Another positive review for Romania
We worked hard this week on a project and on Friday the customer reviewed our work. He’s kind of an asshole, doesn’t express himself clearly and then gets angry because we didn’t understand what he meant. But he was happy when he saw our results and after work even invited us to drinks. So we went to nearby bar and had a few beers.
It’s an international company with people from all over the globe working there. One engineer in particular is from Bulgaria. He talked how he’s flying home soon and plans to go back by car. However, he would take the route through Serbia, because he’s afraid to go through Romania.
He didn’t say it clearly, but apparently he is expecting to be robbed, then sexually assaulted and then stabbed to death on Romanian roads.
So of course I told him about my experience in Romania and that I’ve been in Bucharest and in the mountains and how safe and friendly everything was.
And then the asshole client chimed in. He said that he’s been to Romania before, too, and that Bucharest is one of the best cities in Europe. And that it’s safe.
He told a story how he once broke down with his car there and had to have it fixed. When he left, he accidentally left his wallet in the repair shop, and it was full of money. He didn’t know the repair guys and he could have lost the wallet anywhere afterwards. But a few minutes after he left the repair shop he was called and they said he forgot his money.
So yeah, the Bulgarian guy shouldn’t be worried. And my asshole-client seems to be not so bad, after all.
And nothing against Serbia, I’ve met great people from there when I was living in Croatia, but if I had to bet which place is safer and friendlier, I’d go for Romania.
Romania people, marketers and government: You really need to do something about your image. I’ve heard from a friend in London that there’s an Anti-Romania poster-campaign rumor. What the hell.. Everyone in Europe seems to think you are thieves and cheats. I keep running around telling people the opposite if they ask, but clearly more needs to be done.
Perhaps you should organize more student or trainee-exchanges with western countries. Or host a few sports events. I enjoy car racing. Perhaps there’s a place in Romania where I can rent a car and do some rally drifting? I don’t know. (I should google it.)
Anyway, I’m just randomly babbling here. But if more people would give Romania a chance, they would clearly rethink their prejudice.
Just saying.
That’s all from me. Enjoy your weekend, people.
Girls in Eastern Europe
Just had a talk with a friend who commented that in Croatia all these very young women are pushing baby strollers. He wondered why that is.
In University by accident (Once, I opened the door and she kissed me, mistaking me for somebody else - on the cheek though) I had a relationship with a married Romanian girl. She didn’t have a child, but she got married when she was 18. To spite her parents. And to move out.
Later I met a Bulgarian girl who left home almost exactly the day she turned 18. She engaged on a voyage that could be made into a movie, including crime and whatnot, just to finally settle down in Germany. I have written about her before.
I have more examples, but the point is, that perhaps there’s a strong urge in young people to get out of home and into the world. I think especially in girls. Boys in those countries made a less, shall I say, independent-seeking impression on me.
I respect people that go after their goals, instead of munching off mommy and daddy until they finally leave university, and home, at the age of 30. I have no time for these people.
But of course there’s more. There’s femininity, the desire to hook up with a good guy and be a good girl. Perhaps I have no idea what I am talking about, but this is just my experience and interpretation of events.
There’s probably also the libido. Call me even shallower (even though I think it is the opposite of shallow), but eastern european girls are much more passionate.
On my last trip to Romania I had the best first kiss of my life. I can’t imagine drugs being better. The passion, horniness and loveliness of it was amazing. Compare that with some German girls I kissed.. Man, I can’t even compare that.
Perhaps it’s just my genes that match up better with EE-girls, though.
I wrote before that I don’t want to get married. But if I did, I am 100% sure it would be a girl from these parts.
Btw. My next trip is going to be Turkey. Finally, I am going there. Any of you been and has any tips for me? (Is it even possible to comment on Tumblr? I don’t know.)
Eastern Europe
My best friend called me drunk the other night. He was in Poland, attending a Polish wedding. He was having a good time.
He shouted into the receiver how awesome the people are, how beautiful the girls, how good the food and how substantial the amounts of vodka served. But most of all he enjoyed the people and their capacity to party and, basically, to be happy.
We are living in Germany and it is a good place.
Most things work, there’s plenty of opportunity, we can feel safe and we earn good money, and we can be proud of the good cars we make. Or how well our social security system works. Germans can party, too (right now it’s Octoberfest, where they really do - dancing on tables and whatnot). But man, it’s just no comparison to Eastern Europe.
When I was a student one of my trips abroad was a two week exchange to Poland, to the university of Gdansk. We would hang out there, study their culture, university life and parties. It was like day and night compared to Germany.
Imagine you are in a Polish dorm. There’s two people in each room, and four rooms share one shower and toilet. You have to get up early or possibly wait and miss your class. And when you have a job you earn very little. There’s probably not much cash left to spend on entertainment.
In Germany you get free education, a nice dorm with a private room, and you can have a relaxed life with extra cash that you can spend on toys and travel.
But I bet studying in Poland is more fun. Being there feels more alive. In the dorm, everyone talks to everyone, people know each other. There’s parties almost every night. The whole building is crowded and bubbling with action. Laughs, discussions, someone always finds a reason to celebrate.
German dorm: Silence. People hardly know each other. Nobody really knows his neighbour, this is a place for sleeping. You drop a coin in the corridor and the sound echoes for seconds.
And I still feel the same nowadays. This year I went to Romania, to Bulgaria and, most recently, to Croatia. And it’s the same: It’s more alive, the people are more fun to be around, everything is warmer and more welcoming.
Not that Germans are cold and hate you. No, not at all.
But man, there’s a difference in quality. Something that is better. More normal actually. That is how people should be. Germans seem to be missing that certain joie de vivre..
And that is why I fully agree with my friend who called me. Eastern Europe is the place to be.
If you haven’t been there yet, go. And don’t just stay in your hotel or the nearest Planet Hollywood. Meet the locals. Go out and drink. And you’ll know what I mean.
Responses to my Romania Post
So this was pretty good.
I am not entirely sure how Tumblr works, but I assume some people are monitoring the tags of new posts and that is how they found my Romania-post the other day. And then it was re-blogged and re-published a couple dozen times… I guess people really liked what I wrote. Thank you for that.
There’s been some feedback, too. No, I didn’t just go to bars, I also visited museums and castles. And those were good, as well. (I forgot the name of that one museum, but it had an old wooden Romanian house inside, which was pretty neat.) And yes, I probably missed the bad sides of the country, which is why my article is very positive. But every country has its bad sides, that’s a given. I only reported on my trip and I am pretty sure everyone that goes to Romania can have the same good experience.
Finally, this whole matter put a smile on my face for several days. I felt quite good about all that blog-love and even better, because it seems like I was able to give back a little for all the friendliness and fun I’ve experienced.
I even had a dream in which I traveled the whole country while writing the next Lonely Planet guide. :)
My next stop is Sofia in Bulgaria in less than two weeks. I am very excited to go there, too. But since I am a self employed engineer and there’s about a week of solitary work coming up end of May, beginning of June, I am now seriously considering to go back to Bucharest and do it there.
Maybe I should..
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.
