Bucharest (Romania): The 'Stray Dog' Statue

And here we have what is commonly known as the 'Stray Dog' statue in Bucharest.

Just read that the statue, which stands in front of the entrance to the National History Museum, is supposed to represent the Roman Emperor Trajan holding a wolf, but the wolf turned out more like a dog.

Tulcea (Romania): Persian Silk Tree

Saw the flower in the Persian silk (mimosa) tree and just thought "Wow!", as it (almost literally) seemed to explode into colour. 

And the building below caught my eye without me finding out what it was:

Also really like the building below:

Tulcea (Romania): The Lone Fisherman

Just zooming my anthropological eye in on a lone fisherman in Tulcea, Romania here:

This guy just caught my eye because he looked totally absorbed in what he was doing.

Below, there's another lone fisherman, also completely hooked into the task at hand:

Varna Cathedral: Religious Fresh Air

In my home country of Great Britain, Christian religiosity and symbols have been more or less banished from public life due to the godless, politically-'correct' ideology that runs amok there. 

Thus, when I see something like the Eastern Orthodox Cathedral in Varna, I feel like pure fresh air is entering my soul:

I simply love Christian paintings and iconography, they give me a sort of enchantment, something that the Western world is sadly losing:

Just think that Eastern/Byzantine Christendom has a special flavour that as a member of Western Christendom, I'm somewhat able to sense the mysticism but not fully grasp the meaning of it:

In my late teenage years, I read quite a bit about Eastern Orthodoxy, and now, at a visual level, it still fascinates me:

Had to get a shot of the Assumption painting below, as Varna Cathedral is named after Our Lady of the Assumption:

Also really like the Nativity painting below:

Varna Cathedral: Religious Emotion

Love it when a big cathedral is still and quiet in the middle of the day, when you can just sit down, like the girl in the picture, and take time out from life, possibly focusing the mind (soul) on higher things.

Bury (Lancashire): St. Joseph's Catholic Church and Infant/Junior Schools from the 1970s

Really glad somebody sent these pictures round the 'Old Bury' websites recently, as they evoke a lot of nostalgia for me.  Starting with St. Joseph's church above: I used to go there as a child in the 1970s.  Unfortunately, the statue of Our Lady in the picture was destroyed by mindless vandals (during the 1980s or 1990s, I think).

Below, there is a shot from a distance of St. Joseph's Infant School.  Can still remember my first day there and meeting two second-generation Poles, Henry Portas and Andrew Dzien.  Still in contact with Henry who lives in Bolton now, but the last I heard about Andrew was that he was living in a Salvation Army hostel down Cornwall (let's hope his fortunes have changed):

And then St. Joseph's Junior School, I was here between about 1974 and 1977:

Recognise Mr. Mahon and a few of the faces on the picture below, but it's from so long ago that it's like another lifetime away now:

Bucharest Old Town: Museum Pieces

Right next to the Old Court Prince church in Bucharest old town, you can see a few interesting (possibly/probably) Roman museum exhibits on display:

And some kind of sculpture of Vlad the Impaler too:

And some fascinating (what I guess are) tomb stones: