Odorheiu Secuiesc (România)

For more informations click on the map

Odorheiu Secuiesc or Székelyudvarhely (Romanian: Odorheiu Secuiesc, Hungarian: Székelyudvarhely, German: Oderhellen) is the second-largest city in Harghita County, Romania. In its short form, it is also known as Odorhei in Romanian and Udvarhely in Hungarian.

The city has a population of 36,948, of which 95.7% or 35,359 people are Hungarians, (Székelys) making it the city with the second-highest proportion (after Vlăhiţa) of Hungarians in Romania (based on the census of 2002).

The local population uses the Hungarian name of the town (Udvarhely) which roughly means „Court settlement” in English. The oldest surviving written record about the town is from 1333, when, in medieval Hungarian writing style, the town was called „Uduorhel”. Since 1615, when the Prince of Transylvania reaffirmed the rights of the town, the place has been referred to as Székelyudvarhely.

Twin cities

• Békéscsaba (1990.01.15.)
• Barcs (1991.01.23.)
• Subotica (1994.10.05.)
• Várkerület (district of Budapest) (1995.07.26.)
• Buda Highlands (district of Budapest)
• Vác (1997.04.24.)
• Dunajská Streda (1997.09.24.)
• Soroksár (district of Budapest) (1997.09.24)
• Tatabánya (1999.09.30.)
• Törökbálint (2000.03.28.)
• Tihany (2000.03.28)
• Cegléd (2001.06.01.)
• Hajdúdorog

We started our “fast” trip in a railway station in Sighisoara from where we took the train to Odorhei. The ticket price was cheap- 5.1 lei or 1.21 euros.

In 2 hours, while we were approaching to the town, we were listening to Romanian popular music in a nice 80s French train. It was so nice!

Well, for the beginning, you must know that in Odorhei there is not a normal railway station! You don’t have the possibility to ask someone for the trains or to buy a ticket because there doesn’t exist even a ticket office!

How we didn’t have too much time to stay in Odorhei, we had a “speedy” walk, always ready to discover something new 😛

The city seemed to be desolated-we saw few people on the street (it may be possible  because of the winter holidays) and unfortunately, almost all the shops and restaurants were closed so that we had nothing to do in that city!

However, the center of Odorhei looks very nice for its size and the prices from there are very low (for example, for a coffee, in a very nice restaurant you have to pay only 2.8 lei = 0.6 euros).

Finally, the town seemed us to be nice and colorful because of the building’s dyes and the kind atmosphere we found there.

The 80s french train which took us to Odorhei 😛

The train's course: Sibiu-Copsa Mica/ Sighisoara-Odorhei (as we say, a ticket for the second course costs almost 1.2 euros )

One of the main streets in Odorhei (on the left side is situated the railway station)

A pharmacy in Odorhei (the name is written in two languages: romanian and hungarian)

The police office from Odorhei with the romanian flag on it (Politia Municipiului Odorhei)

A guide panel which shows the distances from Odorhei to the most important towns from that region (Sighisoara - 51 Km, Brasov- 102 Km, Targul Mures - 102 Km). The information from the panel is written in romanian and hungarian.

Marlyin Monroe Bar... She's watching on you 😉

Penny Market - there are 68 stores of this type in Romania and one of them is in Odorhei. Unfortunately, this one was closed when we were in the town 😦

Orion commercial shopping center

And that's the street in front of those two markets..do you fell the difference? 😉 However, it doesn't seem so hospitable to us 😛

Another street in Odorhei..

Another image from the town..You can notice how many people are on the street 😛

The Municipal Hospital of Odorhei..pretty big for this town 😛

An old paved street in Odorhei..

This original "Székely gate" with beautiful furnishings carved on it caught our eyes..it seems to be old,even if it's single-handed in 1997.

Communist apartment houses in Odorhei

Odorhei's Roman Catholic Church situated in the center of the town.

