Post 4 - Romania

Always for different reasons, this was my third visit in Romania. First two were in December 2001 (Bucharest and Brasov) and August 2002 (Bucharest and the Black sea cost). Since then almost 6 years have passed. In the history of Romania, not just another 6 years: over this period, that followed the very agitated 90’ies, Romania took several key steps towards the adoption of a free market economy and a new geopolitical repositioning in the international scene. Just to name 2 of the most instantly recognizable events: the entry in Nato and the EU accession.

I was very curious to acknowledge the impact these last years had in Romania. Overall however, I must confess I was rather disappointed. At a first sight (and that’s pretty much what I was given the opportunity to have, a first glance), investment, both public and private foreign on, had a tremendous boom. Bucharest, even not being a particularly charming capital, remains impressive and growing as an even more cosmopolitan and international metropolis. Every step you take along the country, you feel the reconstruction of the Romanian’s obsolete infrastructures effort. But despite all this, the feeling one has is that Romania still has a long, long way ahead of itself.

“Scares of the communist Era”, here an expression I’ve used in prior posts. Well, in Romania, apparently some of the wounds are still bleeding. 2 are notorious, above all. As mentioned, the large majority of the country’s infrastructures (roads, railway, industrial park...) are simply obsolete or non-existing. The are only 2 highways, both close to Bucharest, with only one being worth the name. Along the country, roads are often in a poor condition, in the north you still can only rely on the ferry to cross the Danube while travelling the main national road and the railway system, even though crossing the whole country, is almost all archaic. I should however say that if it wasn’t for the massive financial support EU, I wonder how different the situation back home would be.

The other still open would, the mentality of its people, still very much shaped by the countries recent history. Don’t get me wrong: Romanians are in fact, kind and warm people. When in need of help, once can only complain of the often over helpfulness of the people you come across, even in the big cities. To have the experience of being hosted by a Romanian family (as I was for two times) gives you a whole new meaning to hospitability: they indeed insist in moving to the living-room to cede you the main bedroom. However, it his very difficult to “break the ice” and often you are constantly disencouraged along the process. In addition, nothing is for free in this country, not even after you have paid for it. I will always recall two statements on this matter. The first made by Iuli, answering to our astonished eyes seeing her fiercely fighting for every penny when infuriating any merchantman at Istanbul’s grand Bazar, though almost always taking her way: “you did not grew up having to fight for every little thing” she simply said. The second, the comment of my dear friend Titus after hearing from me this very same comment a couple of weeks ago: “My friend, here in Romania you need to fight for everything: for money, for a job, for woman, for your day-to-day things, for anything!” This couldn’t be truer. Don’t expect a smile, even when you are being served at a restaurant or a hotel. If you need to move a table or a chair, my advice is not to ask, but to simply do it. Otherwise you will most probably get a no for an answer. Sometimes, one gets the feeling they are still finding someone to blame for the hard life conditions they had to grown up on. Failing to find anyone, they apparently do it on everyone.

After being in the country with 3 very different perspectives, I would say Romania is definitely not the place to go as a tourist. Then your expectations will be very high, particularly on aspects which aren’t clearly the country’s strongest ones. You will end up paying the same fees as in any other western country (sometimes even more) and you will get a much worse service then the one you get back home, this while missing almost completely the many beauties of Romanian tradition. However, it can be a fascinating country to explore, this meaning on a more daring manner. Even though both roads and railway can often drive you mad, to adventure yourself on any of them can be a thrilling experience, as long as you are not on a tight deadline. Don’t miss the Danube’s Delta (paraphrasing Noel “MA-GNI-FI-QUE!!!”), where you can find nature, both fauna and flora, on a setting that will make you believe you are no longer in Europe, but somewhere in Africa. Take your time exploring the north of the country, mainly the lovely province of Moldova, surprisingly barely touched by the “ancient regime” and displaying many orthodox monasteries not to be missed. Then don’t be in a worry again to reach Bucharest crossing Transylvania through the Carpathians Mountains, amazing yourself with some breathtaking natural beauties you’ll find along the way and making a stop over in Brasov. End up with a good night out in Bucharest, where the offer won’t be for sure scarce. Well, make it two!

One final word, something I believe I already wrote before: clock it ticking to visit the Eastern European countries. For the good and (many, many times) for the bad, western way of life is advancing furiously, leaving little behind. That is mostly notorious on the big cities, where self-identity starts to be hard to find. I couldn’t stop remembering the comment my friend Titus made by my second visit in Romania, by 2002: “Life night is still quite wild here. But every year that goes by from the revolution, the fire is slowly cooling down”. Indeed, not only the attitude of people when going out, but life style in Eastern Europe in general is changing quite dramatically. If you still want to experience it, move quickly.