In preparation for our trip to Transylvania, we have watched a number of films back home, continuing the trend here. Not all Dracula related, but vaguely linked.
This one was truly awful. But so bonkers, it was hysterical.
Countess Dracula based on a historical figure who killed girls so that she could maintain her youth. Wonderfully ridiculous!
Theatre of Blood was equally silly, Vincent Price and Diana Rigg, as you have never seen before! Vincent Price, a jaded actor, hunts down critics who have been less than complimentary about his acting. One by one, he kills them, the method matched to a Shakespeare play he had acted in.
During our downtime yesterday, we watched Werner Herzog’s, Nosferatu the Vampyre, from 1979, a remake of the original 1920s film. Filmed simultaneously in German and English. I think the German version must have been better, as the English one was so stilted. This bit was particularly gross, the sucky noises were a bit too graphic. Which reminds me that we keep passing the Bank of Transylvania, which has been a great source of dad jokes!
I can honestly say I was not a fan at all of this film. In one part, there were literally hundreds of rats, which Herzog asked to be painted grey. Herzog was accused of animal cruelty by one of the film’s animal experts. He alleged that the rats used in the film had such poor travelling conditions that they started to eat each other!
This morning, we went to a Carrefour Express and bought our breakfast, as well as things for a picnic.
The plan was to head to the Communism Museum, again thankfully a short distance. It was a tiny museum but we really found it interesting. On the way, we saw our first cats here, but they weren’t very friendly and were completely disinterested. To be honest, I felt a bit crestfallen. We haven’t seen many dogs either, and the ones we have are fluffy and small. A little fact I can share is that there are around 3 -4 million cats in Romaniam, with 48% households having them. So where are they???? Apparently, Romania has the highest capita of pets in Europe,
During the Revolution in December 1989, the protesters made a hole in the flag, taking out the Communist logo in the centre, This modified flag became one of the symbols of Revolution. It symbolised a new beginning. Defiling the flag in this way was a huge message, as any defacing in the past would have come with consequences.
During the Revolution, a snall number of children were killed, the youngest being 1 month old, Vladimir A, who was shot in his head in his crib.
Romania took a page out of the USSRs rule book, with political prisoners forced into labour. The Black Sea/Dabube built from their labour, subsisting in overcrowded barracks, close to starvation.
Investigations against anti-communists were barbaric, forced to eat their faeces, or their fellow prisoners, pulling out bails as well as putting feral cats under their shirts.
Starting from 1983,you could only buy typewriters with permission from the authorities. You would even then get checked up on periodically. So if the militia did uncover any anti Communist literature, it was easier to trace back.
Teachers and students would have a mandatory term to work, normally in agriculture. It would have been a nightmare for me!
Toys were prescriptive and also equally scary!
Education was also under scrutiny, but in some ways, it is true of all countries. Ceausescu loomed large, his portrait on every classroom wall, in the front of all books.
Abortion and birth control banned. Women had to resort to a number of ways to get rid of unwanted pregnancies,which put their lives in jeopardy. The purpose was to create a new and large Romanian population. Of course, those who had money could use bribes. Those who didn’t have money, which accounted for most of the population, resulted in mortality. During Ceausescu’s time, Romania had the highest mortality rate for pregnant women. Having more children just meant more mouths to feed and malnutrition was rife, as well as a host of resultant disabilities.
This is what typical people would wear, I know we are not typical! The coat was so heavy. We got the clothes from what they called ‘grandma’s wardrobe’.
Throughout the whole time, there were shortages. By the 1980s, coffee had more or less disappeared. Forced instead to drink a substitute called Nechezol, which had 1/5 coffee, the rest made up of barleym oats,chickpeas, and chestnuts. I have not seen it in the shops, so it mustn’t have even a goer! Food was rationed throughout.
Romanians were annually entitled to 39 kg of meat, 78 litres of milk and 166 kg of vegetables. Oil and sugar were given once a month, and the ration was one kilogram.
A coffee here where they describe itself as in the top 30 historic restaurants in the world. That seems a big stretch!
Another short walk, after a very long break and a we were near to the Palace of Parliament. The only way to visit is to book the day before. No doubt very interesting, but with a floor area of 365,000 mt squared would have been far too much for me. It is the world’s largest civilian building now, so I think it was a sensible decision. Having been to the Communist Museum, then seeing this, you can see how much the inequality ran deep. 700 architects, between 20,000 and 100,000 people, worked on it. To help cut costs forced labour and soldiers were used. Rupert Murdoch tried to buy it in 1990 for 1 billion, and he was rejected. Did he want to become the next dictator? I mean why, why, why would he buy it?
I have been interested in what Romanians think of these bygone days. That, in many ways, isn’t that bygone. In a study in May 2022 , only 54% of those interviewed thought the situation during communism had been better than the current one. In September, this number rose to 57%. The expectations after communism were high, and things are not as perhaps some expected. The rich are still rich. Unbelievably, another study found that nearly half of Romanians have a positive view of Ceausescu and believe that life was better with him in power
On the way back to the hotel, we crossed a bridge over the Dambovita River. It is about 150 miles long (250 km) and starts in the Transylvania Alps.
Snacks and games on the hotel. No cheating, we both won one each so no tears before bedtime!
Random Acts of Travelling 