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CASA POPORULUI

DELTA DUNARII

MANASTIREA HADAMBU

MANASTIRI BUCOVINA

The European Commission announced the EU needs to improve accessible tourism for senior citizens and people with special needs. On 11 November, the European Commission announced that it decided to dedicate this year’s European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) awards to accessible tourism destinations. Representatives of 19 destinations from all over Europe received EDEN trophies for their efforts to offer accessible features and equipment such as walking paths adapted to wheelchairs or prams, specially adapted bike rentals as well as adapted access to beaches and mountains.

The EDEN winners will be, Kaunertal Valley (Austria), Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), Stancija 1904 – Svetvinčenat (Croatia), Polis Chrysochous Municipality (Cyrpus), Lipno (Czech Republic), Haapsalu City (Estonia), Morvan Regional Natural Park (France), Municipality of Marathon (Greece), Kaposvár and the Zselic area (Hungary), Cavan Town and environs (Ireland), Pistoia (Italy), Liepāja (Latvia), Telšiai (Lithuania), Horsterwold (The Netherlands),  Przemyśl (Poland),  Jurilovca (Romania), Laško (Slovenia).

According to the official document from the European Parliament, Jurilovca sits in the middle of a fairy tale landscape neighbouring the Black Sea and the Danube Delta, a unique wetland area and UNESCO world heritage site known for its stunning scenery and biodiversity. Also, the local authorities are keen to welcome visitors of all ages from across Europe. Efforts are being made to ensure that all visitors can have an equally enjoyable holiday here. The local tourist centre is on hand to help all visitors find answers to any questions they may have during their stay in the region.

Moreover, on 3 to 4 December, the European Commission – DG Justice and DG Enterprise and Industry – will celebrate the “European Day of Persons with Disabilities” and the “European Tourism Day” 2013 with the Joint Conference on “Accessible Tourism in Europe”. The aim of this two-fold event will be to raise awareness on the right of everybody to have equal access to tourism services and destinations and to present some success stories and best practices in the field.

Photo courtesy of www.jurilovca.wordpress.com

Oana Vasiliu

sursa: business review

Upon first setting out for a 5-day road trip through southern Transylvania, your first thoughts will probably be focused on the country’s best-known cultural export, Dracula-ah, ah, ah. And, well, who can blame you? After countless movies, TV shows, and even a Marvel comic book series, the word “Transylvania” has been iron-branded onto our collective consciousness as the grim, blustery, far-far-away native land of the original Vampire. But that is precisely why a 5-day road trip through central Romania is so necessary: it helps show that the mythical, Hollywood-ized land is a real, live place, with people (not vampires) and cars (not horse-drawn carriages, though you’ll see a few of those, too) and bustling city centers (as opposed to whatever Bram Stoker would have us believe). Which isn’t to say we base our opinion of a place by how many bright-lit shops and cafes line its streets; in the case of Transylvania, however, those modern establishments throw the country’s exceptional history, not to mention its stunning, centuries-old architecture, into sharp relief.

Below, an itinerary for your 5-day trek through Transylvania, including where to sleep, eat, church-hop, and plenty of off-road sightseeing stops along the way!

 

Sinaia
From Bucharest, most travelers’ starting point, this small town in the foothills of the Carpathians is an easy 1.5-hour drive, making it a good rest stop for those who depart the capital in late morning. Steep hills frame the edges of this ski resort town, which has two things going for it: inexpensive, chalet-style hotels, and close proximity to Peles Castle, an impressive turreted manor that looms over the city on a sprawling estate surrounded by forest. Brasov

Stay here for the night, as Brasov is full of cheap pensiuni, or guest houses, like the Kolping (in fact, pretty much everywhere you stay in Transylvania will be cheap, and you should never count on spending more than $60 USD a night for a mid-range accommodation).

Indeed, Brasov is a proper city, with pubs (we liked one called Publick), shops (the recently-opened Libraria Humanitas boasts over 15,000 titles, and a decent selection in English), not to mention quite an interesting history: Germans settled here in the late 1200s, and they proceeded to build a wall, which effectively kept the Romanians out of their own city for four centuries.

