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!

My First Golden Owl- a Special Duolingo Achievement

 

Last autumn, in the month of October, I started using the well-known language learning platform Duolingo to expand my linguistic knowledge by studying a new foreign language. I chose Spanish because it is relatively close to my native language, Romanian, and it is one of the most used languages worldwide, mostly in Latin America, so I thought I should begin my Duolingo journey with this beautiful language.

It didn’t take me a long time to become fascinated by this activity and turn the English to Spanish course(there is no Romanian to Spanish course yet) into a daily routine. Duolingo’s method of having users learn languages mostly by the use of everyday sentences has worked like magic in my case as I found it relatively easy to assimilate the new grammatical structures and vocabulary associated with each skill which represents a branch of the fairly big Spanish tree. During the first 8 months of studying Spanish on Duolingo my approach was to reach level 5 in each skill and then move on to the next one, but then I changed my strategy and I started doing level 1 on each of the remaining skills until I went down to the root of the tree and I was rewarded with a nice trophy, my first shiny golden owl!

Obviously, when you learn a language you don’t necessarily do it for the sake of prices, but because you want to expand your knowledge, to learn something new about other cultures and countries and for many other reasons, but nevertheless having a precise target, like promoting to a higher league in the Duolingo system, taking your streak to 100 days, then 200 days and so on, or getting a golden owl for finishing level 1 on all the skills of a course, all these extra incentives can only have a beneficial effect as they help me stay motivated to keep on learning and aiming for new heights, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do next.

If you are on Duolingo as well, you can find me here: My Duolingo Profile

After getting my shiny precious golden owl, my journey into the world of the Spanish language will continue until I manage to finish the whole tree, which means getting all the skills to level 5. In the meantime, I am also going to embark on another language learning journey because Duolingo is so addictive that it simply makes you want to learn more and more, so why not? I am probably going to stick to a language which is closer to Romanian, such as Italian or Portuguese, and after that try my hand at more distant languages, like Swedish or even Korean and Japanese, so I am quite confident that my Duolingo adventure will continue for many years to come! 

For the time being, I will keep on improving my Spanish skills, by using not only Duolingo but other resources as well, such as the Coffee Break Spanish podcast on Spotify I have been listening to for several weeks now, and like I said before, I will also start to discover the secret of another language and I will definitely reach new achievements and get another shiny golden owl to my Duolingo trophy cabinet in a few months' time!

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

A Game of Chess- a World in Miniature

 

Whenever I challenge someone or get an invitation from another person to play a game of chess I know that for a while I will detach myself from the immediate reality and plunge into an imaginary world of battles, intrigues, and unexpected situations. As long as the game of chess lasts my mind usually takes me into a journey full of thought, strategy, anticipation, and excitement. In those moments the chessboard and chess pieces are a world in miniature, a world in which I can control my destiny, but in order to reach my goal I have to play different roles and sometimes identify myself with each of the 16 pieces I control.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if the chessboard were a real-world and I would be no longer the chess player, but one of the pieces on the board. Just like in the real world, the higher my position, the bigger my chances of surviving when the game ends would be, but there are no guarantees that it would be a happy end; even if I were the queen I couldn't win the battle on my own.

To continue with this fascinating exercise of imagination I will try to place myself first in the position of a pawn. After all, half of the pieces of each team are pawns; in the game of chess they are poor, the many and the expendables, but yet their roles can sometimes be decisive. If I'm a pawn on a chessboard I won't have too many expectations from this life as it will be very hard to finish the game alive. I will be in the first line of defense, always ready to sacrifice myself for the king and country. That doesn't sound like a desirable position, in fact, it's quite a miserable existence, but even in these dark circumstances, there is a little hope for me. If I am the lucky one to reach the last line I can turn myself from a poor, hopeless servant into a mighty queen or maybe a proud and strong rook. All of a sudden the power will be in my hands, but how many pawns have this unique chance in the world of chess? Most of them die on the battlefield after a life of suffering, so if a draw is made before the game begins to establish my position on the board the last thing I want to be is a pawn.

Let's say that I'm a minor piece, either a bishop or a knight; it is quite a significant step forward compared to the unwanted position of a pawn, but there are plenty of risks involved and I have to enjoy living on the edge. If I'm a bishop my freedom of movement will be quite restricted, as I can only move diagonally, but it's sometimes enough to allow me to cause havoc into the opponent's defense. If I'm a knight I will be very playful, but also dangerous; I am the only one who can do the thing the queen can't which is jumping over pieces, and for this reason, I think I would deserve some respect. It will be definitely an exciting life, but not necessarily a long one; in most cases, I will be sacrificed before the rooks and sometimes even before the pawns. Whether I'm a bishop or a knight I am expendable too!

