Radio România Internațional

Category: Inside Romania

  • The Digital Receptionist Gaining Ground

    The Digital Receptionist Gaining Ground

    ‘Hello! I am Lara, your receptionist. Welcome to Brasov!’. This is how an application greets the guests of the hotel where it is being tested. After the tourist says ‘check in’ to the app, Lara tells them what documents they need, and how to scan them. It is the same for check out or payment. Check in takes about 40 seconds. And, since the pandemic, the hospitality industry lost a great deal of staff, who had to migrate to other sectors, digitization can help tourism managers, who have to make do with fewer people.




    Christian Macedonschi, president of the Smart City Association, told us about the Lara app:


    “This is the first digital receptionist, but at the same time concierge, because Lara offers not only automated check-in and check-out, it also scans QR codes, scans the Green Certificate, scans identity cards, passports, offers the possibility for card payment, issues key cards, or, in the future, will allow the phone to act as a key card. It also offers important tourism services,which is why I am saying it can act as a concierge for our guests. It offers entrance tickets to Bran Castle, to the aquaparks, the dinosaur parks, the cable car, because the location where Lara is being tested is right at the foot of the mountain. There we have a beautiful cable car, there are long lines, so tourists, through Lara, can buy tickets and save time. They also offer bike rental services, car rental, hiring guides, a number of tourist services, so that Brasov may become the first smart tourist city in Romania. And I will tell you our target in Brasov: to apply for the title of European Smart Tourist Capital.



    Just as there are already meat slicing robots in kebab shops, or robots who serve in restaurants, great things are in store for Lara. We found out that Lara is an application made by and IT company in Brasov, a Romanian-Swiss joint venture. Chrstian Macedonschi explained what plans they have to develop Lara’s services:


    “We developed Lara together with Advanced Robotics not to replace the human receptionists, but to help them. They work together excellently. Lara is learning foreign languages, right now she can speak English, Romanian, and German. Next we plan on having French, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, it is a learning process. The next step is to place next to Lara a coffee machine, so Lara can invite tourists to sit down for coffee.




    For the first two months, Lara is in a learning process. Christian Macedonschi explains:


    “Lara is basically a tourist concierge, and this learning process should happen in contacts with partners, service suppliers, cleaning services, massage, or sports. This is a lengthy process. In addition, we work on the languages that Lara has to know, and we learn from the market,we learn what services the tourists would like Lara to provide. We have this pilot learning process of two months. The reactions are extraordinary, the demand is huge. Lara won’t be for sale, in principle it will be rented by hotel managers, who can save on the night receptionist, or a second or third one. It is not only about saving, it is the fact that it is hard to find well-trained and educated staff as receptionists. This year we hope to restart the engines of tourism, and since necessary staff is not available, Lara comes to the rescue.




    Lara is the first digital concierge and receptionist in Europe, and soon the trial period comes to an end, so it will be ready to take over not only Romania, but also Europe, as its creators hope. So far it was noticeable that tourists are pleasantly surprised by digital hospitality services, because they are so used to digital services in so many other areas.

  • Creative workshops for young people with hearing loss

    Creative workshops for young people with hearing loss

    VAR
    Association (Value at Risk) and is a non-profit NGO with no political or
    religious affiliations founded in March 2019. Its aim is to respond to problems
    and needs in the community by designing and promoting educational, social and
    cultural programmes in the field of the performing arts, film, music, dance and
    theatre. In January, the association staged a series of projects to promote the
    arts at metro stations around Bucharest, and in February it launched a project
    called Wave for Me. Vero Nica, the association’s project manager, says this
    is a very special kind of project:




    Wave for
    Me is an international project aimed at promoting the creative potential of
    young people with hearing loss, recipients of cochlear implants or people wearing
    hearing aids. It forms part of the association’s efforts to assist people with
    hearing loss, who have been greatly affected by the pandemic and who need a lot
    of support and projects targeted to their needs. Our project is far-reaching in
    that it aims to create a virtual art gallery. International communities will also
    be able to become involved and we’re holding an open call on 1st
    April inviting young people with a passion for the visual arts from around the
    world to register, to send us photos of their paintings, photography work or sculptures
    to be posted on this online gallery. The entire Wave for Me platform is
    intended as an accessible communication channel specifically designed for young
    people with hearing loss.




    In the
    first stage of the project, an interdisciplinary group will give three
    workshops consisting of 5 courses each, covering the visual arts, public
    speaking and percussion. 24 young Romanians with hearing loss aged between 14
    and 18 will be able to attend. Vero Nica, from the VAR Association, explains:




    It all
    began in February with a series of workshops on visual arts, percussion and
    public speaking for young people from Romania. 24 adolescents signed up, all
    very enthusiastic and creative. The next stage is the launch of a virtual art gallery,
    with some of the works then being exhibited in cities like Sibiu, Timişoara, Iaşi and Bucharest. The exhibition
    will be like a summary of the entire project. We’re also talking to international
    organisations that may get involved and we’re getting some funding as well from
    the Romanian Cultural Fund to allow us to develop this creative project.




    The online
    gallery will include both works created during the workshops and other contributions
    from Romania and abroad received after the launch of the open call. Vero Nica tells
    us more:




    The
    online gallery is dedicated to young people aged between 12 and 18. There will
    also be a series of podcasts with young people working in the cultural sectors,
    with the first podcast, hosted by Luca Gora, already available on the project’s page.




    The third
    component of the project is the creation and broadcasting of a series of six
    podcasts with guests from Romania and abroad, young people with hearing loss
    who work in the cultural sector. By means of these video materials, organisers wish
    to bring together people from different geographical areas but with similar
    experiences, hobbies and needs and provide adolescents with hearing loss with
    the chance to meet other inspiring people like them.




    The
    travelling exhibition showing the artworks created will be held in July, but until
    them, you can find out more about the project and follow its different stages
    on Facebook, at WaveforMe, and on Instagram, at waveforme.var.

  • The Romanian peony

    The Romanian peony


    Every year on 15th May, the Community of the Romanian Peony celebrates Romanian Peony Day. Specialists have strongly argued in favour of making the peony, which is the emblem of Romanian war veterans, the national flower. A proposal to this end has existed since 2013, from a group of teachers and researchers from the Faculty of Horticulture of the University of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine in Bucharest. Professor and Romanian Academy member Florin Stănică explains:



    In 2013, our colleague from the floriculture department, professor Florin Toma, proposed at the Days of Romanian Horticulture, an event we are hosting every May, that the peony becomes the national flower of Romania. Our colleague put forward about ten arguments to back his proposal. One is that Romania is home to five indigenous species of peony that are growing in the wild in Romanian forests and fields, across the country, from the Black Sea coast, in Dobrogea, to Banat, in Oltenia, southern Moldavia, Ardeal and even Bihor county. These flowers come into bloom in the second part of May and are very beautiful. They cover entire meadows, in places such as Zau de Câmpie, where we find the steppe peony, as well as in forests, where they grow all over the forest. There are even local festivals and celebrations dedicated to these wonderful flowers.