Another empty street in Odorhei full in everything-library,bank,shops and gueshouse..

The center of the city..

Odorhei's Center, seen from another angle. You can notice the Calvinist Church

A concert poster of Kurultaj band

Another apartment houses in Odorhei

A public phone, in the same town

Belgrade (Serbia)

Belgrade (Serbian: Београд, Beograd) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. The city lies on two international waterways, at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where Central Europe’s Pannonian Plain meets the South European Balkans.

Likewise, the city is placed along the pan-European corridors X and VII. With a population of 1,630,000 (official estimate 2007), Belgrade is the fourth largest city in Southeastern Europe, after Istanbul, Athens and Bucharest. Its name in Serbian translates to White city.

One of the oldest cities in Europe, with archeological finds tracing settlements as early as the 6th millennium BC^, Belgrade’s wider city area was the birthplace of the largest prehistoric culture of Europe, the Vinča culture^.

It was first inhabited by the Thracio-Dacian tribe of Singi who would give the name to the city after a fortress was founded in 3rd century BC by the Celts who named it Singidun (dun, fortress).

It was awarded city rights by the Romans before it was permanently settled by White Serbs from the 7th century onwards. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars and razed to the ground 44 times since the ancient period by countless armies of the East and West.

In medieval times, it was in the possession of Byzantine, Frankish, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Serbian rulers. In 1521 Belgrade was conquered by the Ottomans and became the seat of the Pashaluk of Belgrade, as the principal city of Ottoman Europe and among the largest European cities. Frequently passing from Ottoman to Austrian rule which saw destruction of most of the city, the status of Serbian capital would be regained only in 1841, after the Serbian revolution.

Northern Belgrade, though, remained an Austrian outpost until the breakup of Austria-Hungary in 1918. The united city then became the capital of several incarnations of Yugoslavia, up to 2006, when Serbia became an independent state again.

Belgrade has the status of a separate territorial unit in Serbia, with its own autonomous city government. Its territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each having its own local council. It covers 3.6% of the territory of Serbia, and 24% of the country’s population lives in the city. Belgrade is the central economic hub of Serbia, and the capital of Serbian culture, education and science.

Source: Wikipedia

Inside of the international train from Bucharest to Belgrade (second class). The two-way ticket was 50 euro-226 Lei at second class)

The railway station of Vrsac

The New Belgrade railway and Beovoz station

Beovoz train at Novi Beograd "New Belgrade"

Serbian Railways (Железнице Србије/Železnice Srbije). The locomotive is made in Romania, at Craiova

The info panel from the international train

The railway station in Belgrade, from inside

The same station from outside

The tram no 12, near to the railway station

Saint Sava hospital

A building which was bombarded by NATO in 1999

The same building

A public phone which is very rare used 🙂

Car plate from Belgrade

Palata Beograd (Belgrade Palace)

Parking

Police car (Policija)

Serbian cats near to Belgrade Hostel 🙂

On Kralja Milana, near to Terazije Square. The tall building is Albania Palace

Ascension Church from Admirala Geprata 19, which was build in 1863

Brodsko Torpedo TG-53, near to Military Museum, in Kalemegdan Park

Anti-aircraft gun M 1935 Breda 20 mm

German mine

Other german mine

The confluence between Sava and Danube rivers

The walls of Kalemegdan fortress

Clock gate with Clock tower

Ružica Church in Kalemegdan fortress

The confluence between Sava and Danube rivers

Are you prepared for attack ?:P

The medieval tower from the time of Stefan Lazarevic (1389-1427)

Humvee vehicle at the entrance into the Military Museum

The entrance into the Military Museum

Medieval demonstration of throwing axes and using arrow

Tram no 9, near to Hostel City Center

The statue of Prince Michael "Mihailo" from Republic Square (Трг Републике)

Mihailo Obrenović III, (Михаило Обреновић) Prince of Serbia which has two reigns: 1839-1942 and 1860-1868

