Just over 2000 years ago, in 18AD one of Rome’s greatest writers, Ovid, died in exile in Romania. This is the last year the UK will be able to rely on Romanian workers to work in our fields, as we exile ourselves from Europe. Not so much a quarantine as a life sentence. … More Ovid-18
I am aware that I write as an unapologetic Eurocentric, having had a life immeasurably enriched by European culture, from Greek philosophy and plays, through the multiple achievements of the Roman republic, to the Renaissance and Enlightenment, not to mention the Middle Ages I spent many years studying. I have travelled in Europe for fifty … More Afterthoughts
I said goodbye to Timisoara and Romania at noon today. Nearly every town and village has some kind of sign saying ‘Drum Bun’, which literally means Good Road i.e Safe Journey. I had stayed in Timisoara both because it was where I stayed when I first arrived in Romania and because, 21 years later, it … More Day 19: From Timisoara to Uzice
Ioan has to feed his chickens and rabbits before Maria can give me my breakfast, with a very fine egg included. I don’t think the rabbits are pets either. The downside is a distinct faecal fume at breakfast when downwind of the hutches, which turned out to be a portent of things to come. I … More Day 18: Sighisoara to Timisoara
24 hours cut off from the interweb, alcohol and meat – I should do this more often. I was staying at Putna monastery, 3 km from the Ukraine border, just as I was on 20th August 1968, when the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia to put down the Prague Spring. Troop trains were moving through the village … More Days 16 &17: From Suceava to Putna Monastery to Sighisoara
Sitting beside a large table of young Suceavans tonight, I realised that not only am I revisiting a stage in my evolution, but that these young folk are at a similar point. In 1968, us post-War Baby Boomers were the first generation free of oppression, struggle and austerity and loudly enjoying the freedoms that … More Day 15: Nun But the Brave
I needed today to remind me what a staggeringly beautiful country – at least in some parts – Romania is. Having spent one night in Transylvania, with my neck still intact I drove over the Valea Postei viaduct: and then along the side of the massive reservoir Izvorul Muntelui, the largest artificial lake in Romania. I … More Day 13: Lacu Rosu to Suceava
I wonder if John Lennon could possibly have imagined that, 35 years on from his demise, Romanians would be dancing to Imagine. Not as improbable as the fact that Yoko is still putting out videos with the Plastic Ono Band – see Bad Dancer on You Tube for example. However, a little more in Iasi … More Day 12: Iasi to Lac Rosu
I always feel embarrassed at my linguistic failings: I was more adept at 18, having taken Latin to A level, and French proving a useful alternative when all else failed. Then, everyone was keen to welcome a rare foreigner and most generous. I think it was in Iasi that one family I hitched with … More Day 11: Tulcea to Iasi
Mamaia was a ritzy beach even in 1968, then largely colonised by loud Germans. It is a ten kilometre strand running north of Constanta with hotels, beach bars and “camping villages” – eat your heart out Frankie Howerd. It is considerably upmarket of Blackpool and nowhere near as bad as Sunny Beach, which is down … More Day 10: Constanta to Tulcea
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