— Ernest Hemingway

— Haruki Murakami

Life doesn’t end at 23. 30 isn’t old. Fetishising youth as the ultimate desirable characteristic in a person is actively harmful to both young and old people. Some of us lost our teenage years to abuse and recovery, and can only begin living when we’re at a different life stage.  Literally knock it off, the lot of you.

a collection of covid tweets, part 5

(the tweet collection series)

Lilies of the Valley.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Meditate More

Just came across this old piece of writing of mine, in response to an old ask. Thought it appropriate to repost:

If you feel offended about something, you haven’t been meditating enough. 

If you feel the need to defend yourself, or justify your viewpoints, you haven’t been meditating enough. 

If you fear death or doubt its ability to truly touch you, you haven’t been meditating enough. 

If you can’t take joy in sitting under a tree on a beautiful day, you haven’t been meditating enough. 

You can also substitute “meditation” with “contemplation” in the sentences above. We can’t be meditating all the time but if you have to use your mind, use it to create clarity for yourself. 

Namaste, friends. :)

do you ever just want to go outside in the middle of the night and walk around and not actually do anything just observe and think and stuff

I’m a woman

— John Steinbeck (via quotemadness)

Special 300 followers post: places to visit while in Romania (5/5)

Part 4

33. Praid Salt Mine

Salina Praid or the Praid Salt Mine is a large salt mine located in central Romania.

Praid represents one of the largest salt reserves in Romania having estimated reserves of 50 billion tonnes of NaCl. People visit the salt mine either for therapy or tourism. Speleotherapy and climatotherapy are based on the inhaling of the mine air, which could be beneficial for respiratory problems. Besides the health benefits, the beauty of the mine attracts tourists all over Europe. Equipped with hundreds of wooden tables and couches, a buffet, many playgrounds for children, a small wooden church, pool tables and even an internet-cafe, the underground chambers see up to 3 thousand visitors per day at the peak of the season.

34. Turda Salt Mine

Salina Turda or the Turda Salt Mine is a salt mine in northwest Romania.

Opened for tourists in 1992, the Turda Salt Mine was visited by about 618,000 Romanian and foreign tourists in 2017. The Turda Salt Mine was ranked in 2013 by Business Insider as among the “25 hidden gems around the world that are worth the trek”. One of the main attractions is the Crivac Room; the octagonal room hosts a winch called “crivac” or “gepel”, rudimentary machinery used to lift salt rocks on the surface. It dates from 1881. This machine replaced another, smaller in size, that was installed in 1864. It is the only machine of this kind in all salt mines in Romania and probably in Europe that keeps in its original location.

35. Sarmizegetusa Regia

Sarmizegetusa Regia was the capital and the most important military, religious and political centre of the Dacians prior to the wars with the Roman Empire.

Towards the end of his reign, Burebista, the founder of the Dacian Kingdom, transferred the Geto-Dacian capital from Argedava to Sarmizegetusa. Serving as the Dacian capital for at least one and a half centuries, Sarmizegethusa reached its zenith under King Decebal. Archeological findings suggest that the Dacian god Zalmoxis and his chief priest had an important role in Dacian society at this time. They have also shed new light on the political, economic and scientific development of the Dacians and their successful assimilation of technical and scientific knowledge from the Greek and Romans. Sarmisegetusa’s walls were partly dismantled at the end of First Dacian war in AD 102, when Dacia was invaded by the Emperor Trajan of the Roman Empire. The Dacians rebuilt them, but the Romans systematically destroyed them again in 106 and deported the inhabitants. With that said, if you visit this site, please be respectful, don’t litter and do not bother archaeologists if you see them, because the ruins already dealt with some damage from a parking lot being built there without any authorization from archaeologists, endangering the ancient walls. Also, keep in mind that with the resurgence of Pagan beliefs across Europe, this site may be as sacred to Pagans who believe in Zalmoxis as would be Greek temples to Hellenistic Pagans.

36. Sighișoara

Sighișoara is a city located in the historic region of Transylvania, Romania.

It is a popular tourist destination for its well-preserved walled old town, which is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Sighișoara is considered to be the most beautiful and well-preserved inhabited citadel in Europe, with authentic medieval architecture. In Eastern Europe, Sighișoara is one of the few fortified towns that are still inhabited. The town is made up of two parts. The medieval stronghold was built on top of a hill and is known as the “Citadel”. The lower town lies in the valley of Târnava Mare river. The houses inside Sighișoara Citadel show the main features of a craftsmen’s town. However, there are some houses that belonged to the former patriciate, like the Venetian House and the House with Antlers. In 2001-2003 the construction of a Dracula theme park in the ‘Breite’ nature preserve near Sighișoara was considered but ultimately rejected, owing to the strong opposition of local civil society groups and national and international media as well as politically influential persons, as the theme park would have detracted from the medieval style of the city and would have destroyed the nature preserve.

37. Târgoviște

Târgoviște is one of the most important cities in the history of Wallachia, it was its capital between the early 15th century and the 16th century.

Throughout the period it was the capital of Wallachia, the Princely Court in Târgoviște (Curtea Domnească din Târgoviște) had been constantly refurbished and extended. The compound was surrounded by stone walls and a moat and a new church and a tower had been built. Vlad III Dracula (“the Impaler”) later added the Chindia Tower, now a symbol of the city. Starting with 1465, for the next two centuries, the rulers alternated the capital between Târgoviște and Bucharest, often on political reasons, as the former was preferred by the rulers who were more friendly toward Transylvania and the King of Hungary. Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, Târgoviște was a major trade hub, especially with Poland, Brașov and Sibiu. Târgoviște was the site of the trial and execution of Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena on 25 December 1989 during the Romanian Revolution.

38. Transalpina

Transalpina or DN67C is a road located in the Parâng Mountains group, in the Southern Carpathians of Romania, is one of the highest roads of the Carpathian Mountains, connecting Novaci, south of Parâng Mountains, to Sebeş in the north.

The road was built under King Carol II over an old Roman road and consolidated during World War II by German troops. The road has its highest point at the Urdele Pass, where the elevation is 2,145m above sea level. Given the high altitude, the road is closed during the cold months of the year. Works began in 2007 in order to transform this spectacular road into a modern highway (148 km), allowing a rapid transit between Oltenia and Transylvania. Rânca, a newly developed resort, is located towards the south end of the Transalpina road.

39. Transfăgărășan

Transfăgărășan or DN7C is a paved mountain road crossing the southern section of the Carpathian Mountains of Romania.

It starts near the village of Bascov, near Pitești, and stretches 90 kilometres (56 mi) to the crossroad between DN1 and Sibiu, between the highest peaks in the country, Moldoveanu and Negoiu. The road, built in the early 1970s as a strategic military route, connects the historic regions of Transylvania and Wallachia. The road climbs to an altitude of 2,042 metres (6,699 ft), making it the second highest mountain pass in Romania after the Transalpina. It is a winding road, dotted with steep hairpin turns, long S-curves, and sharp descents. It is both an attraction and a challenge for hikers, cyclists, drivers and motorcycle enthusiasts. Due to the topography, the average speed is around 40 km/h (25 mph). The road also provides access to Bâlea Lake and Bâlea Waterfall. Transfăgărășan was featured in a segment of the British TV show Top Gear, in the first episode of Series 14 (November 2009). Host Jeremy Clarkson proclaimed that the Transfăgărășan was “the best road in the world,” a title the presenters had previously given to the Stelvio Pass in Italy.

40. Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa

Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa was the capital and the largest city of Roman Dacia, named after the former Dacian capital, located some 40 km away.

Built on the ground of a camp of the Fifth Macedonian Legion, the city was settled by veterans of the Dacian wars. From the very beginning it received the title of colonia and the status of ius Italicum. With an area of 30 hectares (74 acres), a population between 20,000 and 25,000, and strong fortifications, Ulpia Traiana was the political, administrative and religious centre of Roman Dacia in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The city was destroyed by the Goths. Today Ulpia Traiana remains in ruins, with a partly preserved forum, an amphitheatre, and remnants of several temples.

And with that, this special series of posts is complete. I am sorry for taking this long to post this, but I had to think hard what to include and not to include, and, of course, to gather all the information and photos. I hope you liked it, and don’t forget, Romania has much more to offer and show than what I showed here. If you ever visit, I hope you’ll like it here and have fun! Otherwise, see you Sunday for a regular post!

hoseok - run bts ep.72

first love / begin / i need u + save me