    We also learned from professor Florin Stănică that there is a nature reserve dedicated to the peony in Troianu forest, in Teleorman county, in southern Romania, in a protected area of national interest aimed at preserving the wild flora and the Romanian peony. Another reserve where the peony is considered a protected species is Zau de Câmpie, in Mureș county. Professor Stănică also provided some emotional arguments in favour of making the peony the national flower:



    The peony grows in every single garden in Romania. More than 100,000 Romanians are named after this flower, which is bujor in Romanian, and the word features in all kinds of expressions such as ‘red as peony’ and ‘going peony in the face’. There’s also an old custom according to which peony flowers used to be added to the water in which new-born babies were bathed to make them stronger and protect them from evil. It must also be said that Romania is yet to have its own national flower, like other countries. Bulgaria, for example, has the rose, Turkey and The Netherlands have the tulip and Japan has the chrysanthemum. It would be important for Romania to have such a representative symbol.



    Almost ten years after the idea to recognise the peony as Romania’s national flower was first put forward, we asked professor Florin Stănică how much progress has been made in this respect:



    After we launched the initiative in 2013 we started collecting signatures and backing and would like to give a new impetus to this process this year, given the new possibilities of gathering signatures online. We want to create a special online platform and later to propose a parliamentary initiative that would be put to the vote. We’ve so far collected about 5,000 signatures but are planning to expand the process and work with horticulture universities around the country and other bodies and institutions, especially in the areas where the peony grows in the wild, so as to collect more signatures and backing for our proposal.



    Professor Florin Stănică also said:



    It’s remarkable and we’re happy that in recent years there’s been an initiative from the Romanian army which is using the peony as a symbol to honour the memory of the nation’s heroes, much like the poppy in Britain. Since around 2015, the army has been using the peony to pay tribute to the Romanian soldiers who died on battlefield.



    The Romanian Peony community was also set up in 2015 by Cristina Turnagiu Dragna and Andreea Tănăsescu (the woman behind a project called La Blouse Roumaine), and which also supports the proposal to make the peony the national flower of Romania. Moreover, at the initiative of this community, Romanian Peony Day has been celebrated every year through a campaign that promotes this flower as being representative for Romanian culture and traditions. The Romanian peony was also adopted by the Camarazii association as a symbol for their events commemorating the heroism of Romanian soldiers, with the association registering this flower as their official symbol in the hope that more people would wear it on their lapels in a mark of respect for the country’s fallen soldiers.


  • A Solar System Replica in downtown Bucharest

    A Solar System Replica in downtown Bucharest


    They thought they could even set a Guinness World Record with what they intended to do, but more than that they decided to experiment and play with other children as well. We are talking here about a project put together by the StartEvo Association, which, through the Kidibot education platform jointly with the Bucharest Astro-clubs partners and the Science and Technology magazine managed to build a 1: 1, 392, 700,000 replica of our solar system in downtown Bucharest.


    I met Constantin Ferşeta, vice-president of the StartEvo Association at kilometer zero in the Bucharest city center while he was trying to inflate a yellow balloon, one meter in diameter, which was going to represent our Sun. Here is what he told us.


    Constantin Ferşeta: “We are trying to do here something children usually dont do in schools. An experiment. We are trying to put up some posts with balloons, which are representing the planets in our solar system. We have calculated their scale, so we start here with the Sun and are going to end in the Herastrau park, where we are putting up Pluto, the last planet in our solar system. Now, every planet is also representing a fruit so that children may understand better the huge distances in our solar system. Weve also made an XL chart with all the information about the planets dimensions their diameters and orbits. Then we calculated the real proportions of our objects and children are now going to plant these posts which will also comprise information about these planets. And if anyone wants they may cover all the distance between them so that they may get a clear picture of our solar system.”


    Constantin Ferșeta told us more about the aforementioned project


    Constantin Ferşeta: “On this project we are working with children from the third to the eighth grade of various schools in Bucharest. Hopefully this miniature solar system will remain in place for a while and not get vandalized. But we also want this project to be shared by students from other cities, because it is an extraordinary project and it is very useful to see Mercury for instance, which is as small as peas and I have to walk a lot to place it at some distance from the Sun, or Pluto, which is so far away! In this project Pluto is a mustard seed, 4.5 kilometers from the Sun, so to say. So, children will have to walk for two hours around the city to see Pluto, the last planet in our solar system.”


    After having completed 12 orbits around the Sun, at the age of 12, Ştefan, one of the students involved with the project, told us that he was interested in exact sciences, such as physics, chemistry and mathematics, the foundation of all.


    Ştefan: “Ive come here not only to learn something new but also to teach other children how to do it. I believe large-scale experiments arent very much used in the process of teaching and I believe they should be used more. Thats why I encourage people to do suchlike experiments because it is easier to learn things this way. At the beginning we mount the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and the last one, Pluto.


    The 11 years-old Natalie would recommend experiments like these to anyone:


    Natalie: “I am here for this experiment first and secondly, wed like to celebrate the birthday of my colleague, Ştefan. I like this experiment because it is something different from what we do at school. They dont actually do experiments like these in schools nowadays, so its an entirely different thing.”


    Matei is 13 years old and told us what motivated him to join the project


    Matei: “I thought it was something interesting and I wanted to come and see for myself all the more so as there is a lot of action and exercise involved!”


    I understand the idea of the project was made public last year and its first implementation was in Turda, western Romania, following a Zoom meeting.


    Marian Neuman, an honorary member of the Bucharest Astroclub, the oldest organisation of this kind in our capital city, founded in 1908, shared with us the passion he has for astronomy and his motivation to participate in the project.


    Marian Neuman: “For the benefit of children first, as we wanted to make children understand the real dimensions of space, the distances between the Sun and the planets. Because only through an experiment like this they will fully understand how things are in outer space. The Astroclub is more of an association for the adults who share this hobby, astronomy, but we have lately focused on this age bracket, on children. So we have created a smaller club for them that we called Astroclub junior and which has members from four to thirteen years old.”


    Mihai Popa, who is teaching geology and paleontology at the Bucharest University, has told the children about the connection between geology and planets.


    Mihai Popa: “As you know our solar system is a heap of star dust. And in billions of years this heap of star dust materialized in the planets we see today. Rocky planets are closer to the sun as you know, whereas the gas giants, which are lighter, have been pushed farther from it. Today we are going to speak about geology and astronomy because these two sciences are tightly connected. And you are going to learn why. Welcome everyone!”


