 |
Our report from Romania!
Category: Blogging
To wake up at 03.45 AM on a Friday morning is not exactly what you want to do every day. Lucky for us, it was just this one time, just to get in time to our flight from Arlanda airport in Stockholm. It takes about 1,5-2 hours by car, and by the time we all were in the car, the sun just started to rise. Coffee, music, laughter and a great mood filled the car, and it only felt like half an hour before we reached the airport. But as I expect most of you know, airports are no laughing experience: long lines, passport checks, security checks and always being nervous...for nothing. After security check we hoped for some wine or beer, but we only got some juice and chocolate.
Well, we knew that we're going to get some good things to drink on the plane:)
The flight to Warsaw airport left right on time, and we arrived earlier than expected. At Warsaw airport it was just for us to go directly to the right gate, because our flight to Bucharest was leaving within one hour. Well, it WAS supposed to go within an hour, it was 45 minutes late, but this pilot was also quick, because we landed only a few minutes late. In Bucharest we met up with Doru and Andreea, our organizers for the gig. We split up in two cars and we were on out way to Brasov... we thought. One band member: no names mentioned, had to eat, so we stopped at the nearest place we could find. But it was great: we got a chance to talk to each other, and from start we felt that it was going to be a fantastic trip. A lot of laughter later, some food later (with a speciality meal accidentally "made" for Stefan: fish in a glass of water... yummy;)) we were on our way again- Peter and me went in a car with Andreea and Doru and we had a nice trip. The landscape of Romania is fabulous, but we hadn't seen anything yet.
It took about 3-4 hours before we finally reached Brasov, and we met up with the others who had already arrived. Our hotel: Da Vinci was the most perfect hotel. Ann-Mari got a nice room for herself, Mattias and Stefan shared a small "apartment" and Peter and me had a great room with a kitchen.
And the best part, it was about 1 minute from the venue:) We relaxed for an hour, all of us actually unpacked and put all the clothes in the closets (we usually just let them be thrown in the bag), because we were really excited that we had these great rooms for three nights:)
Later on we met up with Andreea and Doru and we went to a wonderful little restaurant about 5 minutes from the hotel. We had some great food and we had A LOT to drink. Doru was "showing" (read: filled) us with the Romanian drink Pălincă. As Peter said the next day: "I had a fight with Pălincă yesterday... and I lost". DAMN! It was some strong drink. But we sure had a wonderful evening and we also got to meet Dermot, Andreeas Irish husband, who just arrived from Ireland, and two friends of Doru who also joined us.
Saturday was a really warm and nice day. We started with some nice breakfast at the restaurant next to the hotel. Then we went for a walk around Brasov with Andreea, Dermot and Doru. We visited the Black Church where a choir was holding a concert; we went through small alleys and passed beautiful houses. Then we visited a museum at one of the corners of the city wall that surrounds the old parts of town. By then Peter and Ann-Mari had went back to the hotel to get some sleep before the concert (tired after a heavy night of Pal Inca and wine), but the rest of us walked through the outsides of the northern wall and around it on the outside. Brasov is really breathtaking and I can only say wonderful things about its old town:) Back at the hotel I found Peter sleeping and I knocked on Ann-Mari's door and found her almost ready to go to the theatre. By 3 o'clock we went outside the hotel and found the street filled with people who were there for the gig. Hell, it almost felt surreal, that we in 5 hours would be on stage in Brasov. At the theatre Andreea and a friend of hers were carrying in the most beautiful branches that was going to fill the stage.
Branches, vases and lamps was a perfect design for the stage and I must say that we loved every part of it:)
We had a soundcheck at 5 o'clock and started to feel a bit stressed, but later on when we sat at the restaurant for dinner we succeeded to postpone the gig half an hour, and we felt calm again. At 8'oclock it was time, and we went on stage. At first it felt strange, calm and a bit nervous. But after the first song it felt more relaxed.
We were very happy after the gig and the fact that the audience were shouting for MOOOOOORE, made the day:)
After the gig Ann-Mari and me went outside and there we met Iluá and Mark who came to Romania from London just to see us. What a great couple, they are so nice. After we finished everything at the theatre we went by our hotel, and later we came to the afterparty at the Music Café. Stefan and Mattias came in first, and everybody went quiet and started to clap their hands. Damn that must have felt strange.... me, Peter and Ann-Mari didn't notice, because we were late. But a big thanks you to all of us who made us feel so welcome that evening. We met a lot of fabulous people and we had the best of time that night. I know I drank way too much wine, so everybody probably heard my voice a mile away. Stefan and Mattias were so happy and "not sober" so Peter had to ask for an earplug... he got one, and was satisfied after that;) I had been in contact with two guys named Dan and Miluta for a couple of weeks, and they have been talking about the dreadful Pălincă.
