Maramures

Many Romanians vacation in Maramureș, a county in Romania north of Transylviania and south of the Ukrainian border, for the same reasons foreigners do. They are curious to see life as it existed centuries ago. Maramureș is like Pennsylvania Dutch country in the US:  horse-drawn carriages, hand-embroidered clothing, rural crafts, and lifestyles based on agriculture. …

Death is no laughing matter in most parts of the world. But things are different in Săpânța, Romania, a small village in the northern part of the country close to the Ukrainian border. For the last 80 years, the Merry Romanian Cemetery has opted to make death a source of amusement, even joy, and a …