Radio România Internațional

Tag: river

  • Via Danubiana

    Via Danubiana

    Work is in progress, in Romania, for an ecotourism route, meant to provide the explorer with one-of-a-kind experiences, ranging from the natural and cultural heritage to the landscapes, unique in Europe. The Danube Gorges, the Iron Gates, the islands and islets the river forms in its course, the Danube Delta or the spectacular areas where the river flows into the Black Sea, all these are but a few of the Danube’s attraction points. The project has been developed by the Greener Association. With more on the association itself, here is its PR director, Alexandra Damian.

    „We have been developing projects in several fields since 2008, when the Association was founded. We seek to build a culture of responsibility and of the volunteering for people and nature, in Romania. We plant trees, we get involved in combatting river Danube’s pollution with plastic, we have a large-scale program With Clean Water, where we carry activities of sanitation on banks of the Danube and its tributaries. We installed several floating dams in a bid to stem the flow of waste that are carried by the course of the river and its tributaries, and, basically, we promote the natural areas that can be found in Romania, so we somehow get closer to nature in a way we have forgotten to that, sort of, as of late. “

    Through the creation of a wide-scope ecotourism route along the Danube, tourists who love natural areas will discover the tremendous potential the area offers. Also, the local community will benefit from a sustainable economic development. With details on that here is the Greener Association’s PR director, Alexandra Damian. But how the idea of the Via Danubiana came about?

    ” The idea of the project has laid dormant for a couple of years now, with us, it existed in a drawer. We very much wanted to create this ecotourism route since we all know the Danube offers unique experiences. From the point where it enters Romania and all the way to the point where if flows into the Black Sea, we come across many beautiful places, a natural and cultural heritage, landscapes which are unique in Europe, reason enough for us to bring to the fore one of Romania’s less-promoted areas. “

    In the region, a series of protected areas and Natura 2000 sites have been identified, while the trail crosses forest areas along the shore, islands, canals and islets. As we speak, these are not accessible to the lay public because of the lack of infrastructure and poor promotion. We continue to map the more than one thousand kilometres river Danube flows in Romania.

    “We’re speaking about the mapping of the natural objectives, of the cultural and historical assets, of the local cuisine, all that can be found along the river. In the initial stage, we marked the segment flowing through Giurgiu County along a distance or around 100 kilometers, a zone which is rich in protected areas, in Natura 2000 sites, in cultural and historical objectives, which are very important yet very little promoted. The route we have mapped also goes through shore forests, islands, canals, islets lovers of nature will definitely want to discover. In September we placed the first milestone in Giurgiu County’s commune of Gaujani, at the Youth Educational Centre. It is one of the milestone points along the route. We’re next going to place two other milestones, in two other strategic points along the route. “

    The route offers a great many ways to spend your leisure time, only one hour’s drive from Bucharest. For the lovers of nature, the area benefits from an attractive list of species and can become the perfect place for birdwatching and the observation of the fauna and flora that are typical for river Danube. Along the route, we come across several natural protected areas, with more than 300 species of extremely rich flora and fauna, with very important invertebrate species, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals.

    From a cultural and historical point of view, there are several points of interest, which are nonetheless unbeknownst to the lay public and hitherto un-signalled, such as the ruins of Mircea the Elder’s fortress in Giurgiu, a period half-buried house or the range of bunkers in Slobozia. Also, for those who love the local cuisine, some of the culinary traditions can be revitalized, such as the pies that are specific for the Romanian-Bulgarian space, riparian to the Danube Delta, the pepper salads or the salads prepared with aubergines baked on glowing embers, or the goose thick soup. All the details needed for the journey along the Danube have already been published in a Traveller’s Guide you can access at viadanubiana.ro.

