W
NW
N
N
NE
W
the Degree Confluence Project
E
SW
S
S
SE
E

Romania

1.3 km (0.8 miles) E of Daia, Giurgiu, Romania
Approx. altitude: 82 m (269 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 44°S 154°W

Accuracy: 10 m (32 ft)
Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: Corn to the west/Porumb spre vest #3: Mihai & Mihnea to the north/Mihai si Mihnea spre nord #4: Fields eatwards/Cimpuri spre est #5: View south/Vedere spre sud #6: Andra making the movie/Andra filmand expeditia #7: Comana Monastery/Manastirea Comana #8: All zeros/Numai zerouri

  { Main | Search | Countries | Information | Member Page | Random }

  44°N 26°E (visit #1)  

#1: Panorama north-east-south/Panorama nord-est-sud

(visited by Mihai Pitigoi, Andra Costin, Mihnea Costin and Carmen Stroe)

English

Romana: 22-Jul-2001 -- 44N 26E este prima mea vizita la o confluenta, si in acelasi timp prima confluenta vizitata din Romania. M-a atras ideea de a vizita confluente inca de cind am aflat de acest proiect, si imediat ce mi-am cumparat un GPS am si pornit spre cea mai apropiata, impreuna cu prietena mea Andra, fratele ei Mihnea si prietena lui, Carmen.

44N 26E se afla la vreo 40 km de Bucuresti, spre Giurgiu, aproape de sosea, asa ca mi s-a parut o confluenta potrivita pentru niste incepatori.

Asa ca duminica 22 iulie, pe la prinz (desi planuisem sa plecam dimineata), am plecat spre Giurgiu. Vremea era placuta pentru iulie, in jur de 30 grade si putini nori, cit sa nu ne deranjeze soarele incontinuu. Dupa jumatate de ora am ajuns la paralela 44N, si am lasat masina pe un drum de caruta. Confluenta era la 720 metri spre est, pe o mica colina terasata. Dupa citeva minute de urcus (foto 6), am observat un sir de trepte in paragina care urcau pina in virf. La o privire mai atenta am remarcat ca pe aceste terase fusese cindva o vie. Inca mai cresteau citiva butuci salbaticiti si se vedeau gropile ramase de la araci. Drumul mai departe parea destul de usor: trebuia doar sa tinem directia spre confluenta. Dar, dupa numai 10 minute, am ajuns la un lan de porumb, si mai aveam de mers cam 500 metri. Am intrat in lan si dupa 20 metri am iesit iar la lumina?la vreo 50 metri de o unitate militara radar, care se afla exact pe directia confluentei. Ne-am temut ca nu cumva confluenta sa fie in interiorul unitatii, dar ne-am dat seama imediat ca era mai departe. Ne-am sfatuit citeva minute sa vedem pe unde ocolim radarul si am pornit printr-un cimp de ovaz (cred). Peste inca 20 minute ajungeam la drumul care urca la radar, pe partea cealalta a dealului! Prima lectie sarea in ochi: ar fi trebuit mai intii sa incerc sa ma apropii cit mai mult posibil cu masina, incercind toate drumurile din zona! Dar a fost mai aventuros asa.

Acum ne aflam aproape de meridianul 26E, dar reusisem sa ne indepartam de 44N cit am ocolit radarul. Mai erau cam 150 metri pina la confluenta, care se afla in josul pantei, pe partea opusa celei pe care urcaseram, asa ca am pornit pe drum la vale. Peste putin am intilnit un localnic care ne-a sfatuit sa ascundem camerele pentru ca nu era permis sa filmezi sau sa fotografiezi in preajma unitatii. Cu toate astea, tot timpul cit am mers pe linga gardul unitatii nu ne-a deranjat nimeni.

Dupa vreo trei minute de coborire am parasit drumul, si am facut stinga pe una din terasele dealului. Eram foarte aproape, dar pina la confluenta mai aveam de trecut printr-un lan de porumb. Am pornit, dar pina la urma s-a dovedit ca aveam de traversat vreo 4 lanuri. Fiind un deal terasat, porumbul era plantat pe terase, in lanuri destul de inguste. Dupa ce treceam de fiecare lan trebuia sa urcam o mica panta pina la urmatoarea terasa si sa trecem de un nou lan. Intr-un final am ajuns la un lan de porumb plantat de curind, deci mic de inaltime. Dupa citiva pasi GPS-ul a aratat zerouri peste tot. Eram fix la 44N 26E! Primii vizitatori ai unei confluente romanesti! Dupa ce ne-am imbratisat am instalat trepiedul si camera si am facut pozele.

Eram pe partea estica a dealului. Altitudinea era in jur de 50m (de euforie am uitat sa o notez undeva exact). Spre vest (adica spre virful dealului) tot ce vedeam era un lan de porumb (foto 2). Spre nord se vedea exact ce vedeti in foto nr. 3. Cele mai frumoase privelisti erau spre est si spre sud. Spre est se intindea o cimpie cultivata, cit vedeai cu ochii (foto 4). Chiar pe la poalele dealului trecea calea ferata Bucuresti-Giurgiu. Spre sud-est, la 5 minute de mers pe jos, era o gara si drumul care ducea la gara si la unitatea militara radar. Spre sud se vedea lunca Dunarii (dealul pe care eram era ultima inaltime pina la fluviu) si dealurile din Bulgaria, cu antena TV din Ruse (foto 5). Panorama este de 180 grade (foto 1). In stinga este nordul, in centru este vederea spre est, cu cimpurile cultivate, iar in dreapta imaginii este sudul, spre Giurgiu si Dunare. Aproape de marginea din dreapta a pozei se vede si Dunarea (mica pata stralucitoare).

