Music and Markets - - Following the Music

Monks and Wine in Romania

Sunday, September 24, 2011 - part 2
Iasi, Romania

Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We'd love to hear from you! Next on the itinerary: Mozartfest in Bath, England

After our countryside lunch on a winery hill, we drive to Iasi, the former capital of Romania. The capital was moved to Bucharest to be farther away from encroaching Russia.
A pretty filigree-topped church (locally described as "embroidery in stone") , the Monastery of the Three Holy Hierarchs,



the bank where Dracula kept his money (not really)





and an open-air tango party in front of the hotel where we're spending the night are a few of the sights we enjoyed in the city before hopping back on the bus for another wine tasting.







High on a hill outside of Iasi is the Monastery of Cetatuia. As the sun sets, we enter the peaceful walled property and hear worshippers responding in song to the priest leading the evening service - a lovely welcome to the gardens.









We descend a staircase with a barrel-rolling cleft in the middle. You can tell what this cellar is used for!















After walking through the corridors lined with huge wine barrels,










we're seated at a tasting table, and this evening the wines are considerably better than at lunch.









A quartet of monks stand under the arches and their medieval melodies are a wonderful addition to the tasting.

posted by Anne and Kirk @ 5:48 PM