    “We have already launched the site. There we have GPS coordinates for those who want to walk along the trail, at viadanubiana.ro. We’ve also published a Traveller’s Guide in Giurgiu County. We very much want those who love nature, those who are into outdoor walks, those who love the Danube and the Delta, we want them to come join us. Given that, as we speak, we only map a segment, 100 out of the 1,000 kilometres, they can get involved in all sorts of ways so that we can extend the route, so we can map just as we’ve mapped Giurgiu County and the other regions along the Danube. Also, donations are welcome, products can be bought in the shop that has especially been created for Via Danubiana. They can obviously get involved as volunteers in the activities we are going to stage and can of course become ambassador of the new route. “

    At vianubiana.ro you can access the whole range of options for the lovers of nature to get involved, in a bid to support the project. So far, appeals to volunteering have been successful, said Greener Association’s PR director, Alexandra Damian. Volunteers from outside Romania have also joined in.

    “We’ve had, we’re open and, of course, we shall continue to have volunteers from many countries, especially along the river. We had volunteers from Germany, Austria, Ukraine who helped us in the activities we have staged so far. That’s for sure, we wait them to join us in the future as well. “
    Who has walked a segment along the Danube at least once, they’re sure to have unforgettable memories, related to the impressive landscape offered by the river in certain areas, or to the historical vestiges people come across along the route or to the traditional food carefully prepared by the locals. Added to that are the species of birds and animals that are typical for the region and which, on the banks of the river, they can find food, resting or nesting areas. Furthermore, the Danube’s Romanian segment flows through 11 of Romania’s main 28 protected areas.”

  • The Danube water level on the rise

    The Danube water level on the rise

    Scores of people have been killed and reported missing in Central and Eastern Europe recently affected by Storm Boris. Although heavy rains ceased, swollen waters are still threatening various locations in the region, which is bearing the brunt of the latest flooding, which has also caused billions of Euros in material damage.

    According to the first expert estimates, in Romania the total damage would exceed one billion Euros. Others believe the figures are optimistic and the actual damage is double or even triple.

    A World Bank survey last year put the average damage caused by floods in Romania at roughly 1.7 billion Euros. Seven people have been killed and 65 thousand households affected by Storm Boris this year.

    The collective trauma is lingering and many are now fearing the rising level of Europe’s largest river, the Danube, caused by the heavy rainfalls and its many tributaries.

    The Danube’s rising level is not expected to cause issues to those in charge of its handling – Environment Minister Mircea Fechet said. According to him, a similar level was successfully handled in January this year and in December 2023.

    The Minister and Romanian Waters experts have flown by helicopter over the areas facing a higher flooding risk. According to expert estimates, the Danube’s level for the period between September 29 and 30 is expected to hit 79-80 hundred cubic meters per second. We recall that the river caused flooding in Romania in 2006, but its level at that time stood at more than 15 thousand cubic meters per second.

    Mircea Fechet: “According to the information made available by my colleagues, we aren’t going to have any problems whatsoever in Romania.   The flood peak in Budapest was lower than expected, about 500 cubic meters per second, which means that for the period we are going to see this peak in Romania, on September 28 or 29, forecasts have diminished from the initial ones standing at 95 hundred meters.”

    According to the latest data gleaned, the risk of serious issues on the Romanian sector of the Danube, is low, the Romanian Waters spokeswoman, Ana-Maria Agiu told Radio Romania. In turn, the president of Hydroelectrica board of directors, Karoly Borbely, said that the Danube’s rising level can be safely handled by Romania’s water installations. Mr. Borbely has also added that higher water levels also mean a significant electricity output.

    (bill)

  • Southern Romania’s tourist assets

    Southern Romania’s tourist assets

    We’re
    heading, today, to southern Romania’s Ialomita County, in the region of
    Wallachia. Here we can find one of Romania’s one-of-a-kind museums: the National
    Museum of Agriculture. Also, we’re about to find out more on the maestro Ionel
    Perlea. Born in Ialomita County, the Romanian musician conducted a great number
    of opera shows worldwide. Ionel Perlea was also the conductor of famed symphony
    orchestras around the world, especially in the United States of America. In
    villages across Ialomita County, we’re sure to discover unique traditions and customs,
    such as the horse-shoeing of eggs or the fretwork for the eaves decoration. Our
    guide today is the manager of the Ionel Perlea Cultural Centre
    and the local correspondent of Radio Romania’s News and Current Affairs Channel,
    Clementina Tudor.     Clementina told us that the whole county Ialomita
    river flows through the entire county, form the east to the west. Almost all assets
    somehow lie in the vicinity of the river that gave the name of the county. Our
    journey begins with the Slobozia municipal city.


