Friday 30 January 2015

Romania here I come - I am so excited!

Buna ziua! I am off to Romania in February for 6 days. I shall be visiting the capital Bucharest as well as the town of Brasov, which is located right next to the biggest ski resort of Romania, Poiana Brasov. The mountains in Romania are not quite as majestic as the ones in the Alps, the temperatures are usually low enough to guarantee fairly decent snow. Since it is going to be three weeks before I arrive in Romania, I am not sure what the conditions will be like when I get there, but currently it is -4 there and there's plenty of snow, so I am keeping my fingers crossed! Romania has seen some epic winter weather before, so I am hoping to experience a proper Eastern European winter there. 
Bucharest, Romania

The winter weather in London has been disappointing to say the least - it is somewhat cold-ish but the snow keeps missing London. My friends in places like Liverpool, Glasgow and Manchester have posted plenty of pictures of snow in their gardens but I am barely getting a few flakes in London. Aah well, I am going to get me some proper winter weather in Romania! I have always wanted to go to Romania since 1984, when I first saw Ecaterina Szabo and the amazing Romanian gymnastics team win so many gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Romania's great success in gymnastics has bred a lifelong fascination on my part with the country - I can't believe it took me this long to finally book my holiday there! Now I have to finish my second Spanish vlog before I go to Romania very soon.

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11 comments:

  1. Shanester30 January 2015 at 07:17

    Hmm, you are going to the land of Vlad Tepes and the experts on the vault, the beam and the bars! Have fun and easy on the beer and vodkha. Check out Sighisoara if time permits. I personally love it more than Brasov or Sinaia.

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    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent30 January 2015 at 11:31

      Hi Shane, you write well and are very well traveled. Do you have a travel blog? Or would you like to write for someone like Alvinology who is always looking for more travel bloggers?

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    2. Shanester2 February 2015 at 03:59

      Hi LIFT / Alex, thanks for the compliment. I am too undisciplined to be a good blogger. Just like the food and pastries I whip up, they tend to be totally spur of the moment / sudden inspiration. Ok, I can surely try out on Alvinology which looks fun. Travel wise, I prefer unplanned off the beaten track stuff, so I will probably be a lousy contributor for the more mainstream tastes. I can probably provide some little tips on small out of the way places, local eats and unusual food you never see or hear in Singapore. Maybe its really a reaction to the so predictable and mass market stuff here that when I travel out, I go totally the other way out. Ok my next trip in April / May will be to...... your beloved Paris and then on to Amsterdam!

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    3. Limpeh Foreign Talent2 February 2015 at 10:09

      For you Shane: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/how-to-become-epic-blogger.html

      Why not just blog about food? Loads of people have blogs that deal with just one topic and food is an extremely good topic which attracts readers. I'd gladly follow your blog given the way you write so knowledgeably about good food. Like, you enjoy kokoretsi (high five!) - that convinces me you do know so much more than the average foodie. Hmmm wonder if I can find kokoretsi in Romania ... ?

      As for travel writing, I think it's more about finding a new angle. I hope you've seen my latest piece on austerity & tourism: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/the-recession-austerity-and-tourism.html I didn't want to just write about what I seen and done in Spain, I wanted to tell a story from a specific angle, something new, something unusual for my readers.

      Sometimes even just a train journey can make a good story: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/on-train-from-carthage.html

      As for Paris, I don't think people need me to tell them about climbing the Eiffel Tower - there's so much information on the internet about it. The internet has really revolutionized travel writing, it's more about quirky, personal stories that shed a new light on travel.

      Look out for a programme on the BBC world service called 'From Our Own Correspondent' - that is series of radio short stories from their journalists in that format. Short, quirky, just a few minutes long, usually dealing with a simple topic, telling a story about something that left a deep impression on them. That is the kind of style I wish to capture in my travel writing.

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    4. Limpeh Foreign Talent2 February 2015 at 10:11

      PS. I have blogged quite a lot on Paris in the period Nov-Dec last year after I have worked a short contract there. Do check out those posts.

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    5. Shanester2 February 2015 at 10:54

      Lol thanks lIFT. My little foodie adventures are hardly epic, its just that I never turn down a food challenge anywhere and am quite game to try things out of my comfy zone. Kokoretsi was really something I tried upon the recommendation of the server who told me it was their "local specialty" and I really had no idea it was offal until I ate it. Too late.

      Ok thanks for the heads up, will definitely go put up something. As I usually stay in local apartments where the owners themselves stay in (hmm for practical reason that they must surely also keep in well maintained!), I tend to end up exchanging meal tests with them or even go on a local market journey just for fun. Hope these mundane little things can keep some readers amused. I just can't bring myself to write about how much I oooh and ahhh at arc de triomphe or the Eiffel, which I haven't really gone to since my first trip to Paris in 2000.

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    6. Limpeh Foreign Talent4 February 2015 at 09:55

      Have fun in Paris, it's a city I can visit again and again and still have a fantastic time there.

      My traveling buddy has just messaged me on Facebook showing me the current weather in Brasov: -12 but with windchill feels like -28 and he was panicking and I was like YESSSS!!! Bring it on!!!

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  2. Unknown31 January 2015 at 15:55

    Have fun on your trip to Romania, LIFT! I admire how you always appreciate people who take the time to craft out a reply to you, no matter how short the comment is or how tedious the question. A simple well-wishing had you complimenting him and opening up opportunities. If the world has more people like you who admire and appreciate people no matter how small their contribution, I'm pretty sure we'd all be in a better place.

    Your attitude and general outlook towards life is commendable and you're someone I aspire to be one day! I hope this comment made your day just as how your reply to the above poster made mine. Cheers!

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    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent31 January 2015 at 16:07

      Thanks so much for your comment. I am just grateful for the number of readers I have who keep coming back for more :)

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  3. Di Talasi1 February 2015 at 20:35

    I concur with Piggy Chai. On the same note, Alex, I check your posts every day. Sometimes it's what gets me through a mundane day at work.

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    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent2 February 2015 at 00:32

      You are too kind. Thank you. I am honoured that you like my writing.

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