    And because Ive learnt that our solar system is at half of its life, I thing I am going to follow the example of the organizers and make plans to move in the future to a different galaxy, far, far away. “


    (bill)




  • The Art Garden

    The Art Garden

    The first weekend in May saw the opening of the Weekend Sessions event at the Bucharest Botanical Garden. This green oasis, in the Cotroceni area of the capital, has a surface of 18.2 ha, and houses over 10,000 species of plants. The Dimitrie Brandza Botanical Garden, named after its founder, is organized in specific outdoors sectors, with names such as Decorative Plants, Rare Plants, Dobrogea Flora, Rosarium Iridarium, Taxonomy, Asian Flora, and Useful Plants. The indoor areas have names such as Greenhouses, Herbarium, the Library, and the Center for Ecological Education. Over the last few years, new areas have been set up, such as Grandmas Garden, with traditional curative plants, Childrens Garden, and the Book Garden. The living plant collections in the Botanical Garden cover over 3,000 taxonomy categories, while the General Herbarium shelters over 300,000 specimens. Also, the Botanical Museum houses a number of collections: over 1,500 water color painting depicting spontaneous or cultivated plants in the country, vegetable products, products made or extracted from plants, collections of seeds and fruits, mushroom collections, dioramas, or exhibits with historical value.



    From May until the autumn, the Botanical Garden is open to visitors who also want to enjoy music, poetry, dance, and traditional products.


    Suzana Rosca is a brand manager with Weekend Sessions, told us about this second edition.


    “This is our second year, we started last year with a series of culture picnics, in which we tried to re-establish connections between people, but especially connections with nature, because we are in the University of Bucharests Botanical Garden. Each weekend this year, for 15 weekends, starting on May 7, for a span of four hours we will be joined by independent artists, local entrepreneurs, and a lot of visitors, we hope.”



    Suzana Rosca told us where the idea originated:


    “The event sprung out of a need to meet once again with friends in an outdoors venue, with a relaxed, vacation atmosphere. We now have more activities for the good of the soul and the mind. We will hold a series of workshops, yoga, dancing, and set up a therapy tent, where people can sit down with a therapists. And, since this is a very family friendly festival, we will have workshops for children, and a grove dedicated to them, where they can play freely.”



    We asked our interlocutor what the feedback was after last years session:


    “The feedback was great, people were happy to discover the Botanical Garden, enjoyed relaxed picnics with family and friends, with sections such as classical music, jazz, indie and pop-rock, which can be listened to lying in the grass. It is an oasis in the middle of a bustling city, where we can seek the shade of trees, enjoy good food, good music at a decent volume, great conversations, and just being around people.”



    Every weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from 4 PM to 9 PM, you can go to the Botanical Garden with tickets purchased on the website weekendsessions.ro. We asked Suzana Rosca what the visitors can do during the time spent there.


    “They can sit down anywhere to enjoy the music, can attend a yoga workshop, or attend a therapy session. This year, during the 30 days of the festival, we expect to have around 30,000 visitors. This would be about double the visitors from last year, because this year we no longer have restrictions, but the number is limited, because we are limited by the 6,000 sqm surface we have available. We dont want any crowding. Visitors are invited to discover small local producers, entrepreneurs that tend with great care to the products they offer, which are of exceptional quality. We want them to sample the products, and get to know these small producers, which have a chance to be contracted by large chain stores. We want to promote them, because the picnic is provided by them. Visitors are invited to bring with them blankets, pillows, long chairs, anything to make them more comfortable. We also will have a small movie theater, Weekend Sessions Under the Trees. We will have a selection of movies from our special guests from the French Institute, and we will have documentaries and comedy movies for all ages, ready to be enjoyed on the lawn of the Botanical Gardens.”



    All events are free, and visitors only have to pay the regular entrance fee for visiting the garden as usual. Children under 12 have free access, a ticket for adults is about 2 Euro regular, and one Euro for students. You can find out details about the artists and special guests on the website weekendsessions.ro, and, after making a reservation online, you will receive a confirmation for the available seats.



    This is another way of enjoying the vacation atmosphere before vacation actually starts.

  • Funky Citizens

    Funky Citizens

    Funky Citizens is a meeting place
    for the citizens who will not settle for the status quo, but understand the
    role they play in a democracy and often get involved in decision-making
    processes. The organisation’s strongest weapons are the initiatives that use
    technology, data and communication-based advocacy, and civic education. The NGO
    already has notable experience in encouraging the citizens who dream of an
    urban space with a coherent idea of development, in which citizens get involved
    in defining their shared space and improving their life standards.


    Elena Calistru, a member of the
    European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), and the president and co-founder
    of the organisation, tells us how it all started:


    Elena Calistru: Around
    2011 – 2012 we realised that Romania lacked a movement or organisation that
    made citizen involvement desirable for people, especially in areas that are
    rather difficult to understand. We started with a project where we monitored
    the spending of public funds, we monitored the national budget actually, which
    we tried to make comprehensible for citizens. We worked on the assumption that
    people would like to get involved in public life, but that they often find this
    kind of information very difficult to understand, and that some effort is required
    to explain to them certain basic aspects, like how legislation works, how
    institutions work and so on. This is how Funky Citizens was born.


    We asked Elena Calistru whether it
    was easy to find members:


    Elena Calistru: Obviously
    there were not a lot of citizens willing to get involved, and as an
    organisation we didn’t imagine we will get millions of people checking on local
    budgets. But we do believe that, if we get involved, things will change, and
    judging by the response we have seen since our establishment in 2012, I would
    say there are more and more people interested in what happens at local and
    national level and more and more people are getting involved in our activities,
    are donating funds, are reading our surveys.


    How can a citizen get involved in
    public life?


    Elena Calistru: Most
    often, the first step is to get informed. It sounds like a cliché, but it is
    true. Information is power, information is easier nowadays thanks to the
    internet and finding out how we can contact our MP or mayor is just a click
    away. But we tell people that citizen involvement is like sports: there are
    several levels. Ideally, we should all exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. In
    terms of citizenship, this means checking from time to time what the mayor has
    done, what parliament has done, what the government has done, and stay up to
    date on events. And obviously go vote. Then, just like in sports, there is the
    option of exercising weekly, maybe take up a sport, or go cycling. This would
    translate into signing a petition, for example, or writing to our MPs on a
    topic of interest. And the third level, the ‘professional athlete’ so to say,
    is running a marathon. This may mean joining a citizen intervention
    organisation, or challenging the local budget. We have these rights, as
    citizens.


    The number of participants in Funky
    Citizens projects varies, our guest explained, and during election periods it
    may reach thousands of volunteers. Elena Calistru, the president and co-founder
    of the organisation, also spoke about some of its most recent initiatives:


    Elena Calistru: In the
    years to come we will have 2 major challenges: one of them is to expand our
    work at local level. This is something we are already doing, we started last
    year, we are trying to go to local communities and organise training sessions
    on how local budgets are made, on how citizens can get involved, and we work
    with partner journalists. The second challenge has to do with our presence in
    the European Economic and Social Committee and other bodies, our organisation
    has been working for a while now in international projects, especially in
    Central and Eastern Europe, I have been a member of the Committee since last
    year. We are trying to make the voice of several Romanian NGOs better heard in European
    institutions.


