Weirdness out and about:
Romania, just like everywhere else we have been has had several notable points that will make the visit unforgettable. Thought I’d better write them down before I forgot.
Dogs. So, so many dogs…
I have never, ever seen so many stray dogs. Although, after several weeks’ worth of observation it seems that maybe they aren’t all strays, but rather a combination of strays and pet dogs given free reign over wandering the countryside and city streets. There were dogs utterly everywhere. Lazing on the road (although more often than not sleeping in the middle of the road), rooting through the rubbish bins, trotting around the streets in packs and generally doing whatever it is that a dog might want to do if left to its own devices. I had read that Romania had a lot of dogs about, and that there was risk of rabies if bitten. However, I had severely underestimated the kind of numbers they were referring to. Sure, there were dogs about on a lead with their owner. But the dogs with no lead (or apparent owner) outnumbered them by a good 5:1 or better. Almost no cats. …And once we left the city proper, it was quite normal to see shaggy, unkempt pooches on every corner. Most of the time they were asleep. They always seemed to be friendly, though…Not that I’d risk patting one.
Transylvania seems to be quite the hub for primary industry.
Potatoes, onions and corn. It’s everywhere. Plus there is plenty of animal husbandry going on. Sheep, goats and cows for the most part…And every herd of animals has a keeper. (Possibly because there are generally no fences to keep the animals in.) …And the animals are everywhere, even in the vacant lots in town (also unfenced). It’s a strange sight driving past a petrol station in town to find the adjoining lot is awash with un-fenced sheep, placidly munching on weeds.
In the whole time we were in Romania, I don’t think I saw a single flock of sheep or herd of goats or cows without a human minder (who may or may not also be having a nap). I expect it is a totally legitimate profession to be a full-time herder of animals.
I’ll never get over seeing renegade goats high tailing it across the busy road while the goat herder gives (moderate) chase. Wish I had caught some of it on video. Think: Yakety Sax-style shenanigans. Benny Hill would have been proud. Goats are certainly a whole different kettle of fish vs sheep. Cheeky ratbags.
Being eyeballed by a multitude of goats. Situation Normal.
Things are quite frequently still done by hand.
When out for a drive, it was often apparent that industrial modernisation hasn’t really caught on. Being largely a farming area, it was not unusual to see on one side of the road, potatoes being harvested via machine; on the other side, people harvesting potatoes by hand. But more often than not, whatever was being harvested was being done without any form of mechanical assistance. During our stay, it seemed that the majority of things you’d expect to be done with machinery are still being done using physical labour. We saw very few tractors, but very many horse-drawn carts. …And haystacks. Lots and lots of haystacks. Which of course, were assembled by hand (and the grass cut by hand, using a scythe – I’d never seen that before). I don’t know why there were so many – there were more in Romania than anywhere else we have seen. Although I guess if they don’t use tractors to cut the grass or hay-bundling machinery to turn the grass into bales, what was I expecting to happen?
Rollerblades.
They are still a thing. (In Romania, at least.) As Murray rightly pointed out – we’ve never seen this many people rollerblading since the 90’s. Too strange, and rather nostalgic. Frankly, I’d be mortified at the prospect of rollerblading on the streets in Romania. The drivers are a bit on the wild and loose side. Definitely, Romanian drivers display the most devil may care attitude in our travels so far.
The Roads, and the Drivers of Said Roads.
It seems that Romanian drivers consider lane markings when overtaking minimally, if at all. Never have I seen so many cars overtake other cars, oftentimes in areas clearly marked as unsuitable for any sort of overtaking at all. It’s no surprise to see a car (or usually, cars) overtaking from a good 5-6 cars back, planning to overtake yet another 5-6 cars in front. In single lane traffic on a mountainside marked as no overtaking, with no shoulder.
I ย should probably also mention that the round-abouts in Romania scare the hell out of me. Unmarked, multi-lane free for alls. You never know what you’re going to get from the driver navigating the lane next to you.
Additionally (as if dealing with scary drivers aren’t exciting enough), the road quality consists of two kinds: 1. Extremely good quality and 2. Good quality extremely absent. I’m suspicious that the hire car may now have some undercarriage damage, as many roads unexpectedly cease being good quality with no notice. This case being especially prevalent when leaving the main road. I.e. “We will seal this road up to…here.” *arbitrarily stops, replaced by road suitable for off-road vehicle*
Our foray out to the Bucegi national park was thwarted due to discovering the road devolved into something more akin to a goat track. Made for exciting times. I’m quite sure the goat herder we passed repeatedly must have thought we were nuts. It certainly felt nuts in the car. As in a can of nuts, being shaken vigorously. Preferably not to be repeated. With all this crap road, I’m very surprised most people don’t have 4×4 vehicles. Scrapey noises from the undercarriage were definitely the norm when driving off the beaten (asphalt) path.
This road was asphalt, and then it wasn’t. Shortly after this it devolved into mostly potholes and ruts.
Alternative Transportation.
