151 Years Ago

Events of 1859

January 24 – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexander John Cuza under the name Romania (see December 1, 1918 for the final unification, Transylvania and other regions are still missing at that time).

[from the Wiki entry, here]

Happy Traveller/ Gets Wishes Coming True

[Intro:] Looking back on the last couple of posts and more specifically their titles, I couldn't help realising the happi-fying hues all over this place; and as well good things come [at least] tripled, here's the final bit of the happy posts.

So what's this one all about?
Well, remember my rants about the last train trip I made, and the disappointment stemming from it? This time, it's all been remedied: the heat's been on throughout the trip, I was in the very inspiring company of a certain friend, and - this is really good! - the views were there and I had a camera ready and loaded!


What more could I possibly ask for? The morale, you say? - Though I did try to think that over, I can't really come up with anything better than "ranting is good" [??]. Any [other] shots?

Patriae, Quo Vadis? [- quo usque tandem]

The plan was to make some time and write this nice and thoughtful and elaborate note on whatever it is that happened or did not happen in Romania, 20 years ago.
But plans are there to fail us. Reasons are irrelevant.
So here are some links, meant as mementos:
the BBC's On This Day's 1989's mention of the re-opening of the Brandenburg Gate and the meanings carried within;
the disputed Wikipedia article on the Romanian 1989 Revolution and the fall of Ceausescu, on this very day, 20 years ago;
the Diplomat - Bucharest's article regarding the 1989 Romanian Revolution, titled 'Justice fails for one thousand dead';
and the History Channel's tiny feature for those with a bit less patience, at this very link.

Make your pick. Yet whatever you'll be deciding to look at, simply recall December 1989 in Romania.

Dear Mr. Neagu Djuvara, Thank You

The first and most easily discernible thank you is for the storytelling: being a storytelling aficionado since I know myself, I need to be grateful and express my appreciation on this level: Mr. Neagu Djuvara is an amazing storyteller, and I thank him for it. I've seen his words but, most importantly, I've heard them: I've heard their intonation, their fluency, their subtle notes - they are storytelling in form and content, a harmony of meanings.

The second layer in this thank you note is for who he is and all the implicit along the explicit that comes along his presence.

And the third is a very particular one - which makes it even more special: this is to thank you for voicing out loud on the Romanian National Television that which I only have the chance to tell to my friends, the opinion that the necessary condition for Romania's real change of attitude rests with the establishment of an independent tribunal invested to judge communist and post-communist crimes. The opinion that as long as impunity will continue to be the rule rather than the exception, only sadness and hurt can come about. Of course, Mr. Neagu Djuvara had phrased it differently - but I am his most grateful fan still.

The Train Trip

As I was awaiting my ride on the frozen platform yesterday morning, I had already started to dream of the upcoming Sea/s of White - and to regret not having a camera along. That, along with the hopes of a nice afternoon's rest made me expect one very picturesque journey.

The facts have however been different. [Aren't they always?..]
My dreamy joy was getting squashed minute by minute as the journey was growing implacably cold.
The first 4,5h have only been bearable thanks to the others: the train was so crowded that we were all warming up on our own and each others' bodily heat. But then the darkness came along. The sun was gone by 5.00 p.m. With 2 more hours to go, we were getting fewer and fewer - and what's worse, without any relevant source around.
1,5 hours left... 1h... 50min... [please, please, don't let there be any delay!] 40min...
Frozen breath, almost hitting the ground upon its creation. And then again. [And again.]
The air seemed thick as a pool of ice and just as sharp.

It doesn't take much to forget all dreaminess in this inconsiderate environment: when the rail company's personnel tell you that the freezing air is hot; when a 7h winter journey turns into a series of complaints. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to come to terms with this. [Why] Should I?

Now that December's here

The one way plane ticket's been booked.
It's time to put life in boxes, once again. In all meanings you might think of.
It started today.

1 Day - 2 Countries: Facts

[16th century:]

Philip's successors make no attempt to protect Portuguese sensibilities, attempting to rule from Madrid while raising heavy taxes to pay for Spain's wars. The final straw was the attempt by Philip iv (Filipe iii of Portugal) to conscript Portuguese troops to quell a rising in Catalonia. On December 1, 1640, a small group of conspirators stormed the palace in Lisbon and deposed the governor of Portugal. By popular acclaim and despite personal reluctance, the Duke of Braganca, the senior member of the family which had long been the most powerful in the country, took the throne as João iv.

[Text Source: the Rough Guide to Portugal's History mini-chapter; image source: here]

[20th century:]

Great Union Day (Romanian: Ziua Marii Uniri, also called Unification Day) occurring on December 1, is the national holiday of Romania. It commemorates the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia, which declared the Union of Transylvania with Romania.
This holiday was set after the 1989 Romanian Revolution and it marks the unification of Transylvania, but also of the provinces of Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom, in 1918.

[Text Source: the Wiki entry on the topic; image source: here]

I've seen Oradea in May & this is how it looked like

If curious for more, this is the place to take a look.
It's yet-another-flickr account, as the other one is running out of space... [wink-wink] ...
so should you be curious about potential birthday presents, a Flickr Pro account makes up for a good option. :)

Marasesti . April 2009

viewing the Mausoleum from the outside

inside, upstairs

inside, downstairs

More of my Marasesti experience here.