Well, we've been back from Romania for almost 48 hours now, but I'm just getting a chance to sit down and formulate my thoughts about the trip. It was great! For those of you who don't know, I spent several months in Romania in 1993 between law school and starting my first job as a lawyer. During those months, I worked in an orphanage, and lived mainly in a town called Iasi, but I spent time in Bucharest also.
My time in Romania in 1993 was formative in many ways, not the least of which is that it was one of several experiences in my pre-mother life that I believe was intended to prepare me for the job of raising a child with a disability. Although the children in the orphanage were not disabled at birth, the institutionalization alone caused many of them to acquire developmental disabilities and delays. This was the first time in my life that I had been exposed to children with disabilities, and I fell in love with many of them. Little did I know that working with those precious children would end up helping me so much later in my life.
Romania was in bad shape in the 1990s. The country had overthrown its former dictator, Nicolae Ceaucescu, several years before, but was still struggling politically and economically. It was a poor country, with very limited resources. It seemed nearly third-world when I was there 16 years ago. So, I've got to give the Romanians credit for coming a VERY LONG WAY in 16 years. I was stunned, quite frankly, by the changes -- particularly in Bucharest. Honestly, it looked like a completely different city. I would describe it as being somewhere between Belgrade, which still seems pretty Eastern European, and Budapest, which has a distinct western feel, but closer, probably to Budapest.
On this trip, we spent two nights in a small village in Transylvania, and two nights in Bucharest. In between, we spent several hours in one of Transylvania's "big towns," Brasov. Here are some photos to help paint a better picture of our experience:
The crew getting ready for the horse and cart ride.
Count Kalnoky's Estate where we stayed in Miklosvar, a tiny village north of Brasov in Transylvania.
Virginia helping drive the cart!
The view from the front of the cart.
Wes and Mikayla on the horses
One of the gypsy children who stopped to visit with us during our day in the woods -- these kids were precious -- unlike many gypsy kids, they didn't ask for money, but just wanted their pictures taken.
Below -- a favorite shot. Two village women sitting outside whiling the afternoon away on a beautiful September day.
Another cart we passed on the road.
The kitchen at Count Kalnoky's Estate -- the Romanian women were working away all day in that kitchen!!
A beautiful old church right in the center of downtown Bucharest.
My time in Romania in 1993 was formative in many ways, not the least of which is that it was one of several experiences in my pre-mother life that I believe was intended to prepare me for the job of raising a child with a disability. Although the children in the orphanage were not disabled at birth, the institutionalization alone caused many of them to acquire developmental disabilities and delays. This was the first time in my life that I had been exposed to children with disabilities, and I fell in love with many of them. Little did I know that working with those precious children would end up helping me so much later in my life.
Romania was in bad shape in the 1990s. The country had overthrown its former dictator, Nicolae Ceaucescu, several years before, but was still struggling politically and economically. It was a poor country, with very limited resources. It seemed nearly third-world when I was there 16 years ago. So, I've got to give the Romanians credit for coming a VERY LONG WAY in 16 years. I was stunned, quite frankly, by the changes -- particularly in Bucharest. Honestly, it looked like a completely different city. I would describe it as being somewhere between Belgrade, which still seems pretty Eastern European, and Budapest, which has a distinct western feel, but closer, probably to Budapest.
On this trip, we spent two nights in a small village in Transylvania, and two nights in Bucharest. In between, we spent several hours in one of Transylvania's "big towns," Brasov. Here are some photos to help paint a better picture of our experience:
The crew getting ready for the horse and cart ride.
Count Kalnoky's Estate where we stayed in Miklosvar, a tiny village north of Brasov in Transylvania.
Virginia helping drive the cart!
The view from the front of the cart.
Wes and Mikayla on the horses
One of the gypsy children who stopped to visit with us during our day in the woods -- these kids were precious -- unlike many gypsy kids, they didn't ask for money, but just wanted their pictures taken.
Below -- a favorite shot. Two village women sitting outside whiling the afternoon away on a beautiful September day.
Another cart we passed on the road.
The kitchen at Count Kalnoky's Estate -- the Romanian women were working away all day in that kitchen!!
A beautiful old church right in the center of downtown Bucharest.
Street scene in Bucharest -- this is not representative of the rest of the city -- this part of town was under some major construction, but this is right next to the oldest church in Bucharest, as well as ruins of a castle built by Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler -- the person on whom the fictional Dracula was based) built in Bucharest in the 15th century.
Beautiful view of the Danube River -- taken in western Serbia on our way back from Bucharest.
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