    Clementina Tudor:

    In Slobozia, we have something unique at national level, the National
    Museum of Agriculture, which was established by the late museographer Răzvan
    Ciucă and which brings together a tremendous legacy of the Romanian people. It
    is the Romanian peasant’s cultural legacy, equally traditional and ancestral,
    irrespective of the region they were born and grew up in. Also nearby Slobozia municipal
    city, we have the resort of Amara, famous before 1989. Amara balneal spa was
    and still is a noted landmark in the Ialomita County’s tourism and we ‘re happy
    that, after such a downfall the whole country had been going through, the resort
    of Amara still lives up to its former status, nay, he resort is thriving. A
    great many tourists opt for coming over to follow a treatment scheme, but also
    to relax in the resort of Amara. Apart from the wonderful lake, apart from the natural
    mud baths, they can relax taking a stroll around a park with hundreds of nut
    trees, which was refurbished a couple of years ago, with European funding.
    Actually, investments have been made in the region, some of them public, others
    private, and in Amara we also have a SPA complex, which is also open during
    winter.


    We’re now heading towards the county’s rural area. All villages
    have retained something of the Baragan Plainfield tradition. However, in Ialomita
    County there are several villages where the peasant house’s traditional architecture
    has been preserved to this day. With details on that, here
    is the manager of the Ionel Perlea Cultural Centre and the local correspondent of
    Radio Romania’s News and Current Affairs Channel, Clementina Tudor.




    Specifically, I’m speaking about the
    Jilavele commune, in the west, where there also is an authentic peasant house,
    yet such a house can also be found in the Centre of the county, in Grindu,
    Grindasi. In any of Ialomita County’s localities we can see something of the ancestors’
    cultural heritage. Actually, we, employed by the Cultural Centre, we have
    edited al album of the florist’s in Baragan, and the florist’s in Baragan are
    those samples of fretwork that adorned our grandparents’ porched galleries.
    They can still be seen and admired. I am very happy there are still heirs who
    understood to preserve that kind of specificity and not all of them modernize
    the houses they inherited from their grandparents. In Jilavele, we have Mr. Simion,
    who horse-shoes Easter eggs in the most beautiful possible way. And, at the
    farther end of the county, in the village of Luciu, which is part of the Gura
    Ialomitei commune, we have a lady, Mrs. Ana Banu, who does intricate stitch patterns,
    but who also manufactures peasant’s coarse leather footwear, opinci, in
    Romanian. We do not have that many traditional craftsmen, but they are somehow personalized.
    Not to mentioned the fact that all women on the Ialomita villages can knit all
    sorts of things and weaving is still performed, on the traditional loom. We also
    have blacksmiths that can be seen at work. For
    instance, Mister Toma, the blacksmith in the commune of Traian, is very happy welcoming
    his guests. He works round the clock even before the Epiphany Day, a traditional
    feast held in high esteem in Ialomita and in Baragan, when clients cue up at
    his gates, who shoe their horses before Epiphany Day.


    There are a great many events taking place in Ialomita
    County, and their timeline can begin even with the Epiphany Day, says the
    manager of the Ionel Perlea Cultural Centre and the local correspondent of Radio
    Romania’s News and Current Affairs Channel, Clementina Tudor. The Epiphany Day,
    actually, is a feast held in high esteem in all the villages of Ialomita
    County. All householders take out their horses and wagons, adorn them and, with
    them, they go to church. Then they have speed or endurance carriage-driving competitions
    in the plainfield. There is no local community where such competition is not
    held. In the end, since the Epiphany Day is observed on January the sixth, when
    temperature readings are very low, everything ends with a glass of mulled plum
    brandy or mulled wine and a great party.


