Văliug / Crivaia, always a cold choice

Văliug was populated since 1718, when the Austrian colonists brought a number of 70 German families that were made to  work in the mines and in the forests to cut wood. 15 km form Valiug is Crivaia, situated at the foot of Semenic Mountains , at about 40 kms away from Resita . It is a fresh choice, welcoming you all year round with its forests of oaks, firs and beeches. Eagles, hawks, squirrels ,deer,foxes and wolves together with boares are all animals that live here.
It is a great choice for mountaineering , riding bikes, riding ATVs, as well as trekking.
The touristic adventure can also start around Gozna Lake, built between 1950-1953 in order to supply Resita with water and to produce energy. The lake , which is  40 m deep ,is situated at 610 m altitude and has got  66 hectares. Along it there are pontoons, discos, restaurants and clubs.

Garâna, a reborn story

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• The village of Garana is situated in Romania’s Semenic mountains, around 50 km from Resita, at an altitude of 1,000 meters.Garana (also called Wolfsberg) – has interesting folklore traditios and beautiful mountain landscapes.
• A few families from Bohemia settled here, around the year 1830, and were colonized in the Banat Mountains. They called themselves Pemi and founded Wolfsberg village, which today is called Garana. This led to the conservation of old habits, which can be seen in the architectural style. Most of the houses are painted white with green doors.
• The massive emigration before and after 1989 left the houses and even the whole village empty, to the joy of the new „colonists” from Timisoara and other cities around, which made their summer residences in Granada, Valiug, Brebu Nou.
• Although nowadays most of the original-German population of the village returned to its roots, the village survived and transformed into a vacation village and a touristic attraction
• At the bottom of the village,there is a wonderful panorama; we can see Semenic peak, Garana village and Brebu village.

 

 

 

• Garana Jazz Festival, a regular highlight of the Romanian and international jazz scene;it has been taken placehere for 17 yearsin mid-July ;it gathersfamous local,national and international musicians and bands

 

 

 

Rome,the conquerer city

One of the most historic city in the world.Traces of wars, battles, emperors ,soldiers, victories and glory are all over. Traces of religion, popes,presence of God, saints,churches are also so much present in this seductive and fantastic city.
Founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century and enlarged by successive pontiffs, the Vatican Museums contains one of the world’s greatest art collection. Exhibits range from Egyptian mummies and Etruscan bronzes to Old Masters and modern paintings, but the main drawcards are the spectacular classical statuary and Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. In this city of outstanding churches, none can hold a candle to St Peter’s Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro), Italy’s largest, richest and most spectacular church. A monument to centuries of artistic genius, it contains some spectacular works of art, including three of Italy’s most celebrated masterpieces: Michelangelo’s Pietà , his breathtaking dome, and Bernini’s baldachin (canopy) over the papal altar.
It’s also one of Rome’s busiest tourist attractions, drawing up to 20,000 people on a busy day.
The original basilica was commissioned by the emperor Constantine and built around 349 on the site where St Peter is said to have been buried between AD 64 and 67
The Vatican Grottoes were created as a burial place for popes. See the tombs and sarcophagi of many popes, as well as several huge columns from the original 4th-century basilica.

Rome’s great gladiatorial arena is the most thrilling of the city’s ancient sights. Originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, the 50,000-seat Colosseum (Colosseo) was inaugurated in AD 80 and used to stage spectacular gladiatorial games in front of baying, bloodthirsty crowds. The name Colosseum, when introduced in medieval times, was not a reference to its size but to the Colosso di Nerone, a giant statue of Nero that stood nearby.The 80 entrance arches, known as vomitoria, allowed the spectators to enter and be seated in a matter of minutes.
The Colosseum’s interior was divided into three parts: the arena, cavea and podium. The arena had a wooden floor covered in sand to prevent the combatants from slipping and to soak up the blood.
With the fall of the empire in the 6th century, the Colosseum was abandoned. In the Middle Ages, it became a fortress occupied by two of the city’s warrior familie.Damaged several times by earthquake,it is still a monument of great grandeur.
The Pantheon is the best preserved of ancient Rome’s great monuments. In its current form it dates to around AD 120.The dome, considered the Romans’ greatest architectural achievement, is the largest unreinforced concrete dome ever built.
Hadrian’s temple was dedicated to the classical gods – hence the name Pantheon, a derivation of the Greek words pan (all) and theos (god)
However, the real fascination of the Pantheon lies in its massive dimensions and extraordinary dome. A tour de force of ancient engineering, it was the largest dome in the world until the 15th century and is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in existence . The original Roman bronze doors remain.
With all these historic aspects,I can almost easily forget that Rome si a modern city as well. Fancy bars, strong and so little espressos, large,colourful parks, lots of expensive clothes shops, a lot of other attractions. The city has a slow rhytm ,the dolce far niente rhytm,because after all, life is given to be enjoyed. Italians are very nosiy ans cheerful people so be careful what you are expecting from your holiday!

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Buhui Lake, a wonderful painting of the autumn….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it comes to autumn, maybe a great choice of spending an outdoor afternoon would be Buhui Lake. Situated near Anina, in Anina Mountains, in the Sigismund neighbourhood,it has a surface of 1.6 km , and it is 27 meters deep. It was built in 1908 as an artificial lake, actually as the first artificial lake built on limestone. It used to be a lake with trouts , back in 1936, but today the lake does no longer service this purpose stock.

There are many touristic routes that can be done in the area, there is a spring, a cave( Buhui Cave)  which is the second cave in the Banat Mountains.It is also one of the most impressive caves of Banat, having a surface of over 6500 metres. You need special equipment if you want to visit it and a good guide.Buhui chalet, offers you goog accomodation and one of the best tourist guides of Romania, a very passionate man who would tell you stories, legends and facts of these places, as well as a collection of personal photos, with touristic and historic value.

