Cata pe net

Can you pronounce Eyjafjallajökul?

2010-04-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

... why is that so? ...

Thinking about Katla and some other stuff that I could have thought about earlier...

Doar basme...

2010-04-07T16:15:00.001-07:00

Intrăm în împărăția Sfintei Miercuri. Cât vom merge prin ea, nu vom da de alta decât de frig și iarăși de frig. Pe marginile căii vor fi focuri din focuri și eu mă tem că tu vei merge să te încălzești.

Understanding things often takes time. Achieving seldom goes without strength.

Some you win, some you loose...

2010-02-15T17:16:00.000-08:00

... intense weekend in Norwich, ups and downs, wins and losses but perhaps more wins after all. There's always this funny unexpected element to winning anyways, without which the joy is not complete, the uncertainty needs to be there for the full experience. But sometimes the desire of winning simply creeps into your veins, taking slowly control of your mind and soul, pushing you forward and holding you back. And you wonder what it is that prevents you from running into friends in your neighborhood as soon as you anticipate such an encounter, and why some psychologists are interested in gamblers...

ptiu` sa nu te deochi

2010-02-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

am invatat un cuvant nou astazi. unul dintre aspectele mai placute ale vietii de zi cu zi din oraselul acesta pe cat de mic, pe atat de inzestrat, este ca din cand in cand descopar cate-un cuvant sau cate-o fraza noua, cate-un corespondent cultural surprinzator. si chiar daca pare de necrezut, deochiul exista si in engleza. mai putin neasteptat, e un concept prea bine cunoscut in rusia, si presupun ca in aceasi masura in toata zona de influenta slava. dar nu-mi amintesc ceva similar in germana, decat poate verhext, si as fi curioasa sa aflu corespondentul scandinav, daca ar exita. ar fi interesant de stiut in ce masura existenta cuvantului e corelata cu valorile culturale ale unui popor. si cat de repede anumite cuvinte dispar cand isi pierd utilitatea.

deochi e un cuvant atat de plastic, cu o legatura directa catre privire, care devine puterea ce determina soarta victimei. iar jinx are o sonoritate cu totul aparte, care ma duce cu gandul la argintul viu.

Prin ochiul Londrei...

2010-01-26T16:46:00.000-08:00

... ne-am plimbat cateva ore, un ochi pe jumatate adormit de griul unui ianuarie care pare sa fi uitat ca soarele lumineaza si insule, pe jumatate inghetat de briza unei Tamise intunecate. Am urcat si coborat deasupra orasului orei de engleza, de-a lungul amintirilor dragi si uitate, in roata luminilor si umbrelor intrevazute.

Let's get this year started

2009-12-10T15:04:00.000-08:00

So we've changed year again, and it seems like 2009 has passed faster then any year before it. And I have a feeling that this pattern is here for good. However, something tells me that 2010 has the potential of becoming one of the good years that can sit beside my dear Grenoble one with pride. And just like I left that summer to France with the intuition that 6 months won't be enough, I know now that 12 months can be stretched and transformed into the time of your life. The Perchten have sent away the bad spirits and wished me all the best for the year to come, the snow has fallen over my unwritten words, questions and doubts, and the perspective of a greener and brighter spring has started to grow in my heart. Complains about Romanian elections and Wizzair flight cancellations, excitements about Christmas trees, baubles, and crackers, sad and merry songs, surprises and expected outcomes were lost in the glazing wind. This 6th of January is baptizing me with the naive feeling that this year's gonna be a good one, among great friends, duties and chances. Intentions are crystallizing in my head and I can almost taste the change that can bring temple, toes and nails together.

Happy New Year!

Bin ich ein Berliner?

2009-11-26T16:51:00.000-08:00

Turns out I somehow landed in this city of contrasts less than 20 days after the 20 years anniversary. Today's Berlin makes me think of glass, open space, arts, unconventionality, but mostly change. It shows me a face that I would have liked my country to adopt in two decades as well...

Turns out Berlin is in...

Vingt ans après...

2009-11-09T14:01:00.000-08:00

... by Homo sapiens

(at least 12 walls standing between man and the better man today - west bank, northern ireland, saudi arabia, ceuta and melilla, cyprus, pakistan-iran, rio de janeiro, us-mexico, india-pakistan, korea border, western sahara, botswana-zimbabwe...)

Random thoughts

2009-11-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

It's fascinating how you only learn obvious things when the time is right for you... things you should be familiar with, you've heard and maybe seen before, but that haven't left that mark on your inner self that makes you accept them as truth. how one voice can influence a crowd. how great things start small. how it does matter what environment you're living in. simple, obvious thoughts, but it's so easy to ignore them in the whirlpool of in- and outputs that we're trying to have a relaxed swim in.

how different november is from june. what elliott said.

The simple things...

2009-11-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

In timp ce picioarele-mi adorm fericite ca in sfarsit sunt la acelasi nivel cu gandul, ma intreb daca ceva m-ar putea multumi mai mult in seara asta ploiasa de noiembrie. Sunt atat de incantata de trei lucruri prea simple ca sa le numesc banale: ma bucura gandul ca parul imi respira din nou si firele jucause-mi vor rasfata perna in curand; ma linisteste faptul ca sticla de apa e la doar un centimetru distanta de mana-mi ce odihneste pe tastatura si ca buzele-mi nu sunt condamnate sa ramana insetate mai mult decat trei clipe; dar cel mai mult ma alinta perspectiva unei dimineti lungi si lenese, cu miros de mar, de zori, de avocado. Noapte buna, Mihaela...

The city of squirrels

2009-11-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

If you've never been to New York it actually doesn't mean that you don't know what New York is like. The picture you have of the city from all those movies and series you've grown up or old with have probably turned you into a regular of Times square, Broadway, Central Park, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Brooklyn Bridge and of course of that magical ice skating ring where they always go around Christmas so that the first snow flakes of the year can start falling on their happy red cheeks before they dare to kiss... And you've probably explored the Liberty-statue-Manhattan-skyscraper-emerging-out-of-endless-sea overwhelming feeling as an immigrant from inside the screen and imagination before stepping foot on Ellis Island. Finally, you've gotten used to police cars rushing up and down the boulevards in weeping siren accompaniment, you've walked on thousands of smokey streets and you've taken hundreds of yellow cabs.

And while you're walking down Broadway, you probably feel like you remember all those small and big things around you and they somehow make you feel at home in this huge city of contrasts, which changes as much from grey November rain to golden Indian summer days, as from the bird-watching paradise in the heart of Central Park to the financial jungle on Wall Street, or from the Bronx to the 5th Avenue. You get the picture...

However, I bet you've never imagined the warm autumn trees at the bottom of those giants, the cosy Union Street market place, with old-style wine grapes and hot cider, the Sunday fair, the Spanish small-talk, and most importantly the Squirrels. I have seen more squirrels during my 3-4 days in New York than in my whole life until now, and I therefore proclaim New York The city of squirrels :)

Quiz

How many squirrels are captured in this picture?

How many jumping squirrels are captured in this picture?

Toamna se numara bobocii...

