The Danube Delta, Romania, August 2010

The Danube Delta, a buffering interface between the Danube river catchment (805, 300 sq. km and the Western Black Sea (5,165 sq. km) is a unique place not only in Europe, but also among other delta ecosystems due to its high biodiversity, to its renewable natural resources and to its beautiful scenery doubled by its cultural sites remnants and worth.
The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve has the third largest biodiversity in the world (over 5,500 flora and fauna species), exceeded only by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Galapagos Archipelago in Ecuador.

We started our journey in Tulcea, picked up a tourist map, jumped on the first ferry (there were not too many and it happened to be a fast one) and decided on the way to stop at Crisan.

Everything here makes you feel like you stepped into a different world, a parallel one, and it feels so peaceful. Like time stands still and life has its own pace.

We rented a canoe for a day and paddled all day long on the nearby channels. It was so beautiful, I could not be bothered to take any photos. As for the birds, sorry, they were all too fast or too shy for my camera.

...to infinity and beyond

Iulia Hasdeu Castle, Campina Romania

One of the greatest mysteries in the entire country of Romania is the Castle of Julia Hasdeu, located in the town of Câmpina, 40 km north from Ploiesti. Julia Hasdeu died in 1888, at the age of 18, from Tuberculosis, and her tomb is in Belu cemetery, in Bucharest. Deeply affected by his daughter's death, her father, B.P. Hasdeu, started in 1893 to build a castle on a small piece of land in Câmpina.

The main entrance to the castle is a huge door made of stone, supposedly fixed on a diamond bearing. On the outside of this door is written the sign of Hasdeu's family and two texts: first is "pro fide and patria"(for God and country) and second is "e pour si move" ("nevertheless it moves") which encourages visitors to press this door of stone, which is easily opened and permits entrance to the castle. The door was sided by two stone thrones, on which there were carved Iulia’s main seven reincarnations, the twelve laws and the Pythagorean symbols (the pentagram and the seven circles). On each throne there was a woman sphinx, guardian of the entrance. Above the door there was the Eye of the World, and on the crenels one could read a date: July 2, the day when B.P. Hasdeu used to symbolically celebrate his two Iulias: his wife and his daughter.

B.P. Hasdeu claimed that his belated daughter provided the plans for building the castle during sessions of spiritualism (which took much of Hasdeu's imagination and time after Iulia's death). The building was completed in 1896. The castle is built based on the magic numbers 3 and 7, having, for example 3 towers, 3 underground rooms and steps formed of 7 steps each.

Julia was a very smart child, well versed in the French language and a good writer, even from a small age (about 4 years old) and her loss was a real disaster for her father who never accepted this fact. B.P. Hasdeu tried all his life to communicate with the spirit and soul of the dead Julia, to which end he called in a lot of specialist people to help him do so, and he also asked a lot of friends to help him on this way (spiritualism).

Parallel mirrors: with their help, all that get through there is infinitely re-created.

On the beach

Clearview Stove

A little home improvement ...first it was an open fire...

..and now it is this amazingly efficient woodburning stove.

And we just love it!

Walk the New Forest

Walk 1 - The Rufus Stone

The walk starts from the Rufus Stone. This monument may be a little disappointing. Not so the surrounding area, which is a pleasant blend of Forest lawn, open woodland, and quiet hamlets.

About the Rufus Stone: William Rufus, the second Normand king of England and son of William the Conqueror, was a thoroughly nasty character, despised by all his subjects. His brother Henry and Sir Walter Tyrell were among the hunting party on that fateful August day. All accounts agree that an arrow shot after a stag by Sir Walter glanced off the animal or a tree and struck the king in the chest, killing him instantly.

..looking gorgeous darling, all ready for the photoshoot?

...sorry Hun, siesta time

Sir Walter Tyrell pub, a welcome stop for refreshments and the place where the first chapter ends. Fancy a pint?