And who came there with a BIG bottle, special edition dedicated to Arcana? They gave it to me, so that I could take care of it:) Hell, I will only touch the bottle and leave what's inside to my darling husband;)
Not only did we meet two people from England, but also a nice guy named James who lived in Brasov. He had never heard Arcana before but I think we've found a dear friend there and we will stay in contact.
I think Peter and me fell a sleep around 5 o'clock Sunday morning, and hell, we were tired the next day!
Sunday was a bit fieldtrip and it was absolutely fantastic. We started by going by car to a point above Brasov to view the city in all its pride. Then we continued to Poiana Brasov, a fantastic area in the mountains where we were supposed to visit the peak. Stefan, Peter nor I are very fond of heights, but this was a must. We entered the cabin to go to the top and DAMN, it was scary. But at the same time fascinating. Up at the top of the mountain there was snow, lots of it. But it was warm so we could remove our jackets and still feel great. The air was so fresh and thin so it was almost hard to breath (especially for a smoker like me). We continued by foot to a place at the top where we had a fabulous view over the landscape that surrounded Poiana Brasov.
One was almost moved to tears of its beauty!
On the way down to the cabin, it must have looked really funny. Seven persons slipping in the snow, Ann-Mari got stuck with one leg at the time in the snow up to her thighs and Stefan almost fell in the snow. We must have looked drunk, because we really had a good laugh all of us. Finally down again we grabbed a beer in a little place and we just sat there and enjoyed the beauty around us. And what did we hear in the speakers? TYROLER MUSIC! Fabulous...damn, we sang, yodelled and just laughed. We could have sat there all day is we could.
It was a lovely moment:)
But then we were on our way to the citadel in Rasnov. It is an old fortress from 15th century that is located up on a hill surrounded by wonderful forests. Once there the woman in charge of the place, a very wealthy woman from Great Britain guided us around the whole fortress. She told us fascinating stories about its history and especially one story got stuck in our heads. There is a well in the middle of the citadel, and 120 years ago the big wheel that was used to bring the water up was broken and fell down to the well. It got stuck at 65 metres down, but the whole well is 146 metres deep. She the told us that archaeologists (or something like that) climbed down the well a few years ago and there they found a skeleton and a rusty old gun, and on top of it there were rocks and wood. It was obvious that the man had been killed, thrown into the well with the gun after him and then covered by rocks. It was a clear case of murder. It was really fascinating to hear this story.
After we left the citadel we went towards Bran Castle, the most famous tourist place in Transylvania. It would have been great to see the inside of it, but it was closed once we finally reached it. But at that time we were totally exhausted and hungry, so we continued to a restaurant close in the countryside. It was probably a great restaurant, but when we got there the waiters were listening to some music very LOUD. They explained that there was a birthday party for someone, but we expect they lied, because every time they saw us speak, they turned up the volume so loud that we couldn't hear anything or speak to each other. At the end w just laughed, because it felt so silly. After the meal we went back to Brasov for an evening of calm and relaxation. We said that it would be a calm evening, but since it was our last night we just HAD to grab some nice wine and drinks. Our British friends James, Mark and Iluá joined us after a while and we had the nicest of evenings. We drank wine, coffee and talked until 2 o'clock in the night. It was a perfect ending of a perfect weekend in Romania.
Monday morning was tiresome. We had mixed feelings about going home. We missed the kids but we knew we going to miss Romania as well. Andreea met us outside the hotel to follow us to the car that was going to get us to the airport in Bucharest. Doru was on the phone as well, so we had a long farewell and we knew we some friends for life. The trip took about 3 hours and we reached the airport about two hours before departure. Everything ran smoothly and we started to question that everything had been perfect up 'til now. What is wrong? When everything is perfect? We soon got the answer. At Warszawa airport we were supposed to wait about 4,5 hours for the next flight to Stockholm. It was delayed, so we had to wait about 6 hours. Not much to mention about the trip home: we arrived Eskilstuna at 1.00 o'clock in the middle of the night and I can say that we're still not back in shape, and now it is Thursday. And in two days Peter will have his 34th birthday so "no rest for the wicked".
I will end this "little" report with a HUGE thanks to the wonderful Andreea Wade and Doru Atomei for making this trip possible. You did a great job and we know you will be very successful in the future in organizing performances. let us know when you want us there again:) A big thank you as well to the audience who made us feel very welcome, big thanks to Dan and Miluta for all the photos and the "terrible" bottle of Pălincă and a BIG thanks to Mark and Iluá for coming all the way from UK just to see us, and of course everyone else who had travelled a long way. We are truly honoured:) And finally thanks to the hotel owner and his waitresses in the Da Vinci restaurant.
They made us feel very much at home:)
"Unleash the hounds, darling, unleash the hounds.
Ding ding ding!"
Brasov, Romania 2008
With love from us all
..Ia Bjärgö
Eskilstuna, April 2008
11:15 AM
-
1 Comments - 2 Kudos
- Add Comment
|
