Romania

Why Romania?

I spent the last week of November 2002 in Romania. I went to see things like the Centru Civic and People's House in Bucharest, but mostly I went to see Simona.

Simona and I met when I was researching possible travel destinations back in early September of this year. I posted a message to the Lonely Planet's Thorntree message board asking about things to do in Bucharest. She responded. We started emailing, then chatting on instant messenger. Over the next two months we got to know each other and decided to meet when I visited her country.

Bucharest

After a layover in Zurich, I landed in Bucharest only to see Air Force One on the tarmac. President Bush was in Bucharest to welcome Romania into NATO. When I landed, he was an hour into his four hour stay, giving a speech in Revolution Square with Romanian President Iliescu. It was a little surreal for me to arrive in a place so far away and see Dubya on the television.

After a couple days of sightseeing in Bucharest, Simona and I headed north by train to Brasov.

Brasov

Brasov is the tourism hub for Transylvania. Whereas Bucharest is dirty and run-down, the streets of Brasov are spotless and the buildings freshly painted. After settling into our hotel, We walked to the Piata Sfatului for a look at the History Museum. From the piata, we saw the Black Church and went inside. Photography is not allowed, but we managed to sneak a couple of pics anyway, one of the altar and one of the pews.

After the church, we took a walk around looking for the gondola to the top of the hill west of town. We found it. With the town spread out below us, it was pretty romantic up there.

Later, after a walk around Judiciary Hall and the Parc Central (where I felt the urge to pontificate for the benefit of passersby), we returned to the Piata Sfatului where they were in the process of putting up the town Christmas tree. People came out to watch. I was fascinated by the process and by the fact that pretty much the whole town turned out for the event. Unfortunately, we had to leave Brasov before it was completed.

Bran

The main reason tourists go to Bran is to see "Dracula's Castle." I was a little disappointed that it was sitting right there when we got off the bus. I was half-expecting/half-hoping we'd have to be led into the mountains on the backs of mules by some guy named Vlad in order to see it, but -- no -- there it was, looming over our little bus stop like the menacing landmark it is.

Bran is a cute little town, dominated by the Carpathian Mountains, with a couple hotels and a store run by "Nancy" (Nancy will change money for you, but at a rate that would make a dishonest banker blush). Folks there still get work done using horsedrawn carts.

After a delicious meal and a good night's sleep at the Popasul Regeinei (where we also made some new friends), Simona and I headed to (I am not making this up) "Dracula's Bazaar." We perused the stalls for plastic teeth to no avail, then bought our tickets for the main attraction, the Castle Bran.

Before you walk up the path to the castle, you are expected to walk around a little village made up of buildings moved from other places and set at the foot of the castle, presumably, to give you an idea of what it was like back in medieval times.

The castle really is impressive. It's not pretty in the same way as Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, but then it's not supposed to be. It's supposed to be scary, home of Vlad the Impaler, inspiration to Bram Stoker.

We walked up the castle steps and into another world. We walked from room to room, up secret stairs, past furniture hundreds of years old, and along the same balconies once traveresed by the Queen of Romania.

Simona cracked me up when she saw Queen Marie's room. She took one look at it and said, completely deadpan, "This is my furniture."

We marvelled at the architecture, the spires, the courtyard, the terraces. We imagined that the Queen once sat at the window and longed for her lost lover.

Impressions

Romania is a beautiful country. Her people are rightfully proud of their homeland. However, the economy there is forcing a whole generation of Romanians into a difficult choice to leave to find better opportunities. I met a Romanian man on the plane who left three years ago for the United States after unsuccessfully trying to find good work in the computer industry in Bucharest. Most of Simona's family has left for Italy to make a new start. The future of the country may hinge on whether the young people return and invest in their country or remain in thier new homes.

I wish I'd had more time in Romania. There is so much more I want to see there, from the fortified churches of Sighisoara to the beaches of Constanta. Most of all, I want again to see a woman named Simona.