 

Viscri
No train station will stop at this Saxon village buried deep in the countryside, so it’s a good thing you’re traveling by car. Located about an hour north of Brasov, and 15 minutes off the main highway, this teensy UNESCO heritage site has one big draw, namely, a fortified church (one of several similar historic structures in this region) whose foundations date back to the 1100s. Visitors can poke around the church itself, which is located at the end of a sleepy, but attractive, farmer’s village. Take note of a small stone doorway in the rear of the church, which leads to an impossibly narrow staircase up to the church’s clocktower. From here, all of Buneşti – the county which encompasses Viscri, Criţ, and three other villages – is visible in all its verdant, sheep-flock-flecked glory. What a view – in particular, gazing down on the church’s red tiled, precipitous V-shaped roof will make you think you’re looking out from the balcony of a medieval gingerbread house.

Here, it’s possible to rent out rooms inside local villagers’ houses for the night. Pay just $69 to stay at Viscri 125, a charming guesthouse right in the center of the village, with spare, traditionally furnished rooms, a garden for lounging in the summer (as well as a DVD library, and free Wifi for the colder months), and free breakfasts of homemade granola, farm-fresh yogurt and cheese, eggs, and traditional jams and preserves.

 

Sighisoara
At the northernmost point of your trek, you’ll reach Sighisoara, the jewel of Transylvania. The town itself is split into two sections: lower Sighisoara, and the citadel of Sighisoara. By all means, skip the lower half and head straight for the scenic citadel, where you can gaze out over the quaint cobblestone streets and brightly-colored houses from the window of your cozy wood-accented room at the Hotel Sighisoara (from $59) or the more luxe Fronius (from $99). At the top of a 184-step covered staircase, you’ll reach the Church on the Hill, with its 500-year-old frescoes and small adjoining cemetery. Spend a few hours exploring the winding streets of the citadel, before tucking into a hearty Romanian meal inside your hotel (a perfectly grilled, and very garlicky, eggplant dish at the Hotel Sighisoara did the trick for us).

 

Sibiu
Finally, wind up in Sibiu, whose historic quarter was named by Forbes as Europe’s eighth most idyllic place to live (that, in addition to being named a European Capital of Culture in 2007). The sprawling town square, as charming and scenic as any you’ll find in Eastern Europe, is a great place to sit and watch the world go by (though if the weather’s too harsh, Mojo is a great cafe around the corner). Alternatively, walk a few steps to the northwestern corner of the square to Brukenthal National Museum (admission $6.25), whose galleries are full of works by European masters like van Eyck, de Koninck, and Pietro Liberi, and an impressive collection of Transylvanian stone sculptures dating back to the 13th century.

One street over is the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral – we know what you’re thinking (‘another church?’), but trust us, once inside the cathedral’s red-and-yellow brick exterior, with its domed roof and gilt wooden carvings, you’ll want to spend a few minutes just soaking up all the hushed beauty.

UK Ambassador: Prince Charles understands that Romania has what the rest of Europe lost

UK Ambassador Martin Harris stated on Wednesday during a press conference in Sibiu that “Romania has become increasingly attractive for British tourists,” a rise in their number being registered in the ecotourism sector in particular, Mediafax writes.

“I took part in talks with people from the ecotourism sector and they have told me that Romania has become increasingly attractive for British tourists. They registered a hike. I believe it’s an attractive segment and I came to Sibiu with a British expert in this field, in order to develop the ecotourism sector in Romania,” Martin Harris stated.

According to him, Romania’s strong points are “the beautiful landscape and the interesting patrimony.” “I believe Romania has a very important patrimony at European level and it has to preserve it for the future,” the UK Ambassador stated. “I believe Prince Charles is a very good ambassador for Romania because he has a passion for Romania and understands Romanian values, which are unique in Europe, the fact that Romania has what the rest of Europe lost – virgin forests, a very beautiful landscape, a traditional lifestyle,” Martin Harris stated.