Russian Tsar "Ruski car" fast-food

A guide panel from center (you can see the english version)

Hotel Moscow from Terazije Square

Old center

The Spanish Institute "Miguel Cervantes"

Tram no 9, near to Hostel City Center

A nice shop with souvenirs, near to the railway station

Tighina (Moldova)

Click on the map for more informations

Bender, also known as Tighina (Romanian; Russian: Бендеры, Bendery; Ukrainian: Бендери, Bendery) is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under de facto control of the unrecognized PMR since 1992. Located on the right (western) bank of the river Dniester, together with its suburb Proteagailovca, the city forms a municipality, which is separate from Transnistria according to the Moldovan law. Bender is located in the buffer zone established at the end of the 1992 War of Transnistria.

While the Joint Control Commission has overriding powers in the city, Transnistria has de facto administrative control.

First mentioned in 1408 as Тягянякяча (Tyagyanyakyacha) in a document in Old Slavonic, the town was known in the Middle Ages as Tighina in Moldavian sources and Bender in Ottoman sources. The fortress and the city were called Bender for the most part of the time they were a rayah of the Ottomans (1538-1812), and during most of the time they belonged to the Russian Empires (1828-1917).

They were known as Tighina in the Principality of Moldavia, in the early part of the Russian Empire period (1812-1828), and during the time the city belonged to Romania (1918-1940).

The city is part of the historical region of Bessarabia. During the Soviet period the city was known in the Moldavian SSR as Бендер (Bender) in Moldovan (Romanian) written then with the Cyrillic alphabet, and as Бендéры (Bendery) in Russian. In the independent Moldova, officially it is known as Bender, but otherwise both names Bender and Tighina are used.

Tighina was part of the Moldavian Democratic Republic in 1917-1918, and after 1918, as part of Bessarabia, the city belonged to Romania, where it was the seat of Tighina County.

Along with Bessarabia, the city was occupied by the Soviet Union on June 28, 1940, following an ultimatum. In the course of World War II, it was retaken by Romania in July 1941, and again by the USSR in August 1944.

In 1940-41, and 1941-1991 it was one of the four „republican cities” (i.e. not subordinated to a district) of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union. Since 1991, the city is part of the independent Republic of Moldova.

Famous people born in the city include:

• Two Ottoman Grand Viziers known as Benderli Pasha
• Constantin Andronic, artist
• Lev Simonovich Berg, Jewish Soviet zoologist and geographer
• Tamara Buciuceanu, Romanian actress
• Emil Constantinescu, former President of Romania
• Iuliu Filippovitch Edlis, dramatist, writer
• Evgenii Konstantinovitch Fiodorov, Russian geophysicist
• Jerzy Neyman, Polish statistician
• Michael Postan, British economic historian
• Anna Pavlovna Tanskaia, singer

Soure: Wikipedia

The train which take us from Chisinau to Tighina (2 hours; 5.60 Moldavian lei is the ticket, almost 0.33 euro)

The train...in Tighina

Inside the train; with old Soviet wooden seats 😛

The platform from Tighina railway station (second station in the city)

1,520 mm (4 ft 11+7⁄8 in) broad gauge or Russian gauge

The moldavian cat was not for sale 🙂

Kvass (квас) on the street

You can observe the difference between cars 🙂

Just Lada 😛

Last year, Tighina celebrate 600 years of history (1408-2008)

Some nice flowers...

Sheriff supermarket

The intersection from Sheriff supermarket

A bus and trolley

An exchange currency panel (26.09.2009)

Commercial centre

The bazaar

On a walk to the Dniester

Some communist blocks with 4 floors

A panel with the year of the foundation of Tighina

Other communist blocks...

A monument of an Infantry fighting vehicle of the breakaway Transnistrian "army"

Other monument

A campaign against drugs

The entrance into the city after you cross the bridge from Transnistria

Joint Control Commission post near to the bridge, in Moldovan side. Russian troops and vehicle

The railway bridge over the Dniester

The walls of the fortress build by Stephen the Great and reconstructed by Suleiman the Magnificent

Other photo with the wall...