The forest surrending majestically the lake, contains many fabulous tree species such as: pines, fir trees, the green Douglas of America, arins , beeches.

If you are not that lucky as to see it in autumn, you should know that the greatness of this place is fabulous in all of the seasons. Take your time, and go. There will be no regrets, I guarantee!

 

 

 

London,the imperial metropola

A fabulous city which preserves its majesty almost everywhere you go. I felt protected by the royal guard, the beefeaters anf the policemen all over the places.
London is the political, economic and cultural capital of Britain. You can visit the Queen’s official residence at Buckingham Palace and tour the Houses of Parliament, the historic home of the UK government.

The river Thames  runs through the heart of London, from Richmond in the west, through the central London borough of Westminster, to Greenwich in the east. London river cruises and river buses are a great way to see the city.

Buckingham Palace,the place where I spent half of the day, to see the entire parade.The Guard that looks after Buckingham Palace is called The Queen’s Guard and is divided into two Detachments: the Buckingham Palace Detachment (responsible for guarding Buckingham Palace) and the St James’s Palace Detachment (responsible for guarding St James’s Palace).

All the guards taking part in the ceremony are dressed in traditional red tunics and bearskin hats, and the ceremony is set to music.Changing the Guard also takes place at Windsor Castle  and at Horse Guards Arch on Horse Guards Parade.

London is also  home to some of the most famous and iconic attractions in the world – from Big Ben and the red telephone box, to black cabs and Tate Modern. Tower Bridge is truly magnificent! It’s great to see the bridge open to let ships through, which happens more often than you’d think; around 900 times a year. Walking across the bridge, you see amazing views of London.
There are lots of exhibitions in the White Tower, the Amouries section is the first part you go into and very impressive. There are a lot of displays and not much space to walk around them so felt very busy. I also enjoyed the wall walks and views inside and outside of the Tower.
A perfect and marvelous work of art from top to bottom. It’s breathtakingly beautiful and majestic without being presumptuous. It doesn’t matter if you’re a spiritual and/or religious person, you’ll definitely love this place and take it in your mind and soul forever!

It  embodies the spiritual life and heritage of the British people.  St Paul’s Cathedral acts as an important meeting place for people and ideas, as a centre for the arts, learning and public debate.

St Paul’s is the Cathedral of the Diocese of London. The Diocese is made up of five episcopal areas: Willesden, Edmonton, Stepney, London and Kensington. Crypts are a must visit with the tombs of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Christopher Wren amongst many
Westminster Abbey
It is the place where every King and Queen has been crowned since 1066, and it’s also the final resting place for many sovereigns, politicians and artists: it has to be one of London’s greatest icons. If you do not mind queing for many minute,then this place is going to become one of your deareset memories. The audio guide offers you the superb voice of mister Jeremy Irons. The exterior of this fine building is imposing with  its magnificent stone walls, fine windows and intricately carved statues at elevated positions around the walls. The colour, adornments, finely carved marble & stone tombs are astounding. The high vaulted ceilings and the enormous dimensions of the church are breathtaking.

It  stands on the site of the old Palace of Westminster. It’s a really stunning building: a real London icon. The clock tower is home to Big Ben.

It is an amazing place with incredible art work.
So many paintings, huge rooms and incredibly famous painters. This is what the free of charge museum offers us.This place is amazing not only is the art work breathtaking but the building its self is incredible, they are constantly having very interesting exhibits.
If you are in London this is a must see.

Buziaș, back to life!

 

 

 

Known for its great mineral water, rich in carbon dioxide, calcium,iron ans sodium, this place is famous for treating cardiovascular, central nervous system, gynecological,metabolic ,  and neuropsychiatric

diseases. The long and full of tree park is home for old and majestic tree planes. The symbol of the resort is an old plane which nowadays is used as a place for drinking and eating.

 

Being declared a health spa in 1839, Buzias is a place that would leave you a bit confused. Situated in a gorgeous environment, it gives you the sheer feeling that you entered a deserted place. Which is such a pity!

 

However, the month of October gives you the sensation that at a certain time, this would be history. That is because here they organise a festival of food and wine where there is plenty of all types of culinary flavours and people competing for getting a prize for best cooked gulyas. The idea is great, except for one thing. If you want to do something, do it better! Too many people and too little space. Too many queues and too much hunger. Too much food and not enough tables to eat at. But , in order to see the bright side, you should know that the atmosphere is that of a  noisy festival,of having a good time. So , may you reborn soon, Buzias!

 

Vršac, the smell of early autumn…

The small city of Serbia  is a town famous for well-developed industry, especially pharmaceuticals, wine and beer, confectioneries and textilesis. It is a mixture of Romanian Banat and daring Serbia. You can encounter many people speaking Romanian, and, strangely enough, not even one speaking English. The festival of ripes, the festival of wines was a weird mixture of Chinese staff, German candies, lots of incredibly good looking sweets  and many handmade objects. What was interesting enough were the pigs and the lambs burning in the  exhausting fire in order to be crusty and delicious, which was actually happening. You had to stay to long queues in order to be served, but the waiting was worth since everything was tasty. As for the wine, that was not in such a great variety, whearas  the young wine could have been found in only one place.

For a more touristic approach of Vrsac, you can visit Kuna,which dates back to the mid 15th century. It stands at the top of the hill (399m) overlooking Vršac, the citadel of the city, which offers quite a view of the entire place.One of interesting places to visit in Vršac is the family winery,Vinik, which produces the  so called Vržole Red, Vržole White and Bermetto wine.♥