Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The Romanian language is part of the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Even if as a foreigner you might not be able to understand what people are saying it isn’t hard to read signs. Some knowledge of Italian or Latin will help a lot. Until the year 1862 the Cyrillic alphabet was used, then starting in Transsylvania, the Latin alphabet was introduced – enhanced with the five special letters ă, â, î, ș and ț.
Continue reading “Alo!”
The union square is one of the biggest places at București, Romania. It breathes the spirit of socialist times and was in former times a giant marketplace. People from all of Walachia came here to sell their goods. A reminder of these times is the restaurant Hanu’ lui Manuc north of the square where foreigners could eat and rent a room. Still today a lot of shopping malls are surrounding the Piața Unirii.
Continue reading “Piața Unirii”
I like to end my days in sky bars with good views on the city I’m currently visiting. During the coronavirus pandemic this also became a security factor as the infection risk is much lower in open spaces. At București there is unfortunately no such place on a high building, but at least there is the Nomad Skybar at the heart of the old city center.
Continue reading “Nomad”
București has a good mix of public transport options: the metro, trolleybuses, buses, tramways. The easiest way is to use the metro system consisting of four lines: M1 (yellow), M2 (blue), M3 (red), M4 (green). Just choose the right line and the correct direction (final stop) and you’re ready to go. It gets a bit confusing with stations like Dristor 1 and 2 (which are not remarkably close to each other) but it’s the fastest and simplest way.
Continue reading “Local transport”
The international airport Henri Coandă is a medium-sized airport and the biggest hub of București, Romania. It was formerly called Otopeni and therefore it carries the airport code OTP. The airport was opened in 1968, has two runways and one terminal; it is named after Henri Coandă, a Romanian physicist and flight pioneer.
Continue reading “Aeroportul Internațional Henri Coandă”
What confuses foreign travelers often is the fact that not all countries in the European Union use the Euro as their currency (and that not all countries using the Euro are part of the European Union). Romania is part of the EU, but still has its own currency, the Leu.
Continue reading “The Lion”
It is one of the most representative buildings of Göttingen, Germany: The Deutsches Theater (DT). After the old theatre building at the Wilhelmsplatz burned down in 1887 this new house was built in Italian Renaissance style and opened in 1890. On the roof a winged Thalia (as the goddess of poetry and comedy) takes care of the theatre.
Continue reading “Since 1890”
When the Nazis took over power at Germany in 1933 they immediately prepared for war. Ammunition production was restricted by the treaty of Versailles and therefor they requested the German industry to create factories in rural areas that should be ready to be activated in case of war. One of these was the Sprengstofffabrik Hirschhagen (explosives factory) or Munitionsfabrik Hirschhagen (ammunition factory) of Hessisch Lichtenau.
Continue reading “Endless ferroconcrete”
A steep ascent from Retterode (Hessisch Lichtenau), a lengthy line of steps in the forest, a gap in a circular rampart and then you see it: the castle keep of the Burgruine Reichenbach. It was built in the middle of the 11th century CE and was important in the past as it is close to the border between the states of Hesse and Thuringia.
Continue reading “Burgruine Reichenbach”
The Odenberg is a 381 meters high mountain close to Gudensberg, Germany. It is fully covered with trees, and you can find some wild garlic in the northern part. Getting up there might be interesting for archeologists, as there are the remains of two circular ramparts. But for everyone it is worth hiking up because of the wooden tower standing there, the Odenbergturm.
Continue reading “Wooden ladders”