Marasesti - Pe aici nu se trece / Marasesti - Can't pass through here

Marasesti, Marasti, Oituz... Nu. De data asta doar Marasesti.

Razboiul de Intregire Nationala a facut ca la Marasesti sa piara peste 21 de mii de romani. Tot ceea ce ne mai aminteste de glorioasa lupta din vara anului 1917 este Mausoleul de la Marasesti, ridicat chiar pe locul unde s-au dat luptele. 18 culoare dispuse radial, 154 de cripte individuale, 9 cripte comune, o bisericuta asezata chiar in centrul constructiei si inscriptia UN OSTAS ROMAN raman cu mine dupa ce am vizitat ieri acest somptuos monument.

Cinste lor, celor care s-au jertfit pentru aceasta tara minunata, pentru acest pamant care ne-a ocrotit inca de pe vremea cand purta numele Dacia. Dumnezeu sa-i ierte!

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Marasesti, Marasti, Oituz... No. This time only Marasesti.

The War of National Union made it possible for 21 thousands of Romanians to perish at Marasesti. The Marasesti Mausoleum, built right on the spot where the fight took place, reminds us of the glorious fights from the summer of 1917. What stays with me after visiting this magnificent monument are the 18 halls arranged in a circle, the 154 individual crypts, the 9 commune crypts, the church placed right in the middle of the building and the inscriptions A ROMANIAN SOLDIER.

Let's honor those who sacrificed themselves for this wonderful country, for this land that protected us ever since it was called Dacia. May God forgive them!

Slanic, Prahova

M-am urcat cu ai mei in masina si am plecat spre un loc pe care nu il vazusem niciodata, dar despre care auzisem o multime de lucruri interesante: orasul Slanic, judetul Prahova. Ce poti vedea acolo: salina, muzeul de sare, Lacul sarat Baia Baciului si Lacul Miresei (ceea ce a ramas dupa surparea muntelui de sare ce forma Grota Miresei) si, bineinteles, peisajul.

Me and my folks got up in the car and went to visit a place that I had never seen, but heard about many interesting things: Slanic town, Prahova County. What you can see there: the salt mine, the salt museum, the Baia Baciului salted Lake and the Bride’s Lake (which remained after the crumbling of the salt mountain that used to form the Bride’s Cave) and, of course, the landscape.

In mina este o temperatura constanta de 13 grade Celsius, presiunea atmosferica este de 730 mm col. Hg., peretii au o inaltime de 54 metri, pana la suprafata fiind o distanta de 208 metri pe care o parcurgi cu liftul in 90 de secunde. Lucrarile miniere au inceput in anul 1938, dar exploatarea s-a facut intre anii 1943 - 1970. Mina este folosita acum doar in scopuri turistice. Spatiul excavat este impartit in 14 camere si ocupa acum 2,9 milioane metri cubi si se intinde pe o suprafata de 7,8 hectare. Putem vedea acolo sculpturi in sare, o Sala a Genezei, o expozitie de chihlimbar si o zona de joaca cu leagane si teren de fotbal.

There is a constant temperature of 13 Celsius degrees in the mine and an atmospheric pressure of 730 mm col. Hg. The walls have a height of 54 metres and there is a distance of 208 metres until the surface that can be travelled by elevator in 90 seconds. Mining works began in 1938, but the operation was done between 1943 - 1970. Mine is now used only for touristic purposes. The excavated space is devided in 14 rooms and now holds 2.9 million cubic metres and it streches on an area of 7.8 hectares. We can see there some sculptures in salt, a Genesis Room, an expo of amber and a playground with swings and a soccer field.

Apoi am trecut pe la Baia Baciului ca sa vedem lacul si ce a mai ramas din Grota Miresei.

Then we went to Baia Baciului to see the lake and what's left of The Bride's Cave.

Iata cum arata Grota Miresei inainte de a se surpa peretele de sare.

This is how The Bride's Cave looked before the crumbling of the salt wall.

Si iata cum arata acum.

And this is how it looks now.