Old rusty ship on the Dniester

The Dniester (Nistru, Дністер)

The bridge over Dniester (just for cars and tanks)

A sweet cat 😛

Lyon (France)

For more informations about the city you can click on the map

Lyon also spelled Lyons, is a city in east-central France in the region Rhône-Alpes.

Lyon is a major center of business, situated between Paris and Marseille, and has a reputation as the French capital of gastronomy and having a significant role in the history of cinema with Auguste and Louis Lumière.

Lyon is located at 470 km from Paris, 320 km from Marseille, 160 km from Geneva, 280 km from Torino, 450 km from Milano and 600 km from Barcelona.

The local professional football team, Olympique Lyonnais, has increased the profile of Lyon internationally through participation in European football championships.

The residents of the city are called Lyonnais.

Together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Lyon forms the second-largest metropolitan area in France after that of Paris, with the population of its urban area estimated to be 1,783,400 and that of its metropolitan area 4,415,000 (2007).

Its urban region (Urban Community of Lyon), represents half of the Rhône-Alpes région population with three million inhabitants. Lyon is also a major industrial center specializing in chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotech industries. The city also contains a significant software industry with a particular focus on video games.

Lyon is the préfecture (capital) of the Rhône département, and also the capital of the Rhône-Alpes région. The city is known for its historical and architectural landmarks and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Lyon was historically known as the silk capital of the world.

The city is known as the culinary capital of France. It also hosts numerous international headquarters like Interpol, Euronews, International Agency for Research on Cancer or Cité Scolaire Internationale de Lyon.

Source: Wikipedia

A building with a butcher's shop and charcuterie in Charbonnières-les-Bains

Blocks in Charbonnières-les-Bains

Louis ROUGEAT De MARSONNAT (the greatest man from Charbonnières-les-Bains)

Charbonnières-les-Bains in night... (it was in december)

Charbonnières-les-Bains is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France, near Lyon

The center of the commune

The meat shop was open 🙂 Bon Appétit ! 😛

This photo is made near to the Gare de Lyon-Part-Dieu (railway station)

A nice shopping center...

A bus which take you to the Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport

Near to the Athena Hotel

From here you can take a bicycle for a walk in the city 🙂

*Note: These photos are made in December, few years ago.

Sinaia (România)

Click on the map for more details

Sinaia is a town and a mountain resort in Romania. The town was named after Sinaia Monastery, around which it was built; the monastery in turn is named after the Biblical Mount Sinai.

King Carol I of Romania built his summer home, Peleş Castle, near the town.

Sinaia is about 60 km northwest of Ploieşti and 50 km south of Braşov, in a mountainous area on the Prahova River valley, just east of the Bucegi Mountains. The altitude varies between 767 m and 860 m.

The city is a popular destination for hiking and winter sports, especially downhill skiing. Among the tourist landmarks, the most important are Peleş Castle, Pelişor Castle, Sinaia Monastery, Sinaia Casino, Sinaia train station, and the Franz Joseph and Saint Anne Cliffs.

Sinaia was also the summer residence of the Romanian composer George Enescu, who stayed at the Luminiş villa.

Source: Wikipedia

The Sinaia Monastery was founded by Prince Mihai Cantacuzino in 1695 and named after the great Sinai Monastery on Mount Sinai. As of 2005 it is inhabited by 13 Christian Orthodox monks led by hegumen Macarie Bogus. It belongs to the archdiocese of Bucharest.

The belltower.

On the road to the Elevation 1400.

You are in Prahova Valley 🙂

Below you can see the city Sinaia.

Elevation 1400.

Inside of Mioriţa Hut (1960 m).

