Leg 06 - Romania

22 Nov 09 (cont)

Another slow day, over 4 hrs to do 102 miles including a directions faff in Bucarest. Though nearly 2 hrs was spent in Bucarest and we needed the sat-nav again. Romania's police were as keen as Bulgaria's to catch motorists, it remains to be seen whether they are as anti-tourist.

First snapshot view - a more industrious people with a care and regard for their environment. They have a spacial awareness, which makes them quick on the roads and a general awareness which lets them appreciate what others require and so give good service. These are all refreshing attitudes.

Eventuallly found the Golden Tulip Hotel, using the sat-nav and driving the correct road 3 times.  I say that 'cos their web agent's map was wrong!  It's on the best street in town and most places are walkable.  Need a leg stretch, so a good walk downtown in the evening finds us the student bar area - all v bohemian with shishas in action.  It's an active town, but not busy (thankfully, with it being Sunday).  Retire to a welcome Italian meal and red sleeping draft.

23 Nov 09

Wake early as usual.  Today will explore Bucarest, famous for outstanding museums and the 2nd largest building in the World after the Pentagon - amongst other bits and pieces.

But not before I do some blogging.  Hurrah - I am now up to date with enough pics for all the blogs.  So, for you enthgusiasts with enough time (sic) all previous blogs are now updated and up to date.  Time to go and enjoy this thing ...

Mme, it all becomes a blurrr .....

3 days later shoe-horning a blog script in and I'm a day adrift ... so where were we then?

Right - sorted my life.  Bucarest was a good walk about and I mean a good walk about.  You remember I said that the House of Parliaments building was large - we came out to find a contemporary art gallery and it was just around the building.  Halfway around became obvious that we were walking not around the building but the surrounding grounds - all I could do to get Chris to complete the hike.  Okay, so we get to the gallery ... I knew I should have read those instructions in LP ... today will be the one day its closed, arghhh ...  So with a 2 mile hike already buttoned - where's the nearest tube station - 2 miles away ...

Despite all this we enjoyed Bucharest - nice late lunch at the Hilton made everything better.  Very French except the wine.  We're trying all the local beers and wines - some leave a little to be desired, but all qualify as 'interesting'.  The city has a lot of history to show off, some has not been well looked after in the communist years and there is also a present day lack of interest, witness a lot of graffiti over even the oldest buidlings.  It is one of those old European capitals (mostly beginning with a B) that I've wanted to visit for a long time.  We retired to www at the hotel and then wandered out for another Italian that evening, just around the corner so quite convenient. Early to bed (tired!) and ...

24 Nov 09

the lost day (unfairly):  an early start to Brasov.  Not that early - bless the EU, there are so many road works here that no road runs smoothly.  With a wrong turn and stationary traffic at a couple of points, it took 2 hours to escape Bucarest on the right road.  Well that's what we thought, until an hour later we intercepted the new motorway we should have been on.  Oh and needed to put air in that slow puncture, it needs it every 2/3 days - unique in these parts, the garages do not have air lines, we had to find a tyre place called a vulcanisaire.  That is after my Chinese electric tyre pump got hot and went phut, (not a great success this device - did remind me of when I was using it in Kuwait and a local walked past, are these good he asked, oh yes said I).  Brasov, the 2nd city to see in Romania; we arrived early enough to enjoy the town in daylight.  Rather a classic European town with a large central square, delightful surrounding buildings, a town fortified wall and a history of working associations such as carpenters, weavers, belt makers - UK's old towns such as York have similar guilds.  Afternoon, dinner out and the following morning for another walkabout was v relaxing.  Even the police were friendly - especially when telling me that parking in the no vehicle town square next to his police car was not acceptable and no it was not the parking area for our hotel - he he!

A proud town and cared for.  Interestingly, for a Romanian town, the town was Hungarian occupied and the Romanian 'ghetto' was outside the city walls with a seperate town gate for entry.  Was - well a couple of hundred years ago - things have move on.

25 Nov 09

A long drive today up to the rural areas; our replanned route.  Towns progressed to steadily more rural/basic/religious.  We tend to get stared at, but the crusty face is broken nearly everytime we smile and wave back.  David Attenborough would have something to say about that. The devotion to christianity is impressive in these parts.  Sights which flashed past but did not have time to be photographed:  graveyards full of flowers and 'happy memorials', new churches (how to spend new found wealth?), oxen drawn carts and the mix of cultures from Romany through to Asian origins.

Even saw a traffic accident, at night - one of the many unlit horse-drawn carts had been rammed amidships as it tried to make a turn across the road - cart upsidedown, horse put down and driver (?) whisked away in the ambulance.

