I’ve now traveled through 8 of the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe – Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria. Although I’ve written about most of them individually, I’ve recognized some things they share that I think are interesting: Capitalism has been enthusiastically adopted Continue Reading
Romania
This is the House that Nick Built
Nicolae Ceauşescu was the leader of Romania from 1965 to 1989 when he and his wife were executed by firing squad immediately after a two hour televised show trial on Christmas Day. The grand House of the Republic (Casa Republicii) he was building wasn’t finished at the time, and despite Continue Reading
The Real Dracula
Who was the real Dracula? Is it this guy trying to bite Diane? The man known as Dracula was born in 1431 in Sighisoara (pronounced ‘siggy-schwa-ra’), a town that we visited in Transylvania. Dracula (Vlad III) was named after his father Vlad II, a commander of the mountain passes between Continue Reading
Impressions of Romania
• Romania appears less developed than the other countries we’ve been to in the European Union, including other former Communist countries Poland and Slovakia. • It is common to see people driving horse drawn wagons in the countryside and smaller towns. For many, this appears to be their primary form of transport. Continue Reading
Romania — We’re not in Kansas any more…
We approached the Romanian frontier at a small crossing in the east of Hungary. Ours was the only car visible as we approached the remote border post in the dusk of late afternoon. A man in a green uniform was smoking and put his cigarette down on the curb as Continue Reading