Ne-am intors la masina pe noul drum si am pornit spre Bucuresti. Pe drum ne-am oprit la Manastirea Comana, construita de Vlad Tepes acum vreo 500 ani, la citiva kilometri de confluenta, dar cea mai panoramica fotografie pe care am reusit-o este foto 7.

Am inclus si o poza in care se vede ecranul GPS-ului cu pozitia exacta (foto 8).

Reveniti periodic pe pagina pentru noi confluente din Romania.

English: 22-Jul-2001 -- This is my first visit to a confluence, and at the same time the first visit to a Romanian confluence. I liked the idea of visiting confluences since I first found out about this project, and as soon as I bought a GPS I started to the nearest one, together with my girlfriend Andra, her brother Mihnea and his girlfriend Carmen.

N44 E26 is situated some 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) south of Bucharest, close to the Danube, the natural border with Bulgaria, and some hundred meters off the highway to Bulgaria, so it looked like an easy enough confluence for a novice confluence-hunting party like ours.

So we started at noon from my girlfriend's apartment (even though having planned a much earlier departure), and drove south. The weather was friendly for a summer afternoon in the Romanian plains, this meaning about 30C and a few clouds. We reached N44 in about 30 minutes and left the car there, on a dirt road near the highway. The confluence was 720 meters east, on a little terraced hill. After few minutes of climbing the hill (photo #6), we noticed a row of stairs, in a poor condition, going up. Examining the hill, we discovered that once there was a vineyard on the terraces. All that was left now were the stairs and some small vines, grown on the ground.

The walk seemed easy enough: just keeping the direction to the confluence. But, after only 10 minutes, we reached a cornfield, and we still had to go some 500 meters. We entered the cornfield, and after only 20 meters we were again on clear ground; some 50 meters from a radar dome and a small military base, that were exactly on the direction of the confluence. We worried that the confluence would be on military ground, but soon realized that that was not the case. We talked a few minutes to decide which way to take to go round the camp, and started. After another 20 minutes we reached the road that lead to the radar, which was on the other side of the hill that we parked the car! My first lesson was obvious: I should have tried first the nearest possible approach by car, by driving all the roads in the vicinity! Though, it was a nicer adventure this way.

Now we were close to E26, but we managed to lose N44 when walking around the military base. The confluence was only some 150 meters away, down on the other side of the hill, so we started downhill on the road. After a few meters we met a local that advised us to hide our cameras, as it was illegal to take photos of or film the radar. That surprised us, as we had just walked along the fence of the base for 10 minutes, and nobody from inside bothered us.

We left that road after a 3 minutes descent, and we turned left on one of the terraces of the hill. We were very close, but to reach the confluence we had to cross another cornfield. We started, but it turned out that we finally had to cross four small cornfields to get to the point. Being a terraced hill, corn was planted only on terraces, so the fields were narrow. After each field we climbed to the next terrace and the next cornfield, until we reached a field where the corn was recently planted. After a few steps the GPS display finally showed N44 E26! We were the first to visit a confluence on Romanian ground, so first we hugged each other. After that I set the tripod and the camera and took the pictures.

We were on the east side of the hill. The elevation was about 50m (about 140 feet). To the west (the top of the hill) a large cornfield was all we could see (photo #2). The north view was nothing more than you can see in photo #3. The nicest views were east and south. Eastwards there is a large plain extending to the horizon (photo #4). Just at the bottom of the hill lies the railroad linking Bucharest to Giurgiu, the main Danube port in the area and the border crossing point to Bulgaria. Southeastwards, 5 minutes walking from the confluence, there was a railway station and the road leading to the station, to the radar dome and to the military base. Southwards we could see the plain all the way to the Danube, and further, the TV tower in Ruse, a Bulgarian city just across the river (photo #5).

The panoramic shot is a 180-degree panorama (photo #1). The left side of the picture is the north view, the center is the east, with the farming fields, and the right side is the south view, towards Giurgiu and the Danube. Close to the right edge of the picture, you can see the Danube (the small glitter). We took the newly discovered road back to the car and drove home. On our way back we stopped by Comana Monastery, few kilometers from the confluence, built by Vlad Tepes some 500 years ago, but I couldn't get a wider shot than photo #7.

I have also included a picture of the GPS showing all zeros (photo #8).

New confluences coming soon.


 All pictures
#1: Panorama north-east-south/Panorama nord-est-sud
#2: Corn to the west/Porumb spre vest
#3: Mihai & Mihnea to the north/Mihai si Mihnea spre nord
#4: Fields eatwards/Cimpuri spre est
#5: View south/Vedere spre sud
#6: Andra making the movie/Andra filmand expeditia
#7: Comana Monastery/Manastirea Comana
#8: All zeros/Numai zerouri
ALL: All pictures on one page