2009-10-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

... si castanele, capitele de fan, borcanele de marmelada, compot, muraturi, scoici si alte minunatii adunate de furnici si nu greieri peste vara. Si daca tot eram la numarat, ma gandeam sa trag si eu o linie si sa povestesc despre numarul serii, doi.
Pentru ca sunt in al doilea an de doctorat, pentru ca sunt la a doua locuinta (m-am mutat in triunghiul Bermudelor) si la a doua bicicleta din Cambridge (egala cu a doi la a doua furata din viata si asta nu de mine contrar unor citate care suna bine), pentru ca am inceput al doilea sfert de secol de-activitate terestra, dar mai ales pentru ca la iarna se-mplinesc 20 de ani de la primul moment in care am realizat ca traiesc intr-o lume compusa din multe lumi suprapuse si surprinzatoare. Iar din acel moment si pana astazi, lumiile cele multe au continuat sa ma surprinda prin convingerea lor aparenta ca detin adevarul suprem si ca reprezinta realitatea absoluta. Numai ca eu oricand as da doua lumi goale pentru una plina, si banuiesc c-as sti si cine se combina...

Doua vorbe sa-ti mai spun timp nebun! Dar in loc de exprimare Somn cel mare s-a pitit in tastatura si ma fura...

Late night dizzying summer post

2009-08-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

There was a lot of input this summer, so much that no words came out of it. Always postponing the next post for tomorrow, always looking forward to a better day, in which everything would make sense, things and thoughts would fall onto their right place (sa se-aseze lucrurile un pic) and I would find my mind. That day never came and summer is turning to an end. The 30th of august, and soon I'll sing the 25-year old song that I used to be puzzled about ten years ago. That moment of revelation is just as far now as it was back then and will probably be ten years from now, the only difference is the "heard this" "seen that" feeling creeping in, and some seemingly final decisions luring around the corner. But then there's this two-week old new plan of mine, that I haven't given up on yet (careful, not everything that can fly is edible...). With a touch of luck I might see it coming to life before the fresh snow, given that I'm living in Britain.

But I was thinking about the past (?) summer. I've tried out the British coast and its fish and chips, I've had a short taste of Romanian bucolic landscapes, wedding traditions and mititei, I've discovered a new state of mind to long for by the Portuguese Atlantic waves, while nibbing on snails, swordfish and pastels. I've had the "wish I was there" and "why I am doing this" aches, and I was parachuted back one sunny day into the same confused soul that had swallowed my pen. Somehow it seems like the more is coming in, the less is getting out of this system, and I don't see how this can be. While everybody around me is talking about creativity, it appears that they are trying to build the most constrained box to fit the "ideally shaped" creativity into. They have this clear picture of executive creativity, productive and purpose-oriented. Randomness does not exist or if it does it's a disgusting under-feature that is to be ignored or shamefully disguised. Intuition is foolishness. Absolute logic, even though trapped in the very limitations of our current knowledge, should guide our own lives and, weak as were are, we should by no means give in to the meanders of irrationality. And then be puzzled about the dryness of our non-existing souls and the lack of revolutionary impulses. So what makes a life worth living and how true can you allow yourself to be to your own foolish heart?

How do I find words for describing the what happens when we become our own religion?

Establishing contact...

2009-06-20T03:09:00.000-07:00

The problem with melting the ice though is that there might be nothing left afterwards...

The power of inference...

2009-06-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

Sleep Creatively?

2009-06-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

And there we are again, surfing through a never-ending jungle of blogs, exposing ourselves enthusiastically to communication-Molotovs at late hours, spinning ideas dizzily from one soul of the world to another - and it seems to me that this virtual dynamic entity that is being born screaming for more and more shaaaaaring is going to become us, and we are going to become it, connected forever in the information vortex.

Mooorrrrdoooooorrr...

Apparently sleep boosts the ability make new associations based on existing knowledge. Si nu ajunge sa dormi cu burta pe carte, decat daca ai citit-o inainte. So sleep tight!

Twitter?

2009-06-06T04:06:00.001-07:00

Our world is spinning...

Hey Jude

2009-06-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

.. remember to let her onto your skin... and don't u know that it's a fool.. si stii tu ce vine mai departe, la fel cum stii cum bate vantul, cum e prea putin soare intr-un iunie cetos si prea putin vis intr-o zi cu soare...

Si cine-mi va mai spune?

Cre' ca toate astea mi se trag de la muzicile prea vechi dintr-o seara prea rece... Ar trebui interzise melodiile mai vechi de 2 ani in cluburi de 2 bani...

Alors bonne nuit...

Looking forward to zambetul tau de dimineata...

Sleep Furiously?

2009-05-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

Your ubiquitous desire when you're realizing that today just turned tomorrow again, an army of sun rays and bird trill arrows are playfully attacking your morning eye lids, cryptic words are stimulating your confused thoughts in grey rooms or when you're dreaming of a Welsh train that doesn't stop at your station. Speaking of which, the Welsh countryside definitely has its repertoire of "sleep-don't sleep" charms, and I'm very much looking forward to see more qualified opinions on this issue. But if I come to think of it, what Wales was doing with us one of these weekends was simply passionate cooking.

Ingredients: a charming canal, a **** narrowboat, a heterogeneous mix of consciousnesses, some rum, a one in a million Eurovision show, drunken Shepard's rain (ploaie mocaneasca), black headed sheep, a silent guitar, some Voodoo, a great captain, pure rock'n'roll, the strongest boat-stopping wind ever, summer's rain, Table Mountain, the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, Estonian castles, the best cherries in the world, dreams and fairytales, an imaginary pipe, dusk pancakes, Abergavenny kebaps and curry, E1243, E2345 and E4353.

Directions: mixing, mixing, mixing (for three days, adding ideas, rain and rum "by taste"/"dupa gust") - something Cymru excels in, given its unchallengeable skills in consonant shuffling for linguistic purposes.

The result: a delicious pudding with early summer flavors of another sweet memory to be used in hiraethlon times.

And somehow all this reminded me of "jocul ielelor" tonight, and gave me a furious desire for sleep... Nos da!

Dedicatie muzicala...

2009-05-09T18:08:00.001-07:00

noapte buna si somn usor

1 Mai

2009-05-09T17:47:00.001-07:00

London on the glorious day of the 1st of Mai...

London from the top of a bus...

Simlpy London...

Science communication...

2009-04-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

An inspiring extended weekend which had potential to put our small insignificant existence into a higher context. It was due to the final SET-Routes School Ambassador event (motivating young girls to go into science) that we had the chance to visit CERN, "the world's largest particle physics laboratory" (remember the presumed end of the world last September - "Ce parere aveti, credeti ca vine sfarsitul lumii/ ca ne inghite o gaura neagra/ ca se joaca de-a Dumnezeu?). I'll let more qualified people than myself talk and sing about it (MUST see). And talking about science communication, this might also be a way of letting people know that CERN does exist. Yes, old news, but in the cinemas from the 15th of May. And while the web it's celebrating its 20th anniversary, random kitchen tiles in Lausanne are still waiting for brilliant ideas and lasting motivations during young Sunday hours...