La Circul Medrano / At the Medrano Circus

Mai merita sa mergi la Circ in ziua de azi? Eu zic ca da, chiar daca avem parte de circ oriunde: la magazin, in parc, in autobuz, la stiri. Cel putin la Circul asta a meritat. Pretul a fost bun, spectacolul de calitate, numerele prezentate erau diferite de tot ceea ce am vazut pana acum, animalele sunt foarte bine ingrijite, hranite, iar in aer nu plutea nici un miros care sa-mi raneasca simtul olfactiv. Si cu acesta ocazie am vizitat si in spatele scenei, adica custile animalelor. Nici acum nu-mi vine sa cred ca am vazut elefanti. Erau atat de mari, imensi si foarte frumosi, naturali si sociabili, nu se temeau de public sau zgomot. Am mai vazut si girafe, tigri, un rinocer, lame, struti si cai, o experienta deosebita. Parinti, duce-ti-va copii la circ!

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Is it worth today to go see the Circus? I say yes, even if we are surrounded by circus wherever we are: at the shop, in the park, in the bus, on the news. At least at this Circus was worth it. The price was good, a quality show, the numbers presented were different from what I saw before, the animals are well cared, fed and there is no bad smell floating in the air that would hurt my olfactory sense. And this time I visited behind the scenes too, meaning the animals cages. Even now I can’t believe that I saw elephants. They were so big, huge and very beautiful, natural and social, not fearing the public or the noise. I saw giraffes, tigers, a rhinoceros, llamas, ostriches and horses, a great experience. Parents, get your children to see the circus!

Vulcanii Noroiosi / The Muddy Volcanoes

De cand ma stiu mi-am dorit sa vad acest loc si imi imaginam un munte imens de unde curge noroiul in valuri. Nu a fost sa fie asa. Din Vulcanii Noroiosi nu au mai ramas decat cateva "ochiuri" prin care muntii "respira" la intervale de cateva secunde. Dar nu-i nimic, eu m-am bucurat oricum de peisaj si de faptul ca acest loc este unic in Romania, dar si in Europa.

...

I've wanted all my life to see this place and I was imagining a huge mountain where mud flows wave after wave. It was nothing like that. There's almost nothing left of The Muddy Volcanoes, just some holes trough where the mountains "breaths" at intervals of several seconds. But its fine, I enjoyed the view and knowing that this place is unique in Romania, and in Europe too.

Vederi din rai / Postcards from heaven

Am gasit un loc deosebit, care m-a lasat cu gura deschisa: Campina, La fantana cu ciresi. Peisajul e cu totul special, mai ales acum ca a venit vara iar natura s-a "inverzit" de tot. Cand sunt trista ma gandesc la acest loc si parca imi mai revine cheful de viata. Ce mici suntem noi si ce mare e lumea asta!

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I found this special place that left me with my mouth open: Campina, At the spring with cherry trees. The scenery is overwhelming, especially now because summer is here and nature got so green. When I am sad I think of this place and I feel a burst of life coming back to me. How little we are and how big this world really is!

Barajul Paltinu / Paltinu Dam

Ne tot batea gandul, pe mine si niste prieteni, sa mai iesim si noi la o plimbare prin judet, asa ca ne-am gandit sa dam o fuga pana la Paltinu sa vedem si noi cum e pe acolo. Si nu, nu am fost la un gratar, asa cum ii e obiceiul romanului de rand, ci doar in excursie.

E frumoasa zona, pacat insa ca nu ai voie sa te si plimbi pe baraj. Ce sa vezi: portile inchise cu un mare semn "Interzisa trecerea" pe ele! Eh! Mi-am pus pofta in cui si m-am multumit cu peisajul vazut "de pe margine". Insa si mai interesant a fost sa vad lacul de acumulare. Dar nu intinderea aceea nesfarsita de apa mi-a starnit mie dorinta de a va povesti aici despre barajul Paltinu, ci intinderea aceea nesfarsita de gunoaie care pluteau la malul lacului. Si, pentru cei care nu stiu, va informez ca din acest lac se alimenteaza orasul Ploiesti cu apa potabila. Acum se intelege de ce apa noastra de la robinet miroase si are un gust iritant de clor.

Concluzii: 1. e absolut necesar sa trecem la apa imbuteliata 2. daca am arunca cat mai putine gunoaie in natura ar fi ideal, doar pentru asta s-au inventat cosurile de gunoi, nu? 3. desi e bine cunoscut faptul ca sunt gunoaie peste tot, nu e nimeni platit sa le si stranga 4. pana la urma romanul face tot ce stie el: gratar in locuri neamenajate si gunoiul aruncat in padure (ca doar serveste ca ingrasamant natural, nu?)

