Well. It was an unconscionably early start for what is meant to be a sabbatical, albeit a very short one. I hadn't slept due to being so anxious about sleeping through the alarm and literally missing the bus. My brain had written future blog content, the next chapter of my ever developing (I know! I was surprised too!) dissertation, plus I'd been thinking about everything that needs doing once I get home.
Louisa needs some attention. She's the Freezer, obviously. She is a complete mystery to me. Opening her door is like commencing an archaeological dig in a curious igloo and requires specialist equipment. Goodness knows what she might be harbouring. At least nothing could have died in there, and if it has, it is well and truly frozen.
Then there's the car - poor Purple has been pumping out hot air for the last three months, not what one needs in a heatwave. The air-con needs re-gassing. I called a garage just before I came away -
'Hello - do you do air-con re-gassing?'
'What sort of car is it?'
'She's purple'.
They hung up.
I did wake up on time this morning and hurriedly made myself a coffee, then dashed up to Grand Hotel where the pick-up point was, expecting a similar set-up to my recent day-trip to Bulgaria. Instead of the predicted Family Car from before, was a 67-seater coach! This is clearly the day-trip of choice amongst those who find themselves here.
The guide introduced himself - 'I am Emmanuel'. This reassured me - as anyone who has ever been to a Christmas Carol Service will know, Emmanuel means 'God with us'.
People continued to arrive and bag their seats in the coach for some time - when I realised that there were 59 of us altogether, I realised that this might not quite be what I was hoping for.
As we set off for the first stop - Peles Castle, the summer residence of the Royal Family - which is closed on Mondays (goodness, I'd close every day if that number of tourists were descending!) - a child sneezed abundantly - I heard her mother say, 'Well, I haven't got a tissue, just use your sleeve'. I couldn't have this - I turned around and pressed a packet of tissues into her hand - 'Here you go'.
I fell into conversation with another traveller who was complaining about her multitude of insect bites - I reached into my bag - 'Here's some bite cream'. She was travelling with her phone and bank card - that was all. I am travelling with everything known to (wo)man. So I was basically the Coach Mother and it was remarkably similar to leading a Guide trip.
I'm afraid that Bran Castle was not what I was expecting - it is one of the main attractions of that part of Romania and it's interesting because Bram Stoker who wrote Dracula, never actually came here, just thought it was a good place to set the story. But in real terms, the place was heaving with people, apparently on timed tickets, but I would even say it was dangerously overcrowded with visitors, and anyone with even slightly limited mobility would not have been able to access it, and I didn't see any warning of that. Things were labelled and arrows guided you around (unless you were paying for an individual guide dressed in an elaborate table cloth), but realistically there were too many people to be able to read anything, and I didn't like it.
It was beautiful to be in the mountains and I wish on reflection that I'd spent a couple of days in the mountains, to fully appreciate Transylvania without eight million other people.
I was sympathetic with the couple arguing with each other about how busy it was and how they were each blaming the other for wanting to come here. I wanted to join in.
The guide was very knowledgeable and eager to share his knowledge of the country. He sounded very like the take-off of Thomas Tuchel on 'Dead Ringers'. If you haven't heard this, go to BBC Sounds online and listen to the latest series of 'Dead Ringers'. The take-offs of Sue Mitchell are also very funny, but only if you've heard 'To catch a scorpion'. Rob is ex-army.
Interesting as all the historical stuff is, the bit I find most interesting when travelling is the personal stories which you hear. As we approached Bucharest after hours travelling back from Bran Castle, the guide started telling stories about his childhood. He is a similar age to me - 36 and a bit - and talked of his memories of living under a communist regime, where milk and bread were rationed. This was in 1989, which is relatively recently.
He talked of how Romania has changed, has joined NATO, has joined the EU and is becoming a capital of choice for industry. I would agree with that. A lot of people have particular associations when they think of Romania, but it is a million miles away from where it was forty years ago. It is bright, vibrant, alive. The streets are buzzing with Bolt scooters, global chains from KFC to Zara, McDonalds to Lidl, Auchan, Ikea. You would not know from all this, what happened in 1989.
Romania came to the world's attention in the 1990s when it was realised that more than 100,000 children were living in terrible conditions due to policies which banned abortion and contraception to boost the population, meaning that many families had to abandon children to institutions. You might remember the Blue Peter appeal, the Challenge Anneka appeal and many others in the early 1990s. Maybe you contributed to these appeals in some way. If you want to learn more about this, there's an episode of The Reunion called 'The Romanian Orphanages' on - you guessed it - BBC Radio 4.
Well, it's time for me to go to bed and enjoy a final sleep in Romania as I'm heading home tomorrow. Let's see what adventures the journey home brings.
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