July 25, 2009

..."noi muncind intocmai ne-am ales cu...ne-am ales cu Dl Eminescu"

Fara dar si poate, poetii mei de suflet raman Eminescu si Esenin...aflata tot pe taram moldovenesc, mi-am mai indeplinit un vis, banal poate pt unii, insignifiant pt altii; insa pt mine a calca in casa unde candva a pasit Eminescu, a insemnat foarte mult... poate nu luat ad literam...pt ca aceasta casa a fost reconstruita...insa pt suma minuscula de 1 leu, sa vizitezi atatea lucruri la Ipotesti...sa poti admira cartile din care citea Eminescu, masa la care statea cu familia, cutia de machiaj pe care o lua cu el prin tara cu trupa de actori...e nemaipomenit! M-am incarcat de toata energia acelui loc, mi-am reamintit cu placere versuri eminesciene si am admirat "lacul codrilor albastru" care intr-adevar e incarcat de o mare de nuferi...
Eminescu...un alt motiv pt care imi iubesc tara....dar tine tot de trecut...
sus-in fata casei memoriale eminesciene
jos-cutia de machiaj a lui Mihai Eminescu
camera surorilor lui Eminescu
jos-camera parintilor pe vremuri,
astazi amenajat biroul tatalui, fotografiile parintilor lui Eminescu

July 23, 2009

"Am cantat Daciei intregi!"

...am vizitat casa memoriala a lui Ciprian Porumbescu...sau ce s-a mai pastrat din plaiurile pe care a copilarit si compus unul dintre cei mai cunoscuti si valorosi compozitori ai lumii... pacat ca a murit asa tanar...Pacat ca cei ce ar trebui sa se ocupe de turism sau macar de promovarea valorilor nationale, n-o fac asa cum trebuie, pt ca oameni ca Porumbescu...nu stiu daca o sa mai avem. Ma opresc aici, nu cred ca pot schimba ceva. Insa pot recomanda oricarui om care are in pieptu-i o inima care bate si un suflet nobil, chiar daca simplu... sa mearga nu departe de Suceava, la fostul sat Stupca...astazi "Ciprian Porumbescu", pentru o gura de muzica adevarata...pentru a afla mai multe despre viata unui om care si-a iubit vioara mai presus de orice...pentru a afla cum a "cantat Daciei intregi"....pentru a vedea cum tot satul face liniste pt ca acordurile baladei sa rasune in voie. Asta e unul din putinele motive pentru care imi iubesc tara. ...pacat ca aproape toate motivele-mi se ragasesc sau sunt strans legate doar de trecut...
sus - doar o anexa a fostei case a familiei Porumbescu
jos- statuia Lui C. Porumbescu din fata muzeului din satul natal

balada....

July 22, 2009

Moldavian sights


...on the way to Suceava, we've decided to try the telegondola that takes you above the Piatra Neamt moldavian town, up to a ski run. You can see everything from the top of the mountain...don't have to miss it if you get in this region.

behind me, the Bistrita riverAnother must see when you visit the Neamt places, is Cetatea Neamtului, an old fortress built during Petru I Musat ruling (1375-1391), in the period of the consolidation of the Moldavian feudal state. It's been recently restored and opened its gates one month ago.The fortress from the Plesului Hill had its years of glory during the ruling of Stefan cel Mare (1457-1504), the military organiser and leader of exception, understanding well the role of the fortifications in the growth of the defence capacity of the country, fortifying all the fortresses and building new ones, whole Moldavia being bordered by a stong defensive system (Suceava, Hotin, Soroca, Orhei, Tighina, Alba, Chilia fortresses).
It's called "the eagles nest", built on the top of the mountain- the enemies could not reach it easily.The works made during Stefan cel Mare, here at Neamt fortress, were overraising the old walls, builing the 4 bastions of the exterior yard and making the bridge in the form of an arch, sustained on 14 stone pillars. Fortified so, in 1476, the fortress stands up against the siege of Mohamed IInd, after the battle from Valea Alba-Razboieni. About this siege, Angiolello, the sultan secretary, writes "those from the fortress did not want to speak with us all were defending them with the artillery and did not care about us".






