Friday 24 August 2007

Brighton

Brighton is in the south coast of England, being one of the most famous seaside resorts of the U. K.

In Brighton it is always windy and the sea is cold but it is a pleasure to breath in the fresh sea-air on your walk along the pebble-beach.

Actually the sea was VERY cold... But I wanted above all to salute my good, old friend. And the sea, as well, wanted to give me a hug... So I succeed to get wet instantly...


The Brighton Pier is the famous landmark of Brighton, with roller coasters, restaurants and a fantastic view on the sea. The seagulls glide in the air using every little breeze and fill the air with their sad song.


Here you can see the most beautiful green colour in the world, as the sea has an amazing green colour when it is sunny! The Brighton green.


The Royal Pavilion is an other attraction in Brighton, built at the beginning of the 19th century by King George IV, in an exotic, oriental style. There is a large park around the Pavilion, where people can relax in the grass.


The Laine is a shopping area in Brighton, with narrow streets, hundreds of boutiques, tiny shops, pubs, bars and small restaurants.

I wish I were there now...

Saturday 18 August 2007

Békási szoros - Cheile Bicazului

As I promised in my previous blog, the next place I am going to take you is the Bicaz Gorge (Békási szoros in Hungarian or Cheile Bicazului in Romanian).

This is one of the most stunning places in Romania, situated in Harghita and Neamt counties in the Hăşmaşu Mountains (Nagyhagymás) in the Eastern Carpathians.


As the small Bicaz (Békás) stream fights its way through the calcareous rock an amazing landscape has formed with steep cliff and narrow canyons.


Békás stream




The road is twisting and turning between the rocks with huge altitude differences and incredible hairpin bends.

Serpents




You need horsepower here!









The entrance of the gorge is marked by a new tunnel, that is wider and higher than the old one, allowing heavy traffic to go through, as this road is the main passage that links the two Romanian provinces: Transylvania and Moldova.


Oltárkő / Altar-rock and the gorge


The Altar-rock has 1154 m and guards the region with a huge cross on its peak.


Oltárkő / Altar-rock






As you walk through the gorge, you are fascinated by the giant vertical cliffs that trying to reach the sky make you feel so tiny, insignificant and mortal.


In the gorge





In the gorge











If you have the chance to visit the place several times, you have time to notice amazing details and undiscovered aspects. Here, in the Bicaz Gorge, if you are attentive and lucky, the landscape offers you strange surprises. Looking upwards, suddenly, near the edges of a rocky wall, a familiar figure appears, well known from the renaissance sculpture: Madonna with the Child.

What is up there?

Nature, with the power of the wind and the purity of the rain and man, with the imagination of his mind, create a masterpiece: Madonna of Bicaz Gorge.

Madonna of Bicaz Gorge

The last part of this blog is a translation of my text that is in the on-line newspaper Cotidianul, where my photos and text were posted

Tuesday 14 August 2007

Lacul Roşu - Gyilkos tó

The Gyilkos tó (=Killer Lake in Hungarian) or Lacul Roşu (=Red Lake in Romanian) is situated in Romania, in the Easter Carpathians, in the Nagyhagymás / Haşmaş Mountains. It is situated at 983 m elevation, it has about 12 hectares total surface area, an average depth of 5,5 m and maximum depth of 10,5 m.

View of the lake

The lake is a natural dam-lake, which formed in 1837, due to a massive landslide, when limestone rocks and clay from the nearby Gyilkoskő (Killer stone) Peak rolled down in the valley and blocked the watercourse of a small stream, forming later a lake. Nowadays you can see the remains of the old fir trees, hundreds of tree trunks stand out all around from the water, as the calcareous and iron oxide rich water preserved the wood.

Fir tree trunks in the water

Several small streams and drift waters flow into the lake, carrying a reddish alluvium that has been deposited on the lake bed during the years and slowly bank up the lake. People try to save the lake by building dams on the small streams to filter out the alluvium.


The lake is frozen in the winter and it is covered by a massive ice-layer. During the summer its temperature can reach 22 C. In the lake there live several species of fish, like trouts and crabs.

Boating on the lake

Tourists have opportunities for boating and fishing in the lake, walk around the lake, mountaineering, as there are several tourist routes to the Cohárd / Suhard Peaks, Gyilkoskő (=Killer-stone) Peak, or even rock climbing in the nearby mountains.