It's time to move on to the major pieces. Let's say that after the draw I am lucky enough to be a rook. Now that's a completely different story; I am powerful, I am hard as a rock, and when I move you better stay out of my way! And yet there are disadvantages even in my apparently solid position: I can only move in a straight line and I also need a lot of patience because I have to wait for the pawns, knights, and bishops to make room for me before I can finally leave my initial position. I a mighty and fearless warrior, but I am not invincible. I can be brought down even by knights and bishops if they work together in a clever way. Nevertheless, being the rook sounds quite good to me!

 And then there's, of course, the queen, and who wouldn't like to be one? Isn't it great to have absolute power over your kingdom, to decide who lives and who dies, to move into almost every direction you want? That's the kind of life most of us only dream about! There are plenty of reasons for which I would rather be the queen instead of the king, but there is a disadvantage in this highly desired position: even the queen has to sacrifice himself in a desperate attempt to save the king when things go bad! Queen? Yes, it would be great to be one, but I have to remember that nothing lasts forever, not even absolute power!

And then finally there's the king; he's the one which all the other pieces try to protect and they're all willing to die for him. However, I'm not sure I want to be one. It is true that I will live longer than all my subjects, but life doesn't look too exciting for me. My movements are restricted and I am always surrounded by guards; for most of the game, I can't leave my castle and when I am forced by circumstances to move out of my fortress into the open field I am usually extremely vulnerable. It means that most of my humble and devoted servants are no longer here to protect me. When my army wins the game I take credit for it, but we all know that in reality my loyal subjects, from the poor unfortunate pawns to my beloved and powerful queen, are the ones to deserve all the praise. I am nothing but a puppet, a lazy individual who lives a life full of pleasures, but I have basically no freedom. I am a prisoner in a luxury cage and if my team loses it all crumbles down and I disappear as well! Taking all these elements into consideration, I am not that eager to be a king!

As a conclusion of my little journey into a fantasy world which looks like a chessboard, I can say that being a king is not necessarily the best thing that can happen to you, but it's always preferable to being a pawn, and even if you're in a low position it is possible to make your life better and rise from rags to riches, just as in the case of a pawn which can turn into the queen, but that's probably very hard to accomplish and you also need some luck and often at least a little help from others to stop being a pawn and become important! Anyway, enough meditations, time to get back to the board and play another fascinating game of chess. Long live the king if his subjects defend him with the price of their lives!

Picture source- Pixabay free image  Chess Board

Fallen Trees- Victims of Heavy Rainfall

Going on a hike in a forest on a hot summer day, with temperatures rising to 30 degrees Celsius is an excellent opportunity to enjoy the cool air and the much-needed shadow of the trees while also doing physical activity, which otherwise would be hard to do at high temperatures during the daytime, so when I was invited to go on a hike to the top of a hill on a Sunday afternoon in July, I gladly accepted the invitation.

It should have been a rainy Sunday in my region, but fortunately, the weather forecast turned out not to be very accurate that time, but it had rained heavily the night before. As a matter of fact, I had been awoken by the deafening sound of thunder in the middle of the previous night; there had been a violent storm which had come after several days of extreme heat, a furious outburst of nature which seems to take revenge on humans who cause so much damage to the environment by subjecting them to all kinds of extreme weather conditions.

But it is not only humans who have to suffer from nature's fury, as I could see during my forest hike. I was still close to the foot of the hill when I came across a spectacular, but also frightening view, which you can see in the photo above, of several bent trees forming a natural roof over the road as the contact with the trees from the other side of the road prevented them from falling to the ground. As I continued my hike up on the road I saw several fallen trees, some of the old and massive, with their roots, simply snatched from the ground, but luckily and rather surprisingly none of them had blocked the road, they were in the ravines, right in the middle of the forest.

 It was sad to see those trees knocked down, even if it wasn't man's hand, but nature's anger that finished them off, but it's an unpleasant sight I should be more used to. As humans, in their ever-growing hunger for profits, destroy the environment in an accelerated pace, they also have to suffer the consequences of their reckless acts, and violent, thunderous rainfalls are probably going to get more and more frequent in the region where I live, so I expect to see more and more and fallen trees, along with massive floods, and other devastating effects of heavy storms and other extreme weather phenomena, in the upcoming years. There is no other choice but to get used to these changes because it's obvious to me that our planet won't heal very soon, on the contrary, it will grow sicker and sicker and its suffering will only make our lives worse.

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: