Ion Ciorici

A view across the Strait of Gibraltar taken from the hills above Tarifa, Spain.

Same hill, better weather conditions, photo taken by some Wiki Photographers:

Trajan was here:

A view of Belém Tower, a World Heritage Site, which is a typical example of Portugal’s unique Manueline architecture.

Panoramic view of Lisbon from the top of Cristo-Rei, with 25 de Abril Bridge in the foreground.

A traditional form of public transport in Lisbon is the tram. Introduced in the 19th century, the trams were originally imported from the USA and called americanos. The Lisbon tramway system still employs small (four wheel) vehicles of a design dating from the early part of the twentieth century. These distinctive yellow trams are one of the tourist icons of modern Lisbon, and their size is well suited to the steep hills and narrow streets of the central city.

On the way to Castelo de São Jorge

I had 2 options how to spend 50cents: 1.Have my shoes cleaned 2.Make a photo with somebody having shoes cleaned

Americanos

Main shopping street

Добро пожаловать в клуб

Nyhavn is a 17th century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen

The Øresund or Öresund Bridge is a combined twin-track railway and dual carriageway bridge-tunnel across the Øresund strait.The bridge connects Sweden and Denmark, and it is the longest road and rail bridge in Europe.

More photos HERE.

Sandhamn (Swedish for “Sand Harbour”) is a small settlement in the Stockholm Archipelago approximately 50 km east of Stockholm.

Sandhamn is one of the most important natural ports in the archipelago with easy access to the Swedish capital, Sandhamn has been popular for pleasure boating since the late 19th century. It is known for its tavern, its clubhouse, and, not the least, its harbour.

While the settlement only has a hundred permanent inhabitants, the number of residents increases to 2-3,000 during the summer. Sandhamn receives an additional 100,000 visitors annually. Most of the inhabitants are entrepreneurs but many also have regular jobs. For example, two of the major employers on the island, other than the restaurants and bed & breakfasts, are the Swedish Maritime Administration (Sjöfartsverket) and the local police force.

Ven island

Empty fortress on Aspö island

Fortress on Aspö island

Church on Ven island

Bicycles on Ven island

Kalmar castle

My brother’s new cafeteria

A good friend and not a NY fan

Another good friend

Red hands

Red bicycle

UFO in Landskrona city

Another UFO

Öresund Bridge connecting Sweden to Denmark

Öland bridge connecting Sweden to Öland island

Ven Island in the Nordic Sea

Field on Ven island in front of the Tycho Brahe museum

Sandhamn (Swedish for “Sand Harbour”) is a small settlement in the central part of the Stockholm Archipelago, approximately 50 km east of Stockholm. Sandhamn is located on the island Sandön (“Sand Island”), which is, however, colloquially referred to as Sandhamn.

One of the most important natural ports in the archipelago with easy access to the Swedish capital, Sandhamn has been popular for pleasure boating since the late 19th century. It is known for its tavern, its clubhouse, and, not the least, its harbour.

While the settlement only has a hundred permanent inhabitants, the number of residents increases to 2-3,000 during the summer. Sandhamn receives an additional 100,000 visitors annually.

May 2009

May 2010

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start with part I

The only problem at the Polish customs was that they couldn’t scan my front registration plate:

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After several successful attempts and comfortable trips from Eastern to Western hemisphere during the past years (here, maybe here and perhaps here) now it is time for cold Eurotrip story, which I just finalized several days ago.

Route: Moldova > EU (to be read in the whole post as Eroded Ukraine) > Pooland > Lithiumania > Latvia > Baltic sea > Swengland.

3 means of transportation :
1. Car (if you can call a Mergedes E220 a car).
2. Homo sapient (Ion during navigation problems in Lvov (EU) and the customs between EU and Pooland)
3. Romantika ferry between Riga and Stockholm.

3 types of fuel:
1. ’95-’98 year petrol for the Mergedes.
2. 3 Red bulls for the Homo sapient.
3. 40% Alchohol preferably for all the cruisers on Romantika ferry.

