Shermanescu
We just returned from a whirlwind 3 day road trip tour of central Romania, with highlights including Bran Castle, Peles Castle, a couple of nice monasteries, the cities of Sighisoara, Brasov, Bucuresti, and Sibiu, and some roadside highlights like a village made up almost entirely of roadside barbecued sausage (mititei) vendors, along with roadside purveyors of honey, cheese, and moonshine plum brandy (tuica).
However, as much fun as the trip was, it wasn't without its . . . ahem . . . downside. When we returned to Alba Iulia tonight, we turned on the 8pm news, and were horrified at what we saw:
In the town of Medias, on the way to Sighisoara, an explosion blew out the windows of an apartment building.
Shortly after we left Bran Castle, a power outage struck the nearby village of Moieciu, leaving residents without electricity for 14 hours.
Also in Moieciu, a fire destroyed a pensiune (guest house).
On the highway from Brasov to Bucuresti, we left behind one of the largest holiday weekend traffic lineups in history. People on their way from Bucuresti to the resorts in the Carpathians were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for up to 9 hours.
Not long after we left Bucuresti this morning, apparently some retard decided a good place to park his car would be — not in a lane of traffic, or on the sidewalk, or on a lawn, which are all socially acceptable parking places in Romania — but right in the middle of the runway of the Bucuresti International Airport. The errant jeep was promptly landed upon by a Boeing 737, which lost one of its wheels, but still came to a safe, yet terrifying, stop. The jeep, of course, was toast. You'd think the guy would get a hell of a parking ticket, but chances are he'll bribe his way out of it.
And a little less tragic, but still disappointing, the band Prodigy were supposed to perform in the city square of Sibiu this evening while we were there (as in, we were literally standing in the city square, staring at an inexplicably empty stage surrounded by bored roadies), but their flight was stopped by the weather. Incidentally, if the weather this week is any indication, Romania is the foggiest place on the planet.
After this string of tragedy and despair, I'd grown so paranoid that a few minutes back, when my father-in-law pointed at the TV and said, "Hey, look, remember when we drove by the king's house last week? There it is!" my immediate response was, "Oh my god, is he okay?!?"
Yes, the aging, deposed king of Romania still seems to be okay, but just for good measure we may avoid his house on any future drives around the country. I don't want to be blamed for anything which might result.
However, as much fun as the trip was, it wasn't without its . . . ahem . . . downside. When we returned to Alba Iulia tonight, we turned on the 8pm news, and were horrified at what we saw:
After this string of tragedy and despair, I'd grown so paranoid that a few minutes back, when my father-in-law pointed at the TV and said, "Hey, look, remember when we drove by the king's house last week? There it is!" my immediate response was, "Oh my god, is he okay?!?"
Yes, the aging, deposed king of Romania still seems to be okay, but just for good measure we may avoid his house on any future drives around the country. I don't want to be blamed for anything which might result.