Prince Charles owns a completely restored mansion in Malancrav locality, Sibiu County, the mansion being just one of the buildings that the heir to the British throne owns in Transylvanian villages.

 

Ambasadorul Marii Britanii: Prinţul Charles înţelege că România are ceea ce restul Europei a pierdut

Ambasadorul Marii Britanii, Martin Harris, afirmă, referitor la desele vizite ale Prinţului Charles în România, că acesta înţelege că această ţară “are ceea ce restul Europei a pierdut”, adică “păduri virgine, un peisaj foarte frumos, o viaţă tradiţională”.

Ambasadorul Marii Britanii, Martin Harris, a declarat, miercuri, într-o conferinţă de presă la Sibiu, că “România a devenit din ce în ce mai interesantă pentru turiştii britanici”, mai ales în sectorul de ecoturism înregistrându-se o creştere a numărului acestora, scrie Mediafax.

“Am fost în discuţii cu oamenii din sectorul de ecoturism şi mi-au spus că România a devenit din ce în ce mai interesantă pentru turiştii britanici. Ei au înregistrat o creştere. Eu cred că este un segment de interes şi am venit în Sibiu cu un expert britanic în acest domeniu, pentru a dezvolta sectorul de ecoturism în România”, a declarat Martin Harris.

Potrivit acestuia, atuurile României sunt “peisajul frumos şi patrimoniul interesant”.

“Cred că România are un patrimoniu foarte important la nivel european şi trebuie să îl păstreze pentru viitor”, a afirmat ambasadorul Marii Britanii.

Întrebat dacă Prinţul Charles este cel mai bun ambasador al României în Marea Britanie şi ce apreciază acesta în România, Martin Harris a afirmat că Prinţul Charles are o adevărată “pasiune” pentru România.

“Cred că Prinţul Charles este un ambasador foarte bun pentru România, fiindcă are o pasiune pentru România şi înţelege valorile româneşti, care sunt unice în Europa, faptul că România are ceea ce restul Europei a pierdut – păduri virgine, un peisaj foarte frumos, o viaţă tradiţională”, a afirmat Martin Harris.

Prinţul Charles deţine în localitatea sibiană Mălâncrav un fost conac, care a fost complet restaurat, fiind doar unul dintre imobilele deţinute de moştenitorul coroanei britanice în satele din Transilvania.

Sursa: Bucharest Herald

Most holiday houses located in interesting areas are put on sale at prices above 100,000 euros, with the top price being 2.9 million euros for a villa in Domnesti. However, prices had different evolutions from county to county this year.

Prahova, for instance, experienced the most significant price drops, with the average price of holiday houses being 14.8 pc lower in 2012 than last year. The second most important price decrease occurred in Constanta (9.7%). On the other hand, in Brasov these properties are 13.3 pc more expensive than in 2011, according to an analysis made by www.imobiliare.ro based on the prices asked by the owners that want to sale holiday houses.

Almost 65% of these houses cost over 100,000 euros, but there are also budget options, as 19.7% of offers are at prices less or equal to 60,000 euros and 15.4% of announcements refer to prices between 60,000 and 100,000 euros.

As for the most expensive holiday properties, 21.4% of the announcements refer to houses priced between 150,000 and 250,000 euros, 11.5% are put on sale at 250,000 – 350,000 euros and 14.8% of owners try to sell their properties at prices above 350,000 euros.

The highest number of such offers is encountered in Constanţa (32%), Ilfov (21%), Braşov (12%), Prahova (10%), Argeş and Hunedoara. In Ilfov County, the majority of available holiday houses can be found in villages like Snagov and Corbeanca.

The most expensive property put on sale now on imobiliare.ro is a villa with the built surface of 1,100 square meters, situated in Domnesti, Ilfov, surrounded by an estate of 10,900 square meters, at the price of 2.9 million euros.