Pacat de tara asta frumoasa!

...

Some friends and I were thinking to get out on a walk in our county, so we thought we should go to Paltinu to see how are things there. And no, we were not out on a barbecue, the new national custom of Romanians, only on a trip.

It’s a beautiful area, pity that one can’t walk on the damn. What was there to see: closed gates with a big sign “no trespassing” on. So I forgot about it and I contented in watching the scenery “from aside”. But even more interesting was to see the barrier lake. However, not the endless water spread roused in me the wish to tell you about the Paltinu dam, but the endless garbage spread floating at the shore. And, for those that don’t know, I’m telling you that this lake is supplying Ploiesti city with drinkable water. Now we can understand why our running water smells and tastes irritating of chlorine.

Conclusions: 1. it’s imperative that we start drinking only bottled water 2. ideal would be for us to drop less garbage in the nature, they invented the garbage cans for this, no? 3. although it is well known that there is garbage everywhere around, there is no one paid to gather it 4. in the end the Romanian does what he knows best: barbecue in unfit places and throwing garbage in the woods (because it’s natural fertilizer, isn’t it?).

Pity of this beautiful country!

Excursie la Brebu, Judetul Prahova / Trip to Brebu, Prahova County

Nu prea am avut ocazia, pana acum, sa ma plimb prin judetul meu si am descoperit de curand cateva locuri care merita.

Am fost in comuna Brebu: undeva ascunsa printre dealuri, zona rurala unde casele sunt in stil romanesc vechi, unde incep acum sa rasara vilutele transformate peste noapte in pensiuni turistice, unde soselele mai sunt, inca, pavate cu piatra, unde lumea se strange Duminica dimineata la biserica, asa cum rar mi-a fost dat sa mai vad si prin urbea noastra.



Ce am vazut acolo? Biserica Domneasca Matei Basarab si Casa Domneasca Matei Basarab, ingradite de un vechi zid, acum aflat in paragina. In Casa Domneasca functioneaza acum un muzeu, parte a Muzeului de Istorie Ploiesti, cat de cat ingrijit. Cand am fost eu acolo se lucra la un sistem pentru a mentine temperatura si umiditatea constante in muzeu. Sa nu va asteptati la cine-stie-ce pentru ca veti fi dezamagiti. Investitii in restaurare nu s-a facut pe aici, asa ca totul pare in ruina, zidurile sunt sparte, faramate pana la caramida. Dar locul asta are frumusetea lui, e drept: una bruta, necizelata. In mijlocul curtii se afla biserica. Exista o portita care duce din curte in spatele casei si poti ajunge la lac. Nu e o atractie deosebita, dar merita.

Oricum, la ce sa ma fi asteptat de la acest punct turistic? Doar suntem in Romania, am invatat sa nu cer foarte multe de la aceasta tara si nici de la locuitorii ei.

Apropo, comuna Brebu are site, pentru cei interesati: http://www.brebuprahova.ro/brebu.htm

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I didn’t have the opportunity, until now, to travel in my county and I just discovered some places that are worth seeing.

I went to Brebu village: somewhere hidden between the hills, a rural area where the hoses are made in old Romanian rustic style, where mansions are starting to appear now, transformed over night in boarding houses, where the streets are still stone paved, where people get together Sunday morning at church, like I rarely see in our city.

What I saw there? The Matei Basarab Church and House, surrounded by an old wall, now neglected. There’s a museum in the House, part of the Ploiesti History Museum, somehow attended. When I was there they where working on a system to maintain constant temperature and humidity in the museum. Do not expect great things here because you will be disappointed. Everything looks like in ruin because they never invested here in restoration; the walls are broken, crumbled to the brick. But this place has his beauty, true: a savage, ragged one. In the middle of the yard stands the Church. There is a gate that leads outside the walls, behind the House and one can get at the lake. It’s not a very pretty place, but it’s worth a visit.

Anyway, what should have I expected from this touristic attraction? We are in Romania after all, and I’ve learned not to demand so many things from this country and his inhabitants.

By the way, Brebu village has a site, for those who are interested: http://www.brebuprahova.ro/brebu.htm