Tales of Dracula's country: Romania

Other than on Valea Oltului, a road full of ribbon like serpentines where truck drivers double the legal speed limit, I had this unforgettable experience in Dobrogea Region located close to the Black Sea. How many times in a lifetime would a driver see a herd of sheep trying to cross the highway with its shepherds? Somewhere in Italy (or Sicily, not sure), a driver killing a goat or a sheep, must return to the rightful owner up to five or seven generations of that killed animal. The generations long ties to this agrarian tradition makes the ownership of such animals more wealth than the entire gold in the world.  Transhumance links seasons to people to nature with all it has to give. Sometimes, the priceless gifts that none of us can buy: tranquility when slowing down from the ubiquitous high speed of lifestyle.  Dogs are a much needed friend to stick around. Welcome to Romania!

Tough process. Bring cash! Why do you need a card? To avoid carrying cash, to pay the rent, insure there are no purchasing issues. It will take at least few trips to each bank. All before 1700 while most people work. Saturdays and Sundays are closed.  Apparently they have a process but it depends on their employees to implement it; and many don't know that procedure. Otherwise, you receive the unpleasant answer: "we don't do that". For instance, BCR has huge flags about managing accounts, and when walking in a bank makes one wonder if they should have brought a book to read, a sweater to knit, or a computer to work on while waiting. My patience runs low when incoming customers are not even acknowledged, the ticket system has no logic, and the information of each client is performed in the presence of others. But unfortunately, clients are hooked into having an account, and have no choice but to stick with it. Going through the same process makes things extremely painf...

I'm still living in hotels since July; Romanian quarantine is over and so is the American; multiple tests practiced by skilled and not so proficient corpsmen, came with the expected negative result which allowed me to finally start performing my duties. I'm still trying to find a home in the middle of the summer season which seems to be a true challenge despite the COVID-19. Some people choose to not wear a mask inside the hotel, and not too many employees challenge the patrons. Whatever it is, I'm taking the stairs to the seventh floor, and the mask is the last thing I need; oxygen is my priority.  At midnight tonight I could hear kids screaming while playing at the nearby carousel as I tried to focus on my studies. Parents seem to be missing in action, staff not reacting either. After a full such day I was tired, and I would like to live in a hotel that allows me to use the land line phone outside the premises; this one doesn't allow neither to receive, nor to ring fr...

The old city of Tomis as the Greeks named it, Constanța, is a growing place that changed many things especially since the Americans settled their operations around the international airport, Mihail Kogălniceanu (aka MK Base).  Unfortunately, the services - especially transportation - raised their prices to the point of costing 10% for a one-way trip from the train station to the airport (a distance of 30 min ride - 40 km/ 25 miles) from the overall value of a rental car for three (3) weeks.  Conversations with taxi drivers: Taxi 1: "It will cost you 200 RON ($50)." Taxi 2: "It will cost you 100 RON ($25) but if you want a receipt, it's 70 RON; however, I will still charge you 100 RON." Taxi 3: "I have no vignette to drive outside the city, I would have taken you, I'm sorry." Taxi 4: I apologized but can't drive in this guy's ash tray.  Mom and I headed out back to the train station where we found a decent, non-smoker taxi driver who would n...

This is the city of my childhood. I spent many summer and winter vacations walking the hills, the streets, riding the vintage trains, climbing the trees, working the fields of my relatives, taking the cows out to eat until their bellies were full, playing with frogs and bugs. And the first kiss. Fun memories! Sibiu has a personal flair to many but especially to me; my ancestors lived in this region, and I was pleasantly surprised to find them in the archives of the city. My boss called it "the city with houses that have eyes"; indeed, the architecture is gorgeous, making people believe that there is an ubiquitous eye watching them.  These days the pandemic restrictions killed the spirit of the city but slowly, events organized out in the open air, brought out of the house families and kids, to listen to traditional music offered by the local City Hall. Bonding with others through culture and language cannot be expressed in words; only those who understand the history of each ...

I am pleasantly impressed to see that Romanian women wear traditional "ie" [read "ee-eh"] more than before; the "ii" [the plural of the noun] depict the regions of the country (presently Banat, Crișana, Dobrogea, Maramureș, Moldova, Muntenia, Oltenia, Transylvania but historically including mainly Bucovina, Cadrilater).  "iile" (the "ii") are made from breathing fabrics like fine cotton which is easier for the skin to breathe during the hot season. At this time the entire country - and especially in cities suffocated by concrete that radiates even more heat - has been designated to be coded "yellow" for temperatures above 100°F (38°C) except in the mountains and the region of Transylvania. The handmade "ii" are quite pricey but worth the pride of wearing them especially for a native Romanian. They're part of the so treasured heritage and well kept for special occasions in a wooden chest. Men wear them also but no...