Oradea (România)

Click on the map for more details about the city

Oradea (Hungarian: Nagyvárad, colloquially also Várad, German: Grosswardein, former Turkish: Varat, Yiddish: גרויסווארדיין, Italian: Gran Varadino) is the capital city of Bihor County, in Crişana, Romania.

The city proper has a population of 206,614 as of the 2002^[update] census; this does not include areas from the metropolitan area, outside the municipality; they bring the total urban area population to approximately 260,000.

Oradea is one of the most prosperous cities of Romania.

Geography

The city lies at the meeting point of the Crişana plain and the Crişul Repede‘s basin. It is situated 126 meters above sea-level, surrounded on the north-eastern part by the hills of Oradea belonging to the Ses hills.

The main part of the settlement is situated on the floodplain and on the terraces situated down the river Crişul Repede. Oradea is famous for its thermal springs. The river Crişul Repede crosses the city right in the centre, providing it with a picturesque beauty.

Its output depends on the season; the water containers (the dyke near Tileagd) have partly controlled it ever since they were built in the early 1980s.

Attractions

The beautiful city centre is worth visiting, as are the Băile Felix health spas, accessible by bus and located outside the city.

Other sites worth visiting are:

• Baroque Palace of Oradea – today Muzeul Ṭării Criṣurilor, a wonderful Baroque museum with 365 famous windows. It was the Roman Catholic bishop’s palace until 1945, when the Communist regime took the building into public ownership. It was returned to the Roman Catholic Church in 2003. Its collection includes many fossils of dinosaurs and birds from the bauxite mines at Cornet-Brusturi.
• Catedrala barocă – the biggest Baroque cathedral in Romania,
• Cetatea Oradea – Oradea’s Fortress, with a pentagonal fort,
• Biserica cu Lună – a church unique in Europe, with a type of astronomical clock depicting the phases of the moon,
• Pasajul Vulturul Negru – the „Black Eagle” Passage,
• Ady Endre Museum – a museum dedicated to one of the greatest Hungarian poets,
• Teatrul de Stat – the State Theatre, plans for which were designed by two Austrian architects who had built around 100 theatres and opera houses in Europe by the end of the 19th century,
• Str. Republicii – one of the most beautiful streets of Transylvania, displaying an incredible number of Art Nouveau buildings (under restoration in 2006),
• There are around 100 religious sites of different denominations in Oradea, including three synagogues (however, only one is said to be still in use) and the biggest Baptist church in Eastern Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

At the end of the tram line (last station)

From the tram...

The panel from the entrance into the "Cetatea Oradea" - Oradea's Fortress (XI century)

Roman Catholic Church inside of fortress

Inside of the fortress

Sculpture in the garden

Near to the entrance (inside)

One of the gate

The tunnels...

Fleuron from the old gothic cathedral

Military barracks build for Austrian army in XVIII century

The walls

Communist blocks

The bridge over the Crişul Repede River

Crişul Repede River

Together with the rivers Crişul Alb (White Criş) and Crişul Negru (Black Criş), it makes up the Three Criş rivers ("Cele Trei Crişuri")

At the entrance into the Pasajul Vulturul Negru – the "Black Eagle" Passage

Inside of Black Eagle Passage

Pasajul Vulturul Negru (Black Eagle Passage) was build between 1907-1908 together with the Palace with the same name

The statue of Mihai Viteazul (Michael the brave) in the center

The palace Vulturul Negru (Black Eagle)

St. Ladislaus church (Catholic)

The altar

Inside the church...

Virgin Mary statue

Near to the church, outside (the center and Michael statue is in left)

The Central Railway Station (Gara Centrală din Oradea )

Buşteni (România)

The city is marked with green line, just between Ploieşti and Braşov (click on the picture for bigger size)

Buşteni is a small mountain town in the north of the county Prahova, in the center of Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, at the bottom of the Bucegi mountains, that have a maximum altitude of 2505 m.

Its name literally means tree-logs in Romanian.

