March 1st is a Romanian holiday that is referred to as Mărțișor (pronounced kind of like “mart-see-shore”). From what I’ve seen through celebrating with Romanians, Mărțișor marks the beginning of spring and is also associated with women and fertility as a means of life and continuity. The tradition is also seen in Moldova and variations of Mărțișor […]
Traveling Europe – A Chron-nicoles tour
Being back in Canada after having lived in Belgium and traveled Europe for over two years, I’m happy to be presenting and sharing my experiences at the University of Alberta’s International Week today. Looking back at the photos of all the places I’ve been made me realize that I took a LOT of pictures and […]
Special Saturday Guest Post on Bucharest, Romania
Yesterday I guest posted at Lesley Carter’s blog “Bucket List Publications: Indulge – Travel, Adventure & New Experience” about one of my favorite cities: Bucharest, Romania. Bucharest is the most lush, sweet and pleasing-to-the-eye city I’ve visited and the best part is that nobody “knows” about it. What I mean is that you don’t hear many […]
Celebrating Saint Nicholas Day in Europe
Saint Nicholas (born Greek), had a reputation for gift giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for Santa Clause, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas and his feast day is December 6. Its so interesting to look at how […]
The Transfăgărășan – translation: Romanian mountain pass of beauty and fear
After visiting: Sinaia’s Peles Castle, Bran Castle, Brasov, Rasnov and Sibiu, it was time to take the highway through the Romanian Făgărăș (Fah-gah-rush) Mountains. Being from Canada and from a province that is home to part of the Rocky Mountains, I have driven through the mountains on the Trans-Canada highway many times, which has this: […]