The nuns' silent neighbouress

Ashes, dust, will remain of you

As this has always been the rule

Nothing brings you into this world

Nothing takes you away from it

Nothing of you will remain behind

Veronica Micle

4.v111 1889

(free translation from romanian - june 2009)

On one of the hottest days of last June, facing the tombstone of the young beautiful poetess Veronica Micle, I felt a deep sadness penetrating my soul. What a loss of talent and beauty ! I think the words, engraved on her stone, refer to the physical aspect of things . She herself left behind two daughters, poems, prose , admirers.- that's certainly no Nothing.

Veronica committed suicide two months after her lover (the great romanian poet Mihai Eminescu) died. She was burried in a tiny garden at the Varatec Monastery. This all women's monastery (with about six hundred nuns), surrounded by meadows and forests , housing fine paintings and furniture, always attracted writers, poets and scholars who found here the proper atmosphere for rest and creative work - and in Veronica's case, final peace.

Veronica and Eminescu, whom she lovingly called Emin, first met at her house where she hosted a literary salon. After the death of her husband (thirty years her senior), the two came close to each other planning to marry but , for some reason , it didn't happen. They both died in their late thirties.

There's some new material (letters) recently released by descendants of the Micle family, and it will probably serve as the basis of a great literary, romantic movie.

VERO & EMIN

view of Veronica Micle's grave -( june 2009)

the main entrance to the monastery (hidden by the van)

nun selling products of the monastrey's own bakery (2009)

people visiting the convent - (june 2009 )

..where the earth ends and the sea begins..

This place is called Cabo da Roca ( Cape Roca) - and it's the very westernmost point of mainland Europe. It's located 18 Km west of the beautiful portuguese region of Sintra , a region with castles and palaces ,wooden hills and vast parks which has won UNESCO heritage status.

Cabo da Roca is a cliff standing out from the Atlantic Ocean. It has a lighthouse, a cafe with a gift shop where one can get an attractive certificate to mark his visit on the rock, and a monument with a plaque bearing the following inscription in portuguese :

"Here..where the land ends and the sea begins (Camoes). Westernmost Point of the European Continent".

It was very windy up there on the day of my visit , and despite the dramatic beauty of the place, I was eager to buy the certificate as a memento and leave as soon as possble, especially as the topic of 'suicide' was brought up by someone among the visitors, and I felt quite bad about it. It was the edge of the cliff , the raging waves of the Atlantic ocean, and the isolation of the place , that triggered the discussion .

My thoughts in those moments, led me to a nurse at our public family clinic in my hometown - a skillful nurse and a kind , smiling person. I was shocked one day to hear the news of her death. It appeared that after being at her husband's grave, she drove her car over a nearby cliff facing the Mediterranean Sea - and that was the end of her.

She was not the depressed sort of woman and she had a lot what to live for. She was blessed with children and grandchildren , and was very appreciated at the clinic where she worked. And yet she felt she could not face life without her husband (a note in her handwriting was found , and that's what it said).

I read somewhere on the Web that suicide occurs when there is "imbalance of pain versus coping resources". Well it seemed indeed that her Pain was much greater than her abilities to cope with it. How tragic !!!

Palace of Pena

The extravagant palace, one of the main landmarks of Sintra municipality, was built on a rock ridge overlooking the town of Sintra. It used to be summer home of portuguese monarchs. The exterior is colorful and has a cyllindric bastion, a clock tower, arches, two gates - a blend of european and arabic style. The view from the palace and its gardens is stunning.

The impressive Palacio da Pena

romantic view of the palace