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Colchester or Coldchester?
My friends and I chose a cold January Saturday as a milestone for leaving behind the big Christmas and New Year’s alcohol coma and continue our ‘exploring the British towns’ project. If I remember correctly, it was Caroline’s idea to go and check out Colchester, a place I’ve never heard of before and I had no idea if there is anything interesting to see. Now I can tell you: there is. Colchester is not just Britain’s oldest roman town, but theoretically it is considered to be Britain’s oldest town, period. This fact suggests that visitors will find lots of historical buildings, ruins and and other curiosities here. A nagy karácsonyi és újévi…
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Wayfaring in Transylvania: Count Mikes Estate in Zabola
Because my granddad’s family on my mother’s side originates from Zabola, recalling all the interesting stories about the castle and the Mikes family was always a habitual element of the family gatherings. I remember these tales very well since I was a little kid, and I am pretty sure I have imagined a fantasy world (which unfortunately seems to be present mainly in children’s minds) around them. For all those years I always wanted to see both the castle and the whole estate. I was hoping that the reality won’t be too different from my own imaginary world. Mivel anyai ágon, nagyapám családja Zaboláról származik, már egészen kicsi koromban felfigyeltem az érdekesebbnél érdekesebb történetekre…
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Wayfaring in Transylvania: Prejmer Fortified Church
In my opinion the concept of a fortified church is a genius idea. They appeared in Transylvania around the 13th century, when the Hungarian kings brought the Saxon communities in. Because back in those days Transylvania was constantly threatened by Turkish and Tatar attacks, Saxon people had to come up with a solution to protect the villagers and their belongings. They surrounded the churches with very thick walls, which had loopholes and, well.. I think the official name should be pitch-hole, but I am not really sure. Basically there were some special holes used to pour hot pitch over the enemy. Within the walls and bastions there were lots and…
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The Dream Day of a Downton Fan
Despite the fact that I am a serious castle maniac, I wasn’t aware of the existence of Highclere Castle for a very long time. Then, a few years ago I discovered this show entitled Downton Abbey, and I managed to become such an addict, that I could sit there all night long, watching a complete season – one episode after the other -, after which the usual withdrawal symptoms were torturing me for days. Annak ellenére, hogy határozottan kastély- és vármániás vagyok, a Highclere kastély teljesen elkerülte a figyelmemet. Aztán pár évvel ezelőtt szembejött a Downton Abbey című filmsorozat, amire sikerült olyan szinten rákattannom, hogy képes voltam egy egész évadot egyhuzamban…
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The Secrets of Arundel Castle
(Photo by Iza) I am not a morning person, but when it comes to meeting people at one of the train stations, and getting a good cup of coffee while waiting for our train, I can jump out of the bed and get ready in just a few moments. Train stations in general have that special atmosphere made of all the journey possibilities, and people’s excitement. Anyway, it was Monday morning, 8AM, and I was on my way to meet Red, Iza, and Will because we wanted to explore Arundel Castle. Nem vagyok egy korán kelő típus, de amikor arról van szó, hogy találkozzunk valamelyik állomáson, és igyunk egy jó kávét…
