Well many of you think I have a horse and cart out here and that beer costs 10p a pint, its not quite like that so I also included a picture of our local shopping center inside and out , just to show you we are as modern as the rest of Europe


Yes we even have Debenhams!


Nothing special just inside at the Chinese restaurant where there is a cool waterfall/light display.

Anyways, back to the reason for this thread -

Located very close to where we live (1hour 30 mins by car) there is a place located in the hills/mountains called " Peştera Urşilor " (Bears Cave)
It is a huge cave inside the mountain with stalagmites and stalactites which have formed over thousands of years, the interesting twist to this story is that inside the cave they have found the remains of over 140 Bears, which were trapped in the cave after a landslide/Earthquake forcing them to die out, a bit of survival of the fittest really, they ate each other till the last Bear remained and he died without a food source.

Here is an extract from Wiki :
"The cave was named so, as numerous Cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) were found in this cave. The cave was visited by these large animals more than 15,000 years ago. It is suggested that a rock slide closed the entrance whilst 140 of these animals were still inside; deprived of food, the bears resorted to killing each other until none remained. Bear fossils were found in many parts of the cave, most sporting the marks of bear teeth.
The cave was undisturbed until 17 September 1975 when the cave was discovered during quarry works. The marble and limestone of this area was mined by the inhabitants of the nearby village Chişcău. The first person in the cave was quarry worker Curta Traian from Chişcău."

I have wanted to visit for a very long time and finally got the chance to when my Mum and Sister came to visit last month, so here are a few pictures!


Trip into the mountains has some fantastic scenery !


Pictures can't really capture just how big this place is, you walk in through a narrow corridor then it just explodes into this magical and vast open space!



This was a part of the tour where seconds after I took the picture they turned the lights out (as part of the tour) I didn't know that at the time and wasn't really listening to
the tour guide so I did piss my pants a bit



This is the last part of the tour, the first few bones you see are right at the front of the walkway, all huddled together either they died there or were eaten there, this guy however is further back and it seems he may well have been the last Bear in the cave to die, spooky stuff!

It was a great place to visit and hopefully you enjoyed the pictures !

Next stop (when we get some time off from work) will be Draculas Castle finally, its close but not that close so definitely have to take a week off to go stay down there !



Anywa

Looks like a cool day out Joe!

Plus Romainia looks modern in that picture how much did you pay then to hid the horse and carts lol

Draculas Castle sounds awesome i would love to see some pictures of that!!

Hi Joe, that's a cool little travelogue, the caves look awesome and that's a real spooky story about the bears!

At least in Romania you get just as much rain as the UK by the looks of it lol. Surprise - it's pissing down right now in Brum!

Cool pics though, and look forward to some Dracula stories n pics mate!

Great stuff

Looks like a fun trip Joe!

That's an amazing story about Bear Cave actually. Thanks for sharing.

I blame my family for bringing the weather Paul lol

We had blistering heat two days before they came, that day we took them out it pissed it down like never before, all they had packed were sandals so we had to stop to buy shoes lol

Now its freaking boiling out again, we do get the best of both worlds though, the seasons really do what they are supposed to, snow in winter , heat in the summer and rain when the ground needs it! (Or when English people visit)

Great pics Joe!

Looking forward to your trip to Dracula's castle,is that Bran Castle where Vlad the Impaler lived if i remember correctly? :scratch:

Thats the one Mark! Mr Stoker sure gave Romania a boost with tourists when he decided on Vlad!

Very nice landscape, Joe. The caves are awesome. Can't wait to see the pix from Dracula's Castle. I'm so jealous.

Thanks Chris, one day I hope you make it over to see us !

Another funny story about the cave, we are making our way through, the sound of water dripping in the cave, walking past funny formations and suddenly the tour guide stops ahead of us and calls everyone around.

We all wait there patiently whilst everyone catches up to hear him, he then tells us that when the miner/worker first found the cave by accident after they had detonated some part of the mountain there was still one living Bear in the cave, disturbed by the man and scared he ran from him and jumped up to get out of the cave, he got stuck and died.

He then pointed behind us and told us to look high up to the formation and there , in the distance was the Bear, still hanging by his head..

I pushed to the front of the crowd amidst gasping onlookers and there I saw it !



I stood amazed for a second and snapped another close up -



Can you see the Bear?

Anyways, I got back to our group and proudly told my Mum and Sister the story of the Bear (as the tour guide was talking in Romanian) and showed them the pictures.

Ana, who has been before a few years ago, leans over and says " Joe, its a joke you dick, thats just a rock that looks a bit like a Bear, didn't you hear the guide say the "myth" "

Good thing red faces don't show when you are in a dark cave and I guess my Romanian is still not 100%

I hope to make it one day. At least now I know not to believe the jumping bear story.

Great story, love the scenery. Perfect inviroment to take the drawingbook with me, and draw the cave with som darkelves lurking around Very inspirering!!

Lol yeah sorry for spoiling the surprise! LOL

Was a tad embarassing

Check this link out , fossils for sale -

http://www.tellmewhereonearth.com/Web%20Pages/Cave%20Bear%20Fossils/Cave_Bear_Fossils.htm



A complete Ursus Spelaeus Fossil only $85,000!

Not sure I would want one of these in my house but wow thats a big fucking bear! Fucking glad there weren't any alive in there tbh !

Darth Kaze wrote:

Great story, love the scenery. Perfect inviroment to take the drawingbook with me, and draw the cave with som darkelves lurking around Very inspirering!!

Glad you liked it, there really is a lot to see and do here you would need a 3 week or more holiday to really get around Romania and see all the sights!

That was a great read and educational piece thanks for the share.Gret pic's too.

I can't wait for the time when you share with us a trip to count dracula's castle!!!That is awesome.I heard that place is haunted and a lot of paranormal sht goes down there.Don't forget to bring some holy water,crosses and garlic with you on that one. :nailbiting: :nailbiting: :nailbiting: :nailbiting: :nailbiting: :nailbiting: :nailbiting: :nailbiting: :nailbiting: :nailbiting: :nailbiting: :nailbiting: :nailbiting:

"Deceased cave bear posing together with his last direct descendant."