Bled

From Physiologus To Bestiary: Function And Desideratum

Towards the end of the 12th century, in full maturity of the Romanesque order—and this concordance is purely symptomatic—a new type of book was created: The Bestiary with illuminations, which would have a particular impact and an overwhelming influence among educated

The Bull And The Magpie

Up and down the back of a big, black bull that looked appalling, one magpie was slowly strolling. A wee doggie passing by stopped to marvel at the sight. “He’s an idiot alright! Carrying everybody on his hide… Hey, maybe I can hitch a ride!” Thus considering,

A Canine Epiphany

Mister Kă is closely watching a pair of young-people-not-actually-young-seen-from-up-close, that pair of young-people-in-the-distance-who-look-different-from-up-close, that pair is getting on bus #92, the bus which is taking you, taking everybody, in the direction of the

The Legendary Wolf: A Shy Killer

The one and only wildlife reserve for wolves in Romania is near Zarnesti, Brasov County. Still, it is weird that, in a country where the wolf threat is used to make children behave themselves and Little Red Riding Hood is a fairy tale almost assimilated as folklore, a reserve

Smells Of Bucharest

from left: rundown houses on Lipscani and Mosilor, Dimbovitza river from Hasdeu bridge, street in Cotroceni Bucharest smells exquisitely during the time of lindens and rain. Vigorously soaked for a half hour, the city heals even from the stenches that make you ill. Under

Sunday Morning. A Bourgeois Walk In A Post-Communist City

clockwise from top left: Smardan St. , Stavropoleos St. , Caru cu bere pub (2), Stavropoleos Church (3), Russian Church. Early Sunday morning before 10 A. M. , the city offers its first surprise. It is empty. The bare streets are visible in all their twisted length, without

The New “Rich” Poverty

Photo: Mihai Duţescu I'm reading an article written by Roberto Segre about the architecture intended for the working class, an architecture that has changed the landscape of the towns only in the twentieth century. Until then, poverty did not have such a great influence

Gambrinus Ale House, A Stylish Ruin

Peeled off plaster, broken windows, rats scuttling at ease day and night. And above all, the filth. Complete and utter filth reigning supreme over a piece of downtown Bucharest. But also over a piece of our past. The only part still living is the sign above the door, reading

Michel Bührer: Cannibal City

Michel Bührer: Bucharest A Cannibal City and White Billboards exhibition at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, 10-11 2008 Bucharest, a “Little Paris” of the ghettoThe exhibition of the Swiss Journalist Michel Bührer, Bucharest, a Cannibal City/White Billboards

I No Longer Love Bucharest

I no longer love Bucharest. I'm no longer hoping something can be done about this dump of Europe An interview with Mircea Cărtărescu by Ion Longin Popescu Slowly but surely, the old, historic Bucharest – the little that was left after Ceauşescu's demolishing

Nature And Architecture: The Parks And Gardens Of The Capital

Cismigiu gardens, Icoanei park, Kiseleff park (see also The green within in Gallery). Many of Bucharest’s gardens and parks, which no longer exist because of extensive urban reorganising, were shaped as the aristocracy tastefully redesigned the open space around their

Urban Memory: Museums Of The Romanian Capital

1st row: National History Museum, Old Court Museum, Archeology Museum (detail), National Museum of Art2nd row: Collections Museum, Zambaccian Museum, Theodor Aman Museum, Gh. Tattarescu Museum 3rd row: Storck Museum, Romanian Peasant Museum, Astronomical Observatory (detail),