    Clementina Tudor:


    For 30 years, in the month of May, we
    have the Ionel Perlea Festival and Contest. We’ve now had the 32nd
    edition. It is a festival that initially began with a lieder contest and which,
    in time, gained its international scope, this year bringing together more than
    50 competitors, Romanian, but mostly foreign, and which is held with the Ionel
    Perlea Orchestra. The contest ends with a mandatory visit of all participants
    to the Ionel Perlea Memorial House in Ograda. Given
    that we’re speaking for our listeners abroad, Ionel Perlea is the one who put Ialomița
    and Romania on the world’s great lyrical map, and what I have in mind saying
    that are Europe’s great stages, and especially the Scala di Milano. Here, the conductor
    Ionel Perlea succeeded the great Arturo Toscanini, and Arturo Toscanini gave
    him his baton, deeming him as a worthy successor. Also, Ionel Perlea continued his
    world-level blazing trail from the Scala di Milano to the Metropolitan Opera in
    New York, there where, just like Arturo Toscanini, he also had an academic
    career as a professor. So we can somehow link Ionel Perlea’s personality to
    this contest, in a bid to promote Ialomita County as well.


    There are two ongoing cultural programs carried by the
    Ialomita County Council. With details on that, here is the manager of the Ionel Perlea
    Cultural Centre and the local correspondent of Radio Romania’s News and Current
    Affairs Channel, Clementina Tudor.


    The Bolomey Manor House has been
    refurbished with non-reimbursable funds and large-scale public events are
    intended to be organized on the premises, such as the Electric Castle Festival, which, in turn,
    is also staged around a manor house. The second
    project is a route along Ialomita river or along the Ialomita river banks. The route
    should be taken by boat by kayak, or by bike, or on foot, with several stopovers being organized here and there, where the tourists can have a rest and
    grab a bite. One such stopover point could by the Manasia manor house, which is
    also a tourist asset and which was refurbished with private funding. (EN)


  • Romania and its breath-taking mountain scenery

    Romania and its breath-taking mountain scenery


    We’re heading, today, to one of Romania’s most spectacular
    mountain massifs, Piatra Craiului. It is the place where you can have the breath-taking
    glimpse of the chamois, officially declared nature monuments.The first step
    towards the protection of the area had officially been taken in 1938, when a
    nature reserve was founded in the region. Today we ‘re about to discover a wide
    range of tourist routes and natural attractions. All of them are accessible, since
    that mountain massif lies only 25 kilometers from the city of Brasov. Mircea Verghelet
    is the director of the park administration.

    Mircea Verghelet:

    It is one of Romania’s 13 national
    parks. In terms of surface area, the park straddles the counties of Brasov and
    Arges, lying in the vicinity of the Rucar-Bran pass, a road with a very special
    scenery. You can see the Bucegi Mountains on one side, while the Piatra Craiului
    Mountains can be seen on the other side. To the west, we have two valleys, Brasov
    County’s Barsa valley and the Dambovita river valley in Arges County. Practically,
    the Piatra Craiului National Park is surrounded
    by these two passes. The mountain is very spectacular. It is a limy ridge. It
    is Romania’s only limestone area lying at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters.
    It has a unique feature, meaning that the layers of limestone, a sedimental
    stone that was formed on the bottom of the sea, are vertically placed, as a
    result of the tectonic movements, mainly in the northern area. Normally, these
    limestone layers are found on a horizontal position. So, very spectacular forms
    of reliefs were thus formed, with steep areas, with vertical walls, with valleys
    and detritus areas.