    Whether we speak about European
    funds for national or local projects, when we look at the efficiency of
    spending in Romania the common element is a lack of impact. The main reasons
    for that are the absence of mechanisms to identify long-term development needs,
    prioritising financial needs based on political criteria rather than actual
    needs, and the waste of public money through corruption, fraud or poor
    management. (A.M.P.)

  • An online gathering of women debating books

    An online gathering of women debating books

    It all began in Iasi, north-eastern Romania, in 2020. It brought
    together women from all walks of life, who gathered around books. And, since they
    got together in a Spanish restaurant, they baptized their own gathering there
    in Spanish, using a play-upon-words, Mujeres livres, with the play-upon-words using
    libro and livro in Spanish and where mujeres stands for women, also in Spanish.
    Free, book-loving women, in English. It is the name of a reading club for women.
    Cezarina Caloian is an artist and an associate professor with the Graphic Arts
    Section of the Iasi-based Fine Arts Faculty. She told us who exactly came up
    with the idea for the reading club.


    Cezarina Caloian:

    The two founders, Arina Cosma and Florina Virna of Iasi
    came up with the idea. The club made its debut in the winter of 2020. We had a
    couple of physical meetings, then during the lockdown and for the first months of
    the pandemic we had to cancel our meetings, then we went online, and we have ever
    since stayed like that, we meet once in three weeks, and all women who would
    like to do that can join in, since there also is an online community Florina
    Varna has managed to organize very well. There’s 10 of us, or thereabouts, members
    who have been participating constantly ever since the project took off, then
    there are also people who join in once, maybe twice, or people who join in and remain
    in the project.


    Here is what another participant, Lavinia Popescu, told us about the
    project of the reading club.

    Lavinia Popescu:


    It is a reading club proper, we get together to discuss
    books as a book doesn’t end once you’ve finished reading all its pages, it has
    a life of its own through the discussions it stirs and that is how you feel you
    honor its author for all that they offered, you want to discuss what you felt, with
    the others. It could be the pleasure of the text, the tenderness of the story
    or the self-discovery experience you had. When you read a book, you feel you
    are not alone. You feel you also want to share with the others what you felt,
    and, especially, you want to find out from the others what they felt. That is exactly
    the reason why this reading club was necessary. It is just as natural for us to
    feel inclined to be part of a community capable of providing a secure space, a
    space where you can express yourself and, especially, a space you can be part
    of. That is exactly why we have this group of women, which is a support group
    and, every time we meet, we really get our kicks out of listening to each other.


    Lavinia Popescu recalled the first meetings of the club, and how the
    meetings progressed.


    For the first meeting we had, I think we were about
    20 people who were happy to be together, it was a surprise for every one of us,
    and then the pandemic broke out. During the pandemic, the reading club kept us
    company, it provided survival resources for all of us. Through reading, we discovered
    how humankind survived and, for us, that only buttressed a strong pillar of the
    confidence whereby that was something we were going to get it over with,
    completely. Together, we have read the stories of deportation and survival in
    the Siberian Gulag, through the book titled Zuleikha, open your eyes (a
    novel authored by Russian writer Guzel Yakhina). We saw how people lived with
    the bombs swooshing over their heads, through the books of Khaled Hosseini (and
    Afghan-American writer, born in 1965). We learned about acceptance from the Winters
    of the Soul    , by Katherine May, The 40 Rules of Love gave us comfort
    through the Sufi wisdom ( The 40 Rules of Love, a book authored by Elif Shafak). When I look at the
    shelf with the books we read at the club, I can only be grateful for the
    journey I took together with the community we have created and I want us to be
    able to enlarge the community, so that as many women as possible can draw their
    inspiration from there, for their daily lives.


    Cezarina Caloian:


    We read all sorts of books, from Elif Shafak,
    Hosseini Khaled, Maria Duena, Zafon (n.r. Carlos Ruiz Zafón). We read Vargas
    Llosa as well as Romanian authors, Laura Ionescu, with her book I Can’t Find
    You Anywhere,     actually we had her as a guest in one of our online meetings. And the titles we chose are somehow from
    various cultural spaces, from various types of literature. At the end of a meeting,
    we decide upon the book for our following meeting. Every participant reads the
    book, makes notes, highlights certain interesting aspects and for the online
    discussion, moderated by one of the founders of the club, Gearina Cosma, the discussion actually revolves around various
    interesting aspects, characters, episodes in the book, we share our own
    opinion, polemic discussions are also generated. What’s also interesting is the
    fact that joining the club are women from various walks of life, women with
    different backgrounds. We’re physicians, psychiatrists, therapists, psychologists,
    we’re people activating in healthcare, artists, IT specialists, students, and
    then everyone of us comes up with an original interpretation of the text, for
    our discussion. And for me, that’s exactly where the beauty of our meeting lies.


    Lavinia Popescu told us the choice of the books was made democratically,
    through voting, and that one of the greatest joys was for every participant to
    share the impressions they got, in connection with this or that book.


    It’s not just the sheer pleasure of
    reading, it is also a means of self-knowledge through reading. And then we feel
    happy to have the opinion of someone who is a philologist, for instance, the
    opinion of a psychologist, what the opinion was of somebody else, no matter what
    their background was. We collect ideas, we jot them down, or we don’t, that
    helps each and every one of us. In general, we’re a nucleus made of seven
    people who gather every time, but there are also other people joining in, for each
    and every online meeting. We’re open to anyone who wants to participate in our meetings.
    The fact that we have them online
    and not only physically, that is also a good point. Oftentimes we intend to meet
    physically, but the fact that we’re going online helps other people join us, people
    from other cities.


    Therefore, if you feel the need to meet women
    who are passionate about books, you can join in for the Mujeres Livres online
    meetings by posting a message on the club’s Facebook page.

    (EN)







  • 100% Romanian Spa

    100% Romanian Spa

    Spring is a time of renewal, so you are invited to discover some Romanian domestic spa treatments. We go across the country, from the seaside to the mountains, looking for nature cures and local creativity, as well as herbal treatments based in local experience.




    Ioana Marian, founder of the platform called desprespa.ro, is today our guide on this trip:


    “I think that this is now the perfect moment for people to seek a mixture of relaxation, revival, which is what we need during this period. I would recommend spa treatments that are unique in the world, they are only available in our country, they are rooted in the history of the place, and are based on local ingredients. These can be plants, salt, clays, natural muds, thermal or mineral waters. It should be a mix of these riches, and the point is that they are only available in local spas in this country.




