Fountain from Onești

A beautiful fountain from Onești, my hometown(link to my Youtube short video in green)

Fountain from Onești

The Storm Comes from the East

          

          

        The storm comes from the East

        Just like a cruel, greedy beast

        Alluring people with its call

        Which threatens to destroy us all.

       Some say the West is full of sin

       Deprived, decayed, rotten within

       And thus they want the storm to come

       To clean the land of dirt and scum.

      Their brains are influenced so fast

      By leaders who speak of the past

      When life was great, or so they claim

      To bring back those times is their aim.

     The more citizens they convert

     The higher the state of alert

     For those of us whom they can't fool

     We'll never follow their rule!

     The danger from the East is real

     And if it wins we might not heal

     Our roads should always go West

     We all know that is for the best!

    

A Message for Romanian People- Let's Go West

The Silence of Cathedral Square

         THE SILENCE OF CATHEDRAL SQUARE

 

         by Sebastian Onciu

        As the day turns into night

        And the darkness start to reign

        City becomes full of light

        Banishing the gloom and pain.

       As I'm walking through the square

       In the early evening hour

       I can feel the chilly air

       Blowing in my face with power.

       Hardly a soul to see

       Even in the heart of town

       Everyone appears to flee

       As if it were still lockdown.

       Lonely it is how I feel

       In this cool and stunning place

       Lack of people seems unreal

       Some would call it a disgrace.

      So much silence may seem strange

      Seen from below or above

      Yet there's nothing I would change

      I'm still in the city I love!

 

    

Bucegi- The Mountains of Myth and Mystery

BUCEGI- THE MOUNTAINS OF MYTHS AND MYSTERIES

Traveling in the heart of the Bucegi Mountains represents an unforgettable experience for any person looking for stunning natural views and a little bit of mystery.

It is no doubt that Romania has to offer to those who visit it some of the most spectacular natural landscapes in Europe, and among these the Carpathian Mountains are famous for their incredible beauty. The Bucegi Mountains, which are part of the Southern Carpathians, represent a huge tourist attraction for people who visit the Prahova Valley and who come, among others, to see two of the most impressive elements of nature in Romania: the Sphinx and Babele(The Old Ladies), two spectacular rock formations shaped by wind and rain throughout millions of years which can be found in the Bucegi Plateau, at an elevation of approximately 2000 metres above sea level.

To reach those amazing figures, one must first choose how to travel there. The most frequent option is represented by the Busteni cable car, which takes the travelers from the foothills of the mountain to the top in a short period of time. Unfortunately, due to the large number of tourists who are eager to reach the Bucegi Plateau even in normal week days, one must wait for quite a long time before entering the cable car, but luckily for me there was another choice available at that time: a trip by a four-wheel drive vehicle, which represented a relatively new alternative for tourists. I chose this option because I didn't have to stay in a queue to buy tickets for the cable car and the price of the trip was exactly the same as that of the cable car.

The road up to the Bucegi Plateau, which used to be a dirt road until recently, is quite exciting and it offers an incredible scenery; there are also some deep ravines which make the journey more exciting and even dangerous in some parts. The asphalt ends close to the top and the last portion of the road is full of stones that force the drivers to slow down. Eventually we reached the plateau in good conditions and climbed to its two main attractions, the Sphinx and Babele.

The Bucegi is believed to be Kogaion, the holy mountain of the Dacians, the ancestors of the Romanian people, and the place on which their supreme God, Zamolxis, lived in a cave.

Although the location of this mountain is still a mystery and there are several other mountains which are associated with Kogaion, there is definitely a mythical feeling a person experiences when seeing the Sphinx, the product of millions of year of constant work from nature and one of the symbols of Romania. It perfectly resembles a human head, and when you stand close to him you have a strange feeling that you're in the company of a Dacian warrior who is ready to fight until death to protect its land from invaders.

The 8-meter high and 12-meter wide rock will certainly stun every tourist who will be even more amazed after seeing Babele, some strange mushroom-shaped rock formations situated just a few metres away from the mighty Sphinx. It is almost unbelievable that these rocks were shaped by nature and not by human hand.

Besides these two amazing rocks,the tourists who come to the Bucegi Plateau can also take an one-hour trip to the Heroes' Cross on the Caraiman peak,a memorial dedicated to those who lost their lives trying to defend Romania in World War I; unfortunately I didn't have time left for that trip, so I could only admire the majestic cross from the Busteni resort, at the foothills of the mountain. It is also definitely worth seeing from a close range.

  The Bucegi Mountains Plateau,with its fabulous nature-carved rocks, is a place of incredible splendor and another proof that Romania is an amazingly beautiful country. Once you visit them, these unique places will always remain in your heart and make you come back!

