The Heart & Soul of Romania

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Arriving in Romania we knew that we were in for a wild ride when at the international border crossing you have to navigate pot holes the size of a whale and there are cows, goats and donkeys grazing on the foliage around the passport control ‘office’. We were only about 10km into the country when we realized that perhaps travelling by campervan wasn’t such a good idea.

Now you have to understand that the motor vehicle hasn’t quite made it to Romania as yet, especially in rural areas where horse and donkey carts still seem to be the preferred means to get around. So there we were, driving at 12km/h to keep up with the local traffic, dodging all walks of life trying not to run over pedestrians, drunks, grazing animals and whole squadrons of stray dogs on roads that probably haven’t seen any kind of maintenance since the days of the Roman Empire.

Apart from all this though, Romania was one of the highlights of our trip. It’s one of those places where people stop, stare and then wave to you as you go by. The locals are very warm and friendly and all the hype regarding security and safety wasn’t an issue at all - we felt safe enough to free camp pretty much everywhere we went. The scenery is incredible, particularly in the mountains of Transylvania where we did some spectacular hiking and camping, really getting away from it all. You don’t have to go too far to feel as if you’ve stepped back 200 years in time.

In the Maramures region in the north, one of the last peasant cultures in Europe is alive and kicking. There we found places where medieval life remains intact and peasants still live off the land as generations before them have done so. People really do wear traditional dresses, they really do farm the land, sing ancient folk songs and pray daily in their incredible wooden churches. We could easily go on and on about Romania as there is there is so much there for the traveller..... just get there and see for yourselves!

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Comments

[lu]

Of all I've seen, this is the best! I love the simplicity of people and the greatness of the landscape.... My grandmother, Frieda, was born in Romania, in a region then called Bessarábia. Your pictures made me conect with my roots.... Congratulations Ju and nathan