Hristos a inviat!

2009-04-19T16:52:00.001-07:00

Curățenie de primăvară...

2009-04-15T14:42:00.001-07:00

Back again after a refreshing excursion into ever amazing white, blue and green Norwegian landscapes and historic times. Spring rain calling for bright, purer mornings. Yes, the sky is the limit, but mind the trolls on the ground!

Frohe Ostern?

2009-04-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

So what does Easter mean these days? A celebration of Christ's resurrection? A time to rediscover old traditions that you might enjoy? An occasion to get together with family and friends? An opportunity to show-off cooking skills and get an overdose on calories and sugar? An Easter egg fight? An excuse to kill a lamb? A moment to lay back and meditate on life's meaning? A skiing week in the white Norwegian mountains? Some relaxing sunny spring days? Or perhaps a charming mix of all previous Easters in and outside your mind?
Have a happy one!

Livada de visini?

2009-04-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

In care marmelada de primavara ni se amesteca toate gandurile si visele inzapezite, si unde definim granita imaginatiei? Sa regasim intr-un colt de gand linistea unei duminici lenese, scursa precum 1000 de alte clipe pe malul unui taram al lebedelor, in care pasii ne calauzesc intr-o altfel de realitate, si buzele ne incanta intr-o dulce aroma de soc?... Ce puteri ascunse are o raza de primavara si cat de aproape ne poate aduce de poveste? Cat ar dura o duminica in intr-o livada eterna?

Kaiserschmarrn, Fritattensuppe, Jagatee and Ischgl...

2009-03-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

This trip left me without words... while my thoughts are still flying down the perfect slopes and tumbling in the soft powder (up and down, round and round), spring is slowly covering white images with daffodil and magnolia paint ... So what comes apres ski?

Enjoy the pics ;)

?

2009-03-13T16:40:00.001-07:00

How do quotes loose their value in time?

Think again: how wrong can u be?

Absurd... (sau Scrisoare catre liceeni)

2009-03-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

... am ajuns acasa cu gandul de-a scrie un blog absurd, in concordanta cu seara asta, in care am vazut pentru prima data o piesa de Eugen Ionescu - bineinteles intr-un teatru studentesc englez... gandurile au inceput sa-mi zboare in directii necontrolate, iar cum imaginatia obisnuieste sa imbine real si vis in cele mai surprinzatoare si creative ipostaze - ceva de genu' zburatorul cu sau fara away, depinde de circumstante - am inceput sa ma preling printre repliciile bine ticluite in umbra scenei... Si de ce oare Eugen Ionescu acum si aici? Cumva la fel de absurd, sau poate chiar dimpotriva, am dat din intamplare, tocmai cand ma pregateam sa-ncep, peste Tudor Chirila din nou (dupa ani si ani?), care pare sa nu-si fi pierdut scanteia (hmm cuvantu' asta are conotatii cam dubioase...) si spera? E ciudat cum pana si un verb atat de simplu ca "a spera" pare extrem de naiv si impropriu in momentul de fata. Si de ce??? In orice caz, e o initiativa, pe mine m-ar fi convins la momentul respectiv, desi nu cred ca asta are prea multe de spus. Mdah, poate ca si eu sper totusi, alaturi de el, chiar daca "Noi am pierdut... " ("Noi am fost fericiti ca am descoperit Coca-cola si bananele ... Noi ne-am inselat. Unii dintre noi au plecat de aici. Castiga bani acolo si tanjesc dupa orasul asta imputit. Voi insa, voi aveti o sansa. Voi, aveti sansa. "... ) Si totusi fiecare spera dupa cum ii e firea, dupa cum ii e portul (vezi partea cu orasul...), ceea ce ma face sa sper la un singur lucru - ca strigatul lui sa nu fie un alt capitol din Eugen Ionescu...

Pentru ca merita: Scrisoare catre liceeni

1 martie calator...

2009-03-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

... se plimba din nou sagalnic prin lume, stropind cu miros de viorele si aroma de primavara gradinile ce la vederea-i se umplu de culoare si voie buna. L-am intalnit si noi intr-o dupa-masa calduta si lenesa, ratacit printre coloane, turnuri si portaluri, stand la taifas cu Newton si Bacon, tragand cu urechea la arii visatoare. Pe nesimtite, martisorul nostru s-a pitulat in urechea camerei foto, aspirand si el la nemurire precum isoricii sai prieteni...

... ti-a trimis un martisor!

London Calling...

2009-02-24T16:02:00.001-08:00

London was calling while its eye was watching us...

I had a charming partially Norwegian weekend with some peak hours in London and a birchy time in the Peak District. We climbed ancient druid crags while our Balian scarfs were waving in the charming spring winds, we experimented with heel hooks and slimy fluorescent walls, we admired shiny life-saving metal devices placed miraculously in perfect cracks and flirted with innocent photogenic ponds. Green was the color... It all culminated in a Moroccan dimension, with never ending bottles of African wine and an Arabic (!) baklava.
I'll let the pics speak for themselves...

Yes, Robin Hood was there too (era patronu')...

White Darwin...

2009-02-12T15:50:00.000-08:00

How would it feel to be 200 years old? What kind of image would people have of yourself, of your work, of your thoughts, your history? How would they recall you, how many seconds would you be worth, how many words or ideas? Second thought: how would you perceive yourself after two centuries? Or maybe how would you have been 200 years ago and how would you have dared to challenge society's "common sense"? So many circular questions grew into heavy snowballs tonight, waiting to be thrown with preciseness at our winy brains... Happy Birthday, Mr. Darwin!

Luna...

2009-02-11T16:01:00.000-08:00

... some moments just don't fit into the camera you're currently keeping on your desk and luckily their beauty might help you preserve the feeling for magic twists of your shrinking imagination; or maybe they'll just give you the final push to invest in better technology, which will just take your imagination's challenges to the limit... Whatever the choice, the moon and Orion will keep shining bright over your words on a dreamy Wednesday evening, until sleepy clouds will fill the night with plasteline memories to come.

Extreme weather part II

2009-02-08T13:06:00.000-08:00

Last Monday's story repeated itself miraculously this Friday, when our cozy British world turned white again, and playful snowflakes took over the scenery for a couple of hours. Mails were slowly spreading panic office by office, talking about the "adverse weather conditions" and giving advice to leave work early, "before the weather gets too bad and while it is still light". Brave snow-fighters were facing the white beast, armed with whatever weapons they could get - ranging from leaf-blowing devices to car-wide snow(?)ploughs. Enchanted penguins were wondering around the campus with a bright smile on their face, immortalizing the white miracle and generously sharing their snow-walking expertise with the helpless population.

At the end of the day, we all got on the usual bus, and eventually woke up in a rather cold Cambridge Friday evening, messing with time, curiosity, beauty, emotion, buttons and perfection. Saturday morning imposed a Sunday's walk from Newnham's Rosalind Franklin building to King's college, in the comforting shadow of stony history, by shiny rivers, through white gardens, alongside disobeying ducks, underneath blue skies.

