When asking a tourist what is the first place you want to visit in Romania, for sure he is going to answer, “Bran Castle”. Tourists know about Dracula’s Castle thanks to the American gothic horror film directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stocker. Maybe you are wondering what is the origin of Dracula as we know him today?
We are very proud and happy to announce a partnership we have made with AloMoDa.ro for a beautiful cause: to make some children happy and show once again how proud we are of our national cultural heritage.
EQUA is a Slovenian courageous responsibility initiative for making everyone aware of the environment effects due to human damaging action and brings an easy and stylish solution – limited editions of reusable bottles, made of a resistant material that do not affect the quality of pure water. Further more, EQUA donates 10% of every sold bottle to organizations that protect nature, clean the waters and promote a healthy life style.
After Croatia and Slovenia, it is Romania`s turn to be next and have a special blogger chosen to design a special bottle.
DOR Bottle by AloMoDa.ro for EQUA România is a special concept designed by Andreea Beltic, inspired by the romanian cultural treasures and by Constantin Brancusi`s masterpieces, under the idea of Enjoy Your Water, Make a Child Happy.
The EQUA Bottle is a responsible brand, focused on protecting the environment and encouraging people to also be careful with their health. Respecting the care promoted by EQUA, AloMoDa.ro has decided to donate the entire profit to an orphans settlement for Giurgiu, on the south region of Romania. One of the protectors of this settlement is the famous actor and model Aureliu Surulescu, ambassador DOR Bottle.
The entire amount that will be raised after selling the bottles will be used to MAKE A CHILD HAPPY and to organize a “Trip to Romania” for the children. We are the partners taking care of this action and looking forward to take the kids to the most beautiful places of this country and introduce them to our great cultural heritage.
The bottles can be bought from www.alo-moda.ro/dor-bottle and if their is any info we can provide, please inbox us.
ENJOY YOUR WATER. MAKE A CHILD HAPPY
“Not the progress of science, neither the sophisticated technology, nor the high standards of civilization or a very developed culture can kill the superstitions forever. Because it is beyond logics and ratio and any attempts of explaining it will hit the wall of personal beliefs. “ Carmen Mihalache
A short look in the not so far past would give us an understanding of the superstitions transmitted from a generation to another and which, sometimes, we believe in. I will present you, every now and then, some of the funniest ones, interesting or ridiculous ones, on different subjects, taken from a very good book, “Romanian beliefs and superstitions” by Irina Nicolau and Carmen Mihalache, after Artur Gorovei and Gh.F. Ciausianu.
So, let`s talk about money today!
If your left palm is itchy, you will get money, but if the right one is itchy, then you will give.
– If you receive money from someone on Mondays, it is a good sign!
– But on the hand, it is not good to give money on Monday, it means you will be giving it the whole week.
– At New Year`s, you should have money in your pockets, so the year is good and prosper.
– The money received as wedding gift (a Romanian tradition is to give money to the newlyweds) should be kept by the bride, after the godfather put some salt and wine over it, this way the new couple is happy and lucky.
– If your cigarette is burning on one side, you will receive money!
– If you wish to sell something, you should take a coin or a banknote, rub it against the soil and use it to make a cross sign on your forehead, this way the trade will be successful.
– There is the belief that if someone has a drinking habit, it is recommended to take a coin and put it inside the mouth of a dead person, during his wake (the Romanian orthodox tradition requires a mourning of 3 days before funeral) and on the 3rd day, it will be removed, washed and put inside a bottle of alcohol and given to the drunk. This will be the cure of his bad habit.
“…a long beautiful road filled with sacrifices, hard work, unforgettable moments, tears of joy and many many medals.” Andreea Raducan
Talking about Romanian definitely means talking about the most famous sport from this country: gymnastics. Everywhere in the world this sport has a single defining name: Nadia. Yes, Nadia Comaneci, the first gymnast ever to receive a perfect 10.00 and not only once, but seven times.
Romania`s fame and history in gymnastics is more than a century old and a lot of stories were written with hard work, tears and medals. Maybe the most famous, after Nadia`s first 10 score is Andreea Raducan`s and what happened at the Olympics of 2000 in Sydney Australia.
