Days in the monastery
N 46°43'59.9'' E 029°27'37.1''The time in the monastery flies by. There is something new for us to discover every day. The residents of the monastery have taken us to their hearts. The initial shyness has completely disappeared. We often spend the evenings telling each other stories. Each one is worth writing down, but we want to move on again. Father Andrew takes us to Chisinau again. He shows us the largest wine collection in the world. In a tunnel system 200 kilometers long, 60 kilometers are used to produce and store Moldovan wine. We marvel at wines that have been maturing there since 1975. They are among the top wines in the famous golden collection. This mega wine cellar has even made it onto the cover of the Guinness Book of Records.
For two days, the hostage of the eternal heat lets us out of its grip. Moldova and we can take a deep breath. However, the weather quickly recovered to put us in a headlock again.
On some days, Father Andrew visits us for a lively chat. He explains the Orthodox faith, some details and which path is the right one to God. We can learn a lot. Tanja makes more and more friends. Nuns and sisters with whom she spends time during my writing days. She often helps Marta harvest cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes, for example. Then she helps an old nun peel potatoes for hours. In my eyes, it’s real prison labor because the potatoes are tiny due to the persistent heat. Some days I find Tanja in the kitchen. She helps bake bread, films and photographs cake baking and writes down recipes to take home. Yesterday she was in the garage cleaning the chains on our bikes. No doubt an indication that we will soon be leaving this wonderful, hospitable and warm-hearted place to cycle towards new adventures and encounters.
This morning we go to church again. We are allowed to film and photograph the service. A real honor for us, as Father Andrew and the nuns have placed their trust in us. I walk through the packed church for three hours to capture the devotion. Carefully, so as not to disturb the ceremonies too much, I photograph and film a Christian service that may seem very exotic to us in the western world. For almost the entire three hours, the nuns sing in a choir or recite from a book. The priests, four in number this time, sing and tell the story of Jesus. At 12:00 we rest a little and eat something and at 13:00 we are invited to document a double wedding. It is an exhausting day because in the afternoon, with the last warm rays of sunshine, all the sisters, nuns, Father Andrew and the monk-priest Diodor gather for a group photo in front of the small chapel. Excited, I jump back and forth, kneel down, lie on the floor and use different times and exposures to get the perfect group picture. Those present are hit by the still glaring rays of the sun and are forced to squint. “Okay!” I shout so that everyone opens their eyes in time and press the shutter release. Domnina translated. At the end, everyone shouts; “Okay!” There is much laughter, which is why Father Andrew has to call for order again.
Afterwards, many of our hosts would like a portrait with the head nun Martha and father Andrew. It is a pleasure for Tanja and me to be able to give back a little bit of all the good that has been done to us here.
