\nComing from America where almost all the food ingested is shit and genetically modified, the biggest eye opener and appreciation I had was the food and beverages in Romania. Traveling around Romania, I realized one amazing fact. That just about everywhere you go, someone knows someone who’s related to someone that grows and makes something naturally. I’ve had soups with home grown vegetables in it. Eggs that came from a friends mothers village. Cheese that came from a friends hometown. The village lifestyle overrules any supermarket in Romania, it’s incredible. Palinc\u0103 was a traditional drink I’ve tried many times all over the country. One does not simply drink one drink of Palinc\u0103 :). Most of the Palinc\u0103 I’ve had came from a village somewhere, most of the time sold in a Coke or other soda bottle. The same goes for almost all of the desserts I have tried. I really think the USA could take some notes from Romania.<\/p>\n
Geography<\/strong> First time Hitchhiking<\/strong> Language<\/strong> People<\/strong> Culture & Tradition<\/strong>![\"Romanian](\"http:\/\/www.aperezvoyages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/IMG_1271.jpg\")
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\nWhile Romania doesn’t exactly have a desert, the country does cover many different kinds of terrains. From the Danube river, to the big city of Bucharest. From the peaks of the Carpathian mountains to the Transfagarasan road in Transylvania. From the plains of Banat in the west to the Danube delta and the Black Sea coast. And not to forget the Maramures region stuck in time to the north on the border with Ukraine (unfortunately I did not make it here.) If you travel around Romania like I did, or more, you will see how much geography can change from one region to the next. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\nI started my traveling in this region of Europe in Istanbul making my way into the Balkans through Bulgaria and finally up into Romania and Moldova. Through Couchsurfing and one single Airbnb host, I had be told and almost always persuaded to hitchhike everywhere I can. I used to consider myself like most Americans, intimidated and afraid at even the concept of hitchhiking. I never said NEVER, but I always found excuses to not hitchhike such as searching hard for a train, bus, or Blablacar.
\nI always hitchhiked a short distance from Turda to Cluj but a bus pulled up as soon as I put my thumb out. However, a week later, I felt the confidence to hitchhike from Bran to Rasnov between two small towns. Although it was a short distance, it broke some serious ground in my world of travel. In 15 minutes I connected with another human being in the most amazing way despite the language barrier. It was this first time in Romania where I felt like no impossible train and bus schedule could stop me. Now in Bosnia, in the past 2 months, I have hitchhiked over 10 times and not only saved some money but connected with amazing people. Because of hitchhiking, I feel like I can see whatever I want and do whatever I want, even if a bus or train doesn’t go there, all thanks to Romania. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nThe Romanian language is interesting considering that it is surrounded by Slavic languages with cyrillic alpahabets. Romanian to my ears, is probably one of the most exotic european languages and when I hear a couple talking to each other, it makes me happy. It’s interesting hearing a word like “da” for yes be in the same conversation with another world that sounds Spanish and the rest it’s own unique sound. Not sure if that makes sense, but it just sounds amazing, especially since I come from hispanic decent and noticing some similar words in Romanian to Spanish. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nDespite what most people say and think about Romania (IE, Romanians are crazy. Romania is dangerous.), I found Romanian people to be some of the most incredibly, down to earth people ever. I have couchsurfed quite a bit around the country, some with foreigners, and some with Romanians. Those times with Romanians were extremely hospitable and welcoming into their homes. Obviously, I did run into some rude ones. Like the lady at the train station who just simply didn’t want any human interation. Or the old woman who couldn’t wait a single second to grab my train ticket and change and walk away from the ticket counter. But, most of the encounters with people were extremely kind. <\/p>\n
\nFor Europe, I felt like Romania was one of the most powerfully connected to tradition than any other place I had been to so far. The culture is rich in every aspect everywhere I went. Although Moldova is it’s own country, I include Moldova in this as well. I feel like Romanians have an even stronger connection to their tradition and culture despite those many years under Soviet occupation. For the two and a half ish weeks I spent throughout the whole country, as a foreigner, I felt very welcomed everywhere I went.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>