After becoming the best gymnasts in the world, having competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where she contributed strongly to the Romanian team’s gold medal and won an individual silver medal on the vault. She was also the original winner of the all-round title, but was disqualified and stripped of her gold medal. Shortly after the competition concluded, when it was revealed that she had failed doping controls, testing positive for pseudoephedrine, at the time a banned substance. The substance came from a simple cold pill, given by the team`s physician and it did not help her to improve her performance in any way.
The case generated a significant amount of media attention from all over the world, and Răducan was supported by members of the gymnastics community and the public. Her case was brought to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in fall 2000. Răducan herself was exonerated of any personal wrongdoing by the CAS, the Romanian Olympic Committee and the International Gymnastics Federation, and was not subject to any disciplinary measures. But her medal and title of the world`s best gymnast was not reinstated.
The autobiography Andreea wrote – “The other side of the medal” – talks about a life full of sacrifices, joy and tears, restrictions and hard work and everything else a true professional sport dedicated person must have and the extreme happiness that winning a competition will bring. Also, she talks about the small step from the ecstasy to agony she took in 2000, at Sydney and how the moved on and demonstrated once again she is a champion.
You can order the book from http://andreearaducan.com and have it sign by the gymnast herself.
In 1913, Romanian-born sculptor Constantin Brancusi arrived in New York and showed five pieces for the first time at the Armory Show. Fast forward 100 years and the influential artist will be honored with a solo exhibition at Paul Kasmin Gallery
Trip to Romania team was there and the beauty of the five masterpieces- Head, Mademoiselle Pogany II, The Newborn, Sleeping Muse II, and Fish- made us proud and honored of such greatness.
Born in Romania, Constantin Brancusi first studied sculpture at the School of Arts and Crafts in Craiova (1894–98) and the National School of Fine Arts in Bucharest (1898–1902). In 1904 he left Romania permanently, traveling through Budapest, Vienna, Munich, Zurich, and Basel before settling in Paris.
There, he continued his training at the École des Beaux-Arts (1905–07), and his work of the period attracted the attention of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. In Paris he was welcomed by a community of artists and intellectuals including Henri Rousseau, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, and Marcel Duchamp.
He made his debut in New York in 1913 at the Armory Show, where the sculptor exhibited five works that directed modern sculpture on a radical new path. His popularity in New York and the United States grew over the following years.
“Without the Americans, I would not have been able to produce all this or even to have existed“, said Constantin Brancusi to the New York Times in 1955 when the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum celebrated his work with the first museum retrospective of his work.
Brancusi’s second Guggenheim retrospective occurred in 1969, and was held in the museum’s Frank Lloyd Wright rotunda. MoMA included works by Brancusi in more than ten group exhibitions between 1934 and his death in 1957. It took until 1967 for a French museum to have a show dedicated to his work (Tribute to Brancusi, at the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris), and until 1995 for the first full-scale exhibition in his adopted country at the Pompidou Center.
Upon his death, Brancusi bequeathed a collection of his work to the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris on the condition that his studio be rebuilt as it was when he died. The reconstructed studio is located near the Pompidou Center, and was built under the directorship of Pontus Hulten.
For more information, please visit http://www.paulkasmingallery.com
Showing power, imposing respect, castles have played an important role in so many countries, including our Romania. Let us take for example the Corvin Castle in Hunedoara. A magnificent piece of gothic art with Renaissance elements, great fortress and, at the same time, a warm home for the noble families of Transylvania’s past.
This particular castle still attracts visitors with its magnificent towers, colored roofs, interior yard, drawbridge and plenty of chambers to delight the eye. Its most important owner was Iancu or Ioan de Hunedoara (John Hunyadi in English), a great Transylvanian military and political character in the 15th century.
Stories tell that it was the place where Vlad III of Wallachia (commonly known as Vlad the Impaler/Dracula) was held prisoner by Iancu for 7 years and later they came to an agreement and a political alliance. Another story talk about the castle yard that has a well 30 meters deep dug by twelve Turkish prisoners to whom liberty was promised if they reached water and after 15 years, when they completed the well, their captors did not keep their promise. And maybe the most famous legend about the castle has to do with the spirits reported to be haunting it, what made the British paranormal television program crew Most Haunted Live! spend 3 night in an investigation. Unfortunately, the results were inconclusive.