The Sphinx in the Bucegi Mountains- a Natural Wonder of Romania

 

Sometimes I feel the need to detach myself from the immediate reality and let my mind wander throughout centuries. One way in which I try to connect to the past is to look again at pictures of spectacular sites I visited and relive the feelings I experienced when I saw amazing things like wonders of nature or historical buildings or monuments.

For instance, today, after watching a documentary about the Roman conquest of Dacia, my mind flew immediately to an amazing natural rock formation which is one of the symbols of my country: the Sphinx from the Bucegi Mountains.

Two years ago, when I made a journey high in the Bucegi Plateau, this 8-meter high and 12-meter rock impressed me because it resembled perfectly the head of a Dacian warrior. It was hard for me to believe that it was the work of nature and not of the human hand, but that’s the reality. Now, when I look again at the pictures I made with this quiet giant called the Sphinx, I almost expect him to wake up and gather people around him to defend the country from its invaders.

Shaped by the action of nature throughout thousands of years, the Sphinx stands still and proud like a true king of the Carpathians. For some people, it’s just a rock and nothing else, while for others it has a symbolic and mythological value. As for me, I have to say that I consider it a perfect illustration of nature’s capacity to create unique and wonderful things that will last as long as the Earth itself.

Ancient Citadels- a Bridge Between Present and Past

 

Whenever I travel to old citadels who were restored thanks to the hard work of people fascinated by history and archeology, or even when I see simple ruins whose origins are often shrouded in a veil of mystery, I experience a strange, but wonderful feeling of living both in the present and the past at the same time.

 

I can see tourists like me walking in the citadel yards and admiring the vestiges of the past while taking as many memories as they can with their fancy cameras and smartphones, but in the meantime  the mind takes me back in time centuries ago, as I try to paint my own mental pictures of how life was then. The more time I spend in an old city or medieval fortress, the more vivid those pictures are in my mind.

 

Knights all wrapped up in heavy metal armors, merchants negotiating with buyers, people of different social statuses filling the streets of a citadel, some of them so wealthy that they afford to throw some coins to the poor dirty people dressed in rags who can barely earn their living, all these images of a vibrant, but also troublesome past keep my mind occupied while visiting any place of great historical significance.

I think the possibilities are unlimited when it comes to letting our imagination wander back in time and the role of the visual elements represented by those ancient walls, ruins, bridges or bastions in stimulating our creative thinking is highly significant.

That is why I love visiting them so much and I think that examining an ancient building is often a much more cultural experience than being in a busy city avenue surrounded by modern skyscrapers. Any visit to an old place represents an invaluable history lesson for me!

The photos from this post were taken in the following locations: Râșnov Citadel, Făgăraș, Neamț Citadel, Sighișoara, Deva Fortress, Rupea Citadel.

Do I Live in a Ghost Town?

 

A few days ago, in an effort to improve and expand my general knowledge, I decided to take a look at a list of cities and towns from my country ordered by population; I was simply curious to see what the rank of my hometown, Onești was on such a list, so I googled it and the first site I opened in order to check it out was World Population Review, which I considered to be a reliable source, but when I opened that list and looked for Onești, I had an unpleasant surprise: it wasn’t anywhere on the list!

Every town in Romania, no matter how small, was present in that table, except for Onești, which may not be a metropolis, but it isn’t a little town either; even with a dramatic decrease in population in the last a couple of decades caused by the bankruptcy or the severe reduction of activity of the factories which were part of a huge industrial platform, once the heart of the town, and the consequent migration of many people to greener pastures, in search for work, Onești still has, at least according to official numbers, a population of almost 40,000 inhabitants, but according to World Population Review, those people simply do not exist!

After such a bewildering find, I couldn’t stop wondering: Do I live in a ghost town? Is Onești a real site or is it an illusion, a deserted place which can’t be found on maps or on Google Earth? Or maybe the guys from World Population Review still aren’t aware of the fact that 30 years ago the town of Onești regained its original name, which had been first mentioned several centuries ago, after being named Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej during the communist period? That maybe a possible explanation, but still they have no excuse for this omission.

Fortunately, there are other sources as well, and when I looked for the list of Romanian towns and cities on Wikipedia I had a sigh of relief: my hometown is included on the list, with a population of 39,172 inhabitants which makes it the 49^th town in Romania by the population at the moment. It isn’t a desolate place populated by elves, zombies, White Walkers or other mythical or fantastic creatures, but a real town whose inhabitants breath, talk, work and struggle for a decent living, so luckily I don’t live in a ghost town yet!

Anyway, I’m curious to find out if there are any other towns from around the globe which are not included on the list made by World Population Review, because if there isn’t any other one in such a position, that would make Onești a truly unique place in the entire world!

