Stories: Driving to Romania
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| Submitted by Wayne Goates:
Romania is an incredibly beautiful country. My wife and I were able to travel there and return with our daughter at the completion of her mission. Normally, when parents do this, they fly into Bucharest, meet their missionary son or daughter, and then fly home. This can be a very difficult reunion because the parents are so jet-lagged and stunned by the culture shock of Bucharest that it is difficult for them to appreciate the Romanian people and culture their son or daughter has come to love.
We determined that it might be advantageous (and not that much more expensive) to fly to Germany, rent a car, drive to Bucharest, pick up our daughter at the conclusion of her mission, and then drive back though Transylvania and central Europe before flying home. We are so grateful for that opportunity and our decision to travel by car. Driving through Germany, Austria and Hungary prepared us to be more open to Romania, having already adapted to other cultures, currencies and languages. While we loved the history, customs and beauty of those countries; it is the remarkably picturesque rural villages, verdant rolling hills and mountains of Transylvania stand that out so vividly in our minds. We were not expecting Romania to be so beautiful.
There was something exciting about driving for two days from Budapest to Bucharest, knowing we were getting closer to our daughter, traveling through her Romania; that made this part of our trip even more enjoyable. We found the scenery impressive and the villages charming. Even after we arrived in Bucharest and drove through the confusion of rush hour (its Mexico City on steroids), we could still say we loved this country. It is unfair to judge Romania by the chaos of Bucharest, with 2.3 million people crammed into block after block of cement high-rise apartments; spilling out everywhere onto the streets. Im still amazed that there were no dents in our rental car after two days of dodging traffic and people in Bucharest.
Driving out of Bucharest (and leaving the mission field) was an emotional experience for our daughter, but soon we were in the green, rustic countryside. Somehow, between Pitesti and Sibiu, we took a wrong turn and soon found ourselves traveling through stunning forests, and alpine meadows with switchbacks that rivaled anything we had seen in the Alps. As our daughter said, it wasnt a wrong turn; it was the right road to really experience the grandeur of the Carpathians.
We spent two days driving through Transylvania: seeing storks nesting on utility poles along the road, stack after stack of meadow hay pitched against staves in the fields, slow-moving horse-drawn wagons, sparkling silver-roofed gypsy mansions, and the gypsy women in colorful dresses (lined with pockets - useful for shoplifting). All this seemed to help our daughter as she transitioned from her missionary life, and allowed us to appreciate the country and the people she had come to love. Our favorite cities were Sighisoara, Cluj-Napoca and a small village (unfortunately, we cant remember the name) where we purchased two beautiful handmade tablecloths. Hopefully, the pictures that are included give some idea of the scenery, the cities and the people.
Anyone wanting more information about driving to, through and out of Romania; or about accommodations or other suggestions can contact us at wgoates@comcast.net. |
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