The good is that the castle was also turned into a museum and invites you to a special world, sharing its valuable patrimony and telling its beautiful story like a beloved grandparent would, to posterity.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
― Augustine of Hippo
Presuming you like books and travel, one true story could open your appetite for visiting the fortified church of Biertan.
First of all because of its beautiful architecture: it is the last fortified church from Transylvania built in the gothic style. A tall fortress meant to protect the Saxons who lived there for hundreds of years, keeping outside the double exterior walls and heavy doors all unwanted threads.
This particular UNESCO world heritage site had a unique, maybe funny, but quite fascinating way of dealing with couples willing to become separated. Making sure that a divorce between their married subjects was not just a hasty request, the bishop and the other persons empowered to decide submitted the couple to a 14 days test before any official decision was taken.
One bed, a single plate, a single chair, a single fork etc. all locked in a room where the two spouses ought to cohabit for two weeks… This kind of marital counseling should have worked because they say that there was only one divorce taking place!
Interesting? Book the Transylvania Land of Legends Tour (http://www.triptoromania.net/
The site is open for visits between the months of May and August, from Monday to Sunday (10 AM – 1 PM and 2 PM – 5 PM).
Credits for photo: Rolandia.eu
There’s this tradition in Romania, where children in school go visit some oturistic sports around their country, accompanied by their teachers. It’s sort of an educational thing. It’s the first experience outside the house, away from your family. It’s also a cultural activity. Learning new things, seeing and experiencing a culture, may that be your own. A museum, a natural phenomenon, anything.
I think I am not wrong when I say that the most popular destination is Bicazului Gorges. Don’t even think that is the most accessible judging from the location point of view. It is not. But it is that kind of destination that will leave you breathless. As a baby. As a child. As an adult.
You are probably asking yourself where they’re located. Here is the answer: you can see Bicazului Gorges as a road between Moldova and Transylvania, two Romanian provinces. They were formed by the Bicaz River and work as a connection between two other important natural and anthropic monuments: Red Lake and Bicazului Barrage.
So start walking or… driving. There are six kilometers in front of you. Take a deep breath. Feel the fresh air. Prepare your neck. There’s going to be a lot of watching in front of you, around you, above you.
When you reach the Red Lake, sit down on the grass. Feel the nature. If you are adventurous, rent a boat and “float” around.
It’s all about your senses. And the amazing views around you.
The museum was founded in 1936, it is an open air museum an and it occupies 4,5 hectares inside the Herastrau Park, the city`s biggest park.
Countryside life, traditions, the way a village house should be built and organized with all utilities: the kitchen, bedrooms and baking room, weave room, the hencoops, aviary, the barn, the horse carriage, the fountain and more related to the village life. The inside of the houses is decorated respecting an old traditional house: terries on the walls, fluffy pillows, wooden painted religious icons, ceramic vases, and the colors and vivid and welcoming. And to give the truth touch of the countryside, near the house you`ll find a barking dog, a lazy cat, some chicken and a cock and some ducks, sometimes. And of course, the front yard will grow beautiful flowers and the back yard had vegetables.
The museum was built by Dimitrie Gusti`s initiative, sociology teacher, in order to give the people of Bucharest, at the end of 19th century, a better knowledge of the countryside. Each one of the houses presented respect the traditional house plan of the region the are from: roof shape, construction type, rooms, basement or no basement, attic etc. The materials respect the original village the house represents, as well. They were brought by train and assembled in Bucharest by handymans from the same village, too.
A walk of 30-40 minutes through the Museum will take you from Maramures to Oltenia and from Transylvania to the Danube Delta or the seaside. Along with the houses, the churches are also represented, from different sides of the country, and the houses architecture changes as you cross the boarders.
The visit time is 9 to 5 on Monday, and from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9 to 7. More information about the place, the exhibitions and the events of each month can be found by accessing www.muzeul-satului.ro
© 2024 Trip to Romania.
