Wanderlust of a Flâneur: November 2009

City: Oradea

County: Bihor County

Country: Romania

Interesting Facts About Oradea:

- Oradea was first documented in 1113, under the Latin name Varadinum.

- The citadel of Oradea was destroyed by the Tatars in 1241, and rebuilt in the 15th century under the Corvinus dynasty.

- The Fortress of Oradea is one of the most important late medieval architectural monuments in Transylvania, the fortress has a history of more than 1000 years.

- Oradea University, one of the largest in Eastern Europe, is an excellent educational center in literature, as well as in medicine and sciences.

- Oradea is famous for its thermal springs

- The Dacians and Celts also inhabited the region.

- The second ethnicity in Oradea is Hungarian, about 24% of the population.

- Oradea's current architecture is a mix of Communist-era apartment buildings, mainly in the outer quarters, and beautiful historical buildings that are remnants of the era when the city was part of Austria-Hungary.

My Photos in Oradea (November 2009)

We stayed at Emanuel University of Oradea

Emanuel University of Oradea

We went to visit a retreat place in the country side

We had a nice breakfast there

A McDonald's and some communist-like buildings behind it

Many Euro flags around there

Local architecture and a Romanian flag

Teatrul de Stat

In a restaurant

We arrived and departed from Hungary

City: Helsinki

Region: Uusimaa

Sub-region: Greater Helsinki
Country: Finland

Interesting Facts

- It is the most northerly of continental European capitals

- In the Iron Age the area occupied by present day Helsinki was inhabited by Tavastians.

- Helsinki is the world’s coldest capital, with a yearly average temperature not exceeding 0 °C, and 51 days per year no sun can be seen in the sky. There are around 120 rainy days in the Finnish capital each year.

- Tap water comes straight from mountain springs via Päijännetunneli, the longest water tunnel in the world. The quality of water in Helsinki is so high that it is exported to other countries. For example, Saudi Arabia for many years now has been buying drinking water from the Finnish capital.

- In the winter, there is absolutely no snow on the sidewalks and boulevards of central Helsinki. The city government heats the granite slabs from underground, so the snow and ice immediately melt.

- Helsinki is recognized for its champion opera and ballet companies, who often perform at the Finnish National Opera and the Finlandia Concert Hall.

- After its many name variations, official Finnish Government documents and Finnish language newspapers have used the name Helsinki since 1819, when the Senate of Finland moved itself into the city from Turku.

- Finnish speakers surpassed Swedish speakers in 1890 to become the majority of the city's population. At the time, the population of Helsinki was 61,530.

My Photos in Helsinki in 2009

Arrival

Helsingin päärautatieasema - Helsinki Central Train Station

Monuments at Helsingin päärautatieasema - Helsinki Central Train Station

Central area of Helsinki

The group at the central area of Helsinki

Wearing a Sami hat

A tram and Helsinki Cathedral behind it

Helsinki Cathedral

The Senate Square

Helsinki Cathedral

Helsinki Cathedral - Luther's statue

Helsinki Cathedral

Pretending to be calling at a puhelin

Eteläsplanadi

European parliament

The statue of the great Mannerheim and I

The Parliament House

Time to go home: Checking on my friend writing her notes

Ticket back to England

BONUS: Maata Näkyvissä ja Turku

Still during this trip in 2009 we had the opportunity to visit the biggest Christian Music event in Finland which is Maata Näkyvissä and after that we visit a couple of places in Turku.