    With a view to cover the entire country, in order to allow us to discover the most interesting spas, Ioana Marian provided us with a wide range of suggestions:


    “I would propose to start at the seaside, we all really miss the beach right now. I would start with a spa ritual available at the resort of Eforie Nord, on the Black Sea coast, called Romanian Organic Body Experience. It starts with a sea salt and basil scrub, followed by a massage with grape seed oil and basil, ending with a seaweed wrap. It leaves you energized, with younger skin. One other ritual is also at the seaside, in the Mamaia-Navodari region, which is a hamam inspired ritual. It starts with a sauna, followed by exfoliation with wheat bran, brown sugar, and rosemary water, which is done on a heated marble slab, a very pleasant experience. It is followed by a steam bath, then a wrap with crushed grape seed from local vineyards, ending with a foot massage with crushed seashells. It is a ritual of relaxation, switching off, and inner peace.




    After that, Ioana Marian takes us to the west of the country:


    “I would suggest going to a big city next. Close to Cluj I picked two rituals, out of many available. One ritual is called Purity in Mures Valley. It takes two hours, it starts with exfoliation with salt from the Praid salt mine, combined with curative plants and oil. It is followed by a wrap with blue clay from Raciu, which is unique in the world with its 41 minerals and oligominerals, mixed with spring water. In the end they have a massage with lavender oil. Overall, the ritual has a calming effect, contributing to skin health and deep relaxation. A second ritual, Freshness from the Apuseni Mountains, includes a bath with medicinal plants from those mountains. It uses fir tree seeds, aromatic plants, and it also features a white clay mask, rich in calcium. It is mixed in with honey and royal jelly. It is followed by an energizing massage with mint oil, bringing in the freshness of the mountains, and overall the ritual is revitalizing and regenerative.




    Ioana Marian invited us to discover Romania following the trail of these rituals:


    “I would love for your listeners to take the time and go on a few days of vacation, simply stopping over in several spa centers in the country, trying out this or the other ritual, because there are so many of them. I would continue in a mountain resort, Poiana Brasov, where you can try to an aromatherapy massage with pasture flowers, blueberries, daisies, and lilies of the valley. The massage releases the tension in the entire body, and these essential oils act subtly, but efficiently, and deeply. I have another example of a spa, which combines a thermal mineral water spa, with a high concentration of sulfur, and an energetic massage. It takes place in the spa resort of Herculane, it is a called Hercules Is Me, and is a manly revitalizing massage. It also has a version for ladies, which includes a chain of mineral baths, with lots of local herbs, like basil, rosemary, and sage, followed by a honey based massage. This ritual is called Aphrodite.




    As usual, all these places are making preparations for Global Wellness Day, as Ioana Marian told us:


    “Global Wellness Day will be this year in the second Saturday of June, on June 11th, and we invite all your listeners to take part. In many spas they can find all sorts of experiences, starting with short term spa therapy activities, along with all kinds of exercise, such as breathing and yoga, as part of wellness workshops. We will post online this schedule, most likely in May, and you can schedule ahead of time.


  • Ballet, Yesterday, Today, Always

    Ballet, Yesterday, Today, Always

    It is an event become tradition, a reference point for young up and coming artists, taking place on the stage of the Bucharest National Opera. At this event, young ballet dancers, in grades 5th to 12th, presented selections from classic ballets, contemporary dance pieces, and traditional Romanian music suites.




    The artistic director of the event is Mihaela Tiganus Vasilovici, a teacher of classical ballet with the high school, who told us:


    “It will be an evening of high emotions, it is the Extraordinary Ballet Gala at the Floria Capsali Choreography High School in Bucharest, a vocational high school, where children come out of their passion to do ballet, body and soul. Our gala is a tradition with the Bucharest National Opera, this wonderful institution. We care a lot for it, and we do it every year. You will be seeing classical dance numbers, contemporary dance numbers, and, of course, traditional Romanian dance. The children will present fragments from grand classical ballets, with virtuosity and technique, there will be emotional moments, which we hope will pierce the hearts of our spectators.”




    The 70 year anniversary gala took place in 2019. Then followed an unavoidable pause for the passionate ballet goers, as our interlocutors told us.




    Before the show, Iulia Campeanu, 14 and a half years old, seemed prepared:


    “Today the dance I will perform is a dance, Floras Awakening, also Floras variation, together with a few colleagues, in 6th and 7th grade. It is a new opportunity for me to go unleashed, to gain new knowledge, to become friends with others, and, little by little, get one step closer to living my dream.”




    Daria Ene, 14, added:


    “Today I will be presenting Pas des esclaves, from the ballet The Corsair, a group dance, the Mazurka, also a group dance with my 8th grade colleagues, the Jewels, and also a Romanian dance. It is a great pleasure for us to dance on the stage of the Opera, and to represent our choreography high school, Floria Capsali, along with all our colleagues, making proud the teachers who coordinate us.”




    Alexandru Constantin, 17, completed the picture:


    “We prepared the Pas de deux from the ballet The Corsair, a group choreography along with my 11th grade colleague, and a contemporary dance duet. As for any ballet dancer, being on the stage of the National Opera is an honor, and the greatest opportunity, which on the one hand forces you to perform at the highest level, and to always challenge your limits.”




    Simona Paraschivu, a contemporary dance teacher at the Floria Capsali Choreography High School in Bucharest told us that they prepared to begin with a moment from Swan Lake, followed by ballet pieces that got the first three places at the national dance Olympics, and additional moments choreographed by the teachers at the high school. We asked them all what they wished for:


    “It is to have an end of year gala festivity, and to show the audience our passion for dance, to share with them our joy of being on stage.”




    Claudiu Stanciu, a traditional dance teacher, encouraged us to be more patriotic:


    “It is one of the most important events of the year, the end of year extraordinary gala, where we will present all the numbers that we perform along the year in all of the classes. There is high emotion every time. The children have lots of nerves. I prepared a suite of traditional dances from three ethnographic areas, representative of the entire country, Wallachia, Banat, and Moldavia, with the proper costumes, with child dancers in grades 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th. It is a joy to be back on stage, especially we, who deal with folklore, and who should be more nationalistic, I would say.”




    The Extraordinary Ballet Gala at the Floria Capsali Choreography High School in Bucharest is a real joy for everyone. Beyond it, the children are preparing to keep working valiantly towards their dream, tirelessly, getting closer to it year by year. Their goal is to shine on stages all over the country, then all over the world.

  • Children’s Day, a celebration of both mothers and children

    Children’s Day, a celebration of both mothers and children

    Every year, the month of June reminds us to celebrate children and childhood, June 1 marking the International Childrens Day, first mentioned in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare in August 1925, when representatives of 54 countries adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Following this event, a number of governments around the world started celebrating Childrens Day.



    For the employees of this community center in Bucharest, the welfare of both children and parents is very important. Melania Medeleanu, a founding member of the center, told us more about a series of workshops addressing both children and parents.



    “We work for the Good Days Community center, which was originally opened to address the Ukrainian community, and starting June 1 it also addresses the Romanian community. Today we welcomed a few children and their mothers. In the morning, we had a workout workshop for mothers and their babies. Now we have an African drums workshop, featuring Mihai Axinte. Children are anxious to try them out. It is the first such event. We have been organizing Romanian and English language classes for the Ukrainian community, as well as yoga, art therapy and dance classes for children. They meet four times a week and so far we have enrolled 500 Ukrainian mothers and children, and were happy to be able to welcome them in a friendly environment where they can attend workshops, laugh or cry, if they feel the need to do that”.



