Berichte aus Zarnesti

Gepostet am: Apr 14, 2016 12:6:26 PM

Monday

Our first day started at 6 a.m. We were brought to a club were we had breakfast all together. After breakfast we went to the local grammar school and there each group introduced themselves. Later in school we were separated into two groups. Our group was taught by a teacher from Germany about the geology and lifting and levelling of the Carpathian Mountains.

At lunchtime we went to a pizzeria. The food wasn’t that good but the desert was a feast.

In the afternoon we went to the brand new museum of the Piatra Craiului national park. It was a nice exhibition and we even saw a movie about the national park. After a long and exiting day we finally arrived back at the school where our guest families picked us up and brought us home.

Tuesday

On Tuesday we had breakfast at 7 o’clock. Afterwards we had four lessons of school and ate some chicken and polenta at the “Transilvania Restaurant”. Later we travelled by bus to “Bran Castle”, which we visited and had fun. There we learned a lot about the infamous Dracula. After we finished visiting the castle, we had one free hour, where we could buy something at the market or visit the haunted house, which was very creepy. At 6 o’clock in the evening we arrived again in Zarnesti and had dinner with our host families.

Wednesday

On Wednesday we were taught by Romanian teachers and we learned about the animals in the National Park Piatra Craiului. Because of the heavy rain we couldn´t go to the cave as planned. Instead we visited a fortress (Rasnov) and a Dino park. There was a big playground, a climbing park and a path, where you could view statues of dinosaurs. It was a lot of fun.

Thursday

On Thursday we had breakfast at 8 o’clock, as we were having a full day trip to the bear sanctuary and to the National Park. We were picked up by small busses and drove a good twenty minutes to the bear sanctuary. Once there, we had to wait twenty minutes, because the bear sanctuary was still closed. The time passed very quickly, we took pictures and laughed a lot. The tour was led by an older but nice woman. She showed us a great part of the reserve. We saw quite a lot of bears, which were once used as entertainment for tourists and as photo bears. A sad experience was "Odi". She was imprisoned in an iron cage for twelve years and only got to eat corn on the cob. A few friends and I asked stood for a few photos in the cage, even with shoes on it was very painful. We could hardly imagine how a bear could endure twelve years like that. After the tour we went n to the national park. We hiked an hour between mountains to the assembly point. Awaiting us was a Flying-fox station and two climbing ropes. Then we were divided into groups and went orienteering. Later we built an Erasmus + cabin, which we all signed. Then we were all driven to the restaurant, because it was raining. After dinner there was a surprise - folk dances, singing and a bonfire with sad songs. Even there the first tears were shed.

Friday

Friday was our last day in Zarnesti. At 7 am we had breakfast at the Clubul Pensionarilor like the other days. Then at 8 am we went to the smaller school where we had our presentations of the week. Each group presented one of the lessons and then the Romanian children also gave a presentation and sung some Romanian songs. We then gave feedback about the week after which we watched a film. We had a very traditional lunch after which we danced and ate a cake with a picture of Zarnesti on it. Later that day it was time to say goodbye, it was very sad and there were lots of tears. We took the bus to Brasov and then the train to Bucharest.

Saturday

Today we spent the whole day in Bucharest and had a sightseeing tour of the city. We had 2 guides (one English-speaking and German-speaking) We saw most of the important monuments and attractions including the People’s Palace which is the largest building in Europe and the second in the world after the Pentagon. We also visited the old town, where we had lunch. At 15 o'clock we had to return to Crazy Duck Hostel where we went in two cars to the airport. At the airport we spent our last Romanian lei before flying back to Vienna. In Vienna we were met by our parents and friends. Our last day of the Erasmus + journey came to an end.

By: Pauline Bauer, Niclas Eidlitz, Clemens Friedl, Anna Lisa Kropf, Katrin Vidovic, Lisa Zdaziarska (4C)

ERASMUS + - Impressions of Zarnesti and Bucharest

During the flight to Bucharest we talked about how it will be at our guest families. Everyone was a bit worried about the food there. We were also a little bit scared about how the people would be. If I am honest I thought that there would be many thieves and beggars. I also thought that there would only be blocks of council flats.

After we arrived my mind changed immediately. The people there are very poor but helpful and the buildings there are very beautiful. Some of them are badly damaged but if you try to imagine the time when all of them were new and many people lived in there, you will recognise the beauty of them.

As we arrived in Zarnesti I was nervous. I didn’t see any shops and all the houses were very small and a bit spooky and I hadn’t spoken to my guest family before. But then we finally arrived at the school and I was welcomed by them very nicely. Although they were poor, they prepared tasty food every day for me. So it’s impossible to be hungry as a guest in Romania.

Moreover, the children there were very friendly and even if they weren’t that good in English we always found a way to understand each other.

All in all, I can say that the Romanians are very kind people.

Clemens Friedl (4C)

Before the trip I thought that Bucharest will be like Athens, and it was like this. There are many dilapidated and incomplete houses. The streets are partially very broken, but, nevertheless, I found Bucharest a very nice town, especially the Old Town. When we went by train out the city it became greener and greener. We went past many residential houses, some of them were very nice, but the others half complete. However, we also saw people living in almost ruins. About Zarnesti I had no images. I was taken in very warmly by my guest family. They don´t have as much as we have but they are very generous and shared everything they have

Pauline Bauer (4C)

Bucharest has many beautiful buildings and places and but also not so beautiful parts, but I believe that every city has its positive and negative sides. Honestly, I had not imagined that Bucharest would be so beautiful, because one always hears how ugly and poor Romania is, but it is not true. What I didn’t like so much were the holes were in the ground. You had to be really careful, especially me, because I often don’t look at the ground. In Bucharest there were so many cute cafes and bars. I liked that very much.

Zarnesti was also very nice, especially the scenery! There were such beautiful mountains! I imagined the small town to be a bit different to what it was. In my opinion it looked partly like a ghost town. Many things have been started being built but not finished or repaired. There was a lot of construction. Nevertheless, I feel in love with Zarnesti! The people were all very friendly and welcoming. Although many did not speak English, we still understood each other really well.

I will certainly come back here again!

Lisa Zdziarska (4c)

At first I was surprised about Bucharest because many acquaintances had told me about the horrible conditions. After a while I also saw the rubbish, the partly broken roads and the poor people. But the city still seemed wonderful city, with many beautiful homes, beautiful parks and a party area, but also had its dark side.

Initially Zarnesti felt like a small ghost town but after a closer look we saw people. Although I knew how little money the inhabitants had, the village looked good. The people I met were immediately warm and hospitable. But what surprised me were the apartment blocks, because I had not expected that there would be apartment blocks in the country.

Anna Lisa Kropf (4C)

My impressions by Romania were as anticipated. So there were no bad surprises in Romania. Yes, the people there have less money than the people in Austria but partly I was accustomed about that because it`s the same like in Hungary. So I had only good impressions of Romania.

Niclas Eidlitz(4C)

Before we met at the airport everyone was talking in school about our guest families. We were worried that were going to live in small flats with a lot of people in them. Also we were worried about the food there. Our friends in the class told us that the food there is not very tasty and that the people there are unfriendly but when we arrived in Bucharest my mind changed. I did not know that Bucharest and Zarnesti are such nice towns. In Bucharest we saw many sights and the town was really clean. The food was the same as in Vienna and nobody worried about anything there. When we were at our guest families we saw another lifestyle. We knew that the families don’t have as much as we do in Vienna. The week went too fast. We met a lot of new people, made new friendships and had a great time.

Katrin Vidovic(4C)