I have been traveling around Romania for almost a week and I am reporting back with some of my finds.
I figured branding the country will take a lot of trips to see what the country offers, to pay attention to the details, to speak to people I meet.
This, together with the massive literature by Romanian authors or about Romania, feedbacks from the travelers we have at Beyond Dracula and years of promoting the destination, has to shed some light on what this country is all about.
Don’t you think?
It might take another 10 years, but the journey is exciting. Are you with me?
And speaking of a journey, here’s what I found on this one.
In no particular order, bits of Romania as I found them on my recent trip:
rolling hills with crops of corn or sunflower;
roadsides with white, purple, yellow, and pink wildflowers moved by the wind and the passing cars;
an old man with a traditional hat driving slowly his wooden cart pulled by a horse;
tractors and other agricultural machines and tools neatly parked in front of households;
a young mother in a cart pulled by horses breastfeeding a little baby;
hay bales;
fortified churches;
sheep, cows, and horses grazing or lounging around;
folk concerts, percussion performances, a rock festival and birds chirping on electricity cables;
food, a lot of hearty, tasty food. Some excellent, some average.
stunning mountain views;
tiny and friendly specialty coffee shops;
a new property opening this fall, already part of Relais & Chateaux;
lush pine forests;
a bride and groom on their big day, taking pictures in a park;
wineries and hills covered in vines producing some of the finest reds in the country;
a crazy traffic jam which had me drive 20 km in 1 hr and 15 minutes.
There is more. These I noted while traveling. Some are pictured below. Some are not.
I tested 4 new hotels, ate in 9 new restaurants, discovered 4 new wineries. I drove more than 1000 km.
What do you make of all of this? What’s the image of Romania that comes to mind as you read the lines above?
Let me know.
PS: I used the time in the car to listen to audiobooks and podcasts. Here are 3 random picks:
I had great fun listening to Austin Kleon’s trilogy on creativity; his Substack is also packed with very good stuff.
Listening to Bryan Johnson on The Diary of a CEO my brain went more than once 😳 From plasma transfusions, to a restrictive diet and the philosophy behind. It’s mind boggling.
Last but not least, Ethan Hawke’s short TED talk on creativity is material for a daily meditation. 🧘♀️