Finally, I got lost in the infinity of the green-white tree alley, searching for last's night dream, for huge penguin snowflakes, for the sphere of life or maybe for Benjamin Button's sunrise...

Afara ninge linistit...

2009-02-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

... iar fulgii se-astern cu grija peste obiceiurile britanice, inghitind incet dar sigur peisaje verzi, cucerind sute de bicilete si-mproscand cu franturi de panica in dreapta si stanga...

O poveste alba, lunga de 10 cm, cu porti de scoli inchise, metrouri pitite in subteran, trenuri uitate in gara, autobuzuri grabite si o suita de masuri extreme ce duc la salvarea populatiei aflate intr-un efort de lunecare continua; un cadru pitoresc, situat la polul diametral opus epopeei norvegiene, pastrate intr-o amintire hibernala; o tragedie comica, in care miscarea perpetua a fulgilor impletita cu circularitatea unei panici naive creaza o gaura neagra a disperarii ce inghite farmecul alb in umbra unei nopti de februarie. Si uite cum nu si-a vazut ursul coada...

Time passed, which, basically, is its job

2009-01-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

(Terry Pratchett)

Nothing special...

2009-01-23T18:29:00.000-08:00

This has been obsessing me for a while so I decided on just sharing it... Decided is a strong word considering the time and the circumstances. Anyways, this song has something to it, and the fact that I can't hear it as often as I want in particular in some pubs annoys me. So let's just listen to it on my blog then, where I can be the DJ... Yes, it is old, but it takes a while for some people to build a taste. Take sea food for example - I'm still working on it, and that's hopefully just because of circumstances, again. Somehow, we are all trouble and this state makes us feel better than a plain, non-anything one, because at least we tried. We listened to a weird inner voice telling us to do it, and afterward we have at least something to sing about... or dream...

Learning to drive on the left side...

2009-01-20T16:13:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day I got on my cycle and sailed away through the cozy streets of Cambridge without stressing about cars passing by on my right side. It felt right, just as right as when I was confidently clocking though a roundabout this morning. Cycles are great, however punts may be even better on a sunny afternoon...

On the other hand, Cambridge is 800 years old, and I have only known it for 2 weeks now. So how right should I be allowed to feel? Signs all over the place remind you of your humble status (from the omnipresent "Don't step on the grass" one to more serious warnings), however the mind gets inspiring inputs from all dark college corners, and it seems that every stone rays creativity.

And just to prove that, as a whole year of celebrations was inaugurated last Saturday, a fancy lights show reminded us of all the discoveries and discoverers that once watched students cycling on the left side of good old Cambridge lanes and maybe had a look at American tourists punting under the mathematical bridge. Just like the other hundreds of people gathered in front of King's that evening (gura-casca), we kept clicking our camera's button for storing a second of greatness in our virtual not Ginko dependent memory... And maybe just like tens of people, we went for a glass of wine and ended up talking about the world and the word in the shadow of empty bottles...

Same people, different story...
Sunday morning... London no.1: the map, the tube, Sushi, shopping, walking, gazing, pictures (my camera goes out of battery before we come to the sightseeing part), Chinese dinner double-deckers, taxis, Leo fans, just life... Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar square, Tower of London, Tower of London!, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, ... - just like in my English lesson exercise in the 6th grade, maybe I still have the tape if I search for it (?deep in my mind, where's the Ginko? - ups, I find random things: "Shut the windows, ce...")... Well that was it for "Paris, je t'aime", I really loved London! Hope we'll meet again soon...

Cadre din Cambridge...

2009-01-14T15:00:00.000-08:00

Imagini ce s-au furișat șmecherește în memoria aparatului foto...

Images that crept quietly into my camera one of these days...

2009?

2009-01-11T01:48:00.000-08:00

Ok, I must admit that this was a very long blogging break, but it's also been a lot of traveling in a short time, with many great sights, with very dear old and new friends, as well as family, a bunch of happy moments and of positive feelings that make me smile when I'm looking back. Now I'm not going to describe the last days in Heidelberg (out of control greek gods party ;) + missing final course evaluation, some good skiing in Feldberg, Schwarzwald, saying good-bye to everybody, packing again, Christmas markets and Gluehwein, way back to Romania), nor the lovely white Christmas in Arieseni (check out the picasa pics for some great sights, a lot of snow + the incredible amount of people on the unique piste in Vartop - the 26th of December was the apogee of it all) and not even the skiing week in Bad Gastein (best weather ever, plenty of snow, speeeeding down the slopes, great New Year's party). I've been a week in Cambridge now and discovered that I'm extremely short of time, so my thoughts for the year to come:
- drink black tea in earlier mornings
- make time listen to me instead of being time's slave
- increase work productivity and not time
- don't misbehave too badly, if the case let it be a cute way
- take it easier on the beer (switch to wine?)
- get lost in London at least once
- read, watch, listen, ask and learn
- photograph 100 sheep
- speak french
- climb rocks no matter how unappropriated the current surroundings
- visit at least 5 friends before the end of the ear, keep in touch with dear ones that I don't manage to see
- add a point to this list daily until the 20th of January
- blog at least twice a month ;)
As I've already made some substantial progress on this last point, I believe that all these things are doable, provided a tiny bit of good will is there. And it is for now. I'll just attach a visual flavor of the winter vacation I was talking about earlier.

ARIESENI

BAD GASTEIN

Wish you a great 2009, with all the improvements you're looking for!!!

Update, Hamburg și alegeri...

2008-11-25T10:31:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since my last post and that's mainly due to this nice organization that does a great job in keeping us knowledge thirsty predocs busy from dusk 'til dawn (not that that would be too difficult in the current winter light conditions in germany ;) trondheim was at least white)... Anyways, we're currently in the second half of the course and have recently returned from our outstation visit (EMBL has a couple of outstations in Monterotondo, Grenoble, Hamburg and EBI-Hinxton) in Hamburg (my first choice ;) ... in the end the best one).

Hamburg is a very special place, not at all like german cities as I know them (have to admit that I've only been in the southern half of Germany and that I've only spent a couple of days in Hamburg, mostly in restaurants, pubs and shops). First of all, it is a real city, with it's own life (quite different from the cosy peace in Heidelberg huh) and it's own often very special inhabitants... The Repeerbahn at 1 a.m. on a cold November Saturday is a site of its own :) All in all, there were some really fun days, under the constant supervision of the synchrotron (Petra III ;)) and protein crystals searching for their lost phase. We had rain, snow and lovely chilly sun (soare cu dinți), a lot of good food and wine, time to go out on Hamburg's streets and in it's pubs (life music evening with some incredible karaoke singing best one's i've heard for sure) and enjoy a gluehwein at the pre-christmas market...