    Alexandra Axinte, one of the organizers of the workshops, also gave us more details:


    “Todays workshop is called Good Monday, since its the first day of the week. We want to build a community here, so we started with children and their parents. We had several interactive workshops. First, mothers danced with their babies and worked out, then we had an emotion management workshop with the map of emotions for children aged 5-8, and now we have a drum workshop, designed to teach children and parents a number of rhythms. The aim is to get people connected, to find various ways to bring us together, through words and movement, and music and emotion, to see what people need right now and help in any way we can”.



    Weve asked Alexandra Axinte what kind of feedback she got.


    “In the morning, mothers were very excited to be able to meet other mothers and their children and socialize. Its something they desperately need. Then, in the emotion management workshop, mothers got to relax, away from their children. They sat out on the terrace while the children had fun with us. You can hear everyone having a good time, which means so far so good!”



    Alina Tofan, an actress and eco-performer, also shared her experience with us.


    “My workshop focused on art-therapy. We worked with the map of emotions, an exercise teaching children to focus on the shape of their body. They are only now starting to discover their bodies and we worked a lot at a mental level, trying to stimulate their creativity and spontaneity. The workshop was adapted to the needs of each child. Today, I had four children in my class. There are usually as many as 12 children, but the fewer they are, the better it gets for them, because their focus isnt spread too thin. However, they work better in larger numbers because they learn from each other fast. Another exercise was to build our own gift bags, which we are basically recycling. Children learned to work together and be mindful of the others needs, they got inspired from what they saw around them. Then each kid introduced himself, and we got to work a bit on the language and creativity – how to tell a story, how to describe a character, sharing fears and hobbies. Its interesting to see how many things they get to learn by interacting with each other. Its a very good exercise that boosts their self-confidence, and it gets easier when they work in groups. What I noticed is they are each very open. They know their limits and know exactly what they want. But I think theres still room to guide them, and encourage them to express themselves freely. There have been kids who have trouble unlocking their creative potential. They might have the potential and the intention, but they just cannot tap into it. Its usually the other way round, since kids are very creative but often dont know to manifest their creative side. Each group has its specificity, but I can say children today know a lot of things they can also express, so the future looks good!” (VP)


  • Women on Matasari, at the 10th edition

    Women on Matasari, at the 10th edition


    Summer in the capital Bucharest began, in the last 10 years at least, on Matasari Street. Known for its controversial history, the street, located in Bucharest s sector 2, was again crowded in the last weekend of May. Thousands of people wanted to enjoy an urban festival who this year celebrated its 10th edition. This urban festival bears the name of the very street. It’s called Femei pe Matasari (Women on Matasari). Having reached its 10th edition, this year the festival entertained the people of Bucharest with projects, good music, fashion shows, exhibitions, theatre performances, debates and an overall good vibe.



    Iulian Vacarean is the head of the Beneva Association, the organiser of the festival. He gave us more details about this years edition: “This 10th edition was a great success. Alongside the 20 thousand visitors, we had various activities in the art zone. From film, theatre and exhibitions to the most talented craftsmen, we had it all. What can I say? It was a true celebration this year on Matasari Street.”



    Iulian Vacarean told us more about the surprises the organizers had in store for their visitors: “For 10 years now, Matasari Street gives the start to summer, to say so. This festival embellishes not only our city, but also our soul. We must admit that, after 2 years of pandemic, we finally held the 10th edition and that felt like a miracle. In terms of music, we had guests from the young generation but also artists who took part in every edition. Exhibitors in the handicraft area were picked very carefully, from among the most talented and passionate people that we could find. We had around 80 creators of beautiful objects.”



    Iulian Vacarean told us that the festival lasted three days, from Friday at 7 p.m. to 11 p.m and then Saturday and Sunday all day long. The street food sector was very well represented. Natural juices, wine, champagne, pancakes, cakes and Romanian and oriental dishes were on offer. Iulian Vacarean : “It is very important that we could hold this year the race on heels, which is a charity race. Men and women alike can put on some high heel shoes and take part in the race. The funds collected went to an association helping women in difficult situations. There were three categories of heels accepted in the competition and participants had to run 250 meters with them on. It was spectacular. It was also a very funny race, with a strong message.”



    “Women on Mătăsari” is a festival that brings participants a lot of joy and an unforgettable experience, as well as some prizes, for the lucky winners. Iulian Văcărean: “It is important to say that Women on Matasari has already become an emblem of Bucharest. It is already a brand, a festival that, through an insertion of culture and social life has succeeded to completely transform a street, a neighborhood and, why not, an entire city.”


  • The Rhubarb Festival

    The Rhubarb Festival


    The Transylvanian Highlights is a
    tourist destination comprising seven national and Natura 2000 sites
    and the second largest protected area in Romania after the Danube
    Delta Biosphere Reserve. It neighbours Sibiu, Braşov,
    Făgăraş, Rupea, Sighişoara and Mediaş, along the valleys of
    Hârtibaciu, Târnava Mare and Olt, covering over 267,000 hectares
    and with a population of 90,000 inhabitants in its 44 villages in
    three different counties (Sibiu, Mureș and Brașov). The
    Transylvanian Highlands are associated with a mediaeval landscape,
    with high hills and valleys with terraces and meadows, multicultural
    villages and fortified citadels and churches, some of which are
    UNESCO world heritage sites. Its centuries-old sessile oak forests
    are iconic, and its meadows and grasslands have great natural value
    on account of the preservation of traditional methods for grazing and
    haymaking. The Transylvanian Highlands are an active destination,
    with a network of 500 km of hiking and cycling tracks, taking
    visitors to over 60 towns and villages. Visits to artisans’
    workshops and local producers, including of food, can also be
    organised.







    The Rhubarb Festival was held in these parts at the beginning of May.
    Bianca Ştefănuţ, senior communications expert from WWF Romania,
    told us more:







    The Rhubarb Festival, which was held in Saschiz, is in fact an
    example of good practice organised by the local community. It brings
    together people and is an opportunity to promote cultural, natural
    and gastronomic values. The rhubarb has a whole tradition in these
    parts, it’s a plant that grows well and which is well taken care of
    in the Transylvanian Highlands and used in many ways, from soups to
    various drinks and some delicious pies.







    How can people and the local
    authorities respond together to the needs of the community? How can
    they preserve traditional and natural values, while also making a
    financial profit? These are all valid questions to which these
    communities are trying to find an answer. Bianca Ştefănuţ
    again:







    WWF Romania together with our local partners in the Transylvanian
    Highlands, a total of 11 organisations, are trying to educate, inform
    and bring together residents and communities from the Transylvanian
    Highlands so as to live harmoniously with nature and at the same time
    have a say in the decision making process at the local level. So we
    are trying, through a project called PACT2020, which is carried out
    by WWF Romania in partnership with the Mioritics Association and the
    Mihai Eminescu Trust and with financial support from Active
    Citizens Fund Romania funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway
    through the SEE 2014-2021 grants to learn from the local communities
    about how they get organised, what their main needs are and to guide
    them through a process of education to become more active and more
    sustainable.







