October, the 25th, 2011 My dear friend, I cant tell how happy I am that youre coming to Piatra Neam!

Its been so long since we last saw each other in London when you have shown me the beauties of your home city. Finally, you can pay me back my visit and I hope we will have enough time to share the attractions of my town and of its surroundings. Some people call Piatra Neam a city, but I wouldnt really say it is a great city like Bucharest our capital or even Iai, which is one of the largest cities in Moldavia. Having a population of around 100,000 inhabitants, I would still name it a town. But it is a fantastic town! Nicknamed the Pearl of Moldavia, it is considered one the most important tourist centers in the country, which made it the capital of the North-East development region. The meaning of Piatra is rock and Neam means German, so the approximate translation of the name Piatra Neam would be German Rock. Knowing that youll be here only for a couple of days, I wish to take you to the most important places that are really worth seeing in Piatra. So, I intend to take you on a town tour, especially to the center of the town where I will show you the famous Steven the Great Square and Tower (built in 1499 during the reign of Steven the Great one of our most honorable rulers in the past, who has been named a saint because of his contribution to our spiritual life: he built more than 20 churches all over Moldavia , Saint John the Baptist Church (built by Steven the Great between 1497 and 1498) which lies nearby, then we will rest on one of the benches of the Central Park, from where I will point you to the Youths Theater (one of the best-known theaters in Romania because many talented Romanian actors began their career here). Near the square there are two museums: The History and Archaeology Museum (where we can see the Cucuteni exhibition, the largest Aeneolithic artifacts collection in southeastern Europe) and the Fine Arts Museum, with collections of painting and tapestry created by the local artists. If youre in the mood for museum seeing, there are also the History Museum of our town and the Natural Sciences Museum, which lie a little further. What I particularly like here is that we can enjoy a trip above the town in the telegondola that will take us to the Cozla ski slope, from where we will be able to admire the whole town and much more: the Btca Doamnei lake and dam, and the four

main hills surrounding the town: Cernegura, Cozla, Pietricica and Crlomanu. If you like animals, I could also take you to the Central Zoological Garden that shelters most animals living in the area, such as the Carpathian bear, the wolf, the deer, the stag, the squirrel, and many birds, as the goose, the duck, the peacock and many others. And if you care to ride a horse, we could go to the Equestrian Stadium Virgil Barbuceanu near Bistria river and the Central Swimming Pool. Here in Piatra Neam we have also the home-museum of one of our local writers, Calistrat Hoga, which was built in 1885 and possesses one of the most representative architectural styles of the area. Another interesting place to see would be the wooden Synagogue, which is very old (built in 1766). Exhibitions of paintings by local artists are presented daily at Lascar Vorel Art Gallery. Another day we could go to eat some traditional Moldavian food in a traditional restaurant such as Colibele Haiducilor or Paharnicu and if youre in mood for dancing, we could go to a fancy club, such as Tequila, Tonique or Scala. Since Piatra Neam is the host of a short movie festival (called Filmul de Piatra), when you come, maybe theyll still be on so we could go there one evening. There are many attractions in my town and I will be so happy to show them to you. I hope well have the time to see them all. Hope we get in touch soon, have a safe flight and Ill see you next week! Looking forward to seeing you soon, lots of kisses, Cristina