Sâmbăta de Sus Monastery / Mânastirea Sâmbăta de Sus

In the midst of the summer heat another winter shot: Sâmbăta de Sus Monastery is one of the oldest orthodox monasteries in Transylvania being build in the 17th century. As a result of a conflict between the (catholic) Habsburg empire and the orthodox church the monastery was demolished in the 18th century and consecutively rebuilt later. Till today it remains a strong place of worship for the Orthodox community in Transylvania.

This HDR shot was taken last December with early snow.

Deva in December

Thought it is very hot outside right now here is a shot from Deva, Romania from December 2009. That particular day was very cold and the grey of the sky revealed the grey of the city's housing blocks (full-screen here).

Besides the ruin of the royal castle there's is not too much to see here - but it is worth a short stop when you pass through the city. Deva is known in Romania to host the famous Romanian national gymnastics team.

Waterfall at the Bicaz Gorge

The Bicaz Canyon is situated in the northeast of Romania created by the Bicaz River. It offers a stunning scenery when passing from the Harghita county in Transylvania to he Neamt county in Moldova. I shot this when I passed through the canyon on my farewell holiday.

Saxon fortified church of Biertan

One of my most famous places in Romania is the Saxon village Biertan (Birthälm in German). The center spot of the 13th century village is a massive Saxon fortified church recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Approaching Biertan which is situated between Mediaş and Sighişoara is already a pleasure as you go some seven kilometers of the main road through a valley where you can spot the already after some time its church.

The church in late Gothic style itself was finished in the 15th century and is certainly one the highlights of the Saxon fortified churches in Transylvania. The village has some 1500 inhabitants today and only a tiny fraction of its original Saxon population remained in the village since 1990 when the majority left.

Unfortunately, I was extremely unlucky the two times I visited the place. The first time the winter break started (from November on) and the first time I arrived on a Christian holiday for which the church is closed. But nevertheless also scenery around is breathtaking enough! The surrounding area is also very nice and worth to explore.

Among all the fortified churches in Transylvania (there are many of them) this is certainly one of the most visited ones, though compared to western standards tourism is still little. A major share of the tourists visiting is also Saxons who now live in Germany.

One of the features I specifically like about the architecture of the Transylvanian fortified churches is the combination of wood and bricks creating a unique and beautiful style.

Sibiu Spring: Piata Mica and Lutheran Cathedral

Sibiu is fine destination for every season but particularly nice in Spring. On one of my last trips to Sibiu I took some night shots which turned out to quite nice.

One of the city's nicest church is the Lutheran Cathedral which used to serve the German Saxons. The gothic church was finished in 1520 being one of the cities most prominent landmarks.

And again the church as seen from the other side. Both shots of the cathedral are HDR panoramas from three or respectively four HDR shots.

Cluj: Views from the hallway

These were some initial experiments on HDR / Panorama views from my hallway.

Stitching them together was particularly difficult because shots were taken from a regular tripod introducing paralax artifacts.

Düsseldorf Aaperwald

My new hometown Düsseldorf has some really nice advantages one of them being that it is particularly green and has many recreation areas within short reach.

Aaperwald is a nice small forest ideal for jogging or picking strawberries at a small farm inside. And yes you can see the difference between Romania and Germany here with paved rural roads ;)