Now I'm back again in shiny Heidelberg and a bit preoccupied about the Romanian elections business. Was trying to convince friends to join me for a voting session, but enthusiasm is definitely not the word to describe the general public's feeling about this event. Everybody in and out of Romania is so disappointed with the politicians and the countries administration that the "why bother" opinion has turned in to a "it doesn't matter anyways AT ALL"/"it's a complete waste of time"/"it's all a charade"/"it's only sand in the eyes"... Still, I guess the least I can do is cast a vote, especially now, when I can place the stamp on one person's name specifically. We will see what the outcome is ... Was thinking a bit about the trust-enthusiasm-naivety-joy issue with respect to elections, remembering American faces some weeks ago, seeing images of people standing for hours in the rain for casting their vote. I guess it's because they knew and believed that it does matter and I felt some admiration for the whole situation. A bit of trust, some enthusiasm, and especially somebody to trust is something to ask for in Romania... At least a maybe we can?

Or maybe not. Dedicatie muzicala...
(Pentru cei ce se hotarasc sa mearga la vot aici un link de filtrat candidati)

9b???

2008-10-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

Was just reading about what Chris Sharma has been up to lately... What about an expression profiling experiment, there must be some upregulated genes there?! Jumbo love...

À cette epoque les élans mangent des pommes pourries et sont bourrés...

2008-10-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

...et il y en a qui meurent noyés dans les lacs à cause de ca...

Deutscher Herbst - Indian Summer

2008-10-10T13:30:00.001-07:00

Golden October days in the cosy streets of Heidelberg, my new home for the next three months; enjoying my old-new bike, habits and friends :) Good old Germany, dressed up in its finest autumn clothes...

Dincolo de cuvinte

2008-09-29T01:56:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I left Norway with the promise of blogging after my stay in Greece, Germany and France. Well it's still September, I'm still in Romania, and it looks like I've finally found the time and state of mind to post some pics and impressions of the past weeks. Sitting in a cosy spot inside our warm cabin here in Arieseni, while my mother picks the last blue- and cowberries between the lazy raindrops (ploaie mocaneasca), summer seems ages away... Autumn came suddenly this year, taking all of us staring at the sun by surprise – temperatures sank from 30 to 12 degrees in 24h, snow fell in the mountains and the sun disappeared two weeks ago behind the grey cloud curtain... Maybe the 15th of September (school start in Romania) is to blame, I seem to remember that it used to be like this, with the falling leaves, the leaving birds and the chestnut carpet on the way to school. But let's go back to the beginning of August, when I was still a fresh graduate with two months of vacation ahead...

After finishing my work in Norway I went by car (lovely Wü), ferry, train and plane to Halkidiki, with some short stops in Göteborg, a parking lot somewhere on the Danish-German border, and Heilbronn. The short sun-sea-vacation was like expected: amazingly blue water, perfect temperature, long sunny days on the beach, full of laziness, tzaziki, frappe, fresh orange juice and souflaki. I can still taste the juicy watermelons, smell our sandy burned skin and picture the orange trees in the Mediterranean sunset ...

We ate some delicious cakes in Thessaloniki before leaving old Makedonia and landed on the Stuttgart airport on a summer's day midnight. Surprisingly, the only way to get out of the airport and into the city at that late hour was by cab, and after following the last tram (U-bahn) for a while we managed to arrive at my friend's place well and with lighter pockets. The next day we found Wü safe and happy where we had left it (Heilbronn) and drove south, towards dear old France. We met Alex (the morning-grumpy Austrian guy) in Place Notre Dame (Grenoble) and had a kebap, just like in the old days. He took great care of us, giving us shelter and food, taking us climbing, shopping and joining us for a climbing-road-trip to the south of France. We were in the Calanques (beautiful sea surrounding, great for climbing but not in August, great for walks but not in summer, perfect for a refreshing swim), at the Dentelles de Montmirail (lovely Provence setting, we camped at Beaumes-de-Venise, the cheapest and nicest camping I've ever been too; really cute french town with a great boulangerie), at Fanny's place in Nyons (best olives in France, beaaaautiful wine region) and in Ceuse (nice nature-friendly camping, but be sure to speak French!!).

Both Dentelles and Ceuse are amazing places, the first one situated in the heart of Provence with an impressive view over the vines, the other one THE place for climbers in Europe (yes, it's here that Chris Sharma climbed Biographie, but don't worry, even if you belong to the “amateur” league you can still enjoy the amazing view from the top of the mountain, as long as you've got a hat and are fit enough for the daily 40-50 min long walk up to the crack; up there, you feel like on top of the world...). Finally, after an exhausting and very fun week, we decided on a cold summer's evening to go back to the rocket, with great plans for “Ceuse the Return”. We arrived in a 40 degrees warm Grenoble (there had been around 10 in Ceuse) for another shopping and friends seeing round...

So many little memories don't have space between these lines, like the Aix-en-Provence ice coffee, camping between Cassis and Marseille, Alex's walk in the Calanques, camping in Avignon, breakfast in Beaumes-de-Venise, Fanny's olive trees, the postcard with Vau..(?already forgot the name of the place), turtle-Erik, the helicopter in Ceuse, sunset while heading home, and so on and so on... Comme elle est belle, la France!

Anyway, we had to leave because nothing lasts forever, does it? So we headed towards Strasbourg, passing by Switzerland, a really cute French mountain region and Besancon (huge Vauban fortress and old mediaeval site). The picturesque Alsace, with its winy hills, its dark forests and its charming châteaus was quite rainy, but we managed to climb a sandy crack in Windstein (such a weird feeling of sand coming off your grip, hmm...). Erik took the plane North, returning to a rather chilly Trondheim. I had an intense beach-volleyball session in Stuttgart (even got a small injury, but I held my flip-flops and not the sand responsible) and after a 10 hour drive I arrived in the Banatian metropole Timisoara (take the example of my Japanese friend Takaya and check google if you don't know where it is...).

Well Romania and life here is a different story... Things change fast, sometimes in a good, but more often in a less desirable way. What shocked me most was everybody's attitude towards the country – everything bad is explained by the fact that we/they live in Romania. Unfortunately, society has become very materialistic and superficial, corruption seems to be even worse then before and enthusiasts are a highly endangered species, if not extinct. Strangely (or maybe as expected?), the ones that are deepest in the corrupt system are the firsts to throw the stones at the whole situation. Meanwhile, there are a couple of millions of us Romanians living in some other part of the world, where moral rules fit our ways better, always keeping an eye on the country, but almost never daring to be the ones to fight, probably because we're still somehow part of this cynical, no hope-no way society... But-but (men-men :))... I'm always getting too serious when I think about Romania... I'll just leave things as they are and I'll keep to my stay (5 weeks is a long time to be home, it gives you the chance to discover sights, places, history, people and ideas).

My cousin's wedding and Transilvania

Late August my cousin Diana got married in the historic city of Alba-Iulia (where Romania was first united as a state, in the heart of Transilvania), I wish her and Dan the best of luck! I enjoyed the wedding, mostly because I got to know other family members I had only heard about (my grandma had 7 brothers and sisters, their grand(-grand)children and children are all around the world). After the wedding we went to the famous village Spalnaca (that's where they all came from, my grandma's family), situated in a hidden Transilvanian spot, I took some pics for the lovely atmosphere (a bit deserted and old-fashioned but very beautiful). We went back there after two weeks, extending the trip with a stay at our cabin in the Apuseni mountains, at Arieseni.

