Iasi

On our last day in Suceava, we walked to the fortress that a prince had built in the 1300s when he made the city the capital of Moldova.  The other people took taxis but the 1 mile path to it is right across the street from my apartment.  My tour guide had told me that and I double checked with the play director so there were two men who didn't say yes, it's across the street but don't take that path because there's a million steps to climb.

It wasn't the worst mountain I ever climbed but it was difficult. We later found out that the director had told the others it was too hard for him to climb so they had to take taxis.

The fortress has a lot of displays to appeal to children. There are hologram knights, video games, and a digital photography booth that dresses you in a medieval outfit.

We ate lunch at the restaurant at the top of the mountain and people left at different times and got lost in different ways. Nicole and I thought we had chosen the same path but it was different and turned out to be 100 times easier to walk. Of course, it was downhill but this path didn't have the sets of stairs. There were some steps built into the ground. It was much flatter than the other path. When we made it to the street,  we were just a couple of blocks to the apartment.

The next day, we left for Iasi (pronounced Yahsh). It's supposed to take around 2 hours but it took much longer. Traffic was bad, the van needed fuel, the driver has mandatory breaks, and the city is confusing so it took much longer. The good news is the driver drove much slower than he did before I was in the van because he was reprimanded for driving carelessly.  We ended up in a full parking lot when we got to the theater and had to unhook the trailer with the set, back out the van, rehook the trailer and drive to a separate parking lot.

When we finally got to the Airbnb, it turns out it's not as centrally located as advertised. The streets are narrow and confusing.  I have to take a taxi to and from the theater because the GPS doesn't really work here.

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Trapdoor performs tonight and tomorrow is the scary border crossing into the Republic of Moldova.  There's a chance they won't let us in or at least not the trailer even though the bribe money has already been paid and both the American Embassy and the theater festival people are supposed to call border control. If we get searched,  the set is illegal to bring into the country. The director is going to say the trailer contains props and suitcases. Everyone has been warned not to speak, smile, or make a joke. It reminds me of border crossings into Communist countries in the 70s. I think the young people are a little apprehensive but the main thing to fear is an intensive search.  We could be there for hours. Send positive thoughts.