Constanta to Romania is what Odessa is to Ukraine. It is a port and resort city on the Black Sea. Those who wanted to go to Odessa this year because they miss the Black Sea summer life should head here. The sea around Odessa is mined, and it is no fun. There was another bombing last night, too.
I decided to leave Chernivtsi, took a taxi to the border, and walked across. The Ukrainian customs and immigration out of the country are the same windows are those into the country. So, you have people coming in and out and they are using the same booths. You still need to get a slip from the customs on the way out and they still ask you what you are taking out of the country.
Then, it is like a 200m walk across the no man's land and into Romania. If you walk, you get served out of line. There are all these cars, but you are not asked to get in behind them. They stamped my passport and then, the Romanian customs were just some people hanging out and they were not paying attention to the pedestrians at all. I just walked over to a taxi and it took me to the train station.
The fares were, the Ukrainian taxi to the border was some $18 and it was some 35 miles and then, the Romanian taxi to the train station was some $30 and it was another 35 miles to the station at a town called Suceava. Soo cheh yah vah.
The white sand beaches here are enormous, with even more sand than Copacabana.
The place is not as wild as Odessa and is more of a family town. Lots of families with kids everywhere.
The train left at 10 pm and arrived in Constanta at 4 am. It pretty much cross the whole of Romania. It was hot and crowded, the air conditioning was crap but the ride was some $26. Then the taxi was $22. And the hotel which is just a walking distance from the beach is $64 a night.
This is the EU, so prices are about twice as high as in Ukraine. But still about one half of US prices.
One interesting detail was that when I arrived at the hotel, the receptionist was this gorgeous young lady, about 22 and she looked like a cross between Mila Kunis and Selena Gomez. She was dressed in tiny denim shorts and one of those blouses that slide down to denude the shoulder. She was smoking in the lobby and was incredibly friendly and wanted to know about life in America. She asked me a million questions, and we spent more than hour in the lobby just talking. I could not believe that such a beautiful girl would be so nice to me. Well, she did tell me that she already had a boyfriend. But still, there was zero mysandry, zero mistrust, no reserve, just total friendship, way beyond the service requirements.
This could never happen in the USA.
Then, the manager came and he was a guy maybe 35 and also very friendly and we talked and laughed and the service was great overall. They all liked to talk.
Crossing from a very cold and formal, stand offish Western Ukraine into a Latino Romania is a big contrast. It is like crossing from Germany into Italy. W. Ukraine is still very, very Austrian, but this place is like Italy or Mexico basically.
You look at the crowd of Romanian people and they clearly look like a buch of Latinos. And they act like that, too.
But there is more of a different type of a mixture here.
First of all, there are no ugly people among them. Same as in Ukraine, the soil here is rich, people eat natural foods, they walk a lot, so they look good. Also, not many obese people, although there are people with big bellies, too. The rest of the body does not look so fat.
The predominant face is kind of like Italian or Roman type. And some look as dark as Sicilian Italians. Almost Mexican looking. Then, you have the native Dacian type. Kind of like Greek looking but the hair is jet black and straight and the face is narrow. Deep dark eyes and an eagle nose. Then, you also have pure, blond Slavic types, they look like Ukrainians. And then, you have everything in between that such a mixture can provide. Blond but tanned skin and a Roman nose, dark but with blue eyes, etc. A very pretty race. But the feeling that you are in Sicily predominates.
A very unique country. They also eat palenta here just like they do in Italy. The language sounds like Italian with Slavic undertones.
And even though it is Romania, the religion is Greek Orthodox.
Anyway, this is my down and dirty on this place.
