Romania

in Bucharest for a few days, just realized shortly before leaving that they're not on the Euro. it's super inexpensive here! I love covrigi (simit in Turkey) and they are plentiful here.

So far it reminds me more of Rome than of other European cities, in its ramshackle sprawl. maybe Berlin in the 90s but not really Berlin make 2016. the roads seem very wide. it's hot but there's air conditioning where I'm staying, with the university. the food's been terrific, had sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls) and mamaglia (basically polenta) last night. I saw a Lamborghini parked on the street in my neighborhood, not far from a quite old Trabant.

yeah it definitely feels more italian maybe than what people think of as eastern european. i was there about 2006/2007 and it felt kind of crazy, like a five-star hotel next to a mcdonalds next to a broken down house with people sleeping rough in the ruins, cars parked facing in any direction, spaghetti junctions, but it was really cool. dunno if it's changed since then.

I wasn't particularly taken with Bucharest. Everywhere else I went in Romania was lovely, though.

friends in Paris told me they don't really care for Bucharest, and I can sorta see why: the prevalence of broken buildings everywhere suggests danger, and the heat and traffic add to the sense of chaos. But I lived in Marseille last year (another place Parisians don't go) and I've lived in the American midwest a lot, so environmental decay and heat and traffic seem pretty normal to me.

& it's cool that people I've talked to are happy to be here, want to stay here if they can (the economy is tough). I guess a flip side of that is nationalism and I've seen plenty of posters up calling for the return of Bessarabia, basically Moldavia, which is a central plank of the extreme right here.

yeah the people seem pretty enthused about it ime. i was writing about techno at the time and i did a blog post about going there to cover an event, i put in touch with a hotel, someone collected me from the airport, a promoter emailed to give me a gig, it all felt really good and fun as a scene of people.

*i was put in touch with a hotel, i meant to say

🇹🇩 The map of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867-1918) overlapping the results of the 2014 presidential elections in Romania

An example of the long term impact of past institutions. pic.twitter.com/2nzexOd7rX

— Xavi Ruiz 🎗 (@xruiztru) April 20, 2018

Just spent a fascinating couple of days in Bucharest - hard to think of a place in Europe where beauty and decay are so intertwined. Some magnificent art deco palaces, bordering unpaved parking lots. Flying back to Iasi next week.

I guess a flip side of that is nationalism and I've seen plenty of posters up calling for the return of Bessarabia, basically Moldavia, which is a central plank of the extreme right here.

I'm two years too late, but I wouldn't say calls for decolonization are systematically a far-right thing (although they can be in some cases, no doubt about it).

Anyway, I'm glad you like it, baaderonixx. Bucharest is a wonderful city for lovers of aesthetic decadence. It's also infinitely safer than its reputation and appearance suggest.