I've been coming here since I was born (actually even before, in my mother's belly), but it's only in the past few years that things have changed dramatically. People used to live here as traditionally as it gets, some of the houses didn't have electricity until 5 years ago. Well, now the place is to become a (ski?) resort, woods have been cut down, hotels and apartment houses have risen, horses have been traded for fourwheelers, carriages for landrovers, and rivers and planes have become garbage disposals (generally, Romania seems to have a huge garbage problem, I'll give a cradle of beer to the one that can tell me why people simply throw plastic bags and bottles into the nature, even on their own property, where they'll see it every day). I wonder how long my favourite picturesque spots are going to last...

Please don't misunderstand me, Transilvania (Ardeal, as we call it here) is a great place to be with infinite opportunities and incredible landscapes. Tradition has been guarded in some areas, nature preserved, good investments made. You can still find typical hospitality, tasty food and strong tzuika. The major point is that you need a high tolerance for shutting an eye on the less pleasant aspects if you want to experience its remaining beauty – Romania is a country of contrasts, so in order to enjoy the good you have to be able to live with (ignore at least) the bad...

Turning 24

Even though a natural process, ageing doesn't appeal to us humans at all. 24 is starting to sound quite serious, a bit more serious than I would like to feel. However, I still found the occasion suitable for having a blast with good friends I hadn't seen in a long time. If you pass by Timisoara on a thursday evening, I recommend you to throw an eye (“arunci un ochi”) into “D'arc” and you'll surely feel like dancing :) ...

Even though unexpected, this post has an end. I also went to other places, had other thoughts, met different people (so many special people in this world and me so lucky to know them, thanks a lot, wherever you are!!!), saw different sides, because two months with no plan and no worry makes your brain and soul work more than a year of object-oriented living (programming hmmm...). I'm still in Arieseni, picking plums and apples, listening to the fire cracking in the over, smelling the rough smoke, thinking about the Indian summer that is still to come, orange trees by the see and soft hills covered with ruby vines...

Holidays...

2008-07-30T05:40:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving sunny Norway tomorrow, heading as South as it gets, travelling by Wü, train, plane, Bubu, plane and Wü again :) Gonna be in Greece first and then mostly in France with some beach-vb bonus in Germany (hopefully;). I'll be back online in September, from Romania... Enjoy the summer!!!

Manu & Basti i Norge

2008-07-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

They came, we laughed, we joked, we ate, we slept, we hiked, we cooked, we drove, we climbed, we ate, we slept, we talked, we drank, we swam, we ate, we slept, they left... All in all, some great days with lots of fun, raindeers, pictures and natives. Hope they have a safe trip in their Scudi :) and some luck with the Norwegian weather...

Climbing animals?

2008-07-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

A really cute squirrel joined us while climbing (was a bit more interested in the food though, as it's too much of a prof compared to us), it's amazing how many animals you find around here :) some you might have to eat though ;)

Ab in den Süden

2008-07-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

Raus aus dem Regen,
ins Leben,
der Sonne entgegen...

That’s the feeling I had flying over the amazing snow-covered mountains one week ago, heading towards Europe’s capital of culture 2008. And the feeling was right: as soon as my plane landed on Sola (actually means sun) airport, I realised after seeing all the tanned people running around in T-shirts, shorts and Flip-flops that it was actually summer :) I had a look at a real “just like Denmark” beach (as somebody wise was saying) and enjoyed the lovely sunset and a tasty beer in the harbour area, philosophising about the Norwegian drinking habits.

Next day the fjord cat took us to the idyllic (as we decided during our Sonntagsspaziergang) Bjergøya, where we spend some very relaxing and (for me, the landkrabbe) exciting days: I learned the mysterious ways of fishing and enjoyed some of the capture, ate crabs, saw a lobster (had to let it free, it's protected), sailed (I was only responsible with the pictures) and saw dogs with a swimming vest. But most of all, enjoyed the amazing view from inside the cabin – life without walls is great :), our bike tour of the island, and my third swim in a Norwegian fjørd.

Coming back on a very early Monday morning, I found Trondheim as I had left it, with a cool salty breeze, some fresh showers and its typical 12 degrees…

Sommer, Sonne, Sonnenschein,

Sommer, Sonne, Sonnenschein...

Noaptea de Sanziene sau Sankthansaften

2008-06-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Trondheim, 22.06.2008, ora 0:00...

Din pacate noaptea de sanziene/Sankthansaften (23. 06) '08 nu va arata

nici asa ,

nici asa , ,

ci asa...

Long summer days...

2008-06-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

I loved enjoying the lazy Norwegian sun the last week, when Scandinavia finally had the best weather in all Europe. Done with my diploma (yes, I’m almost a graduate ;) ) and after spending one week in Southern surroundings, I was shocked to find a Norwegian capital in 100% summer holiday mood. The entire city was outside, on the terraces, in the parks, eating ice cream, drinking bear, grilling, sun bathing (on every single green spot), playing games, chilling, but most of all, staring at the sun (I was not the only one)…
However, the best place in town was the new Opera House, which I was very excited to see. The white marble mass coming out of the water, the different planes and lines, the squared glass and finally the wooden interior give a very spacious, harmonious and simple impression. Everything seems to be just as it is supposed to in this white dimension, where everybody feels at ease. Enjoy the pics in my Oslo album and, if your interested, read up more about the building and the architects (same ones that build the Library of Alexandria and recently won the competition for King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture) here!

17. Mai

2008-05-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

If you accidentally come to Norway on a sunny Saturday that happens to be the 17th of May, you might get the feeling that you’ve entered Alice’s wonderland, or some other related fairy-tale country. There is nothing ordinary about this day and there is nobody acting as usual. It’s a huge birthday celebration and every single Norwegian is congratulated and congratulates from dusk till dawn (Gratulerer med dagen! :) ). The entire population is on the streets, marching, waving, smiling, admiring, photographing, but most of all “Hurra”-ing (Hipp! Hipp! - Hurrrra! … Hurra! Hurra! Hurraaaa!). Everybody is there, from kindergarten children to pupils, students, musicians, sky divers, gymnasts, dancers, soldiers, skiers, motor drivers, war veterans and even ERASMUS studentsJ, wearing their finest clothes which are most often the traditional “bunads” (to my delight). All in all, it’s a day you should definitely not miss and I’ve had my share in waving the Norwegian flag, taking pictures (check the link as usual), eating ice-cream and watching parades.

Check out wiki fore more info on the 17th of May, Norway's Constitution Day!

Discoverying Norway

2008-05-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

My parents came over last week, and we spent some sunny days driving along fjell and fjord, searching for Vikings, elks, and salmon. Norwegian weather was at its best, and still my mother puts her hope in global warming for her next visit - “beautiful country, too bad for the climate”.

