Remembering Romania

Romania

It was an early start for our trip from Bulgaria to Romania. At the bus station, we discovered our bus was a 21-seater but there were 24 passengers — however the bus driver produced plastic stools so we had seats for everyone. And by the time we reached Ruse near the Bulgaria-Romania border, he had skilfully found room for two more passengers.

The bus route was a very rural commuter service — the passengers were cheerful and it was a great way to travel. It was even better when we realised that we would be in Ruse in plenty of time to make our Bucharest connection. The service, in spite of our misgivings, just couldn’t have been better.

Bucharest, the capital of Romania, has 1.8 million people. It’s a very lively city and struck us as a city of contrasts. The run-down legacy of the communist regime is slowly being replaced by a programme of restoration. The city is a goldmine of history and historic buildings. We were surprised at the number of old churches and their immaculate condition. We found the people there very friendly and in spite of our limited knowledge of their language really helpful.

In Bucharest we were introduced to parking Balkan and as it turned out European-style — cars are parked wherever they will fit and seems to be completely unpoliced. Footpaths, verges and pedestrian crossings are just parking area extensions.

We had a great journey to Brasov, travelling with a well-educated Romanian woman who spoke very good English. She was able to fill up a lot of the gaps in our knowledge of things Romanian.

The heavy rain when we arrived in Brasov put a bit of a damper on our spirits. This was Transylvania, the location of Bram Stoker’s Dracula castle. We had intended to visit the castle, but the rain changed our plans. Being dressed for an anticipated summer’s day, we decided to spend our time exploring the old part of the town, very conveniently right outside our back door. The apartment we had booked for our overnight stay was well-chosen. It was over 200 years old, renovated and in the old city. We had the best of old and new surrounded by what could only be described as a very well preserved medieval city.

People friendly, food wonderfulWe were very impressed by the helpful friendly people we met. As our stay was a short one we did not attempt any self-catering but splashed out and dined at a local restaurant. Romanian food for two, Romanian wine, both comparable with anything we have had anywhere else in the world, and for less than $NZ35.00.

Next day we had an early morning trip up Tampa hill in the local cable car to look over the city and then a midday train to Sibiu, a three-hour journey.

Sibiu, pronounced Sebeoo, was another pleasant surprise, chosen mainly because it fitted in well with the train timetable. A great choice — our sightseeing took us into the old town on their market day. The atmosphere in the great square and the surrounding areas was almost medieval. The contrast between Bucharest and the provinces was very noticeable. It seems the smaller towns have been kept in much better condition. The old town was even tidier than Brasov. We found a very modern supermarket well stocked with fruit and bought cherries for around $NZ2 a kilo and a few supplies so we could make use of the good kitchen facilities in our spacious apartment.

Our next stop was Timisoara, a city of some 250,000 people. It has had a long history of foreign interference which includes occupation by Hungary, communist domination by Russia, rebellion and independence.

Now finally like the rest of Romania it has the (good or bad) depending on your point of view, influence of becoming part of the EU.

We were so impressed walking the streets, (a necessity as the public transport started a few blocks from our residence) as we were able to pick, plums, mulberries and cherries, and see a huge crop of walnuts the locals will enjoy when they were ready, on the trees lining the avenues.

The old part of town is filled with classic buildings many of which have already been restored and many more that are in the process of restoration so the whole town is a hive of activity.

We will always remember Romania with pleasure, the warmth of the people . . . even the haphazard parking.