[Hip Priest]

THE SEVEN WONDERS OF ROMANIA (18.09.07)

Following a campaign run by the daily Evenimentul Zilei, some 60 thousand Romanians have designated what the press called “the seven wonders of Romania”. The campaign involved the participation of local communities, interested in ‘putting their wonders on the map of Romania’. In random order, these wonders are: The Brancusi Ensemble in Targu Jiu, the Corvin Castle, the Alba Iulia fortified town, the Dacian fortresses in the Orastie Mountains, the cultural centre of Iasi, the painted monasteries in northern Moldavia, and the historical centre of Sibiu.

The ensemble in Tg. Jiu was built by great Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi, in memory of the WWI heroes. It includes the Gate of the Kiss, the Alley of Stools, the Table of Silence and the Endless Column, the central piece of Brancusi’s creation, symbol of the ups and downs of life, and of the souls’ ascension to the sky. The Corvin Castle in Hunedoara, western Romania, is the largest medieval building in the country, which saw its development peak in the 15th century. Last year, the castle was visited by 160 thousand tourists. The fortified town of Alba Iulia, in the historical province of Transylvania, was built between 1714 and 1738 in the shape of a star.

The complex of Dacian fortresses in the Orastie Mountains, in central Romania, has joined the UNESCO heritage list as ‘symbol of European history’. In the centre, there lies Sarmisegetusa, the capital of Dacia, a kingdom conquered by the Romans in 106 and turned into a province of the Empire. The town of Iasi, in north-eastern Romania, boasts the Culture Palace, the Metropolitan Bishopric, the Trei Ierarhi Church, erected between 1637-1639, and the University Building, the first in Romania, inaugurated in 1860.

The monasteries in Northern Moldavia, also part of the UNESCO heritage, are famous for their mural paintings, whose colours have remained as clear as they were 400 years ago. Among them is the Voronet blue, whose fabrication secret has not been revealed yet and the Sucevita green. The 7th wonder, the historical centre of Sibiu, a genuine medieval gem, built by the Saxon settlers starting with the 13th century, was designated, together with Luxembourg, European capital of culture in 2007.

[ithinkimissyou]

Bump. Sorry, I'm spamming. Caffeine/Alcohol overdose. But over the last few days, after ripping apart an old electrical lead and tying the wires end to end, and winding up with a 40 foot longwire - my little radio has become a shortwave receiver worthy of the title. Like anyone who listens regularly to Shortwave - I just love the sound. I find it easier to listen to garbage propaganda from Moscow when it sounds like it's after traveling those thousands of miles to get here. It adds character. In contrast I couldn't listen to crystal clear Irish FM stations. To a dispassionate observer, that's quite hard to explain. To a shortwave listener, it's perfectly understandable. Anywho, I've been listening to everything from the aforementioned VoR, Radio Ukraine, Radio Sweden, Radio Prague.. to VOLMET stations, to numbers stations like the Lincolnshire Poacher. I've also picked up a few transmissions on 11.175USB - the USAF GHFS. If you have the time, it's a really awesome way to while away an afternoon or night, turning a tuning dial and listening to different voices from around the world - and then occasionally stumbling across transmissions to spies in the field. I've also picked up and decoded MFSK & PSK31 transmissions from Eastern Europe which was cool. Shortwave is a band that is constantly intruiging, something the WFM broadcast bands will never match.

[Hip Priest]

Hello Пятхъдесят Шест, and all other observers of the Shortwave Radio thread.

Until recdently, I was largely unaware of the semi-official nation of Pridnestrovie ( Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica, also known as Transnistria, Trans-Dniester and Transdniestria), de jure a part of Moldova but de facto an independent (albeit unrecognised) state.

I have become a regular listener to the broadcasts of their radio station Radio PMR.

I've become quite fascinated by this country. Their newspaper, , The Tiraspol Times, has a decent website. Always plenty of political coverage (some might prefer 'propaganda', but, you know), and an article is there about one of the nation's favourite sons, the excellent artist Mikhail Larionov: see here. Their national anthemn is pretty good too: http://pridnestrovie.net/nationalanthem.html

[Hip Priest]

Further to the above post

The Tiraspol Times site isn't coming up. I'm a bit concerned that might be due to the continuing pressure being place on Pridnestrovian media by Moldova. Radio PMR should be broadcasting in English in about five minutes, so hopefully I'll find out.

[ithinkimissyou]

It appears the Lincolnshire Poacher and its sister station Cherry Ripe are no more

They went off the air in July

It was the first numbers station I ever managed to pick up, and I loved the fact it went like clockwork. Unfortunately I never recorded a TX to my computer... damnit.

[✌➬]

How do I get these?

[EMMAh]

I listen to a lot of Shortwave Radio.

Radio Australia
BBC World Service
DW World
KBS World Radio
Radio Netherlands
Polish Radio External Service
Radio Prague
Radio Sweden
Radio Romania International
World Radio Network

They're all on CBC Radio One, as part of CBC Radio Overnight. From 1am to 6am.

It makes me laugh because when it all starts they say something like, "Night owls, why toss and turn? Turn on CBC Radio Overnight." and that exactly what I've been doing for a good two years now.

Radio Netherlands is probably my favorite.

[Hip Priest]

??: just get yourself a shortwave radio. Or look the stations up online, but it's not quite the same when you're not battling against poor reception.

EMMah: that's quite a good service they are doing. Romania and Prague are always a good listen.

Reception hasn't been too good here lately; even reliable stations like Radio Romania International and the Russian buzzer are clouded by heavy interference. The exception is Radio Sweden, which has been very clear.

[EMMAh]

Yeah, I really enjoy it. I never have to worry about shit reception either, they're always clear unless for whatever reason I can't get CBC Radio One.

I'd still like to get a shortwave radio though, and see what I can pick up.

[Hip Priest]

Listening is pretty good lately. Right now I am listening to a very clear Pridnestrovian broadcast and last night, for the first time in a good long while, I got reasonable reception from Indian radio.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

Hello there Hip Priest, good to see you.

I didn't listen to any shortwave radio for the better part of this summer, only recently (within the past month) have I busted out the Eton. Nothing of too much interest. Radio Habana Cuba is still broadcasting quality bizarreness, insanity and music, thankfully!

Think I'll have a listen tonight, see whats happenin'.

[Hip Priest]

Originally Posted by Пятхъдесят Шест

Hello there Hip Priest, good to see you.

I didn't listen to any shortwave radio for the better part of this summer, only recently (within the past month) have I busted out the Eton. Nothing of too much interest. Radio Habana Cuba is still broadcasting quality bizarreness, insanity and music, thankfully!

Think I'll have a listen tonight, see whats happenin'.

Hello Пятхъдесят Шест; it;s good to see you are still on the board. Are you still in Nebraska?

I haven't listened much this summer either, mainly as reception has been pretty poor across the board for some time now, but it has definitely picked up recently.

Havana sounds great, but I can't get that with my little radio. A friend deals in all sorts of military things, and he's keeping a lookout for a good shortwave radio for me. So maybe soon, I'll have something more powerful.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

Yes, I'm still located in the Cornhusker state, 'the good life'. And still frequent the board every now again, don't post as much though.

I'm always hesitant to buy a powerful radio for fear of not being able to operate it correctly.

[Hip Priest]

Originally Posted by Пятхъдесят Шест

Yes, I'm still located in the Cornhusker state, 'the good life'. And still frequent the board every now again, don't post as much though.

I'm always hesitant to buy a powerful radio for fear of not being able to operate it correctly.

It will be an old used one, so it shouldn't cost too much. I'd love to be able to listen to more stuff from further afield, especially Middle Eastern and Asian broadcasts. The internet is great for those things, but I'm still very attached to shortwave.

Right now I'm listening to Voice of Russia, a programme about the composer Georgy Sviridov.

[Пятхъдесят Шест]

Originally Posted by Hip Priest

It will be an old used one, so it shouldn't cost too much. I'd love to be able to listen to more stuff from further afield, especially Middle Eastern and Asian broadcasts. The internet is great for those things, but I'm still very attached to shortwave.

Right now I'm listening to Voice of Russia, a programme about the composer Georgy Sviridov.

I agree completely listening to a online steam of a station is not the same at all, dare I say it can even get boring! I get some Asian stations but not many, or I should say I used to not sure anymore.

Voice of Russia is always a very difficult pick up for me. But I used to listen to it online sometimes.

[Hip Priest]

I'd like to get some Pakistani broadcasts on shortwave, rather than always online.

Radio Romania International are discussing the 'Horses Waterfall'.

[Crumb's Crunchy Delights]

Originally Posted by Hip Priest

I'd like to get some Pakistani broadcasts on shortwave.

you will not believe me but this exact sentence was going through my mind just before i read this

frikkin spooky

[Hip Priest]

It has been a good listening week.

Radio Havana Cuba was the highlight, just because I was actually able to recieve it for once. A fair amount of interference, but nice nontheless.

Also, it was great to hear Radio Tirana again.