We are finally leaving Romania. I can’t say I enjoyed our swift visit too much. I guess you can say that about most countries if you have travelled from one side of the country to the other. Either way, I couldn’t wait to get going & onto the ferry. 

John came up with a good analogy of Romania. It’s like a chocolate cake. All the good stuff is in the middle. There are many parts where the scenery is beautiful. The forests in the hills, the open farmland that goes for as far as the eye can see. Passing the older generation sitting outside their houses under the shade of the tree lined hamlets gave a sense of calm. Old traditions mixing with the 21st century. Teenagers with horses & old carts collecting the produce from the fields with a smart phone attached to their ear. 

Sadly much of its beauty is overshadowed by the poverty & rubbish piled everywhere. You could see the where investment was starting to be made in some areas but many of the roads were still stone tracks. The fallout from the communist era was obvious with every turn in the road we made. Big, desserted factories falling down with old large residential areas crammed with people out of work opposite. 

The wild dogs were something I struggled with. They were everywhere. Maybe its because in the UK we are a nation of dog lovers. In Romania they appeared to not care about them. We saw many which had been hit by cars & left in the middle of the road. No one seemed to want to move them. It appeared to be a country which was very alien to me. 

With this said, you can see the potential. The current working age generation are a mix of the old communist era & 20-30 year olds. They haven’t quite found their feet but you hope in time they hopefully will.