During our recent visit to Bran Castle, we had a few spare hours that we chose to spend wandering through the mountains above Bran. We found a dirt road that wound its way up the mountains through a beautiful village called Sodohol and then entered into Bucegi National Park. We stumbled onto it by chance and followed it till we could go no further without damage to the underside of our car, so we parked it and walked. We had a wonderful time and I hope the photos you see here will show it. Some of them are high-resolution panoramas and one includes a view of Bran Castle from afar. Enjoy!
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
In the mountains near Bran, România
A panoramic view of the mountains near Bran, România
This weekend, Ligia and I participated at an event called “Tabăra lui Andrei”, put together by the team at Țara lui Andrei. They organize these wonderful camps for underprivileged children every summer in the village of Bran, in order to provide training, employment opportunities and personal development courses for these children. Each camp lasts about a week, with teams of about 60 children brought in to learn how to grow into productive, well-balanced people who like what they do in life. They do miracles! Normally, you’d say you can’t do much with someone in a week, but you’d be surprised at the results they get!
This week’s camp was for chefs and waiters. At the end of the week, after a lot of on-the-job intensive training and motivational seminars, they organized, cooked and served a three-course meal to a group of Romanian celebrities, notables and government officials invited to attend the dinner party.
We, the dinner guests, were treated to a wonderful event and were blown away by the professionalism of these children of high-school age. The evening started with appetizers, continued with a private tour of Bran Castle and culminated with this special dinner, served in the newly opened Castle Tea House.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the good people at Țara lui Andrei for the amazing, life-changing work they’re doing and for the impact they have on the lives of these children who get to see life through a different lens, even if only for a little while, and then get employment opportunities and a chance at a better life. I’m so proud that this kind of work is going on in Romania!
I also made a video where I talked a little more about this, and there’s a photo gallery here as well.
Ligia and I were in attendance at a wonderful event last night, organized by the good folks from Proud To Be Romanian at Cetatea Făgărașului, a medieval fortress whose construction began in 1310 and continued through various repairs and improvements well into the 1630s.
It goes without saying that I love medieval fortresses and castles. I feel right at home whenever I visit one. I loved the architecture here, the various tunnels and cellars that run under its walls, the beautiful, grandiose rooms and hallways but most of all and perhaps a little odd, the window encasements which were made of carved stone. They were so beautifully and delicately made and were perfect for the style of the castle.
We got there a little before the entertainment started. Being there ahead of time gave us the opportunity to explore the castle and take some photos, which you’ll get to see here. The evening’s festivities involved wine and champagne tastings, hors d’oeuvres, some networking, a ceremony celebrating those who are doing good things in Romania (Ligia was among those who were feted) and a concert in the castle’s inner courtyard.
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
Simona-Mirela Miculescu, Ligia and Valentina Vasile in the throne room of Cetatea Fagaras. La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017.
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
I also shot some 360° video with my Giroptic camera (it’s embedded below and may not display properly in certain browsers like Safari on a Mac). I have to apologize for its quality. While the novelty of this kind of video kind of makes up for the camera’s technical inability to record proper HD video, it’s not enough to recommend it. And when you hear the bad sound recorded with its microphones, you’re even more put off. Again, sorry… If any of you know how to improve the quality of the video captured with this camera, please let me know.
But enough whining! The event was great, the champagne and the wine were great and the castle was amazing! We loved it! One of the people we got to meet was Mrs. Simona-Mirela Miculescu, Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of the UN Office at United Nations (you’ll see her in one of the photos with Ligia) and you should have seen my face when she said she knew me and liked my show, Romania Through Their Eyes… 😳
Thank you Adriana and Rob for putting this wonderful shindig together!
We passed through the Bucegi Mountains recently (they’re part of the Carpathians). Some of the photos you’ll see below are taken in Bușteni and the others were taken somewhere between Predeal and Râșnov. Enjoy!
This is a timelapse video shot in the Bucegi mountains in Romania in spring (14-15 march 2017), more specifically in Fundățica village, Brașov county. The Bucegi mountains are part of the Carpathian Mountains and yes, they are near Bran Castle, which we all know from Bram Stoker’s novel, blah-blah-blah, vampires, blah-blah, winter snowstorm, nightfall, blah-blah, blood-sucking and all that jazz, yes, this text is intentional, hope you find it as funny as I do.
Raoul Pop 