We saw some great spots (“guri de rai”) and went from ferry to ferry, over the Atlantshavsveien, ended up in some half-opened museums (plan your visit to June-July-August!) and had great picnics on the shore. We had to drink the Romanian wine before darkness even tough it specifically says on the bottle “Enjoy after dawn”; but sunset takes forever nowadays around here ;)

My father was very intrigued by the beer price - “It’s the same as in Romania, why are you complaining?” – but had missed a tiny detail: it was a six-pack in Romania and one bottle in Norway. All in all there were some great days, which resulted in tons of pics which you can partially enjoy in my picasa album (highly recommended ;)) and ended up in a cruel wake-up to the “have to finish my diploma” reality. That I’m working on right now, after a great beach volleyball Saturday (hello sunshineJ ) and a very exciting Sunday fjelltur. Enjoy the pics!!!

Climbing in Hell...

2008-04-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

... felt like Heaven :)

Climbing?

2008-04-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

well that's how it looked like 2 weeks ago - let's hope that tomorrow's better ;)

Povesti si povestiri

2008-04-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

Si-uite-asa se face c-au ajuns si-n Suedia: dupa o incercare indrazneatea de catarat afara s-au socotit ei ca in incertitudinea vremurilor nordice mai bine se tin cu iarna decat cu vara si-au iesit cu schiurile la vecinii de peste munti... s-naintand ei pe calea estului, ca vantul si ca gandul, gropile cresteau, drumul se ingusta, camilele se inmulteau, wue scheuna si vuia, neaua se-nnalta, limba se-ngreuna si preturile scadeau... toate ca toate, dar scaderea pretuirilor ii fericea mult pe voinicii nostrii, care pornisera cu ganduri de mari negustori. Ajunsi in tara raurilor de miere, vikingii de vest se zbenguira pe derdelus, se-nfruptara din bucatele alese, devenira frati de cruce cu renii mosului aflati si ei in vacanta si-si umplura desagii cu provizii din camara matusii Ica. Firave raze de soare le mangaiara fetele albe ca spuma laptelui, incalzindu-le gandul si sufletul. Inainte de lasarea serii, cei patru luara calea apusului, urmarind soarele in drumul lui lenes de-a lungul fjordului auriu cu obrajorii rumeniti de schi si voie buna ...
.

:) story about our trip 2 Åre: still skiing, as climbing turned out to be a colder experience than expected (see pic ;) ) nice prizes in Sweden, great "chocolate ball" and spicy french fries (actually Swedish fries) great skiing and mandatory shopping (BACON and cheeeeese); very confy ski lifts and beautiful sights, daaaaangerous pists but not for us ;) reindeer time - a love at first sight experience, but why r they white and so small??? some sun and nice temperatures all day long - GOOD choice! still, tomorrow we'll try climbin' in hell, see how that turns out...

Primavara...

2008-04-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

... asta soarele se joaca-n parul tau... in parul tau si-al meu, dar mai ales in parul din gradina care-nmugureste, infloreste si-verzeste-n asteptarea unei veri de poveste in care soarele nu coboara de pe cer decat pentru-a-si netezi coama razelor jucause. In asteptarea unor ghiocei, unor zambile, unor frezii, lalele, narcise, lacramioare sau magnolii adorm cu floare-albastra-n gand si visez povesti cu troli si Fanny ...

I’ve updated my picasa album with some pics from Cambridge and Heidelberg, where I spend two intense, stressful, amazing, inspiring and exhausting weeks and met great people. Funny how your future is decided from one moment to the other and you find yourself looking at life like at a TV series, with no awareness of the realness of events to come (when you’re sitting comfortably in your office chair just after having a nice lunch it’s quite easy to book a 7 a.m. flight and it’s only on the night before that it starts too seem a quite bad idea; however, you fully realize the consequences of your actions when your alarm rings at 5 a.m.). So it’s a fact, I’m going to live in England for 3-4 years, punting on the river Cam, eating fish & chips, drinking ale and navigating through the epigenomic dimensions of life.

But until then, the reality looks very Norwegian and I’m enjoying the ever growing sunny days, even if it has to be from behind a window most often. We spent very relaxing Easter holidays at Seljestad, 4m of snow, blue sky, great food and skiing. Felt a bit more like winter holidays for me, but as I understand, it’s the traditional Norwegian way (celebrate Easter before it’s actually there, just as for Chrismas) ;) good winter holidays ...

I’ve been complaining quite a lot about spring arriving so late up here, but the past days have finally brought timid bird songs and thermometer raises over 10 degrees. It’s such a good feeling to go home from work in sunshine and remember a dark December evening while looking forward to an amazing month of May. To celebrate all this, we went climbing outside last Sunday, and even though I was crying along with my frozen fingers on my way up, I felt new, spring blood running through my veins by the end of the day.

Time...

2008-02-14T14:08:00.000-08:00

I actually wanted to post something tonight… but the time seems to vanish somewhere between the TV and the almighty snowflakes: it’s late again and my thoughts are already turning into white dreams, escaping the dark night. Pictures, pictures, pictures (check out Romania, Oslo, Trondheim and SKIIII :) )…

2008

2008-01-15T10:24:00.001-08:00

Nu stiu daca are vreo legatura cu incalzirea globala sau nu, dar e mijlocul lui ianuarie si la 3 pasi de ren de cercul polar sunt 7 grade cu plus si ploua... Si numai asa de deruta, niste poze din weekendu' trecut :) Raman datoare cu povesti din Ro, impresii din Oslo si mai multe poze de la ski...

.

Te uită cum ninge decembre...

2007-12-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

...e ziuă şi ce întuneric intr-o sambata care sub obisnuitu-i cotidian ascunde farmecul zilelor de sarbatoare ce se-apropie. Si poate ca mirosul iernatic al crengilor de brad, caldura luminilor care incep sa se iveasca in dreapta si stanga sau cate-un mic spiridus saltand prin zapezi in recrutare de reni ne-aduc pe unul sau pe altul un pas mai aproape de Craciun. Iar eu, chiar daca aud doar ploaia cum bate la fereastra, mai simt inca zapada de ieri scartaind sub talpa cizmelor de iarna, ghicesc gheatza ce se zbate sub patura stropilor prea calzi si presimt linistea de maine, cand totul va straluci din nou intr-un alb de poveste. Cu alte cuvinte, I’m dreaming of a White Christmas…

… just like the one we’re going to have this year! YES. I decided that given a white pre- and a white post-Christmas time (even if I’m cheating a bit, by being in Norway now), the Christmas time should definitely be white as well! So when I get on my plane this Thursday and fly all the way south-east to Budapest, I am determined not to forget all about snow, ice and winter but to rebuild the hope of a Norwegian-weathered Christmas in Timisoara. Until then I am enjoying my last days of 2007 here in Trondheim, after a rather full past week, with my 1. Julebord, the 1. December, 1. skiing this year, 1. Norwegian language course “exam”, 1. Aquavit taste and finally my 2. Julebord.

Julebord

Strangely enough, Norwegians like to celebrate Christmas before it is actually here, and don’t wait until the 24-25th to get stuffed with food and alcohol, but train over a period of around one month for the Christmas dinner. You find Julebords (= “Christmas tables”) everywhere – friends julebord, company julebord, department julebord, sub-department julebord, sports club julebord, language course julebord, other friend julebord, university julebord, santa’s julebord, elk’s julebord, and so on until you finally reach the Jule-Julebord, the supreme challenge. As for me, I must admit that I haven’t been training too hard, and missed one or two practices, with some regrets about missing the Pinekjott, the Ribbe and definetly the Aquavit.

