Wandering Mole (4) - Harman

The next day we stayed closer to our "camp", so we went to Harman. This is a well known fortified church, well preserved and very easy to get to from the main road.

Impressive by size (it must have looked bigger to my little ones, because they turned speechless for a long time). Despite the early hours of the day, everything was glowing, inside as well as outside.

I looked carefully at the benches: not a single metal nail in them! Everything was wood, even if not in one piece anylonger. Questions like "but how do they stay together?!" made me realised how at ease they were with hammering a nail here and there and how many details they notice at once.
For some, obviously, the hands turn out to be another pair of eyes. :)

So we went out to solve the mistery. And there they were: wooden nails!

However there are things that don't fit in the pictures, as much as I try. Like the smell of the oleanders...

But the best part (for my squirrels) was yet to come.
I kept telling them that long time ago people used to live inside the walls of the fortresses. My, that was hard to get! We opened books, we talked, we built with building blocks, but it still seemed like a fairy tale. So there it was, finally the chance to get inside one of those walls...

Quick stop before moving on: a picnic at the bottom of the stairs...

And, YES, the Mole was there to witness them all.

Wandering Mole (3) - Bran

Bran
Today was supposed to be wonderful: Bran Castle was on the menu. We read about castles, we've seen books, discussed about how people lived in them. But still, I was a bit afraid  because I'd seen it before and I didn't quite understand how this castle was going to meet the expectations I thought my kids had. My, was I in for a big surprise...

It looked like a Fairy Land from the very beginning. In the middle of the park around the castle we found a charming house all shades of green and brown.

 

And so the story started to unravel. Their story. 

We stepped inside and  I could barely keep up with them. They had questions about most of what they recognized and obviously there was a long list of "What's that?". One of the custodians offered to help and every once in a while I could hear her and some other visitors bursting into laughter as they heard how my little ones were tuning their imaginary to this reality.

Everything needed to be linked somehow to what they already knew.

:: the chimney

:: the library - reading room

:: the secret passage

They each fell in love with something, according to their heart and interests at the moment: the Missy with the elegant study room 

and A. with the dining room

.

Oh, yes, I almost forgot: and the Mole was there to witness another day of our precious time together this year.

Wandering Mole (2) - Siriu

Siriu
On the 1^st of August I was already away from home, but somehow in my mind this was the starting day of my holiday. Wow, a FULL month of wandering about, time spent together with my dear ones, hiking, camping and driving. Full in every regard. Over 30 days of busy Summer to soak in, to capture those small changes that always make a difference, to keep and cherish what doesn't change and gives structure, 30 days of loosening up… But being away also means spending even more time and energy in parenting. Meals are tricky, making sure that they each get that special toy, game, story that they love, smoothing things up and trying to help them solve whatever argument sibling life could bring takes longer than at home. “Mom, have you seen my…?” and “Mom, I need … Could you…?”

And because of this, the moments when I get to pause and feel are treasured. It could be about anything really.

Like today, when I left a traffic jam – not so willingly because I knew I had to go back to it later – just to admire the view.

 And to hear them chatter. ...

And to take more pictures.

 Sitting, thinking, dreaming on the side of the road just before getting back in the chaos.