The mystery of Transylvania

      Transylvania, which is located in Romania, sounds awesome. This is the place where two other Erasmus friends are coming from. It is best known as the mysterious land of bloodthirsty vampires and howling wolves. I am a big fan of vampires especially The Twilight Saga. 

Some people think it is fictional, but this place is real. It borders to the cost of the Carpathian Mountains and “The long beyond the forest” is still undiscovered and remains mysterious. Even if you do not believe the fairy tales, it is an amazing place to discover the beauty of nature. The Carpathian Mountains are home to wolves, lynx and Europe’s largest population of brown bears. It is great for bear spotting. So, maybe bring with you something more than garlic to feel safe at this surprising region.

Transylvania has a number of resort towns, famous for their therapeutic waters. The mineral mud and warm salty waters of Bear Lake in Sovata are rumoured to cure infertility. The buoyant, balmy waters of Ocna Sibiului near Sibiu are good for arthritis. There is also a natural “sauna” of post-volcanic gases at Covasna.

If the mystery of Transylvania makes you nervous, the nature presents the gift of nature to calm you down and relax your body. Does not Transylvania sound amazing? For me it sure does.

The inventions of Poland

Because I started to write about my Erasmus friends’ home countries, I decided to do a small research about Poland. This semester to Logrono came five Polish girls. I want to learn some more from where they are coming from.  

I already learned about their traditional foods at polish evening. Bigos is probably the most popular traditional dish and is essentially a stew. Polish do not have only amazing kitchen, but also they are very smart.

90% from the polish people have completed at least a secondary education. Their ancestors have done great things. Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was the first person to propose that the Earth was not the center of the Universe. Another astronomer, Jan Hewliusz published the earliest exact maps of the Moon. Also, Polish created the first constitution in Europe and second in the world. The last fact that sounded impressive was that the polish students invented The Modern Drug Test app for smartphones, which detects presence of drugs in human body. 

If you are not in science and were not impressed with these few facts maybe next ones will take your attention. The cosmetic’s brand, Max Factor was founded by a pole Maxsymilian Faktorowicz. Also, they are the reason why we have Fashion TV.

These might not be regular facts you would hear about a country, but they are definitely something the nation should be proud of. If you decide to visit Poland, do not be surprised if people great women by kissing their hand. Surely, it seems old fashion, but I think it is nice.

Discovering the Baltic Countries

Coming to Logrono gave me a chance to live with a Lithuanian girl and study with two Latvian girls. They have made this Erasmus experience amazing and fun. This spring i am planning to visit them. 

 The Baltic countries consist of three countries – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. These countries are located in northern Europe on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. All three countries gained their independence from the Soviet Russia in 1991. 

These are not the countries people talk about or even know about, which is the reason why I want to get to know them. I found some interesting facts about each country I want to share with the readers.

Lithuanians were the last nation in Europe to convert to Christianity. In Lithuania Easter granny brings the Easter eggs, the bunny just helps to paint them. Lithuania has the fastest internet speed in the world and Latvia is very close to them.

The capital city of Latvia, Riga is well known for its Art Neuveau architecture and the old town has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Jacob Davis partnered with Latvian Levi Strauss and invented denim. Now the hottest topic in Latvia and New York is the young 20 year old NBA player Kristaps Porzingis, who was drifted last year in Knicks at New York.  

Estonia is homeland of Skype, Hotmail and KaZaA. Estonia has the highest number of meteorite craters per land area in the world. The Estonians invented Kiiking, which is considered a sport. 

All three countries have something in common. The landscapes are marked by lowland plains, rolling hills, thousands of rivers and lakes, almost covered 50% of forests. Therefore, they are considered one of the greenest countries. 

A cup of coffee in Paris 

I have travelled to Paris many times. There is something about Paris that just attracts me. For me it is special. I want to explore it in other ways than tourists would.

As I walk through the small vintage streets passing the stores that take of my attention from the thoughts of all the trouble from my home country, I feel like I am somewhere I could belong. Here I can find all my favourite brands and discover more. 

I pick up a small vintage cafeteria. I chose the best seat at table by the window to get the best view to admire the Eiffel Tower. The waitress brought some delicious pastry and coffee. So, I took out my laptop to sink into my school work. 

I am never in a hurry. Not in Paris. I try to enjoy all my free time to reflect to my life and get my thoughts in order. It is the city I can find my inner peace. 

Let's go to London 

I believe that London is the metropolis that never sleeps. It is a beautiful city famous of its Victorian architecture, theatres and museums. Even though it might be considered expensive, the top tourist attractions are for free, making them affordable places to soak up some culture.

I recently went to London and from what I can say, there should not be a day spent when there is nothing to do in the city. As a tourist, the must see places are the London Eye, Big Ben, Tower of London, British museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Oxfords Street. If by any chance you are visiting the city during Christmas Holidays, I recommend stopping at Hyde Park, where each year they built an amusement park, Winter Wonderland.

London’s museums have a variety of rich exhibitions starting from art, history and finishing with science. Most of these museums are living from donations and do not charge the visitors. Therefore, tourists can walk through only the exhibitions that they are interested in. 

London is a large city and people are always in a hurry, but it is a beautiful place where you can easily get lost. I recommend to always keep a map by your side. 

Province of Florence

Florence overflows with artistic heritage, as it is the birthplace of the Renaissance. This beautiful city is rich of ingenious Tuscan painters, sculptors and architects. The entire historic centre of Florence is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

When I went to Florence I was impressed with architecture and galleries. For me as an art lover, I instantly got of fond of the city. The must see places in Florence are the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo), the Vasari Corridor, The Basilica of Santa Croce and the Piazzale Michelangelo o see the sunset. You cannot go to Florence and not visit the Galleria Degli Uffizi where you will find the finest collection of Renaissance art in the world including The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. If you are an art lover he painting will take your breath away.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall is the official name  , As we know that is located in China  was built by Qin Shi Huang in 220-206 BCE , Has concluded that the ming wall mesur 8,850 km , this made up of 6,259 km sections of actual wall , 359 km of trenches and 2,232 km of natural defensive barriers such as hills and river .

They used different materials to built it " it was made from stone , brick , tamped earth , wood and other materials  .

And the most important fact that the wall has built as individual walls in the beginning and then they joined them together and made it bigger and stronger , They used as border control .