 

Majoritatea caselor de vacanţă la vânzare au preţuri peste 100.000 euro. Topul judeţelor cu cele mai mari ieftiniri

Majoritatea caselor de vacanţă scoase la vânzare în zonele reprezentative pe acest segment au preţuri care depăşesc 100.000 euro, maximul fiind de 2,9 milioane euro pentru o vilă în comuna Domneşti, în condiţiile în care în acest an preţurile au evoluat diferit de la un judeţ la altul.

În Prahova au fost înregistrate cele mai mari reduceri de preţ, casele de vacanţă din acest judeţ fiind scoase la vânzare la preţuri cu 14,8% mai mici decât anul trecut. Pe locul al doilea după procentul de scădere se află Constanţa, cu 9,7%. În Braşov casele de vacanţă s-au scumpit cu 13,3%, conform unei analize www.imobiliare.ro care a luat în calcul ofertele din cele mai reprezentative judeţe pe acest segment.

Aproape 65% din case costă peste 100.000 de euro. Există, totuşi, şi numeroase opţiuni pentru bugete low-cost, 19,7% din anunţuri făcând referire la case de vacanţă cu un preţ de strigare mai mic sau egal cu 60.000 de euro, iar 15,4% din anunţuri se încadrează în intervalul 60.000-100.000 euro.

Piaţa locuinţelor secundare este bine reprezentată pe segmentul de vârf. Astfel, 21,4% din ofertă se încadrează în intervalul de preţ cuprins între 150.000 euro şi 250.000 euro, în 11,5% din cazuri preţurile variază între 250.000 euro şi 350.000 euro, pentru ca 14,8% din totalul ofertei să fie reprezentată de proprietăţi rezidenţiale al căror preţ depăşeşte 350.000 euro.

Cele mai multe oferte sunt în Constanţa (32%), Ilfov (21%), Braşov (12%), Prahova (10%), Argeş şi Hunedoara. În Ilfov, majoritatea caselor de vacanţă disponibile sunt situate în localităţi precum Snagov şi Corbeanca şi se înscriu în segmentul de top, la fel ca cele de pe Valea Prahovei. În Constanţa, dar şi în Braşov, oferta de locuinţe secundare este completată de apartamente noi, mai ieftine şi cu un cost de întreţinere mai mic.

Cea mai scumpă proprietate rezidenţială din acest segment scoasă la vânzare în acest moment pe imobiliare.ro este o vilă cu o suprafaţă utilă de 1.100 de metri pătraţi din Domneşti, Ilfov. Construită şi amenajată în anul 2001, proprietatea a fost considerată timp de mai mulţi ani ca fiind cea mai frumoasă proprietate rezidenţială din zona de sud-vest a Capitalei. Are 14 camere, 2 bucătării, 6 băi, 3 garaje, 7 locuri de parcare şi un teren de 10.900 metri pătraţi. Nu lipsesc jacuzzi-ul, sauna sau crama. Vila este scoasă la vânzare pentru 2,9 milioane de euro.

Locul al doilea în clasament este ocupat de o vilă cu două etaje plus mansardă şi o suprafaţă utilă de 600 de metri pătraţi din Sinaia, Prahova, situată pe drumul spre cota 1.400 şi scoasă la vânzare pentru 2,8 milioane de euro. Vila construită în 2007 are 12 camere, 8 balcoane, jacuzzi şi şemineu şi este una din cele mai confortabile şi luxoase proprietăţi noi din Sinaia, putând fi transformată într-un mic hotel.

Locul al treilea în top este ocupat de un conac din judeţul Arad, scos la vânzare de mai bine de un an. Preţul solicitat de proprietar este de 2 milioane de euro. Conacul este situat pe DN79 Arad-Oradea, la o distanţă de 28,3 kilometri de Arad. Conacul a fost construit la mijlocul secolului al XIX-lea de către baronul Urban Petru de Monyoro şi a fost renovat în 1994. Are o suprafaţă utilă de 640 metri pătraţi şi un teren de 11.800 metri pătraţi. Pe teren se află şi o piscină, iar în spatele conacului există o clădire nouă de 200 de metri pătraţi ce poate fi, de asemenea, amenajată ca spaţiu de locuit.

