Transylvania - Câmpulung

Tucked in a valley at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains is the narrow and elongated municipality of Câmpulung, translated as Long Field. The town is divided by the River Tîrgului with two major roads running parallel on either side of the river.
 

Câmpulung is one of the oldest Wallachian settlements dating back to 1292. When Basarab I defeated the King of Hungary at the Battle of Posada in 1330, it ended Wallachia’s suzerainty to the Kingdom of Hungary and became the first independent Romanian principality. Basarab I became the founding ruler of Wallachia and established the dynasty House of Basarab of which Vlad the Impaler is a descendent. Basarab set up the first capital city in Câmpulung.

As an interesting sidenote, Basarab’s daughter Theodora married the then Emperor of Bulgaria and after several children and a decade of marriage he divorced her and sent her to a monastery to become a nun. Theodora is the first known nun in Romania’s history and in 2022 she was canonised by the Romanian Orthodox Church.

One of the highlights of the town is the Ethnography and Folklore Museum. Housed in a beautifully restored house, the museum displays a significant collection of folk-art objects, providing an insight into rural living and an appreciation for handmade items from hand carved furniture and wood turned utensils to hand-painted eggs and pottery, handwoven rugs, embroidered cloths, and traditional costumes.

A short stroll south of the Museum is the Negru Vodă Monastery, thought to be built in 1220 by the legendary Radu Negru, Voivode of Wallachia. Radu is supposed to precede Basarab I but some historians think he might have been one and the same person or he might have been Basarab’s father but there is no evidence to suggest either way. The earliest mention of Radu Negru was in the 17th century, lending a lot more mystery than truth to his existence. It is possibly the reason why he is listed as a ‘legendary’ ruler rather than real.

The monastery was rebuilt many times throughout the centuries, having been destroyed at least twice from earthquakes in the 1600s and the 1800s and a fire in the 1930s. Each time the monastery was repaired and restored. The interior of the church is filled with large scale paintings depicting various notable figures including several Wallachian rulers and their spouses. According to inscriptions found in the Court of Argeş (another monastery), both Basarab I and his son Nicolae Alexandru were buried here.

Coming to the end of my day, I’m hankering for a very filling but not too heavy dish and the Romanian stuffed peppers, ardei umpluţi, is what comes to mind. This is a universal dish that can be found in many cuisines, each with its own variation. What I am thinking of is the vegetarian version made of near-perfectly rounded, red bell peppers with their tops chopped off and the seeds cleaned out so it’s nice and hollow. Added to it is a mixture of cooked rice, minced onion, finely chopped carrots, seasoned with parsley, dill and the usual salt and pepper. The stuffed peppers are placed in a tray and a freshly made tomato sauce poured over it then baked. The bread as always is present to soak up the sauce.

A side note about the food. Romanian cuisine is wonderfully diverse and flavoursome. Given its geographical location, the cuisine is influenced by all its neighbours past and present such as the Balkans and Greece to the south, the Turks to the southeast and the former Austria-Hungary to the northwest. What sets it apart from its neighbours is the local flavouring and preparation giving the dishes their distinctive Romanian flavour.

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Yosemite - Four Mile Trail

Crossing the bridge over Merced River, I entered woodland on a narrow and well-maintained trail, albeit a bit rocky and uneven. Occasional openings between the trees afforded views of granite domes and the green landscape below. The sheer granite wall on one side of the trail was met with a sheer drop on the other with either no barrier for safety or just a very low wall separating the trail from the edge. As I progressed, the terrain became more rugged and rockier but the picturesque view of Nevada Fall’s bend and the adjacent granite dome called Liberty Cap was worthy of a break and some well thought out photographic moments.

I turned right at Clark Point and descended on a wild section of the trail down to the Emerald Pool for a dip in the cool water. The Merced River continued to move around and over large boulders until it tumbled once again down Vernal Falls. A lookout sat at the top of the fall with views across the narrow canyon. A fun sidenote, Vernal Falls was incorrectly shown on a 1932 stamp. A set of seven stamps depicting landmarks in the Philippines were produced by the US. One of the stamps was originally supposed to depict Pagsanjan Falls, but because the designer could not find an acceptable image, Vernal Falls was substituted. It was discovered when a philatelist with a keen eye recognised the falls.

I continued with my hike to Glacier Point where John Muir and President Roosevelt stood on a rocky outcrop admiring Yosemite Valley during their camping trip in 1903. Many of the park’s landmarks are visible from this viewpoint including the imposing Half Dome with its sheer cliff-face on one side and rounded dome on the other.   

Connecting to the Four Mile Trail, I began my descent into the valley. Constructed in 1872 as a toll path, the trail was very steep, with plenty of switchbacks as it wound its way down. Hard on the knees going down, I took plenty of breaks filling my camera with panoramic shots of the valley and its many landmarks.

I ended this section in the valley at the Four Mile Trailhead and turned left toward Bridalveil Falls.



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