Two Years of Life

We have spent nearly two years in Bucharest.  

This is what that time looks like. This is what happened along the way.  

Soundtrack:  CCR's "Lookin' Out My Backdoor"

Aug 20, 2015 - Arrival in Romania

Bine aţi venit!

Our modern apartment all ready to welcome the five of us.

Aug 21, 2015 - First day of work - Non-Immigrant Visa Manager 

Aug 29, 2015 - We lose "Daphne" 

There couldn't have been a worse way to start a tour.  My sweet, funny girl at 17.5 years old. 

Sept. 11, 2015 - "Dodger" suffers a debilitating blood clot 

And then it got worse.  

Late Sept. 2015 - Step-daughter visits for two weeks 

Finally getting out into the country! Castle Peleş, Sinaia.

Oct. 25, 2015 - First visit to the Danube 

Only the skies were blue at this Danube. 

Oct 31, 2015
I start chronicling the seasons through our neighbor's back garden. Thanks Şerban! 

Nov 26, 2015 - Thanksgiving spent in Sardinia, Italy

First regional trip to Sardinia.  Off-season is the way to go!

Dec 15, 2015 - Tenured!

Dec 25, 2015 - First Christmas in Bucharest

Dodger is weak in muscles but strong in spirit. 

Dec 31, 2015 - New Year's Eve in Herastrau Park.

Peaceful alongside the frozen lake.

January 9, 2016

January 16, 2016 - Still snowing. 

Feb 9, 2016 - We pull a fisherman from the icy waters of Snagov Lake

I don't recommend ice fishing on an unseasonably warm winter day.

Feb 16, 2016 - Trip to eastern city Iaşi for visa outreach.

Trei Ierhari Church, Iaşi

Valentine's Day, 2016 and the snowdrops are lining the garden paths.

 April 4, 2016 - Rotate to Immigrant Visa Section Manager as Spring hits the city

March 19, 2016 and the trees are starting to bloom, too.

April 2, 2016 and it's puffy white tree time of year!

April 15-18, 2016 - Visit the interior of Transylvania: Sibiu and Sighisoara

Transylvanian town and their backyard fortified church. 

April 30, 2016 First Romanian Easter

Park Cismigiu Easter decorations.

June 2016 - Vacation to Milos, Greece

Exploring the beautiful island of Milos.

June 27, 2016 shady backyards are the way to escape the city heat.

July 2016 - First trip back to US to sell old and buy new house

Our new house - now rented.

July 30, 2016.  Still hot, bring on the shade tents!

Aug 14, 2016 - Weekend trip up the Transfăgărășan highway

So steep I "hiked" on all fours up this mountainside. The view was worth it.

Aug 21, 2016 - Dog days of summer at Snagov Lake

Nothing says Romania like a guy with an accordion at a lakeside picnic.
The cigarettes, swimming in your skivvies and the pile of trash also, unfortunately, say "Romania."

Aug 31, 2016 - Promoted!

Sept 4, 2016 - Day trip to Târgoviște

View from Chindia Tower.

October 2016 - My good friend Rose visits.

This isn't me and Rose, it's Brasov school girls staying in at recess. 

Late October 2016 - My mother and step-father visit. 

Old Casino on the Black Sea, Constanţa. 

Nov. 13, 2016

Dec 22, 2016 - We lose "Dodger"

Good bye my dear, lovely friend after 18.5 years.

Christmas 2016 - Step-daughter visits for second time

Christmas Fair in front of the People's Palace, Bucharest

Christmas 2016

Dec 26, 2016 - Visit to the far northern county of Maramureş 

The Merry Cemetary in Săpânța

Jan 1, 2017 - Rotate to Fraud Prevention Manager

Jan. 6, 2017 

Feb. 11, 2017 Snow isn't going anywhere!

March 6, 2017 - Trip to western cities of Timișoara and Cluj-Napoca for visa outreach

                         Piața Unirii, Timișoara

March 29, 2017 Finally spring comes!

March 17, 2017 - Day trip to Câmpina

Sanford and Son Romanian style.

March 29, 2017 - Herastrau Park bursts into bloom

Japanese Garden, Herastrau Park.

April 12, 2017 - We lose my husband's father

May 5, 2017 "Toby" diagnosed with mesenteric lymphoma (i.e. cancer)

But all in all - he's doing very well.

April 2017 - Still riding after all these years!

With the lovely "Feivel" 

April 30, 2017 - Roadside fruit stand season begins

Crates of strawberries anyone?

May 2017 - Wedding season at the Botanical Gardens

We saw no fewer than eight wedding parties in the park!

May 27, 2017 Serban's cherry trees are full of fruit.

Early June 2017 - Trip to Nikiti, Greece

June 10, 2017 Toby becomes "Captain Underpants" 

A little loss of bladder control, but hey, he's 19!

June 19, 2017 Pack-out (our 7th, but who's counting?)

June 20-24, 2017 Husband takes trip to the Danube Delta

Pelican and friends in Danube Delta near Murighiol. 

July 1, 2017 Last trip into the countryside 

Dâmboviţa County sunflower fields. 

July 4, 2017  Last hurrah - Embassy Independence Day party with 3000 of our closest  friends.

Ambassador Klemm and Mrs. Klemm with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis.
Not sure who that lady in the red jacket is. Certainly isn't me. Nope. 

July 7, 2017 We sadly head for the airport and close this Romanian chapter.

We WILL be back.

Seasons come and go and life continues for most - but not all - of us.  Days are full of the daily grind of routine and the joy of the unexpected; the incredible sadness of loss and the marvel of new found beauty; arguments and laughs; embarrassment and accomplishment.  People will inevitably ask me "How was Romania?", and the above images will flip through my mind like a deck of shuffling cards, but I will simply say it was wonderful. 

La revedere!

Pa!