Should you go? Definitely! If you want to get away from the tourist crowds in Western Europe, come here. It’s much less expensive, the food and wine are good, hotels are excellent, and the vibe encourages slowing down and hanging out. Plus you get a front row seat on how people can live with wretched history and keep moving forward.
Overall impressions: Romania is more prosperous than I would have expected. It’s recovering from a North-Korean style dictatorship to multi-party elections and into an entrepreneurial start-up nation. Challenges? For sure; old habits die slowly. Corruption, bribery, nostalgia for the good old days when the Party took care of everything.
This trip was organized by Joseph Benatov of Sephardic Balkans.com – whose specialty is Sephardic Jewish Legacy trips to Eastern Europe either by group, or with individual itineraries (like this one.) Joseph also arranged for our wonderful guides: Thanks to Davor Salom in Belgrade for his insights into Jewish history in Serbia, (and a shout-out to his drivers who waited through the border crossing into Hungary.) Thanks to Maria Bobak for her introduction to Szeged in Hungary, in a perfect afternoon. Special thanks to the intrepid Andrei Popescu, our Romanian guide and fearless driver, who answered endless questions with patience, thoroughness and a wicked sense of humor – no topic off limits. All of these guides are superb professionals with extensive knowledge that they are delighted and proud to share – even when the history is tragic, even when it’s brutal. They do not shrink from the truth.
Suggested Reading:
The Village on the Edge of the World, by Herta Muller.
Balkan Ghosts, by Robert Kaplan.
In Europe’s Shadow, by Robert Kaplan.
Exit into History, by Eva Hoffman.
The Hole in the Flag, by Andrei Codrescu.
Satmar: American Style, by Daniel B. Schwartz (The rise of the Hasidic Satmar sect after the rescue of Rabbi Yoel Teitlebaum on the Kasztner Train)
Fortunes of War: The Balkan Trilogy, by Olivia Manning
Hotels:
In Belgrade we stayed in the lovely Square Nine Hotel (below) – new modern hotel, international vibe. Great location; easy access to the center of the city. Note that you can still smoke indoors in Belgrade hotel lobbies and restaurants, although some restaurants try to have non-smoking sections.
Szeged: The Art Hotel Szeged; good location, modern hotel, a bit quirky, great outdoor balcony. Small rooms – fine for a couple of nights.
Cluj-Napoca: The Radisson Blu hotel; predictable international chain hotel and a 15 minute walk (through a lovely park) to the city center. It’s a convention hotel so you know what you’re getting. It wouldn’t have been my choice, but all good. Friendly attentive front desk with lots of info and suggestions.
Brasov: The Schuster Boarding House Hotel – delightful, great location, small boutique hotel with unique rooms, and a lovely rooftop terrace.
Bucharest: The Intercontinental Athenee Palace Hotel, one of the historic grande old dames of the city, completely refurbished in a (bland) international vibe. Large hotel with tour groups and conferences. Great location, but I’m sure there are smaller and more charming hotels with more personal service.
My standard of food abroad is – don’t get sick – but no worries: there are so many pasta, salad, veg options everywhere that have become (sadly – but reliably) ubiquitous international fare. Spring is asparagus season, so that was a must; goulash and cabbage rolls; a range of vodkas, an occasional slivovitz, (plum brandy) and some wonderful wines – wine culture in all three countries has been around for millennia. Gelato is everywhere and Hungarian pastries are to die for. We had particularly excellent meals in Brasov at One Soul, in Bucharest at Savart, and in Belgrade at Sentimenti.
Restaurants indoors and out; bookstores with coffee and wine. Many opportunities to linger.
What’s next for Romania? It’s going through a renaissance that I hope will only blossom. It seems quite entrepreneurial but threats abound: a very recent democracy with a rocky start; memories of near-starvation and deprivation under Communism, reluctant acknowledgement of their role in the Holocaust, on-going ethnic tensions. Within a multi-party system (at least six and several minor parties/alliances) there is a surging Far Right populist party. And then there’s Russia not far away. Romania is in NATO and their coast on the Black Sea could be affected at any moment by the Ukraine-Russia war, potentially dragging NATO members into action.
But not to end on too sober a note: we loved it. Ciao!