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Rundāle Palace is one of the two major baroque palaces built in the 18th century for the Dukes of Courland in what is now Latvia, the other being Jelgava Palace.
The palace is one of the major tourist destinations in Latvia. It is also used for the accommodation of notable guests, such as the leaders of foreign nations. The palace and the surrounding gardens are now a museum.

inspired/copied/adjusted from his excellence alaiba

Från: Ion Ciorici [mailto:ion@minister.com]
Skickat: den 14 juni 2009 10:49
Till: Bokning HTL
Ämne:

Hello,

Thank you in advance for your kind answer,
Ion Ciorici.

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Birkenau, just 1-2 km from Auschwitz, was the largest of Nazi Germany’s concentration camps and extermination camps, established in Nazi German occupied Poland.

“The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.”
/George Santayana/

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Breathe Freely is the slogan of an unknown and perhaps one of the most beautiful places in the world (of course according to my excellence ) which is called simply – Sigulda.

I have been already 5 times this year to Latvia and all the time I am there I feel like I belong there – for real , it is the place where I find myself. I become speechless all the time I visit new places in this country and I am no wondering why the local authorities are not doing a big effort in promoting the beauty surrounding them – indeed they just want to preserve the places for them and me .

Sigulda is really the place, where the beauty of nature becomes an integral part of the city. I was really amazed by all the things you can do in Sigtuna. Besides visiting the Bird festival, or maybe Opera festival, Gauja National Park, Gutmanis Cave, Krimulda, Sigulda Castle, Turaida Castle you can do any type of sport activities starting with most borring ones to Bungee jumping, bobsledding the vertical wind tunnel Aerodium, or the rope course (the kind of emotion one can experience only in Sigulda).

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Below is the result of combining approx. 100 short videos from Hong Kong/China.
Some effects, some good music and of course many hours of work, enjoy

Prior to arriving in Hong Kong, I was expecting hustle, bustle and the kind of traffic-induced pollution so often found in South-East Asian cities. I anticipated anxiety and confusion; those feelings that so often come hand in hand with visiting an unfamiliar country – the very definition of culture shock itself. However, it was almost immediately clear that this place was different. It wasn’t due to a lack of crowds or traffic though – it just, well, it felt like home. Now, I’ve traveled around quite a bit and it’s rare that I don’t feel any kind of disorientation when visiting a new city. But what was one of the first things I saw upon my arrival? Double-decker buses!

If it’s your first time to go to Hong Kong, you might also be wondering what to expect – perhaps you envisage myriad Jackie Chan Statues and a sprawling packed city full of pollution and noodles? Stereotypes from home can easily invade your perceptions even if you try vehemently to resist. Thankfully, after spending some time in Hong Kong I can tell you this is not the case. Hong Kong is in fact one of the cleanest, most modern cities in the world and despite its relatively small size, there is a surprising lot for visitors to do.

Like many tourists, one of my first stops was the highest point on Hong Kong Island – the place best known as Victoria Peak. Although you can go up The Peak by one of the many distinctive red taxis or even by bus, the most exciting way to get there is by the infamous peak tram. You can’t stay in Hong Kong for long without hearing about the Peak Tram. To fill you in on a bit of history, the tram line was built way back in 1888 by Phineas Kyrie and William Kerfoot Hughes. When they’d first proposed the idea in 1885, everyone had thought that they’d gone insane, but conversely, the tram turned out to be an astounding success and it’s now one of the most memorable landmarks in Hong Kong.

Going up such a steep slope, and believe me – it is steep; the sky scrapers of the city begin to turn on unusual angles as you begin the ascent and your back presses hard against the wooden seats. It’s not the most comfortable of rides that is for sure – and there is no business class I’m afraid, even if you do wave your money around at the ticket office!

Being pulled up the mountain by a thick steel cable, I noticed that some people began to feel a little unsafe during the ride. However, I felt secure with the knowledge that there have been no accidents during all its years of operation – quite a boast considering how long it has been running and probably making it one of the safest ways to travel in the world.

