Cluj Central Park (parcul central)

Cluj has not too many green spots inside the city center so usually if people want to take a rest they rush over to the central park. Inside the Park there is a really interesting looking building which is abandoned right, now. Still 20 years after communism there are quite some abandoned buildings in Cluj (and Romania). Sometimes people do not have financial resources to renovate buildings or at least to conserve the current state but more often claims and property rights are still disputed. This occurred because after the revolution documents about property rights were destroyed or forged, allowing people with access to those documents to get rich at the expense of others.

Not far away from the abandoned building you can find a small pond and a restaurant (Chios). In the Summer this is a very popular spot also for weddings and and other kind of festivities. Of course you can also take a trip on the lake.

Romania 2006 in Film

The first time I came to Romania was in November 2006 and on this occasion I also visited Cluj for the first time. Back then I wasn't so well equipped and I had only a 20€ film camera. Nevertheless I tried of course back then to take my very first panorama of Cluj. Taking into consideration the poor quality of the camera and the lack of controls I find the results quite pleasing though it can't be compared to HDR version of course ;).

At the time of my visit, Sibiu was in the preparation for the European cultural Capital 2007. The city saw a huge investment program prior to the event. As result it is now one of the most beautifulest city centers in Romania but it was also said that older people could not afford to live in the city center anylonger.

Close to Sibiu is the small town / village Rasinari and I really liked it lot. For me it felt in a very positive way like in a real Open Air Museum something that is difficult to find in Western Europe.

Sighisoara is a major tourist spot because of its fine medieval old town.

I finished my trip back than with Bucharest. It was once called Paris of the East but unfortunately if you stroll around the city center there is not much left of it due to the destructions in the communist times. Nowadays, the capital is major recipient of financial aids for conservation and reconstruction. If you take a proper walking tour you might recall the spirit of the "interbelic" period (the period between the two wars).

Hiking in the Ceahlău Massif (Eastern Carpathians)

During my farewell vacation we also hit one day the Ceahlău Massif in the Eastern Carpathians in Romania.

This part of the mountains is already situated in Moldova, though the majority of the Romanian Carpathians is within Transylvania. The beauty of this section is that you can mange to climb and descend the massif in one day including reaching both peaks Toaca (1904 m altitude) and Ocolaşul Mare (1907 m altitude).

This particular day unfortunately was very cloudy so the view was limited by fog almost all day. Nevertheless it was a splendid hike also because the trails are very well marked and you can even find additional signposts with explanations about the surrounding nature.

The forest is left untouched for most parts as the area forms the Ceahlău National Park - fallen trees are not removed.

The last (first) picture was taken right from the plateau right before the ascend to the peaks. You can spot also a small wooden Orthodox church there. For other episodes from my farewell vacation just hit the "Farewell Holiday" Tag.

Munich as seen from St. Peter chruch - Panorama view

Last week I went to Munich to visit friends and of course the city as well. Munich is actually a beautiful German city despite the hordes of tourists and there is really a lot to see and to do. There is a couple of possibilities to get a panorama view over the city and one of the best ones is probably St. Peter church right in the center. From there you have a beautiful view to the fascinating New Town Hall and the Frauenkirche, Munich's landmark. As you can see the Frauenkirche is right now in the process of restoration. If you have a look down you can spot Mary's Column right in the center of Marienplatz.

A short reminder: As always you can scroll around the panorama and of course you can also enter full screen mode and stop the auto rotation by pressing the button on the lower right. This time I decided to start something new and I am publishing the original pictures as well. They can be accessed via flickr and reused under cc license.

Horse Racing: Henkel - Race Day 2010 Düsseldorf Grafenberg

Last weekend the Henkel Race Day 2010 took place here in Düsseldorf Grafenberg. I've never been at a horse race before and I always expected the atmosphere to be a little bit posh or boring at most. Eventually it turned out that the crowd was very mixed from young families to the super rich.

In my opinion the races were a little bit short - basically all races were only one lap and that only every half an hour. Almost anyone there seemed to be betting (I didn't dare) and I quite liked the relaxed atmosphere at the race. The speed of the horses and the skills of the jockeys were amazing (full-screen here).

Rostock as seen over the Warnow river before / after twilight

Recently, I attended the wedding of friends in Rostock, Germany. For the party they choose an incredible nice site where you could see the city from the other side of its Warnow river right at a boat club. Right at dusk there was a beautiful atmosphere perfect for a panorama picture, of course (full-screen here).

Right after dusk then all the lights began to sparkle on the lake. Rostock is the largest city in northeast Germany right at the Baltic Sea.

Especially with the B&W picture I realized the limitations of this presentation as the picture looks best in full screen resolution. If anyone knows how to achieve that in a simple way with blogger I appreciate suggestions very much.

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.