Buşteni’s average altitude is 900 m. It is one of the most popular mountain resorts, offering spectacular views, with lots of year-round tourism opportunities, ranging from skiing to mountain climbing.

The town and the surrounding mountains were the site of military confrontations in 1916, during World War I.

A large commemorative monument (about 25 m high), Heroes’ Cross (Crucea Eroilor) lies atop nearby Caraiman Peak, at nearly 2,260 m. The monument is lighted at night and is visible from virtually everywhere in Buşteni.

The average population is 15,000 inhabitants, although numbers vary greatly because of tourism. The main local industries are wood industry and tourism. Many holiday houses have been recently built in the town.

Also a new Information Tourism Center was set up near the City Hall.

Source: Wikipedia

A board which confirms that Busteni is similar to a french city, Moissy Cramayel

The Town Hall of Busteni

The cultural club from Busteni,the advertisment announces the beginning of the cultural week (10-18 august 2009)

The main road that takes us to Brasov 😛

A "small" artistic moment captured in Nature 🙂

Heroes Cross from Caraiman Peak seen in Busteni

How to protect the Nature (Do not throw the garbage in the forest!). Unfortunately, this message is not respected by all tourists.

A mioritic picture caught in a quite,green angle (specific to this region),captured on the road to gondola lift

On the road which goes to gondola lift.Here you can find a lot of arbors with traditional Romanian souvenirs,bars and restaurants

A view of mountains in front of gondola lift point,near to Silva Hotel

First panoramic view at high! We were ready to get out of the gondola lift,at 2205 m high

Some nice donkeys sitting near the exit from gondola lift.We think they were ready for another road on the mountains 🙂

Such a silent and cold panorama surrounded us during our short excursion.You must take something warm to put on you if you don't want to get frozen 😉

Near to this zone,is an inexplicable positive magnetical field,so you can get immediately fresh,no mater how tired you are!

The pathway that goes to the Sphinx; to the right you see Babele Hut with a large restaurant down and a hotel (the prices are not so high)

Another "high view" at 2205 meters

A millennial natural monumental rock climbed by people...

An ancient altar of our ancestors..

Another extraordinary panoramic view!

A little Viola flower

The Sphinx-an ancient sacred place;even the plate says that climbing on it is forbidden,a lot of people don't pay attention to it.

Circular sanctuary near the Sphinx

The Sphink,picture taken in a perfect angle!

Surrounded by all these beauties,feeling the fresh,cold air and the silent settled around,you just can't stop making panoramic photos!

Another panoramic view...

Babele (meaning Old Women); another mystical rocks; some people believe it's an ancient historical monument, others that it's just the resulf of erosion.

An interesting cute mushroom noticed near rocks.It looks like a golden egg,doesn't it?

The place from where we take the gondola lift to bring us down (it takes 11 minutes to descend)

The "extremity" point of this part of mountains-from here,it starts to descent quickly...

The next attraction captured in gondola lift

The HUGE crowd-all these persons wait the gondola lift to descend,crowd longer than 50 meters (the same treatement expects you down,we waited more than an hour to take gondola lift).The whole ticket costs 54 lei-13 euros

Silva Hotel,a pretty expensive place to spend your vacations..

Appartament houses in Busteni

A sweet,living dummy cat sleeping in a shopwindow which takes the glance of everyone who pass through..

Costila-the new commercial center opened recently in Busteni

Braşov (România)

Click on the map for more informations about the city

Braşov (Hungarian: Brassó; German: Kronstadt; Medieval Latin: Brassovia or Corona; 1950-1960: Oraşul Stalin) is a city in Romania and the capital of Braşov County, with a population of 284,596, according to the 2002 census, is the 8th largest Romanian city.

Braşov is located in the central part of the country, about 166 km from Bucharest. It is surrounded by the Southern Carpathians, and is part of the Transylvania region.

The city is notable for hosting the Golden Stag (Cerbul de Aur) international music festival.

Source: Wikipedia

In the centre...

