Gara de Nord: Your Gate to Bucharest

On October 4, 1868 a law passed for the construction of railways in Romania. It allowed the H.B. Strousberg Prussian Concession to build, in three years, the first Romanian railway network. On September 22, 1869 works were started at the main railway station of Bucharest: Târgovişte Station. It was opened to the public on 27 November 1870, when the railway Roman-Galaţi-Bucharest-Piteşti was inaugurated.

Built after a plan proposed and approved by the Technical Council of the Public Works Ministry, the Târgovişte Station was thought as a transit station, with six lines, direct access to the three storage areas (one of them was for perishable merchandise) and a depot for locomotives with eight places. The last line insured direct access to the Reparation Atelier for Locomotives and Wagons.

The passengers' quarters with a single floor was 93.4 meters long and was made of a central building, guarded by two towers. It had two clitoral wings and the front was parallel to the Calea Targovistei Street. Between the two towers there were three main gates for passenger access. The entrance became in 1896 the Royal Salon, specially created for the visits that the King of Austria, Frantz Ioseph 1st and King of Serbia, Alexandru Obrenovici paid the king of Romania.

In the summer of 1887, at the Bucharest Central Atelier for Locomotive and Wagons Repairs a gas plant was built that supplied power to the installations in the station and in 1897, a power plant became operational. The plant insured electric lighting to the station. Once the station was modernized, the name changed to Gara de Nord (North Railway Station).

Since then, a lot of work was done to keep in line with traffic increase and continuous modernization of railways transportation.

Now, almost in the middle of the town, Gara de Nord is the main railway station in Bucharest and the largest one in Romania. With good connections with subway, local transportation and international airport, Gara de Nord is your gate to visit Romania.

Apple's Wisdom

Steve Jobs: "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

Silicon Valley

About 50 years ago, the authorities of Stanford University (California) tried to solve their financial problems by leasing part of the university land to high-tech companies for 99 years . The original bequest of his farm by Leland Stanford prohibited the sale of the land, but there was nothing to prevent its being leased, so the Stanford Industrial Park was founded. The goal was to create a center of high technology close to a cooperative university.

Geographically, Silicon Valley is an area surrounding San Jose, California, in the Santa Clara Valley. Technologically, it is the center of today's computer industry.

But don’t think of Silicon Valley like an area dominated by robots and metallic-futuristic architecture. It is a spot with natural attractions. It is an attractive place for residents to live and tourists to go to see. The areas around Silicon Valley can also be visited and enjoyed.

The Two Wolves

A native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt.

He said: „I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one.”

The grandson asked him, „Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?”

The grandfather answered: „The one I feed.”

[Source: Native American Story]

Mărţişor: Welcoming the Spring

Mărţişor is a traditional celebration of the beginning of Spring. It is a symbol of friendship and love, appreciation and respect, given especially to women.

The name Mărţişor is the diminutive of the name for March (Martie, in Romanian), and thus literally means "little" or "dear March". (It is also the folk name for this month.) It is made with red and white string, from which a small decoration is tied, and which is offered by people on the 1st day of March. Usually, women wear it pinned to their blouses for the first days of this month.

Red is the color of fire, sun, blood, and the symbol of life, associated with the woman. White is the color of the cold snow, foamy waters, the clouds, and also of man's wisdom. The thread of the Mărţişor represents the union of the feminine and the masculine principles, the vital forces which give birth to the eternal cycle of the nature.