Falling in love with Romania

In August, 2007, after driving around the city of Craiova, Romania for almost two hours we found it – the house where my father was born.

It’s interesting that as we get older, we want to connect with our roots. My parents had always told me about Romania and when I arrived there it was like I was “home”. I not only have fallen in love with the country after several visits, I have met many who share the same sentiment.

Romania is an outpost in southeastern Europe as the only Latin country in the Balkans. It has more in common with Spain, Italy and France than it does with its neighbours. It is not on most people’s radar when it comes to travel, but for those who choose to go it is a surprising and delightful find.

History

Romania’s history has been extremely tumultuous as it has for so many of the countries in Eastern Europe. There is a Romanian car that you see everywhere, the Dacia, named after the original tribe here, the Dacians.

The Romans were here as well. At sites such as Sarmisegetusa you can see ancient ruins with columns showing Roman inscriptions. These reside unassumingly in a farmer’s field.

At various times it was under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as well as the Ottoman-Turks.

In more recent times, post World War 2, the country was under Communist rule for 44 years. Who hasn’t heard of the tyrant, Nicolai Caeucescu. He was ultimately hunted down and executed. All the Romanian cities still show evidence of this time period with countless grey, apartment blocks full of concrete rot. If you have the opportunity to visit any of these you will be surprised how claustrophobic they are, especially as some of them have a scarcity of windows. They do however, manage to have satellite dishes.

Bucharest

This is the largest city and in its prime, it was called the “Paris of East”. Despite the destruction of some districts during the Communist era, you can still see the wide boulevards and some of the beautiful historical buildings. Many of these are currently being restored.

If you really want to see the mentality of the megalomaniac, Ceausescu, visit the Palace of the Parliament which is the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon. It’s unfortunate that districts of Bucharest (including my mother’s) were destroyed in order to build this huge edifice.

The Countryside

The dominant feature of Romania is the Carpathian Mountains which spread across the country in a crescent shape taking up about half the area. While these mountains have ski resorts and villages, they still  give Romania its beauty and relatively unspoiled character. The largest number of bears in Europe reside here.

To the east are the lowlands and delta of the Danube River with a multitude of fauna, but there are some areas that have pronounced pollution due to the derelict factories of the communist era.

In the countryside there are sizeable towns and cities with monasteries, wooden churches, fortresses and near the northeastern city of Suceava, are monasteries with impressive paintings on their inner and outer walls. The colours of these works which were done in the 15th century are unique and have not been reproduced to date.

Another interesting find is the cemetery of Sapanta where the wooden headstones have paintings relating to the manner in which the individual died.

There are just so many places to see, but if driving, beware. Romanians are known for their insane driving. We have on numerous occasions experienced cars passing on double solid lines on blind mountain curves.

The People

Romanians are warm and gregarious, having the Latin influence. If you get invited to someone’s house, you will be treated as if you are part of the family. Remember to say “Ce mai facet.” It’s the Romanian version of, “G’day mate.”

Be prepared to eat. A party may involve a seven course meal with servings of vinete (eggplant salad) and mititei (delicious mini sausages) and the obligatory tuica. Tuica is the national drink, a plum brandy with a kick. If you are lucky, you will be served the 40 proof, otherwise you may end up with the 70 proof.

So why do people love Romania? It does have its problems. While the shackles of communism have been removed, some of the mentality of that era is still present. You sense that the people have a vulnerability any yet there is an openness here. When you hear the rhythm of the Romanian language and see the beauty of the country, it makes you feel at home.