Sí, los ingleses también sucumbieron ante los
encantos de Rumania; y eso, que no llegaron hasta las esencias – léase Moldavia.
Pero no os preocupéis, la gente es hospitalaria y
os entenderéis con ellos, seguro.
Reproduzco aquí el contenido del enlace que se
cita:
Romania, a surprise
Disclaimer: I was hung over and
sleep depraved when I wrote this at Bucharest
Airport. But I just re-read
and I still agree. :)
I just spent 10 days in Romania. There
was not a specific reason why I went; it was just a country that I have never
visited so I booked a flight. A friend decided to join when he found out, he
would only be able to spend 3 nights though, so for the rest I would be on my
own. Other friends gave me a quizzical “Why do you want to go THERE?” or warned
me about being robbed and assaulted.
The first event in Romania was that just meters above the ground
during landing at Bucharest
airport the engines of the plane suddenly went to full power and the plane
rapidly pitched up. We were pressed into
the seat. The girl next to me said: “Perhaps they realized it’s the wrong
airport. There are two you know.” The pilot informed us shortly after that
another plane has suddenly rolled onto the runway. The wild east I thought.
I stayed at a serviced apartment in
the old town near Unirii square. Razvan, the manager of these apartments, picked
me up with his car. After a couple of questions he started talking about Bucharest. A very likable
guy. He wasn’t the only one as I should find out.
First things first: The city has a
population of about 2 million and while it has areas with beautiful, old
buildings that remind visitors why it was once called the “Paris of the East”, most of the city looks
typically post-communist. The women, this has to be mentioned, are very
attractive on average and know how to dress well. Many are straight out
stunningly beautiful. People seem to be moving throughout the city in groups. Rarely
a lone pedestrian can be found. 99,9% of people have black hair and dark eyes. But
that might differ in other parts of the country, I am not sure.
The apartment was in top condition
and located in a six story building in one corner of the Lipscani district, the
main nightlife area of town. It’s just awesome to live that close to the action,
no subway or taxi necessary at all times. I was given the keys and was
instructed to do what I want, because this is my apartment now. In case of any
trouble I could always call Razvan. My neighbors were mostly older people who
probably have been living there for many years.
I’ve met my friend who arrived a few
hours earlier and after a quick dinner we hit the streets of Lipscani. The area
got busy around 10 PM and would get even busier until the morning hours. Thousands
of people were walking the streets between the bars, clubs and restaurants, again,
mostly in groups. Almost every bar had tables outside which were crowded, something
that I haven’t seen in a while. We arrived on Friday, it would be only slightly
less crowded during the week.
One more thing about the bars and
clubs: They range from cozy quiet hangouts for friends to loud techno clubs
that blast their music out into the streets. But in all of them smoking is
allowed. There are it seems so far no anti-smoking laws in Romania, although
that may change with the EU forcing their rules on the local government.
Gypsies: Romania has a bad image abroad
because they are perceived as stealing gypsies and con-artists. Sometimes I’d
see somebody and assume he’s a gypsy, but that, as I found out, did not mean
they were thieves or beggars by default. I was approached by beggars, small
children, a few times but was told to not give them anything. They probably had
their S-class mercedes already and didn’t need any more money. So I was told.
Safety: I rarely felt as safe in a
foreign capital as I did in Bucharest.
And I am not a naive tourist. There simply is no sign of threat whatsoever. I
think Berlin and London are vastly more dangerous. So forget
all that crap you hear.
The main tourist attraction seems to
be dictator Ceausescu’s palace - now the home to the Romanian government. An
immensely huge building with a road that resembles the Champs-Élysées in Paris and leads up to
their own version of the Arc de Triomphe. I didn’t go inside though. When I
planned to do it was (orthodox) Easter and there were no tours. There was, however,
a drift racing event right in front of the palace for at least 2 days.
The parks are particularly great. Huge
areas of green lawns, trees and sometimes with a lake, they are located in
central areas throughout the city. We’ve seen many bikers and inline skaters
there. You can imagine pavement walkways in all directions with park benches
facing them conveniently for an afternoon of people-watching.
As a rule of thumb expect to pay
about half what you would pay in western EU countries.
There’s many more things to be said,
I could list facts all day, but the fact is you should just trust me and visit.
I could say I don’t know what it is
that is so damn appealing about being here, but I do. It’s the people. As a
visitor you feel very welcome. The people are warm and enthusiastic. 99,9% of
people I’ve spoken to (those includes mostly the younger generation) speak
fluent English. They might even surprise you, because they speak 5 other
languages as well, including yours. And if they do, they do it well. They seem
to be extremely good educated and some are very well traveled.
There’s a sense of love for their
own country, pride, the will to improve things, and a generally positive
outlook to life. Perhaps this is blue-eyed, but it is the impression that I got
from the people I have met here and spent some time with. Sometimes there’s an almost absurd talent. Go
to a karaoke party (almost as popular here as in Japan!) and you’ll see (or rather
hear) what I mean.
So what happened.
I’ve had a blast, even after my
friend left and I was alone in this city. I could have easily fallen in love
with a girl, and I think she did fall in love with me. I went on taxi-rides
with complete strangers without knowing the destination or what the hell they
were saying. I was thrown out of a club because my date was a little bit too
alive that evening. I saw many near-escalations, but somehow nobody really
seems interested in violence here. There’s a temper though, and it keeps up the
pace of life. There are roads in Transilvania that are designed to kill you, never
take your eyes off the road. But they are a pleasure to drive for every
motorist.
There are witches, black magic and
strange rituals. Some say that if you go into a particular forest at night, the
lure of singing will bring you to a place where you will see naked girls
dancing. They will be so beautiful that it will drive you mad or have you
killed. Just like sirens in the sea, these creatures live in the forests. There
are also vampires, of course. The stories can be traced back to some rituals
that are still going on. Would you believe there are people that even today
will take a wooden stick and ram it through a dead corpses chest? I wouldn’t
either. But then again, it’s probably true. There are places that will look
very spooky if you take a picture. You might hear strange sounds and see weird
things.
But also you might just have a
brilliantly good time. Trust me. Go to Romania, make the conscious
decision to mingle and indulge in local life, and you’ll see for yourself. You might also have a hard time to find
another tourist. At least in Bucharest
there don’t seem to be that many. At least around this time of year.
Go, come back, and tell your friends.
I like to summarize my trips in one
or two sentences. This is what I came up with for Romania:
If Germany
is Europe’s high-tech factory and France
is Europe’s kitchen, then perhaps Austria
is Europe’s ski-resort and England
is where Europe’s humor comes from.
But Romania
is Europe’s heart. And it’s beating wildly.