1. Decembrie

Romania’s national Day is of course a day of great pride and importance for everybody in the world, even if they don’t know it yet. Some lucky ones get picked every year and join Romanians all over the world in their celebration, benefiting from insider privileges, being offered a taste of mamaliga and a sip of tzuica. This year the Romanians stroke again and five brave youngsters organized a feast in the city of Trondheim overwhelming their Norwegian, Dutch, Japanese and Peruvian guests with salata de vinete, salata de fasole, salata de ciuperci, bulz/balmos/ceva cu mamaliga, tochitura (ca la mam-acasa), prajitura, cozonac, vin fiert and of course tuica… They did not join the initiative of their brothers in Spain and failed to start a hora around the house, not to be blamed, considering the weather conditions and extremely dangerously surroundings (there is no ice in Spain!!!).

Skiing in Oppdal

… is great!!! Especially if you get the one day with sun in one month so that you can really enjoy the fresh snow that fell just two hours before your arrival. And even though is it by far not as big as famous stations in Austria, France & Co. you get far more out of it by the enormous off-piste options you have without needing to compete with hundreds of other skiers looking for virgin spots as it is not crowded at all! Plus, on and off the pists, you don’t have to worry about people cutting your path: the only direction is down, and it’s faaast! And finally, you can always stop to enjoy the sight of elegant telemarkers, flying down in dream of snow… I guess it must be true: Norwegians are born with skies on their feet.

... citeste-mi ceva de la poluri, te uita cum ninge decembre...

November

2007-11-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

While a silent and dark war between autumn and winter is going on outside, I’m baking sjokoladekake and finally dropping some blog-lines. I must admit that it’s quite easy to be lazy when the evening starts at four o’clock, after the sun’s unconvincing short journey along the horizon line ;)

Two weeks ago, I went to Røros, far into the country, close to the Swedish border. Røros is a former mining town (copper mining), on the UNESCO world heritage list, with small black wooden houses, a huge wooden church and a mining museum. It’s a very cold place in winter, my car got a strong taste of ice and snow on the way there, we had the chance to walk in white frozen surroundings and envy the owners of a spark (some kind of bike-sledge). We got to see traditional Norwegian bunads (cloths) in the church and the miniature miners working in the Røros museum’s undergrounds.

Last weekend it was time for another koia trip, that turned out to be more extreme than expected. It started snowing on Thursday and by Saturday even Trondheim’s streets were all white and icy. But our great motivated international troop (the seven nation army) was ready to get onto the Tydal bus at 9 a.m. and head towards the Holmsåkoia. On our way there, it kept on snowing happily and I kept on congratulating myself for having left Wü home. All in all, we had a very cosy weekend in a four stars koia, after a two and a half hour long struggle with knee-high snow (we didn’t have skis :( ), during which some received the graceful title of path-makers. The four star koia was worth its fame: We had the best crepes ever on Saturday (the cooks spend three hours ín the kitchen), got to enjoy the French cuisine under an Italian cover (Sunday was pasta day), some had the chance to taste the Finnish sauna and we all enjoyed quality piano music all trough the weekend. We all bravely survived our way back (the path was already covered with fresh snow on Sunday), but we were very disappointed to arrive in a melting Trondheim in the evening… Hopefully new snow is on the way, I'm a faithfull supporter of team winter and my skates are very anxious to get out there :)

Snø

2007-11-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Today I finally got to see fairytale-snowflakes, in Frau Holle size. One minute I was looking out the window, disappointed of the everlasting rain, the next one a white universe took over. The shy, almost transparent snowflakes kept getting bigger and bigger until everything turned white and the playful feathers took over the sky, the trees, the ground, the grass, the people, our world. And we – we were gazing out of the window, staring at the hard-working Frau Holle, hoping that she would have infinite pillows to shake…

Høst - My first post

2007-10-14T05:31:00.000-07:00

It's autumn again, or almost winter in these Norwegian surroundings (had the first snow 3 days ago, quite amazing :) ) and if the sun dares to shine for some hours, it's the most beatiful høst ever - the grass stays green here all through the 3 "warm" seasons, creating an amazing blue-yellow/red-green contrast. Have some pics.
Had a barbeque (!) on friday at work, the brave Norwegians stayed outside and grilled the pølse (saucisson/wurst/carnatz) , we (Takaya, Iwe an me - Japan, Holland, Romania/Germany) - confortably inside, waiting for the food, enjoying a glass of beer/wine (Best wine ever, I won it at our lottery, nice, red, from Chile - must add that 1 "cheap" bottle of wine - which u can only get in special shops - costs around 10 Euros) ... In the evening we went 2 watch a theatre play, Norwegian students as actors (very professional !), really enjoyed it and had the impression I understood almost everything, only to find out that I had missed the key point... Na ja, almost got it... Talking about the Norwegian language, it's incredible how bad I am at learning it. Literally not able to understand people talking. It's much easier when I read, a lot of german words, just a bit different, always ok to get the meaning from the context. But speaking is a whooole different story... Hmm... Hoped that I would be able 2 talk fluently in 2 months (before coming here), now my goal is before Christmas. I am still confident that it'll be perfect (sau asha :)) by the time I'll have to leave.
Had a very very relaxed weekend (still managed 2 clean the house), with mexican food, great omelette breakfasts and hopefully climbing tonight; only quick steps outside, trying to stay away from the unfriendly weather (det bloser, det regner alltid!) Used to remember the "indian summer" in october, with warm, lazy days in the sun, here it's more like the october version of november rain. Interestingly not as depressing :)
Added some pictures from our climbing trip and our fjelltur (a greeeat tour) , the landscape really amazing, and we even saw a jerv (not xactly a polar bear, but similar :) small little beast, jumps around the mountains, only 260 left in Norway, quite dangerous if man alone, looks like a small bear or like a bursuc (?) never saw a bursuc before...) !!!
What elsee... The pic on the right (me, Trondheim and the bike) - the 2 other main characters are Trondheim's big cathedral (might be quite famous, some kings are burried here, the biggest in Norway, unfortunately still didn't get the chance 2 see it from inside 1. because I'm lazy and 2. because they ask money for it on regular days so I have to wait 4 a concert/a mess) and my great bike, the best ever, 100% Hollandrad, no gears, only Torpedo break, greeeat to use :)
Erik's sister is visiting next week, will be happy to finally see her perform live (she's gonna play in a cafe here in Trondheim) and also quite curious to hear about life in Oxford. In 2 weeks Virgil is coming, bringing my brand new jacket ;) , some calitatea 1. bunica jams (syltetøy) and hopefully some wine :) Also, some volleyball games are on the schedule and climbing in between (think I'm even getting better now :) ) And work, of course, my project is going quite well and who-knows maybe I'll even achieve my goals :)
Promise 2 keep u up to date and post a word from time 2 time!