Kis-Cohárd / Suhardu Mic Peak - 1352 m

The water of the lake flows into the Békás stream that leads us to one of the most spectacular places in Romania, the Békási szoros / Cheile Bicazului / Bicaz Gorges, where I will take you in my next blog.

Saturday 4 August 2007

Brighton green



The most beautiful green color I have seen is the color of the see at Brighton, from the Pier.

Thursday 2 August 2007

The Lion King - musical

The Lion King - The award-winning musical at the Lyceum Theatre, London

You may have seen the Disney's cartoon, The Lion King, so you know the story... You may think that it is impossible to adapt for the stage... But it was possible and the cartoon is nothing in comparison with this live performance!
There are no words could describe properly the atmosphere created during the show, but colours, sounds, movements, rhythm, feelings and emotions...
The actors' and dancers' costumes are inspired by African patterns and colours, the masks and puppets they carry create an amazing effect. The human figure continues and melts into the puppets or the masks, working and moving together. The actors' makeup is sometimes decorative, sometimes figures out the personality of the characters.
The choreography includes African dance elements, with fantastic rhythm and energy, that move through the bodies of the dancers, but also imitates the movements of the wild animals.
The music, composed by Elton John, has again African influence and adds a theatrical touch to the show.
The scenic design is absolutely amazing, you feel as you are in the middle of the African Savannah. Imagine the African sunset, with silhouettes of gazelles jumping across the landscape or the huge giraffes walking along in the horizon, imagine the African sunrise with thousands of birds singing and flying in the air, imagine the Jungle with mysterious shadows and luxurious vegetation... And all this on the stage...
Oh, and not to forget the child-actors, they do an exceptional work, singing, dancing, moving puppets... fantastic for their young age!
I wish everybody could see this musical, as it is absolutely amazing!

Here you have some images from the Internet, to have an idea, as no photography is allowed during the show.
http://www2.disney.co.uk/MusicalTheatre/TheLionKing/abouttheshow/productionphotos.jsp

Az oroszlánkirály - a londoni Lyceum Theatre díjnyertes előadása

Valószínű láttátok a Disney rajzfilmet, tehát már a történet ismerős... És azt gondolnátok, hogy ezt lehetetlenség színpadra átvinni... De lehetséges volt és a rajzfilm eltörpül a színpadi előadás mellett.
Szavakkal képtelenség leírni az előadás hangulatát, inkább színekkel, hangokkal, mozgással, ritmussal, érzésekkel és érzelmekkel...
A színészek és táncosok ruháit afrikai motívumok és színek díszitik, a viselt maszkok és bábok együtt nagyszerű hatást keltenek. Az emberi alakok folytatódnak és egybeolvadnak a maszkokkal vagy bábukkal, együtt mozogván velük. A színészek maszkja néha díszítő jellegű, néha meg a szereplő személyiségét formázza.
A koreográfia afrikai tánc elemekre épül, a táncosok testén átáramló hihetetlen ritmussal és energiával, ami a vadállatok mozgását is utánozza.
A zenét Elton John szerezte, szintén afrikai hatású és az előadás hangulatát az egekig emeli.
A diszletek és a szinpad megtervezése lenyűgöző, úgy érzed, mintha az afrikai Szavanna közepén lennél. Képzeld el az afrikai naplementét, amint gazellák suhannak át a tájon vagy hatalmas zsiráfok sétálnak el a horizont előtt, képzeld el az afrikai napfelkeltét, amint ezer meg ezer madár énekel és repked az égen, képzeld el a dzsungelt, titokzatos árnyakkal és buja növényzettel... és mindezt színpadon!
És ne feledjük a gyerekszereplőket, akik elképesztő munkát végeztek: énekelnek, táncolnak, bábokat mozgatnak... fantasztikus az ő korukhoz képest!
Kívánom, hogy mindenki megnézhesse ezt az előadást, mert lenyűgöző!

On the homepage of the show, where you can have a sneak preview:
Egy kis betekintő az előadásba, a műsor honlapjáról:
http://www2.disney.co.uk/MusicalTheatre/TheLionKing/downloads/videoclips.jsp