    Bianca Ştefănuţ tells us how the
    Saschiz community has grown in recent years:







    Saschiz is a great example of
    civic action. I’m thinking of the Women’s Neighbourhood in
    Saschiz, an association established in 2015 which has contributed
    greatly to the prosperity of the community, not just of the local
    women and families, who were the main target, but the entire
    community. This Rhubarb Festival forms part of this, it’s a model
    for other communities in Romania and elsewhere.







    Before tucking in to the rhubarb
    pies, the visitors to the Rhubarb Festival in Saschiz discussed about
    an information and awareness raising project to be attended by 150
    persons from 10 communities in the counties of Brașov, Sibiu
    and Mureș. Bianca Ştefănuţ
    tells us how we can find out more about the development of the
    project:







    WWF Romania will provide updates
    on how the project unfolds, both on its social media and on the
    project’s website, at colinele-transilvaniei.ro/pact 2020, where
    you can find information that can help you and your communities.
    You’ll find collections of good practice, useful information about
    how to speak to the local and regional authorities and how to better
    deal with the challenges that may appear in the community.







    Such projects aim to develop in the
    long term the sustainability and ability of the civil society sector,
    intensifying its role in promoting active citizenship and human
    rights and consolidating at the same time the bilateral relations
    with the donor countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The
    general objective is to reduce economic and social disparities
    between those living in these areas and to consolidate bilateral
    relations between the areas benefiting from the grants and the donor
    states.

  • Fashion revolution and sustainability

    Fashion revolution and sustainability

    The campaign targeted both the well-known fashion designers and students
    in their last years at the National University of Art (UNARTE), and the mélange
    between expertise and the courage of exploring things has created absolutely
    surprising things.


    Roxana Petrescu with the Roxy and Kids Arts Association and the UNARTE
    student Mara Malinovski, have told us more on their experience as participants
    in the aforementioned event.




    Roxana Petrescu: Bucharest
    has recently hosted the second edition of an event part of the Fashion
    Revolution Week campaign. This is a movement and every year a one-week
    campaign is being staged with very clear messages conveyed almost every time. This
    year’s message was sustainability. Students from UNARTE (the National
    University of Art) have been invited to create garments in an attempt to
    reinvent La Belle Époque and to stress the idea of sustainability in fashion.
    So, all the materials used, all the fabrics had to be recyclable, obtained and
    painted by using natural methods.




    We have met the Roxy and Kids Arts Association in the past years at
    various events and we’d like to remind you that this is an association founded
    in Romania, but which is also running collaborative art projects both in Romania
    and in Germany. UNARTE student Mara Malinovski told us about the experience she
    and her colleague, Nicoleta Bucşoru, had under the coordination of professor
    PhD Daniela Frumusanu with UNARTE, within the Fashion Revolution Week project:




    Mara Malinovski:We accepted the challenge of the Roxy
    and Kids Association and together with Nicoleta Bucşoru we saw it as an
    opportunity to develop what we had learnt so far. The idea of sustainability
    was important for us because we were able to use organic dyes in our works. So
    we split this work in two and we used turmeric and onion leaves to paint the
    fabric. And when we saw the result, how intense it was just from simple plants
    and materials that are easy to come by we realized this is a major aspect that
    should be promoted in this branch. And I believe that this idea of creating
    colours by employing materials that are within easy reach can be very useful in
    the fashion world. We are using only natural ingredients for dyes such as turmeric,
    onion leaves, red cabbage and rust. I think there are over 50 techniques I have
    so far learnt under the guidance of Mrs. Daniela Frumusanu who has taught me
    everything I know in terms of using natural dyes.






    The results obtained have matched the students’ creativity. Here is Mara
    Malinovski again at the microphone.


    Mara Malinovski: Together
    with my colleague, Nicoleta Bucşoru, I have fashioned a dress that comprises a
    corset, which she made out of pressed wool. The dress also consists of three small
    bell-shaped skirts to add to the sensation of volume and dynamism of the woman
    that wears it. The entire attire is
    naturally pained and hand-made, with an original design.






    Anything in this world can become an inspiration for a young artist, as Mara
    Malinovski has told us.


    Mara Malinovski: I believe that absolutely anything can serve as
    inspiration and give an artist ideas on how to create things, from the earth we
    are moving on to a restaurant table, for instance. I also wish to combine art
    and fashion elements and maybe create some revolutionary changes in fashion
    design.




    Roxana Petrescu from the Roxy and Kids Arts Association, has shared with
    us the story of this dress design and its source of inspiration.


    Roxana Petrescu: I would like
    to tell you how I got to create this dress. After leafing through thousands of works
    I found one titled Green Queen, an abstract painting signed by Roxana and Alexander
    Ené, in the already known Roxy
    and Kids Arts style. I did a little bit of research, what elements we should we
    taking from la Belle Epoque, and I decided that maybe this time it would be
    better to have a cooperation and that eventually led me to the talented girls
    of the UNARTE. So, this Green Queen has served as inspiration for the dress
    we exhibit here. This Green Queen painting was part of a project in Germany,
    which involved the participation of children with ages between 2 and 4 years.




    The exhibition is over, but the Roxy and Kids Arts Association also has
    other plans.


    Roxana Petrescu: We believe
    that whatever happened here should serve as a foundation for a future
    cooperation we are now planning with Fashion Revolution in Germany. Roxana Ene already
    has the concept of a project with workshops, where people get together and work
    with recycled materials. And we are thinking that maybe it wasn’t by chance
    that things got in this direction and who knows maybe we could stage a Fashion
    Revolution campaign in Germany as well.




    In the meantime, the organizers of the Fashion Revolution Week are
    striking the balance noting that Fashion Revolution Week is about people and
    their deeds in relation with fashion. And a clear message has been conveyed
    that you cannot be part of the change if you don’t believe in it.




    (bill)

  • More than hats

    More than hats

    Today the hat might be an accessory with obsolete
    undertones, but in the previous century it was a sign of prestige and honor,
    carrying countless symbols, decoded and understood by all the members of the
    community. The exhibition titled The hat – accessory, elegance and message in
    interwar Brașov has also reached Oradea. Beyond the fact this is traveling
    exhibition, it is now hosted in one of the architectural jewels of the city -
    the Darvas-La Roche House. We spoke about the exhibition with Bogdana Balmuș, head of public relations
    at the Ethnography Museum of Brașov:


    The one who came up with the idea is Oana Țigănuș, our colleague,
    who is very passionate about her work. She graduated the Fine Arts Faculty and,
    since she works for the Ethnography Museum of Brașov, being surrounded by approximately 35,000
    exhibits, it isn’t hard to come up with such a beautiful idea, turning it into
    an exhibition created with love and passion for the people.