• The Romanian Lovers’ Day, Dragobete, is celebrated on February 24. For both those in love and those looking for it, here are some of our suggestions for the most romantic time of the year.

The “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History in Bucharest is celebrating Dragobete with surprises for couples in love. These can fill out a questionnaire and enter a drawing to win a set of albums containing pictures and information about special pieces in the collection. The winners will be announced on the Antipa Museum Facebook page on Monday, Feb 25.

The “Dimitrie Gusti” National Village Museum invites you to love the Romanian way on Dragobete Day, as part of the“Youth Celebration” series of events. Children will be welcomed by Zurli Theater and “The Bear tricked by the Fox”, as well as The Merry Jester, Tandala and Ileana Cosanzeana. The “Dragobete Kisses the Girls” photo exhibition will be on display at the “Gheorghe Focsa” Exhibition Hall, an event organized together with the Bucurestiul meu drag Association. “Who could hate love?”, is the question that the traditional folk music performers Maria Butaciu, Maria Bandoiu, Constantin Bahrin, Alexandru Patrascu, Gabriel Dumitru and Rodica Anghelescu will address to the listeners, bringing the joy of music and dance  to us all. Tudor Niculescu Mizil teaches romantics how “Love … on guitar strings” is, as he performs classical instrumental pieces, while actor and singer Daniel Fat invites us to listen to ”Love Ballads”, emotional ballads. The actors from Mask Theater will perform “Romanians on… Dragobete”.

Radio Romania Cultural will celebrate the Romanian Lovers’ Day with a music and theater marathon. The voices of Clody Berthola, Fory Etterle, Tanti Cocea, Alexandru Giugaru, Elvira Godeanu, Dem Radulescu, Grigore Vasiliu Birlic, Ion Lucian, Valeria Seciu, Victor Rebengiuc and many more will therefore be the stars of Romanian classical and contemporary dramaturgical excerpts from “The Twelfth Night” and the “Merry Wives of  Windsor” by William Shakespeare, “The Last Night” by Alex Tocilescu, “The Marriage” by N. V. Gogol, “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell, and “The Romantics” by Edmond Rostand.

Music lovers can also listen famous love film themes (Love Story, Romeo and Juliet, Roman Holiday, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Doctor Zhivago, My Fair Lady, Wuthering Heights, City Lights, Singing in the rain, Breakfast at Tiffany, Shakespeare in Love, Titanic, Out of Africa, The English Patient, Memoirs of a Gheisa, Pretty Woman, Ghost, Grease, The Notebook, The Bodyguard, The Beauty and the Beast, Indecent Proposal, Dirty Dancing, Armaggedon…).

Great opera voices will also be heard (Kiri te Kanawa, Roberto Alagna, Bryn Terfel, Anna Netrebko, Rollando Villazon, Dmitri Hvrostovsky, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti) as well as those of Italian film actors and actresses from the ’60-’70s (Renato Carosone, Sophia Loren, Dean Martin, Domenico Modugno, Mario Lanza, Claudio Villa, Flo Sandons, Rino Salviatti and Nilla Pizzi).

What is Dragobete ?

The legend says that Dragobete was the son of an old lady called Baba Dochia, a traditional symbol of Romanian mythology who marks the return of spring. Academics consider Dragobete a Romanian god of love.

There are a number of Dragobete customs in rural areas: some believe that those who take part in Dragobete customs will be protected from illness for the rest of the year; in other parts of Romania, married women must wash their faces with snow so that spring finds them joyful and strong. If a young girl will eat salty bread baked by the eldest woman in the household, then place some basil under their pillow, she will dream her future husband, if he will bring her water in the dream.

Oana Vasiliu

Business Rewiu