Travel Impressions- Deva Fortress

 

I had admired it from a distance on several occasions and I had placed it on my list of cultural and historical Romanian sites that I would absolutely have to explore one day and in October 2016 I finally got the chance to visit the majestic fortress situated on top of the volcanic hill which lies next to the city of Deva, the capital of the Hunedoara county.

When you see the citadel from below it has an aura of mystery that seems to draw you towards it like a magnet because you know that the stone walls and fortifications which compose the citadel have been the witnesses of a lot of historical events and managed to survive in times of turmoil and fierce battles. If I had the time I would have gladly made the journey to the hilltop, where the citadel lies at at an altitude of 370 meters, on foot, but since I was participating in an organized trip and time was limited, I chose the easy way up, which is by funicular, and there I was, at the gates of the once mighty citadel, in a matter of a minute or so.

Once I stepped within the fortress walls and I found myself inside the main yard I have to say that the sights I experienced were quite close to what I had anticipated: a massive castle with huge stone walls which give an appearance of stability and impregnability. Those walls speak for themselves, they are the best testimony of the impressive strength of this citadel mentioned for the first time in the second half of the 13th century, which has been besieged on many occasions, but never fully conquered and destroyed, throughout the centuries in which it was a military and administrative center of the whole area.

Unfortunately, I had the misfortune of reaching the Deva citadel on a cold, windy Saturday afternoon, so due to the bad weather I had to shorten my visit and do the tour of the citadel at a very alert pace, but still, I could notice the ruined portions of the castle which were caused by an accidental explosion of the ammunition storage belonging to the Austrian forces which are said to take place during the Hungarian revolutionary uprising of 1848-49. That explosion might have represented the nail in the coffin for the citadel, but thankfully it was only partially destroyed, and the restoration works recently made a guarantee that the fortress will be admired by its visitors for many years to come.

 Another interesting aspect I noticed in the short time I spend at the citadel was the spectacular view of the city of Deva and the surrounding areas. I could picture myself as a soldier looking down on the valley below and get ready to unleash the firepower on the enemies who dared to venture up on the hill; thankfully, those troubled times are probably gone forever and instead of invading troops the view I could see from the highest points of the citadel was that of a modern, beautiful Romanian city.

At the end of my short, but intense visit at the Deva fortress I had a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment because I had added another site to my collection of visited Romanian treasures, which is far from complete, and I also said to myself that I would be back to the Deva citadel one day. I was tempted to do it again by climbing up the hill this time(after all it's not that high) but after reading on the Internet that one of the inhabitants of that hill, which is also a natural reserve, is the dreaded horned adder, a venomous snake, I think I will choose the funicular again! Anyway, regardless of the method you choose to reach it, the Deva fortress is a landmark of Transylvanian history which is worth visiting!

Săpânța Peri Monastery- an Extremely High Wooden Church

 

During a recent trip which I took to the beautiful Romanian county of Maramureș I had the opportunity of visiting a truly impressive structure: the Săpânța Peri monastery, which lies in the middle of a dendrological park close to the village of Săpânța, which is famous internationally for its Merry Cemetary. It was built in 1997, using 400 cubic meters of oak trees, and with its impressive height of 78 meters, it is considered by World Record Academy to be the world’s tallest wooden church in the world!

The monastery’s huge tower, which has a 7-meter high cross at the top, can be seen from 5 kilometers away, so it’s easy for anyone to notice it from a distance. Once you get closer to the wooden church you start realizing how tall it actually is, and it’s impossible not to feel impressed by its sheer size.

Moving around this massive spiritual wonder and looking up to the cross on its top was an experience which reminded me how small and insignificant man can be from a physical point of view, but at the same how spiritually rich he can become when he does his best to overcome his limitations and tries to reach for the sky.

It is also showed me that people involved in the designing and building of this giant wooden church managed to overcome all the obstacles they encountered because faith has guided them and provided them with the strength and determination which are necessary to complete such a massive work of art. Thanks to their efforts and dedication, the Săpânța Peri wooden church is included in the UNESCO patrimony and it will stand for a long time as a symbol of the power that faith has to inspire people to do great things!

This article has been originally published on Virily in July 2019

Photos from My Visits to Neamt Citadel

I visited the Neamt Citadel, an imposing medieval fortress with a rich and troubled history, twice, in 2013 and 2017. I wrote about my impressions about it in this article published in Expertscolumn:

Romanian Landmarks: The Neamt Citadel

However, since I could only published one image on EC, I decided to post more snapshots from my two visits to Neamt Citadel here in order to show a more complete picture of this remarkable historical treasure, so here they are: