Off we went to Casa Vânătorului (“The Huntsman’s House”)!
Okay, so for the Spring/Summer 2018 vacation spot, we chose the good ol’place perfect for our good ol’ boys & girls – a hunter’s cabin at the foot of the Bucegi mountains. The weather was so great and the cars so full with youngsters, so the weekend sounded promising: the campfire & cooking with firewood, the relaxing drinks, all the laughs, the refreshing greenness around us and, of course, the neverending jokes about forgetting to bring the salt & pepper of this barbecue. Something like that HAD to happen.
This was on Friday night – no salt, no tableware, no nothing, Jon Snow! Of course something like this had to happen, because of a mischievous elf who tried to hide this pot of gold somewhere. Like on our kitchen table at the office. But hey, things get more fun when something like this happens under your nose – literally. While starving :)) Fortunately, we managed to cook a one fine barbecue like we always do during which we greeted long-distance colleagues and shared some good vibes even though we were pretty tired.
And then was Saturday, a holy day that must be celebrated properly – through some true hero’s journeys – by foot, by car or by bike! So in the morning all of us were up and ready to:
- Go driving on some exhilarating road trips in the forest while sticking our heads out the windows
- Go mountain hiking up to the Diham Cabin (1320 meters altitude) to drink a really cheap coffee on top of the world
- Go mountain biking and watching spectacular scenery in the Bucegi mountains during an amazingly beautiful circuit
- Falling asleep in sunbeds or hammocks.
- Enjoying a little bit too much tanning.
We did all the above, of course, and we were tired when we came back from the mountains, so most of us just took a sunbath in the grass and enjoyed light conversations, charmed by mossy scents and soft shades of green – a real warm-up before jumping into our classic poker and board games night – lucky for us, this time we had more eJumpers and Inoviumers on board.
Next day, we had to say goodbye to the Huntsman and his jokes and head back to our homes. This Sunday was special because one of us went ahead and made a stop at the Râșnov Citadel to visit the amazing fortress, ride funny trains and drink lemonade. It was amazing; worth visiting anytime especially if you love medieval stories and crafting.
Archaeological researchers talk about prehistoric and Dacian times fortification traces on that hill, but the really exciting thing here to see is a magic well – legend has it that, during a siege in 17th century, two Turkish prisoners were forced to dig a well in exchange of their freedom. This took them 17 years… during which time they apparently wrote Quran verses on the walls – that can be seen even today. The entire place is beautiful and the live music really takes you to those times. If you go there, you must pay a visit to Gheorghe Samoila, the guardian of the fortress. Dressed like a character from a medieval story, he even had his home transformed into a small museum full of old coins, hats and old clothes. If you love medieval Romanian legends, he’s the guy to talk to!
After the first of us went there and shared photos, the others followed them and stopped by for this treasure, too, so we could say this team building was calmer, richer, and more interesting in many ways. Until next time!