    The curator of the exhibition invites the guests to
    travel back in time, recreating the atmosphere of the interwar period, when
    fashion standards regarding hats and clothing accessories were very much in
    line with the norms in Western Europe. Moreover, people can also discover a
    selection of hats that are iconic of the period. The exhibition also includes a
    unique selection of items, also recreating the workshops of the period’s
    hat-makers and fashion designers.


    This is not just a temporary exhibition, but also a
    traveling one, as Bogdana Balmuș, head of public relations at the Ethnography Museum in Brașov.


    The exhibition ‘The hat – accessory, elegance and
    message in interwar Brașov’ reached Oradea and is hosted by the Darvas-La Roche
    House, in a very special setting. This exhibition was organized at first at the
    Museum of Urban Civilization in Brașov,
    at the end of last year, when it enjoyed remarkable success. If you ever visit
    Oradea, you are invited to come see it! You will discover this symbol, the hat,
    whih in previous centuries conveyed a very powerful message. You will discover
    a tone of elegance and refinement. Whenever you met someone and see them
    wearing a specific hat, made from certain materials, of a specific brand, this
    would clearly tell you the social status of the person wearing it and with whom
    you were about to engage in conversation.


    The exhibition can be visited until the end of June,
    2022, at the Darvas-La Roche House in Oradea, which opened its gate to the
    public as the first Art Nouveau Museum in Romania in August 2020.


    We asked Bogdana Balmuș if the hats on display are original:


    Part of them are, they belong to the Ethnography
    Museum in Brașov, whereas others are
    from private collections, they were borrowed to be put on display. This is why
    you are invited to come see them. The museum also has an area where you are
    free to try on the hats specially recreated after models that were in fahsion
    in the early 20th century, designed by Cristina Dragomir. You can take pictures
    and thus leave with a very lovely memory of this exhibition.


    By immortalizing the moment,
    visitors not only leap through time, but also create a fond memory of the
    museum. At the end of their visit, they can also get a surprising prize.



    A Straw Hat Museum was opened in
    2001 in Crișeni, Harghita County, an initiative carried
    through by Lajos Szőcs, whose family has been manufacturing straw hats for
    nearly three generations. The museum was opened in a renovated traditional
    peasant house, and the exhibition was set up with support from the Harghita
    County Cultural Center. The first room displays a wide variety of straw hats
    from across the country. The room in the middle contains various day-to-day
    objects and decorations, whereas the last room presents the technology used in
    manufacturing hats, from harvesting straws to making the hat itself. It is also
    here that guests can try on the biggest straw hat in the country with a
    diameter of 2 meters. The hat has 2.65 kg, and it took 500 meters of straws and
    1,5 km of thread to make it. The Museum courtyard also has a special collection
    on display, made up of 600 natural stone sculptures of various shapes, as well
    as a five-meter hat. (VP)



  • Ultramarathon on Via Transilvanica

    Ultramarathon on Via Transilvanica

    To run an
    ultramarathon is a real challenge. But the opportunity to run an ultramarathon
    for eight days on Romania’s most beautiful road on Via Transilvanica can be
    possible only by means of ‘Transylvania Legends’. A story as a life experience,
    as Florin Alexandru, an organizer of the event, has confirmed it to be.




    Florin Alexandru: The idea came after Tibi and Alin Useriu had made this wonderful
    project called Via Transilvanica. The first moment when we saw this project I
    realized it was a great opportunity for us, for every Romanian actually, to
    promote Romania. Because, Via Transilvanica is actually magic as it is a time
    capsule of what Europe used to be long time ago. The region has practically remained
    unchanged and it’s actually a joy to get a glimpse at old-time Romania by
    simply taking a trip on Via Transilvanica.




    Via
    Transilvanica is Europe’s only region that has been preserved exactly as it was
    back in the 19th century. Runners and mountain lovers can now start
    off on Via Transilvanica in their second ultramarathon race, as Florin
    Alexandru says:




    Florin Alexandru: We are at the second edition. Last year we had a first wonderful edition
    in which we were like a family, had a lot of fun together. This year we are
    going to have a second edition, which is to start on May 13 and end on May 21.
    We are going to run for eight days, take one day off and spend some time
    together like a family, Transylvania Legends.

    Florin
    Alexandru, organizer of the event told us a couple of things about this
    ultramarathon race.


    Florin Alexandru: This ultramarathon
    has 8 legs, which means a minimum of 80 kilometers per day. We are starting on
    May 13 as I said with a first leg of 80 kilometers from Putna to Mestecanis.
    Then we have a second leg up to Tăşuleasa, also 80 kilometers and after that we
    are going to have a third one from Şieuţ to Câmpul Cetăţii, which is of almost
    90 kilometers. This place is breathtakingly beautiful, it has a lot of forests
    with many bears roaming. We are going to have four more legs with that day off
    like I mentioned before. All these legs are covering almost the same number of
    kilometers.


    We asked Florin
    Alexandru about the participants in this special race.


    Florin Alexandru: They are
    runners who like the mountains as well and they want to set out on an adventure
    like this and run in this marvelous region, which consists not only of
    mountains but also of beautiful hills. Most of them are experienced
    long-distance runners but the race is not only for them, because there are also
    participants who may want to run only for 20 and 40 kilometers. The good thing
    with mountain running is that you do not need to run all the time. Some people
    believe that you must cover all those 40 kilometers in continuous running. It
    is not like that at all. We have checkpoints along the track and runners can
    stop and walk if they want to. Because the places are so breathtakingly
    beautiful, we sometimes forget that we are actually in a race and stop to enjoy
    the view. When we run we aren’t actually doing it for a result, you know, we
    enjoy the experience in itself. The participants of last year are also running
    this time but anybody can join the race. They are free to submit their
    applications until April 30 and a couple of days in May. So, you’d better hurry
    up if you want to join Transylvania Legends. The atmosphere here is great, we
    are like a family and besides running we spend the nights around a bonfire
    telling stories and enjoying life in the mountains and what it has to offer.




    So, we’ve figured
    out that Transylvania Legends is a story about life, mountain, family and
    friendship. And the fact that we should promote Romania. Here is Florin
    Alexandru at the microphone again:




    Florin Alexandru: I believe we have a moral duty of promoting Romania. I think that we
    haven’t done that for quite some time now and it’s our duty, the duty of our
    generation to do it. And from my point of view, Via Transilvanica is a journey
    back in time and part of our patrimony of what we call Romania. It’s enough to
    take only a short trip down this this road to actually realize what beautiful
    country we have. We’ve noticed that Romania is a superb country and for this
    reason we need to promote it as it is!


    So, don’t forget
    to join this special ultramarathon list for an unforgettable experience!



    (bill)