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Ilinca Stroe
Apr 25, 20204 min read
Romania’s Lady of the Romance: Ioana Radu
Ioana Radu was born Eugenia (Jana) Braia into a family of sub-modest means that moved from Bucharest to Craiova, in the historical region of
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Ilinca Stroe
Apr 8, 20203 min read
One word and beyond: “Rost” in 9 Everyday Romanian Phrases
"Rost": a Romanian noun which is essentially untranslatable. Although as part of some phrases it can be easily rendered as “point",
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Ilinca Stroe
Mar 20, 20203 min read
Queen Mother Elena: Righteous for Her Nation, Righteous among the Nations
without her, Romania’s King, her son, in times of turmoil and bitter suffering, would have probably failed to serve his country with the wis
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Ilinca Stroe
Feb 29, 20203 min read
One word and beyond: “Drag” in 9 Everyday Romanian Phrases
There’s “drag” in English and “drag” in Romanian. The four-letter noun looks the same in both languages but the meanings are wide apart:
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Ilinca Stroe
Feb 13, 20203 min read
A Bit of Genoa in Romania: The Enisala Fortress
Perched on a limestone hill into the fanciful small ridges of which it seems to coalesce, it rises with elegance above an exhilaratingly bea
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Ilinca Stroe
Jan 27, 20203 min read
One word and beyond: “Nas” in 11 Everyday Romanian Phrases
It is the key word in a great deal of phrases and idiomatic expressions where the overall meaning has to do, somewhat surprisingly, not with
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Ilinca Stroe
Jan 8, 20203 min read
The Firm Charm of Feminism in Romanian Architecture: Virginia Andreescu Haret
Virginia Andreescu Haret (1894-1962) made her feminist statement through the silent power of concrete: she engineered enduring urban beauty
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Ilinca Stroe
Dec 20, 20194 min read
The 30-year Travail: From the Bottom of Rankings to Powerful Romanians in the World
It is no exaggeration to state that Romanians experienced a lasting collective trauma inflicted during 42 years of communism, which
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Ilinca Stroe
Dec 5, 20193 min read
What Do We Ask When We Ask Nothing? 10 Answerless Questions in Romanian
In Romanian, we don’t have question tags. But we do have what we could call, generically, “rhetorical questions”: questions which don't
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Ilinca Stroe
Oct 25, 20193 min read
One word at a time: “Păr”
In the mythology, fiction and arts of many cultures, it is a symbol of plentifulness, wellbeing, beauty and status, especially with women.
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Ilinca Stroe
Sep 23, 20194 min read
Dora d’Istria: the Coordinates of Female Romanian Genius
The perfect pseudonym for a polymath princess born in Bucharest and hailed as one of 19th-century Europe’s most impressive cosmopolitans.
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Ilinca Stroe
Sep 11, 20193 min read
One word at a time: “Gât”
They say, “capul se uită unde îl întoarce gâtul” (the head looks in the direction where the neck turns it), and that certainly suggests
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Ilinca Stroe
Aug 23, 20194 min read
A Desperate Father’s Feat: The Iulia Haşdeu Castle
It was Iulia who dictated to him, he claimed, the detailed architectural plans for the castle, the construction of which he carefully coordi
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Ilinca Stroe
Aug 12, 20195 min read
Currency Mirroring Values: Romania’s Banknotes
Banknotes, of course, carry financial power. But they’re also indicative of what a country values in terms of achievement, which is in turn
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Ilinca Stroe
Jul 28, 20192 min read
One word at a time: “Umăr”
In this framework, there’s one body part in particular that symbolises dependability: the shoulder – in Romanian, umăr, from Latin humerus.
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Ilinca Stroe
Jul 12, 20192 min read
A Statement of Little Paris Charm: Bucharest’s CEC Palace
On Bucharest’s most chic street, centric Calea Victoriei, standing like a dreamy damsel on a day out awaiting her aristocratic barouche, the
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Ilinca Stroe
Jun 15, 20193 min read
Vladimir Ghika, the World-scale Romanian Carer
Instead, Vladimir Ghika - prince, priest and martyr - followed charity ideals: he chose the vocational path of good-doing
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Ilinca Stroe
Jun 5, 20193 min read
One word at a time: “Ureche”
This time round the focus will be on the word “ureche” (ear), which comes from Latin oricla (auricula), and the expressions it has generated
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Ilinca Stroe
May 21, 20193 min read
Pelişor. The Princely Home to a Magnificent Heart
you’ll soon set eyes on a smaller castle (or larger villa) which calls for love at first sight: it is charming without being imposing, grace
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Ilinca Stroe
May 8, 20195 min read
Dumitru Dan, the Romanian Globetrotter
the Romanian walked 100,000 kilometres around the world for six years, dressed in folk costumes and wearing peasant sandals,
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