Pictures Of Bucharest

Just some random pictures that I took in Bucharest. I have many more that I will share in the future.

Merry Christmas - Sarbatori fericite, to everybody :)

Read More "Pictures Of Bucharest"

It Has Been 20 Years

It has been twenty years since the revolution in Romania took place to overthrow the leadership of Nicolae Ceauşescu, which began the end of communism in the country. The quoted section below is from my post on Romanian History which can be read in full HERE.

"The first communist leader of Romania was Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who served from 1948 until his death in 1965. Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej managed to win some independence from Nikita Khrushchev, and Soviet troops withdrew from the country in 1958 (the city of Oneşti, Romania, was once named after Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej by Nicolae Ceauşescu). A few days after the death of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Nicolae Ceauşescu became first secretary of the Romanian Workers' Party. The first thing he did was to change the name of the Romanian Workers' Party to The Romanian Communist Party, and declare the country the Socialist Republic of Romania. In the beginning Ceauşescu often went against The Warsaw Pact which alienated him from the Soviet Union, and gained him favor with the West. As Ceauşescu's role as leader went on, he became more of a dictator and his polices became more archaic and Stalinist leaving him alienated from the West. Ceauşescu's policies got the country into deep foreign dept, and Ceauşescu implemented food rationing so that the country's produce could be exported to pay for the debt. Forced blackouts and food rationing continued for months after the debt was paid in 1989 and Ceauşescu was reelected for another five year term at the age of 71 years old. In December of 1989 a demonstration over an attempt by the government to evict a Hungarian pastor in Timişoara lost its initial purpose and grew into an anti-government protest, police fired on the protesters, and news of the protest spread to Bucharest which started another protest at what is now Revolution Square. The protest turned into a rebellion and Nicolae Ceauşescu with his wife Elena, fled by helicopter to Târgovişte, Romania, where they were caught by police, turned over to the army, tried and convicted of crimes against the state (a two hour trial), and executed on live television by firing squad on December 25th 1989."

Read More "It Has Been 20 Years"

Visit Prahova

Now would be a great time to visit the Prahova region of Romania. Tourism to this area is down significantly, train and hotel rates are also down, and I would venture to guess other things such as ski lift tickets are also lower. Prahova would be a great place to spend a winter vacation.

Discounts on train tickets during the winter season - Travel News - Romanian Times Online News - English Newspaper

Reservations down by 50 per cent at Prahova Valley - Travel News - Romanian Times Online News - English Newspaper

There is also a special party being held at Bran castle on New Years Eve...

Dracula´s Castle to open on New Year´s Eve for first time - Travel News - Romanian Times Online News - English Newspaper

Read More "Visit Prahova"

Romanian Christmas Carols

The first part of this post is courtesy Wikipedia...

"Christmas (Romanian Crăciun – presumably from Latin creatio, -onis meaning "birth") in Romania falls on December 25 and is generally considered the second most important religious holiday, after Easter. Celebrations begin with the decoration of the Christmas tree during daytime on 24 December, and in the evening (Christmas Eve, in Romanian: Ajunul Crăciunului) Moş Crăciun (Father Christmas) delivers the presents.

The singing of carols is a very important part of Romanian Christmas festivities. On the first day of Christmas, many carolers walk through the streets of the towns and villages, holding a star made of cardboard and paper on which are depicted various scenes from the Bible. Romanian tradition has the smallest children going from house to house, singing carols and reciting poems and legends during the whole Christmas season. The leader of the group carries with him a star made of wood, covered with metal foil and decorated with bells and coloured ribbons. An image of the Nativity is painted on the star's centre, and this piece of handiwork is attached to the end of a broom or other long stick."

Read More "Romanian Christmas Carols"

Google Awards Romanian Co.

From HotNews.ro

Romanian company iQuest ranked 1st in the "tourism" category in a global competition initiated by Google to award the best applications developed for Android operation system phones. The Company has sofware centres in Cluj (Central-West) and in Brasov (Central) and it won one of the ten categories of the competition, getting in front of another 19 firms which had subscribed at the "applications for tourism" section. The award was 100,000 dollars. The software developed in Cluj allows the following of routes through GPS and visualising position on Google Maps, stocking coordinates and taking photographs with notes, the company announced in a communiqué.

Read More Here

Read More "Google Awards Romanian Co."

Curtea de Arges

Curtea de Argeş is one of the oldest cities in Romania. The city sits on the right bank of the Argeş River about 80 mi (130 km) northwest of Bucharest, in a valley of the Fagaras Mountains, which are the highest part of the Romanian Carpathians, and it is also near to the Transfagarasan Highway,.. it is where the royal dynasties of Romania first set foot. Negru Vodă founded the city in the 13th century, and Curtea de Argeş was once the capital of Wallachia, which is why it has its name “The Court of Arges”. The city has several medieval churches, and one of them is one of the most famous buildings in Romania, the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral. Hungarians and Turks plundered the cathedral’s archives, but several inscriptions in Greek, Slavic, and Roman, are still left. Biserica Domnească (the Royal Church) was built by Basarab I, and it resembles a stone fortress. Biserica Domnească is connected through catacombs to a guard tower on a nearby hill, and ruins of the Prince's Palace are still visible. It is mentioned in Alexandru Odobescu's Doamna Chiajna. One of the most famous Romanian legends, is the legend of Meşterul Manole, and it is related to the monastery's construction.

The Legends, courtesy Wikipedia:

Its legends have inspired many Romanian poets, among them the celebrated Vasile Alecsandri. One tradition describes how Neagoe Basarab, while a hostage in Constantinople, designed a splendid mosque for the sultan, returning to build the cathedral out of the surplus materials.

Another version has Radu Negru employing one Meşterul Manole or Manoli as architect. Manole being unable to finish the walls, the prince threatened him and his assistants with death. At last Manole suggested that they should follow the ancient custom of placing a living woman into the foundations; and that she who first appeared on the following morning should be the victim. The other masons warned their families, and Manole was forced to sacrifice his own wife. Thus the cathedral was built. When Manole and his masons told the prince that they could always build an even greater building, Radu Negru had them stranded on the roof so that they could not build something to match it. They fashioned wooden wings and tried to fly off the roof, but, one by one, they all fell to the ground. A spring of clear water, named after Manole, is said to mark the spot where he fell. This motif is widespread in South-East Europe, most notably also in Russia, like the blinding of the Masons of Vasili Blajenii Cathedral by Ivan the Terrible.

The following pictures are also courtesy of Wikipedia:

While in Curtea de Argeş, you can also visit a museum that holds historical artifacts that date up to WWI, and a company named S.C. ARGCOMS SCM which makes handmade pottery.

The following pictures are courtesy of Adriana Tomescu:

Read More "Curtea de Arges"

St Nicholas fair next week

Traditional St Nicholas fair next week - Travel News - Romanian Times Online News - English Newspaper

Read More "St Nicholas fair next week"