The Quiet Irishman 4: planuri…

I’ve been experiencing something like Irish weather for the last week except for the heat which has been a different experience to the previous few weeks!

I think this is when Bucharest really seems to come to life when the sun comes out 🙂 there are so many little markets and stalls set up where you can buy gifts are just sit and have a coffee! Really enjoyable but of course make sure you’re back inside before 4:30 when the storms come haha!! I’m sure it’ll clear up soon; I think the storms will have gone back to Ireland by next weekend 🙂

For the past couple of months I’ve been trying my hand at learning some Romanian, now I’m sure a lot of people will laugh when they read this knowing that it is not very easy to learn and definitely is not something that you pick up over a few months, but I still want to at least give it a shot!

The biggest difficulty (other than the grammar of course) is the speed at which people speak at, which is the same in most countries but does seem particularly difficult here; even if I do understand some of the words being spoken I think it’s another level of difficulty just picking up the sentence and then trying to make sense of it; but I know it’s not easy and will take a lot of time so I’ll keep persevering 🙂 Any suggest as to hints or suggestions on how to understand the language a little easier are welcome, except of course getting a translator 🙂 I’ll have to of course attempt a word or two in Romanian over the next few weeks in my installments so don’t be too critical, ok!! 🙂 … very much a beginner!!!

Having spent a few months in Bucharest I hope to travel to some of the places outside Bucharest as I know there’s a lot more to Romania than Bucharest alone, the plan is to hire a car and head for the Mountains first and see what I meet along the way! The main areas I’d like to get to visit are of course the Carpathian Mountains & Transilvania and then to visit some of the local villages and towns around there. There is always the immediate attraction of Transilvania which it seems most Romanians are bored hearing about from Tourists so I won’t mention too much about Vlad however it still is a major attraction for tourists like me so I will have to go there, I couldn’t spend time in Romania without going to see the castles and be a tourist for the weekend 🙂 (Especially with the connection to Ireland with Bram Stoker being from Dublin) There are lots of places I know along the coast also that serve as great tourist attractions especially along the black sea however I expect I’ll need more than a weekend to get over and experience that!

I’m keeping an eye out for other possibilities and places to visit; what I’ve always found is that some of the best places to visit are places that are known more to locals and less advertised in the tourist magazines and websites, so any suggestions are welcome! 🙂

I’m sure there’s also a lot of local recipes, foods and drinks that are local to certain specific areas in rural Romania which I hope I can experience, I’ve managed to try some of the foods of course in Bucharest like Sarmale and Mici which were incredible and I’m sure there’s a lot more I can try along the way; also with a little Palinca of course or perhaps just some of the domestic coffee to start with!!

I’ve tried to make some of the domestic coffee here but I reckon I need more practise; it just doesn’t seem to turn out like it tastes in the cafes in town 🙂

So thanks for reading, please feel free to come back with any comments or suggestions about the language or possible areas to visit, all the best until next time!!

The quiet Irishman

————————–

dhannon@simplybucharest.ro