Romania
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Wayfaring in Transylvania: The Land of Volcanoes
The last time my parents and I visited the Saint Anne Lake and the Mohos bog was when I was a teenager. It was such an unforgettable experience, that I couldn’t wait to return to this magical Land of Volcanoes and show Will how does an almost perfectly round crater lake surrounded by a pine forest and often visited by bears look like. Actually, there are two lakes, but the second one is almost completely covered by peat. Azt hiszem talán iskolás lehettem még, mikor szüleimmel a Szent Anna tónál és a Mohos tőzeglápnál jártunk. Hatalmas élmény volt az a kirándulás, így aztán nagyon lelkesen vártam, hogy újra visszatérjünk a Vulkánok…
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Wayfaring in Transylvania: Nyergestető Memorial Park
On a foggy almost-summer morning of our Transylvanian road trip we decided to visit the Nyergestető Memorial Park. Our main destinations on that day were the Saint Anne Lake and the Mohos Bog, but popping by the memorial park didn’t seem to be big detour. Erdélyi kirándulásunk egy ködös, majdnem-nyári reggelén úgy döntöttünk, hogy ellátogatunk a Nyergestetőre. Aznapra egyébként a Szent Anna tó meg a Mohos tőzegláp volt betervezve, de nem jelentett túl nagy kitérőt ide is elugrani.
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Korond Pottery – The Workshop of Ilyés Vészti Mihály
When I travelled home back in May, Will joined me. Usually, when the weather is good and it gets nice and warm, my parents and I don’t stay in Cluj, but we take the car and visit a chosen region of Transylvania instead. It wasn’t any different this time either, however the fact that Will had never been in Transylvania before and everything was new for him, made our trip a bit more interesting. Thanks to this, we looked at everything we consider ‘usual’ and ‘home’ from a slightly different perspective. Mikor idén májusban hazautaztam, Will is velem tartott. Általában ha jó az idő meg meleg van, szüleimmel nem szoktunk…
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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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Wayfaring in Transylvania: The Postăvarul Massif
My trip home this August was very carefully planned and eventful, such that I can take the most out of the holiday. Part of this plan was a 5 day long trip with my parents. This wasn’t the first time, when we jumped into the car and drove around half of the country, but because of the fact that I am living in London for a year now, I think this was the first time, when I started to see things from a different perspective, and got excited because of bits and bobs that were normal before, and now I miss them in England. Mikor idén augusztusban hazajöttem, nagyon sűrű…