Lying in a pension bed in the depths of Southern Bucovina, Romania – we saw a couple of old monasteries today and lots of “rural scenes” – I’m writing this in a Word document and just thought I’d check for any internet and this place is wireless! No security – fairly standard in all but mid to upper quality hotels. So it’s the sort of place that wants cash up front, in case you do a runner, and when you try to pay by card they accept cards (as per the sticker on the front door) but it’s always for something else, not what you are trying to pay for now! She was miffed when I said that she’d taken all my cash earlier ... but after some thought offered to take Euros in cash. They are in Europe not the Euro Zone, but they take Euros as daily currency (tourist areas); Bulgaria was similar. And how is this for neighbourliness: Romania will not change Bulgarian currency – we’ve tried many banks and exchange offices, and the answer is always no. T’would be interesting to try the reverse. Perhaps the Romanians have the same view of Bulgaria that I do! Even in Bucarest capital of Romania and only 40 miles from the border with Bulgaria, no-one wanted to know Bulgarian scrungits (lira).

The only common ground we’ve seen so far is that the EU has bought new roads for these countries, indeed, any quality road hereabouts we wait and eventually an EU notice board appears. All other roads are past their use by date.

Today was a hard day’s drive on our replan from Brasov to Southern Bucovina; we lost an interesting drive, but reduced the mileage to a manageable level. Tomorrow, up to Maramures should replace the interesting landscape we’ve missed. We only just made it up here before night and saw our two monastries in the dusk, the second strictly in the dark, but a nun put the lights on for us – having checked that we were catholic ... had to ask her in French. English is little spoken except by the youngsters. I am surprised by how many words are similar to French in Romanian – they shop in a “magazin” and “Jandarms” police the streets.

Today, I noted was the middle day of our travels and we are in the middle one of the 13 countries we will travel through. Our replan will probably put us 2 days ahead of our schedule – at least one of those we’ll take in Budapest.

26 Nov 09

Our first frost - Jack (Frost) was all over the loevly misty countryside.  From our pension we had an early start – language difficulties produced sandwiches made by the night security guard, rather than the access to the breakfast facilities we had expected. As it turned out breakfast wasn’t on offer until about 9 whereas we were away by 8. The facilities were locked up – reminded me of military messes where it is all locked up to stop the food being knicked overnight. Security guards are a regular thing around here - indeed everywhere. In cities, any significant facility has one. We have paused outside banks and been asked to move along. Surprisingly, here in the countryside, a pension on its own, needs a guard.

We soon turned off onto the country road – leading to the Middle Ages, or at least an area claimed to not have changed since then – the first few miles up the road were as expected, with country communities maintaining old-fashioned standards. They blessed themselves with the sign of the cross as they walked/cycled past the church; women knitted in the street as they watched the World go by, oxen drew the carts full of hay and women toiled in the fields. Every house has a well for its fresh water ... well it’s not quite the Middle Ages. The oxen cart driver’s are on their mobile phones, there is a dis-proportionate number of Mercedes/BMWs around and the building material stores have grown beyond recognition and are all in new buildings. We have caught the area on the change, another couple of years and it will be nothing like the Middle Ages except for the friendly attitudes. The locals remain essentially poor and cling to their religion and old standards. Despite the poverty, the new money, whether from taxes, tourist income or brought in from earnings elsewhere is spent on a new church before anything else. The roads are poorly maintained and there are few services, but old churches are refurbished and there are more new churches than there are probably people to fill them. This is a strange contrast with the UK where we change our churches into gymnasiums and pubs. It is a level of religious activity akin to what we’ve seen in the Middle East.

The best and most old/authentic area today was to the South of Maramures, away from the LP claimed best bits. The best bits are changing fast and must have a busy ski season which brings a lot of money in.

Sighetu Marmatiei is our chosen place of recidence for the night - a border town only 2 km from Urkraine - it has all the busle and mix of people that you would expect.  Rather shabby, so we have a little difficulty finding an acceptable spot to lie down, helped by George the foreman/manager who is refurbishing his mate's rundown 'local' hotel.  He kindly advises us that it is the best food in town and sets about denigrating everwhere else he thinks we will be looking.  If he hadn't been a Tottenham Hotspur supporter from 20 yeras ago I might have believed him.  He set us up with some drinks in his mate's bar (English was an unknown language) - v friendly, but we found a place he had not done down.  Nice little hotel, but opposite the town gaol and recent communist political prison.

27 Nov 09

The last 2 days and today we’ve seen lovely scenery and countryside. Yesterday we took our time driving and so too today, after we'd toured the prison which is an education vehicle for the locals, including children, about the communist era. Today we had just one brief stop in Romania and then the border and on to Eger , Hungary – the supposed second spot to go to after Budapest in the country.

The Romanian people have been friendly and helpful – a complete contrast to Bulgaria. We’ve experienced none of the hassle and be difficult to tourists attitude. They are politer on the roads, give way to others and have an awareness of those around them and their surroundings – that spatial awareness. Despite their frequent poverty, they have a pride in themselves, their environment and their country – qualities not much seen on our journeys.

Nevertheless, the change as soon as we crossed into Hungary was marked.