Going to Romania: Prologue
It's been a dream of mine for over half a lifetime.
That big mansion.
In the middle of nowhere.
Huge plot of land.
Vegetables, fruits, grains, herbs, spices, milk, eggs... everything homegrown.
Buttloads of guestrooms for all my friends and family and whomever wants to stay over for a night or two.
There's hardly space for such a thing in the Netherlands.
And in most of Europe, even where the space is available, it's way out of my budget.
Of course there's plenty of space in the Americas, Australia, Africa and the East bit of Eurasia.
But those are all a heck of a commute from the Netherlands.
So this year I noticed Romania on the map.
Apparently (suprisingly?) it's easy to miss... for me.
See, before the wall and the iron curtain fell Romania was Warsaw Pact territory. In the news it was where the Red Pinko Nukes (tm) were located. Where those poor poor East Block people lived under the yoke of the Commie Bastards (tm).
But that was half a year ago. Since then I've learned what a wonderful country it is. Very few other European countries have such natural diversity. Such cultural diversity and such a rich history.
It's one of the first places where man set foot entering Europe. Right after Greece.
It's also on the point where Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Southern Europe all meet.
And I can afford land there. Not a humongous forest or anything, just a little plot big enough to sustain me and all my visitors.
Perfect.
So in 4 weeks I'm going to Bucharest for the second time.
I'll be staying there for two months.
If I still love the country after that I'll call it my second home.
And I intend to use this journal to share my experiences.
Enjoy.
That big mansion.
In the middle of nowhere.
Huge plot of land.
Vegetables, fruits, grains, herbs, spices, milk, eggs... everything homegrown.
Buttloads of guestrooms for all my friends and family and whomever wants to stay over for a night or two.
There's hardly space for such a thing in the Netherlands.
And in most of Europe, even where the space is available, it's way out of my budget.
Of course there's plenty of space in the Americas, Australia, Africa and the East bit of Eurasia.
But those are all a heck of a commute from the Netherlands.
So this year I noticed Romania on the map.
Apparently (suprisingly?) it's easy to miss... for me.
See, before the wall and the iron curtain fell Romania was Warsaw Pact territory. In the news it was where the Red Pinko Nukes (tm) were located. Where those poor poor East Block people lived under the yoke of the Commie Bastards (tm).
But that was half a year ago. Since then I've learned what a wonderful country it is. Very few other European countries have such natural diversity. Such cultural diversity and such a rich history.
It's one of the first places where man set foot entering Europe. Right after Greece.
It's also on the point where Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Southern Europe all meet.
And I can afford land there. Not a humongous forest or anything, just a little plot big enough to sustain me and all my visitors.
Perfect.
So in 4 weeks I'm going to Bucharest for the second time.
I'll be staying there for two months.
If I still love the country after that I'll call it my second home.
And I intend to use this journal to share my experiences.
Enjoy.