poetry prompts & travel dreams

{descent}

nothing is quite so sweet
to this wanderlusting soul
as those words that interrupt
my in-flight movie:
"ladies & gentlemen...
shortly we will be making our descent..."

one single impression's prompt for this week ~ descent ~ takes a turn in the direction of travel for me as we gear up for a trip to Charleston SC, contemplate a december return to roma (for a very special friend's ordination), & begin to lay some groundwork for 2010 journeys...here (of course!)...but also here?...here?...or maybe here again?? i really do like the excitement of potential journeys, the comparing of places, all the hopefulness of new experiences! as i perused my romania photos from last summer, i got a lump in my throat about the possibility of going back...but that remains in God's hands right now!

after we left suceava, romania last summer, we stopped again in oradea & were blessed with a free day on our hands. we ambled around the city with melissa...mesmerized by the beautiful old churches & the communist-era buildings...i was so grateful that the old way had not been completely destroyed. my heart could not comprehend the events that my mind knew had transpired there in the last century. how i would have loved to join these two gentlemen on that park bench to hear the stories they could tell....but there were sobering reminders that spoke without words, like this memorial to victims of nazi occupation...an entire room just outside the moon curch (Biserica cu Luna) was filled with candles lit for loved ones lost...a short distance from this church was the St. Nicholas Greek Catholic Church...where we had the sweet pleasure of meeting the sacristan who spoke fluent *english*! (the first time in nearly a week we heard our native tongue outside our little group)...he told of history, both sad & joyful, of those who gave their lives so readily in order that this time may be what it is. & he showed us the great treasure held in his church...a first class relic of St. Nicholas (some of his bones).

our stroll through this beautiful city continued...eventually leading us to this painted monastery...a place so incredibly beautiful & so peaceful...one was utterly removed from the world in the enclosure...the place has settled into my dreams now that i am home...as i organize & upload these photo reminders, i tell myself it is no wonder i am dreaming of 2010's travel possibilities!!

next stop on the journey of reminiscing is my very favorite~ budapest!

oradea, romania, june, 2009