    In
    Piatra Craiului, quite unlike other regions across the country, since hunting
    has been officially banned for almost all species, the chamois are very friendly
    with the tourists. They even take pictures of the chamois with their cellphones,
    with no strong zoom-in objectives needed. Sometimes, the chamois are four,
    maybe five meters close to the tourists. For those who can climb all the way up
    to the ridge areas, mainly in the summer, running into the chamois can be a
    great joy, and the pictures become memories they take home with them.

    The director of the Piatra Craiului National Park
    Administration, Mircea Verghelet:

    There are 44 tourists
    routes, marked and approved, with various degrees of difficulty. First, there
    are the routes surrounding the massif at its foot, in the forested areas,
    which are more accessible. Then I should like to mention the routes cutting
    across the gorges. We’ve got the limy canyons in the northern area, but also in
    the southern area. To the north we’ve got the Zarnesti precipice, an area
    famed because of its escalation opportunities as well. To the south, we’ve got
    the Dambovicioara Gorges, the Brusturet and the Dambovita Gorges. A forest road
    or public or communal roads cut across these gorges, just like in the southern
    area. The routes are more accessible down below. As we’re approaching the
    ridge, especially on the western slope, which is steeper, the routes become
    more difficult. For the summer, tourists need to have the equipment required
    for climbing: boots, raincoat, a cell phone so that they can announce the
    Mountain Rescue Services if unpredictable events occur. Then it is very important
    that they have water. In Piatra Craiului, there are no water sources in the
    ridge area. However, for the winter season, we recommend those who want to take
    the usual hiking itineraries and do not have the skills required for climbing,
    to follow only the routes at the foot of the mountain. The trails in the ridge areas
    are off-limits for the lay public.


    Before setting out on a hiking route, you should get
    info about the trail.

    Mircea Verghelet:


    You can visit our Internet
    page, at pcrai.ro, where you can search a map for the visiting itineraries. You
    can see them using Google Earth. Also, we have a printed copy of a tourist map
    you can purchase from us. Our visiting center is one of Romania’s most modern
    such centers. Its layout is that of a tourist itinerary, to be taken if you want
    to get acquainted with the Piatra Craiului massif. We’ve got lots of
    interactive gadgets as well as a map of the massif, on which various images are
    screened, that including a 3D version of the tourist routes.




    Also, all sorts of dioramas are available, structured according to various topics, flora, fauna, the history of the escalation in Piatra
    Craiului, other protected areas across Romania, insects, caves, detritus and
    suchlike. Every diorama is interactive as well and you can see a presentation and
    several photographs. Before the pandemic, we used to have roughly 7,000
    visitors a year. We hope that, after tis period, we can return to the initial
    figure. A great many of them come in the summer, from Romania but also from
    abroad. They come to get info, also seeking advice if they want to visit the
    park.


    At the moment, the Piatra
    Craiului National Park Administration has two projects, currently in their implementation
    stage, jointly carried with the other parks of the Carpathian arch belonging to
    the member countries of the Carpathian Convention.

    Mircea Verghelet:


    One of them has to do with
    the carnivores’ accessways between Piatra Craiului and Bucegi. As part of the project,
    we also had several monitoring cameras. We managed to film all species of
    carnivores, but also the other species in the park. All these takes can be
    accessed on our Facebook page, enjoying a great number of visitors. Also, right
    now we are going to initiate a project carried for the revision of the Piatra
    Craiului National Park’s management plan. This should be the third management
    plan we’ve had. We also intend to focus on birds, in the future, since the area
    has also been declared important in this respect. We invite all those who would
    like to visit a mountain region in Romania to come to Piatra Craiului, since it
    is a one-of-a-kind such area. Many people say it is the most beautiful mountain
    in the country, and beyond that. We believe that our facilities, our shelters,
    our trails, the visiting center, all that can provide a unique experience.


    We have extended out invitation to all of you. Please make
    sure you visit us next week as well, when we’re heading towards the
    south-western part of Romania. Our destination will be an area which is less
    promoted, but which is famous for its wild nature, the Jiu River Gorges National
    Park.

    (EN)