new trade

Balance, sustainability are the foundations of this public exchange market. No money in between, just a shake of hands. Change the world in an alternative way! But it is much more than this, it means humanizing trade, solidarity, sharing resources, understanding.
It is the first time this kind of events is held in Ávila, perhaps crisis is making us see the world in a different way.
I only had a look in the morning and it was very early for the market to be evaluated. I think the idea is good, although the organization was a bit chaotic. Perhaps the second edition will be better.

Ruined Citadels

Unlike the citadel in Rasnov you saw, turned into a tourist attraction, many 14th-16th century citadels in Transylvania are abandoned, turned into ruins and only visited by people who are not necessarily looking for entertainment. Here are two of them: Rupea (only the first photo) and Saschiz. This second village also has a very big and allegedly beautiful church, but it's not visited right now for renovation reasons.
We climbed the breath-taking slope to the citadel but we chilled immediately as we entered this enclosed and silent place. No noise made it there from the valley and we could only hear the amazingly loud sound the wings of the birds passing by were making. We took a short look into the abandoned well, once probably the heart of the fortress, explored the towers, Sorin climbed the battlements and then we went back before sunset. The legend says that an old virgin accepted to be built inside the walls, as a sacrifice aiming to make them last in time, and if you greet her after sunshine, you get an answer. We did not try...We had had enough thrills for the day.

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August 23rd

August 23rd 1944 is the day of the coup d'etat against the pro-Nazi political group, the coup that led to our army joining the Allies. The consequences were important, some even claim it shortened WWII by as much as 6 months, but not so happy for our country.
As history is nothing but an instrument for the ones having power, we were taught different of what we are told now and different probably of the other peoples' perception. (I was talking to an American teacher this summer and she had no idea we had even been in WWII! She was surprised to find we had fought both directions, East and West, all the way.)
Anyway, for many years, August 23rd here meant huge shows on the stadiums glorifying the communist regime and its leaders. Thousands of people, from workers to students and teachers (a lot of them!) who were announced in May they had been "selected" to take part and they would start rehearsing in June, as everything had to be perfect. That meant you'd spent at least two months scorching in the sun day by day, no excuse accepted. In the end, the result looked like this. And you were free to enjoy the rest of the summer, if you could.
The day was free, most of those not taking part in the show were supposed to go to the big march and parade that took place in every town. It was our national holiday. Now it's only a bitter memory, which led to this uninteresting post.