A nice green view

A street which lead to the Old centre

The Hollywood-like sign on top of Mt. Tâmpa

An old building near to the Council Square (Piaţa Sfatului)

Council Square (Piaţa Sfatului) where Golden Stag (Cerbul de Aur) festival will take place

Tâmpa Mountain from Braşov Council Square (Piaţa Sfatului)

The house were Joseph II and Francis I live (Holy Roman Emperors)

Casa Sfatului ("The mayor's former office building"). Here was the administration from Braşov for more than 500 years.

Biserica Neagră or Black Church (German: Schwarze Kirche; Romanian: Biserica Neagră; Hungarian: Fekete templom)

Bell tower

Johannes Honter was a Siebenbuerger Saxon (Saxon humanist and theologian. Honter is best known for his geographic and cartographic publishing activity, as well as for implementing the Lutheran reform in Transylvania.

One of the lateral entrance to the church

Small statues outside of church

True Gothic style...

Other sculptures

Social Democratic Party in right place 🙂

Other photo from the Braşov Main Square "Council Square" (Piaţa Sfatului)

In the same building is History Museum of the city

Romanian Orthodox Cathedral ("Adormirea Maicii Domnului")

Kiev (Ukraine)

For more informations, click on the map

Kiev or Kyiv (Ukrainian: Київ), is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River.

The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press.

Kiev is an important industrial, scientific, educational and cultural centre of Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions and world-famous historical landmarks.

The city has an extensive infrastructure and highly developed system of public transport, including the Kiev Metro.

The name Kiev is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of four legendary founders of the city (brothers Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and sister Lybid’). During its history, Kiev, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of great prominence and relative obscurity.

The city may have been founded in the 5th century as a trading post, perhaps part of the land of the early Slavs. It gradually acquired eminence as the centre of the East Slavic civilization, becoming in the tenth to twelfth centuries a political and cultural capital of Rus’, a medieval East Slavic state.

Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasion in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a provincial capital of marginal importance in the outskirts of the territories controlled by its powerful neighbors: first the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, followed by Poland and Russia.

The city prospered again during the Russian industrial revolution in the late 19th century. After the turbulent period following the Russian Revolution of 1917, from 1921 onwards Kiev was an important city of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and, from 1934, its capital.

During World War II, the city again suffered significant damage, but quickly recovered in the post-war years remaining the third largest city of the Soviet Union. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian independence of 1991, Kiev remained the capital of Ukraine.

Source: Wikipedia

The first photo which i made outside of Kiev Railway Station 🙂

Kiev Passenger Railway Station (Ukrainian: "Київ-Пасажирський", Kyiv-Passazhyrs’kyi)

Vokzalna (Ukrainian: Вокзальна, Russian: Вокзальная,Vokzalnaya) is a station on Kiev Metro's Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line

Inside of Vokzalna

Dnieper River

Some nice ducks on the river

Waterlillies (Nymphaea)

Mailbox (Поштa)

Watermelons from Kherson (Херсон)

Livoberezhna metro station (Ukrainian: Лівобережна, Russian: Левобережная, Levoberezhnaya)

Metrowagonmash subway train (Russian: ОАО "Метровагонмаш")

Arsenalna metro station is the deepest station in the world (102 metres)

Ukrainian Super Turbo Solar 🙂

Soviet monument near Arsenalna subway station

A support message for Ukraine and Ukrainians from Patriarch Kirill I, or Cyril I, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church since February 1, 2009.

Gate Church of the Trinity (Pechersk Lavra)

Great Lavra Belltower (Ukrainian: Велика Лаврська дзвіниця, Russian: Большая Лаврская колокольня)

The guide panel from the entrance to the complex

Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Ukrainian: Києво-Печерська лавра, Kyievo-Pechers’ka lavra; Russian: Киево-Печерская лавра, Kievo-Pecherskaya lavra), also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery in Kiev, Ukraine. Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1015.