There are horse-drawn carts everywhere. It seems to be a totally legit method of transport. Like the herds of cows, sheep and goats that are led along the roadside, it’s not unusual for a horse and cart to impede the flow of traffic. Sometimes, there is even an extra lane just to help the cars get around. It’s a little bit strange, waiting at a set of lights while a woman casually breastfeeds her baby on the side of a cart…The things you never expect to see.
Horse-drawn carts, the eco-friendly alternative.
Beer:
While being in Europe, we have noticed that the normal place to purchases alcoholic beverages is not at a bottle shop, but at the supermarket. (Since alcohol is freely sold pretty much everywhere.) Occasionally there will be places like a Package Store (USA), Off-License (Ireland), or Drink-Markets as places similar to an Australian liquor shop, but on the whole they seem more like specialty stores, not where the average Joe picks up a beverage when they want one. Beer in Romania was much the same. Except Romanian beer mostly consists of pilsner style products packaged in PET bottles. It’s not uncommon for the beer section to resemble the soft drink aisle, with many beers packaged in plastic, and in similar sizes also (2L PET bottle beer, anyone?). On the whole, not a winner. Lucky for us, the international selection was quite reasonable.
In terms of craft beer, we didn’t come across much while in Romania. There was a coffee shop/bar in town (Tipografia) that served a couple of local craft beers (quite nice), and it was here that we met up with another Australian couple. Big respect to their journey – they have been missioning it across Europe on their bikes (for fun?) and staying at AirBnb places along the way. I’m sure it would make for a fascinating trip, but it seems like a lot of effort and risk, but would be a completely different experience to the average traveller. Good on them, I certainly couldn’t do it.
Acquiring Food.
Going to restaurants in Romania was not so bad. The usual awkwardness: Choose a table or wait to be seated? English or Romanian? How to get/ask for the bill? To tip or not to tip? How much to tip? The weirdest part was expectations vs reality. We went to a Jamaican restaurant and the only thing Jamaican about it was the Bob Marley posters and music. Went to a traditional Romanian restaurant and found my meal vs Murray’s was a difference of about 4 x the size. (For almost the same price.) The tradition of fresh bread with chunks of raw Spanish onion, whilst complimentary, makes for a taste to be acquired (the amount was also ridiculous… like a whole loaf worth of giant sized sliced bread). Our experience was that whilst not haute cuisine, eating out in Romania was least pretty cheap and cheerful.
Also, doing the food shop in a strange place has consistently been a great source of insight into what different people eat, and for me (maybe not for Murray) a pretty interesting venture every time we go on a mission to refill the fridge. ย At the Romanian supermarkets, the following things were notably strange:
The frozen veg is sold loose.
Same with the frozen berries.
Same with the frozen seafood.
Same with the frozen pastries.
Weird. Weird. Weird.
There was also plenty to purchase prepackaged, so I’m not sure why there were so many loose options as well.
Not Allen’s Snakes.
Meat:
Most meat appeared to be sold from the butchers counter, like we had seen in Croatia & Bosnia. (Too bad I had no idea how to order it in Romania, either.) …And when I say it’s at the butchers counter, it is still in the uncut state as part of a much larger piece of meat. So, there was no way I was even going to take a crack at asking someone to cut me a rib eye steak in a foreign language. Which is not to say that there wasn’t any prepackaged meat. Just that the cold case featured mostly chicken, pork and chevaps. They sure love their cevapi. Not that it’s quite like what we think of as chevaps at home. It’s not just a sausage with no casing. It’s more like the McRib… This sort of compressed meatwich (think sandwich but sausage mince) shaped into the vague outline of dividable meaty fingers. It’s weird but tasty…
Beef seems to be scarce (or at least if you want it, you’d need to ask the butcher to cut some for you). Pork and chicken seems to be the in thing. Although almost all the cut meats are not cuts I recognize (other than chicken drumsticks and pork chops). Also, for all the squillions of goats and sheep we have seen, it appears that they don’t eat them. When I saw all the goats roaming the countryside I was excited about the prospect of some goat curry, but it seems they just use them for milk and cheese. No idea what happens with the sheep. Cheese as well, I guess.
I discovered that duck is cheap. Not as cheap as chicken, but reasonably close. I put this to good use. Made for a nice alternative to chicken as a reasonably cheap meal. (Red meat has definitely been rather expensive in Europe, so the go-to meat is usually chicken. I’m so over chicken.)
Quail eggs are super cheap. Managed to buy two dozen for $2. I’m not quite sure why I’m attracted to them. They taste just like regular eggs, but are more of a pain in the keister to crack or shell. I’m guessing it’s the miniature appeal. Miniature things taste better, right? Nothing like a hard-boiled quail egg with a smidgen of herbed salt.
Final Verdict:
All things considered, Romania has definitely been a great destination. Cheap accommodation, cost of living is inexpensive and the countryside is beautiful. It also has much faster internet than we get at home (and is cheaper, too). Further inspection also seems to indicate that it would be a cheap way to enter Europe from Australia. Must remember this for future reference.
Would have liked to have seen more of the countryside, but the attractions are spread across a rather large country. Maybe we will have to come back again…
Next Stop:
Next up, off to Germany to check out Oktoberfest. Some trepidation involved, as I’m pretty sure it is going to be more than we have bargained for…