As the Tuskish ocupation hardened and the progess made by the fight technique, the role of the Moldavian fortresses is diminishing starting with the second half of the 14th century. After the partial destroying of the interior building during Alexandru Lapusneanu (1564) and the restorings ordered by Ieremia Movila, in 1600 the fortress opens its gates for Mihai Viteazul, who is the first who makes the political union of all the Romanians. Transformed in monastery by Vasile Lupu and next partialy destroyed by Dumitrascu Cantacuzino in 1675, another page of heroism is "written" in 1691, when, defended by a hand of men, have resisted to the siege of the Polish army leaded by Ioan Sobietski. After its destroying by Mihai Racovita in 1717, Neamt fortress looses its political and military importance forever.



July 21, 2009

outside town - Sugas Bai

running out a bit...
...having a pear juice at a beautiful pension in the Sugas area, not far from Sf.Gheorghe, Romania.

July 20, 2009

first part of the day...a walk in the park

It's been some months since I last went back home...I'm lucky enough I can manage to stay away from it for several monts, and be ok ... And usually when I get home, I want to visit things outside town...anything. ButtThis morning was "updating my home town" morning...we have a lovely park that's been reconstructed and taken more care of...so I went out to see it. the result? Not a waist of time visitin' it!
If you wanna rest... have some time off...Saint George, my home town, is perfect for that! The Kurtos colacs are great! Love them!
But I'm still for the big city life...got too used to it.

second part- "looking for the light"

I spent this afternoon visiting: 1. the only volcanic lake that Romania has...Saint Ana lake...I must say even though it's some 30 miles away from my home town, I didin't got the chance to see it yet...but today... The scenery until you get there is beautiful, but the road...Oh...God, this is one reason that makes me hate this country. The road was sooooo bad up there...you need a 4x4 car to survive the craters on the street...... and when I got at the lake...they don't even have an indicator to say "this is...and why...and so on..."
oh , Romania..."poor ...rich country"!here is some more info about the lake: Lake St. Ana in Transylvania (Romania) lies in the cold crater of a dead volcano, at an altitude of 950 meters.The Saint Anna lake is surrounded by legends, mysteries and miracles. Even the shape of the lake is not usual; it looks like a large tear-drop. One Szekler legend suggests that it was filled with tears of virgin girls who were forced by a cruel landlord to pull his carriage. The lake is not fed by any brook or stream, the only water supply is the rain, therefore, the water of the lake is nearly as pure as distilled water. The area of the lake was not only believed to be a hiding place for pagan gods or genies, but also has been and still is one of the most adored and respected sacred place for the Christian Székelys, who always come here with a spirit filled with piety.
2. I couldn't wait to visit some caves... Varghis caves...awesome..with bats( over 11 species of them)...you can definitely feel the adrenaline rushing into your veins when you're about to enter in a black hole...not knowing what's gonna wait for you in the darkness. You feel so alive!
Enjoy the pics!

...inside out...

