The legend of the buck

This is a very old legend in Romania. It is said that after God created all the animals, He told each one of them where they should dwell. Fish in waters, birds in the sky, bears, wolves and deers in the woods and so on..

Of all animals that live in woods, the buck, most proud of all asked God to proclaim him the king of the wild woods. God agreed of course, wanting that all His creations to be happy. He asked the buck if he thinks he can handle making all the other animals listen to him and the buck was very confident about that. So, there it was... the king was announced. The buck had one more request...he wanted a crown so everybody will know his rank, so God made him a crown from green oak branches.

The proud buck started to walk like he owned the woods and started to make himself heard. The animals began to hear him and look at him as at a king. One day, when the king called all the animals to a meeting, the wolf didn't show up. The buck went to look for him and when he found the wolf he tried to give him a lesson so the rest will learn to obey. But the wolf was hungry and he tried to eat the buck. When that happened, God appeared and made peace. He let the wolf go but he was very angry with the buck because he should have known the edges of his powers. He then told the buck that he will get what he deserved.

From then on, the buck it is known as the proudest animal in the woods but the most coward one as well. He is affraid of his own shadow and his crown got dry and it doesn't look like a crown anymore but as to big horns.

Mexico and Maya

It was a great experience knowing what place mayan civilization resided from. The whole trip was full of magic. Mayan civilization with all the myths and legends....

You can see here the great mayan pyramid above.

And they have this great show at X-Caret park about the mayan history. It is very interesting and contains everything from their beggining until the spaniards came.

It is actually an arena-kind restaurant and you can have your traditional mexican dish while watching the act. Very cool.











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Travel to Romania's Castles

The Corvinesti Castle

Romania is rapidly becoming a new destination for vacantioners earger to see old Europe. When reffering to Romania, the first thing that comes in mind is Transylvania. Transylvania is home to some of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe most related to the legend of Dracula. The stunning and picturesque castles such as Peles Castle, Corvinesti Castle, Fagaras Fortress, Bran Castle must not be forgotten in your journal. Also, the Fortified Saxon Churces are monuments to be considered when planning your tour of Transylvania.

The greatest gothic-style caste in Romania, Corvinesti Castle (above) was built by the Anjou family on the site of a former roman camp. The castle served as a fortress until the mid of 14th century when it became the residence of Transylvania's ruler, Iancu de Hunedoara. Anothe castle to be considered is Peles Castle. Nestled at the base of the Bucegi mountains, in the town of Sinaia, Peles Castle is a masterpiece of the German new Renaissance architecture considered by many one of the most stunning caste in Europe.

The largest fortified church in southeastern Europe, Prejmer Church was built by Teutonic Knights in 1212-1213. The powerful surrounding walls are 40 feet high and 10-15 feet thick. the churcher was besieged and captured only once in its hundreds of years of existence by Gabriel Bathory, the prince of Transylvania.

These are some of the great monuments that Romania has to show, the rest of them are for everyone to discover. Behind any stone of these fortresses lies a legend that will sweep one off his feet. Somewhere between the great collection of paintings from Peles Castle, the legends behind Bran Castle and the stories about great warriors of Fagaras Fortress, you'll get cought in this land's history and artifacts and your soul will not be fully satisfied until it had seen all.

Dracula's legend

As a proud romanian, I am always excited to talk about my country's history and legends. Born and raised in Brasov, the capital city of Transylvania, I had the chance to be surrounded by old legends and sayings that developed my imagination as a child and gave my teachers a lot of headaches.

It is said that Transylvania sits on one of world's most stronger magnetic fields and its people have extra-sensory perceptions. Vampires are believed to hang around crossroads of Saint George's day ( April 23rd) and the eve of Saint Andrew (November 29th). The area is also home of the famous Stoker's Dracula and it's easy to get caught up in the tale while driving along winding roads through dense, dark, ancient forests and mountain passes. The vampir myth is still well remembered in eastern Europe. Similarly the name of Dracula is still remembered in the Romanian oral tradition, as somewhat of a champion of the common man against the oppression of the boyars ( or noble people). Many of the pamphlets demonstrate the count's effort to eliminate crime and dishonesty from his land and he is known in Romania as a national hero who resisted Turkish conquerors and Hungarian kingdom.

Vlad Tepes ( Vlad the Impaler) adopted the method of impaling criminals and enemies and raising them aloft in the town square for all to see. Almost any crime from lying and stealing to kiling could be punished by impalement. Being so confident in the effectivness of his law, dracula placed a golden cup on display in the center of Targoviste city to be used by traverers who were thirsty. According to the history it was never stolen. Crime and corruption ceased; culture and commerce thrived and many romanians to this day view Vlad Dracula as a hero for his fierce insistence on honesty and order. However, given the fact that he was after all a notorious ruler, Dracula became a natural candidate for vampirism.