The City Seen From Above

A panoramic top view is seldom possible for me, especially since I don't like heights and whenever I have the opportunity to be up there is an immediate burning desire to be back down. So strong is this desire that I can hardly overcome the temptation to throw myself into the void. The instinct for survival and the love of life prevent me from making that thoughtless gesture that means suicide. This fear of heights keeps me away from tall buildings, climbing mountains, and traveling by plane. Sometimes I have no choice, as was the year spent in Iasi, a beautiful and important city in Romania. I lived on the tenth floor of a lonely block of flats.

The fear of heights was offset by the beautiful view, which took my breath away whenever I approached the balcony. The east-facing position gave me the opportunity to see the sunrise but, unfortunately, not the most spectacular part of the city.

Instead, waiting for sunrise, even if it means setting the alarm to wake me up very early in the morning, is worth the effort.

The largest building I see every time is the largest children's hospital in the city and in the region. I often think of children who are hospitalized there, it is hard to know that there are so many sick children.

Also in this eastern part of the city is the airport. With the appearance of the sun, you can see a plane going to another part of the country.

While I lived there I could see all the manifestations of the weather, rapid transitions from clear skies to storms and heavy rains. Looking down and perspective, the storm looks even more spectacular.

Living so high I had the opportunity to see the outskirts of the city. The city of Iasi, like Rome, is surrounded by seven hills. This is the only resemblance to the beautiful city, the capital of Italy.

The most spectacular images were those after the rain and at the end of the day, when the sun was going down, on the other side of the city. The part that I couldn't see from my apartment but I could see the light left by the sun on the city buildings from my part of visibility.

After the rain, everything is much more spectacular. The water particles left in the atmosphere and the sun's rays lead to the rainbow, don't they?

The rain passed, the rainbow went out. Everything is calm under the rays of the setting sun. This is the show that can be seen from the tenth floor of an isolated block of flats in Iasi.

The fear of heights is contagious. My wife can't get close to the balcony railing. Neither do I. Flower care becomes a problem.

Something interesting is coming before nightfall. The return of the birds to the city. Birds are crows. Leave early in the morning to the fields around the city to look for food. In the evening they always return at the same time, every day. They usually sleep in the trees in the city parks. A show that lasts almost an hour, I watched it every time I was home.

That meant living in Iasi for me. I was there and that took me almost half the time, sitting in the apartment, so I tried to enjoy the view from the height from which I looked at it every day. I wanted to enjoy the view because I knew that my stay there would not be very long and I would not have this opportunity again.

From our travels we want to show the most interesting and beautiful places, these are what the readers want, to be inspired for the possible trips or, simply, to see places where they do not have too many chances to arrive. I showed a small part, a personal experience. Which doesn't say much about this city. I still have to fix this.

Iasi is one of the largest cities in Romania, it is located in the northeast of the country, 400 km away from the capital Bucharest. To get to Iasi, you must first get to Bucharest and from there, you can get to Iasi by plane, train or bus.

Iasi is a city full of history, embodied in buildings, monasteries and monuments. It is also called the historical capital of Romania. This is where the royal court and the Romanian government took shelter when most of the country was occupied by Germany, in the First World War.

Some of the most important poets, writers and scientists have lived and worked in this city. It is also an important university city and because of this it is a city full of young people.

The new and the old coexist everywhere in the city. This is its charm.

The city is called with a hundred churches and there are even a hundred. Wherever you look, you will surely see a church. Many churches are more than five hundred years old!

But the most famous building of the city was built only one hundred and twenty years ago, it was a royal palace, then a courthouse and now, in the modern era, it is a big museum. It's called the Palace of Culture!

As I said, the mixture of old and new is the charm of this city. Near the Palace of Culture could only be a modern building. A mall, Palas Mall, declared the most beautiful mall in this part of Europe.

Between the Palace and the Mall there are some wonderful gardens. Terraces and restaurants. Playgrounds for children.

From my point of view, this is the most pleasant place in the city. Although there are many others but here are so many places of interest gathered together. A place to shop, walk, eat, visit a museum or go to the movies. Here is the heart of the city. Whoever visits the city of Iasi cannot ignore the Palace of Culture and everything around it.

It has been almost two years since I left Iasi and I still remember with great pleasure the time spent in this city.