July 19, 2009

still had some things left to see in Sibiu...and forvever will

A new trip to Sibiu was planned for this summer. For the ones who are reading this post for the first time( or this blog :)... Sibiu was the 2007 European Cultural Capital and it's a beautiful medieval city in Romania. I had another post with a lot more info about it -hope the link works.The first touch down wasn't so happy...when I left Sf.Gheorghe, the weather was excellent, sunny.. And ,of course, I said " It's shorts day!!!"...and in Sibiu was almost raining and windy. At first I was a bit sad...it was pretty cold and I had only a cardigan with me...so I could't enjoy 100% the sights....but we've warmed ourselves in one of the many cute cafe's that Sibiu has to offer, then we kept on going...the sun finnaly came out, so I could deforst my body and smile a bit.Forever in love with the medieval architecture, view from the Lies Bridge.Finnaly I visited the Brukenthal Museum,housed by the Brukenthal Palace at Sibiu, it's the oldest museum in Romania (1817); it gathers together 14,000 exhibits, paintings, engravings, sculpture and decorative art works; 1,100 works belong to the Section of European Art Collections including the main schools of art between the 15th -18th centuries, with works of well-known painters among whom Tizian, Frans van Mieris the Old, the Anonymus (Flemish School, 15th c.), F. Snyders, J. Jordaens, M. van Reymerswaele, F.F. van Vriendt, H. van Balen, J. de Momper, I. Fyt, Lucas Cranach the Old etc. and engravings by M. Raimondi, A. Dürer, H. Goltzius; the Section of Romanian Art Collections exhibits paintings by Vincentius from Brasov, F. Neuhauser, A. Coulin, C. Dörschlag, Th. Aman, N. Grigorescu, I. Andreescu, St. Luchian, Gh. Petrascu, N. Tonitza, I. Iser, V. Popescu, C. Baba, Al. Ciucurencu, as well as Transylvanian drawings and engravings of the 17th - 19th centuries.
...inside the museum, near the Brukenthal Library.
http://www.brukenthalmuseum.ro/

For the first time I saw The Dumbrava Sibiului Natural Park- it stretches over 960 hectares and it is situated 4 km away from the center of the city in the southwest direction along the road towards Rãºinari. It is crossed by the Trinkbach brook, which forms on its course three man-made lakes: one within the Museum of the Folkloric Technique and two within the Zoological Garden.The Dumbrava Forest is a terrace oak forest within which, besides oaks, the hornbeam, the wild cherry tree, the elm, the field maple and the lime tree vegetate very well. The durmast, the ash tree, the maple tree and the field ash appear sporadically.Among the bushes growing here we mention the privet, the hawthorn, the dovecot, the female cornel, the buckthorn, the guelder rose. Nearby the lake there is a 400 years old oak. Over 100 plant species with flowers grow in the lower vegetation layer of the forest, among which the melandryum pratense, the primula, the lily-of-the-valley, the tussocky grass and the rattlesnake root are the rarest.The Dumbrava Forest is populated by mammals: deer, squirrels, porcupines, wild boars, mice, hazel dormice, foxes and the following birds: the large chaffinch, the blackbird, the yellow throated bunting, the large woodpecker, the jay, the turtle dove, the owl, the hoopoo, the cuckoo, the finch, the goldfinch, the sparrow, the raven and a large number of insect species and other terrestrial invertebrates.The Dumbrava Forest was the favorite promenade location for the inhabitants of Sibiu since as early as the 18th century, nowadays being famous for the ASTRA Museum of the Folkloric Civilization which is situated here. The tramline connecting Sibiu with Rasinari unwinds parallel to the road.

...a final lake view from the Dumbrava Sibiului....the trip ended up really lovely, I saw a lot of new things and learned more about my country.

July 18, 2009

orange mood :))


Hey there! ...how about a light textured "strong" orange summer dress? I took my Zara statement colored dress, my summer Meli Melo hat, the light New Yorker flats, my animal print sunglasses...and on the way to visit Braşov and Poiana Braşovului.
the sunset time is pefect for visiting....during the day it's way to hooot!
Piata Sfatului is a nice place to rest, and soak in the beautiful scenery. During summer time, outdoor cafes line the square and the place is lively.

above Braşov, on the way to Poiana Braşovului
Poiana Braşov is the most popular Romanian ski resort and an important tourist center preferred by many tourists not only from Romania, but also from Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and other european states.
Poiana Braşov is host to a number of hotels and restaurants, the majority of which cater for foreign tourists. Two of the better known restaurants are Şura Dacilor (The Dacians' Barn) and Coliba Haiducilor (The Outlaws' Shack). There is also one nightclub, Capra Neagră (The Chamois), adjacent to a pizza place which plays a mixture of Europop and dance music. Among other attractions in Poiana Braşov visitors can find traditional mulled wine and a pepper spiced alcoholic drink known as ţuică as well as other traditional Romanian fare
...after some long sightseeing walks, we've stopped under the forest coolness and shade and had a healthy picnic, ending with my season favourite desert, nectarines...(I'm eating one right now!)
See ya soon, 
Love, Gab~