The temperatures can get pretty hot in the Romanian capital. And the sidewalks are made of blacktop instead of concrete. Which makes for a pretty interesting impression as things heat up.

Romania has some natural mud volcanoes in a tiny village outside of Buzau.

In Romania, the official way one refers to religions is to use the term “cult.” This, of course, brings forth some smugness from the native English speaker. It is a funny world we live in where the words we use are the same, including the denotative meaning if not the connotative meaning.

In Bucovina, the north east part of Romania, there are the famous painted churches dotted across the land in various small towns. With some effort, one can drive around to see one or more (though not all churches in the area are actually decorated with frescos).

While there were some interesting zodiac signs prominently displayed on more than one “painted church” as further evidence of how much Christianity has borrowed from other religions and cultures in order to spread its’ acceptance, the predominant themes among the paints were demons, death, and killing.

If all the world is truly a stage and we are but players, then there can be no tragedy without comedy. Some places manage to celebrate the lives of those passed. Even poke a little fun.

In Sapanţa, along the Ukrainian border in the Maramureş region of northwest Romania, there lives a relatively new tradition of greeting death with a smile. There the grave markers broadcast in vibrant colors miniature descriptions of the person whose body lies below.

Some of them are down right funny. Some are poetic. Some are clever. Some are just down to earth. But none of them are depressing or angsty. Sapanţa tends to celebrate the human that was and remind us all to consider how we, too, will be remembered after we’re gone.