Suceava is the old capital of Moldavia, and the church of St George sits at its edge, a short ride from the ring of newer apartment blocks that now surround the medieval centre. It was built in the early sixteenth century under Bogdan III, son of Stephen the Great, and it belongs to the small family of Moldavian churches that UNESCO lists together. The family resemblance is easy to see once you have visited two or three: steep roofs, a short tower over the nave, buttresses, and walls that were once painted inside and out in blue, red and ochre.
Here the exterior frescoes have weathered badly, so do not expect the glowing outdoor Last Judgement you get at Voroneț. What the church has instead is a living function. The relics of Saint John the New, a merchant martyred in Cetatea Albă and venerated as the patron of Suceava, rest inside, and in early summer the pilgrimage around his feast fills the lanes with people carrying candles and flowers. If you arrive on an ordinary weekday the place is quiet, with an old woman selling candles and a priest crossing the yard.
The riding in this corner of Bucovina is gentle and slightly absent-minded. Roads out of Suceava toward Scheia and Patrăuți are two-lane asphalt, patched, and prone to potholes where trucks have braked for years. Villages run into one another, with carved wooden gates, geese at the verge and horse carts that appear without warning, so the ride is more about speed discipline than about leaning. Dogs are an issue too. Keep a finger on the brake near farm entrances.
For practical matters, Suceava is a proper city of over a hundred thousand people, with fuel stations on every approach road, supermarkets, and cafés around the pedestrian centre. Scheia, only four kilometres away, is large enough to have fuel as well. Dress modestly if you want to step inside, with covered shoulders and knees, and a headscarf is expected for women. Photography in the nave is normally frowned on, so ask first. Come in the late afternoon when the stone turns warm and the traffic dies down, and plan the stop for the church and a coffee rather than for a long ride.