toss!

Tears of joy or betrayal?