From close distance

The same Cathedral (Cathedral of the Dormition)

The Dormition Cathedral was destroyed in World War II and reconstructed

Other photo with the Cathedral

The tunnel with Christian souvenirs

Other popular souvenirs

A view from the back of the Cathedral

This beautiful street is full of honey products

A graffito with Dinamo Kiev footbal team (Ukrainian: ФК Динамо Київ, FK Dynamo Kyyiv)

A subway tunnel of Kiev Metro

Poshtova Ploshcha subway station (Ukrainian: Поштова площа; Russian: Почтовая площадь, Pochtovaya ploschad)

The entrance to the station

Kiev funicular ((Ukrainian: Київський фунікулер, Russian: Киевский фуникулёр). Wheel width: 100 cm. Total track length: 238 meters.

The wagon from funicular

The system's two track sidings

Inside of wagon

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Міністерство закордонних справ України).

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev (Собор Святої Софії); XI century

The statue of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in front of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine.

The grave of Patriarch Volodymyr (Romaniuk) (Romaniuk Vasiliy Emelianovitch) (1925 – July 14, 1995) was the Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchy from 1993 to 1995.

Souvenir Penny in the garden of Saint Sophia Cathedral 🙂

The panel from the entrance with prices for visitors and program

The belltower of the Saint Sophia

Inside of belltower

Other view of the Cathedral

National History Museum of Ukraine

Other graffito with Dinamo Kiev near to Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Верховна Рада України; English: Supreme Council of Ukraine) is Ukraine's parliament.

Dacia car in Kiev 🙂

House with Chimaeras or Gorodetsky House (Ukrainian: Будинок з химерами)

The building of the Presidential Secretariat is near to the House with Chimaeras

Khreshchatyk subway station of Kiev Metro

I made this photo near to the Independence Square

The monument of Berehynia from Independence Square "Maidan Nezalezhnosti" (Ukrainian: Майдан Незалежності

The base of monument

Hotel Ukraina (Ukrainian: Готель Україна; Russian: Гостиница Украина) from the Independence Square

Flood in Independence Square 🙂

The Golden Gate of Kiev (Ukrainian: Золоті ворота, Zoloti vorota) constructed by Yaroslav the Wise (c. 978 in Kiev - February 20, 1054 in Kiev)

The monument from the The Ukrainian National Chernobyl Museum (Ukrainian: Українськии національний музей "Чорнобиль")

The panel from the entrance

A device for measure the level of radiation into the museum

Map of radioactive contamination of animals

A sculpture devoted to memory of the helicopter's Mil Mi-8 crew

A map with radioactive contamination after the Chernobyl disaster

Costumes of Liquidators, approximately 800,000 people who were in charge of the removal of the consequences of the April 26, 1986 Chernobyl disaster on the site of the event.

Other costumes

The effects...

Toys of the kids from Prypiat

A display of road signs for various settlements near Chernobyl. Abandoned areas inside the "Zone of alienation" are struck out with a pink slash.

Gura Portiţei (România)

For more informations about this place, click on the map

The little harbour

The exit from the harbour

Some small houses on the beach (63 lei/15 euro per night)

Other houses

On the beach...

In the center of the complex

Other photo with the harbour

A photo of the beach and the Black Sea made under umbrella 😛

Lifeguard tower

One of the two mini-bays from the beach

Here you can listen old romanian and russian songs in the night, at a big fire. The atmosphere is wonderful

The second mini-bay

Outside the complex, in the northern part

Just a little swamp with many rowdy frogs and snakes 🙂

Millions of sea shells...

One of the most beautiful walk that you can make near a sea

You can see Crimea ? 🙂

A log astray

Do you wanna play with them? 🙂

Other log...

In the left side you have the Danube Delta with Goloviţa Lake and Black Sea in the right

The Place of Love... (i will remember this place my entire life)

The sunset over the swamps

A cute little frog near to our house 🙂