Up on the peak, I was stunned by the panoramic views and noticed that it’s a bit cooler than down in the city. Someone told me that it’s usually about 5 degrees cooler on the peak than down below, which is probably why it has been a popular place to come ever since the British arrived in Hong Kong in the mid-nineteenth century. British company bosses used to build summer houses up on the peak to get away from the intense summer heat and humidity. Now, a modern complex has developed – a galleria shopping mall, entertainment (including a great waxworks museum), restaurants, in fact, it is one of the best places in Hong Kong to visit. I stayed there until it was dark and watched the nightly light show unfold down in the city below.

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some more clear pictures will come in 15 hours :

As I mentioned previously here it’s been a while since my assistant didn’t post anything here, so I should try improve this situation again .

1st of April – should be April Fool’s Day – a day invented to honour Dr. April Fools (according to uncyclopedia), but not this year. This year seems to be the year of every other day full of lies and only April Fool’s Day is the only day of the year where absolutely everything you see or hear is true .

Yes, I am now in Moldova and it is not a lie I came to vote and again it’s not a lie. Actually I am voting for the first time in my life and I am convinced that I will vote for a CHANGE – a better or worse CHANGE – time will show. The most important thing is that I have the CHANCE to vote for a CHANGE and I will not miss this CHANCE.

Besides voting, I am glad to be home close to dearest people with really good people from Sverige. I don’t know how many foreigners write Master’s thesis about Moldova, but I am really glad and proud that Johan and Hedvig (alias Johanna or Hedvin or Victoria ) decide to explore this country and I hope that they really had a great time and experience in Moldova – especially at the Central market in Chisinau and hopefully this is not their last time in Moldova.

I will let pictures to speak as usually :

Most beautiful country in the world

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I assume approx. 10 million people everyday in Sweden are considering the idea how to avoid and if possible to escape not paying incredible high taxes in order to survive from the salary – which basically after the tax deduction looks like a student scholarship .

Why not joining the ARMY*? Army is cool and is like a big parade ! If you join the army and become a Scout Trooper, you get paid, you get a cool gun and of course you don’t pay tax!

You get free training, free food, free accommodation, and a free funeral (how encouraging) for the entire period of your service, and a military pension afterwards (if you don’t die).

You can then spend the rest of your life with two cats and talking about the huge sacrifice you made to your country. You also get to tell civilians that you know more than they possibly can about the complexities of defence policy. You can also make fun of the Navy because they are a bunch of pansies who have it so much easier than you, (because the Navy is for pansies)

So how about to become a Scout Trooper :

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This weekend was reserved for a short-long trip to Latvia in order to see how serious the crisis affected this country and to find out why tourists still tend to say that they went to Tallinn or Vilnius which actually have nothing in common with this country :).

First of all, everything you need (and don’t need) to know about The Glorious Nation of Latvia is to add all the time everywhere possible an “s”, especially at the end of the words and trust me, you will be fluently in Latvian

It is not a secret that Latvia is located near Stoneya and Lithiumania and the people of Latvian ethnicity are currently enjoying the countless benefits of the marvelous European Union – in other words, being able to eat french fries after years of suppression and persecution, also the ability to warp to Great Britain, Ireland, Spain and other EU countries such as Uzbekistan.

Referring to financial crisis, I guess the only survivors will be the Latvian banks, known as the world’s largest exporters of virtual credit cards, which are only useful for purchasing imaginary power to operate the virtual memory of PC’s .

Anyway no more bull**iting and below are some pictures :

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Kon-Tiki is the raft used by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl in his 1947 expedition across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands. It was named after the Inca sun god, Viracocha, for whom “Kon-Tiki” was said to be an old name. Heyerdahl believed that people from South America could have settled Polynesia in pre-Columbian times. His aim in mounting the Kon-Tiki expedition was to show, by using only the materials and technologies available to those people at the time, that there were no technical reasons to prevent them from having done so.

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…as usually I am lucky to see only the first half of the things

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“We’ll always have Paris. But then again, that means we’ll always have a lot of French people .”

View from Notre Dame de Paris, top floor

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