Trip to Romania
June
5th –25th ‘05
It all started with a suggestion that we
(Network Gloria)take a truck out to Romania mainly because we had acquired a
very good wheelchair and it just happened that Claudiu in Zimnicea was in
desperate need for a new one. Sallyanne generously offered to fund the venture.
We knew we could fill a truck no problem. When I heard about this I jumped at
the opportunity to help with the driving and even go in convoy with my little
Campervan (you must be mad, said friends). Then an equally mad friend Roy said
he wanted to go too and he’s a mechanic, so the answer was “yes” of course.
Well the truck
idea was becoming untenable and expensive and sending pallets was a much more practical and
financially viable solution. However, Judith
was all fired up to go and the idea of driving there was very tempting. That’s what happened. Roy and I decided to go to coincide with the
pallets arriving to help with the distribution. Unfortunately this wasn’t to
happen due to transport delays, but our trip was very exciting and full anyway.
So after much
planning and big service on the dear Romahome, which incidentally is 15 years
old, piled high with presents, toys, and the inevitable incontinence pads, we
were finally on our way. So giving my
little dogs a big hug we headed for the Norfolk Line at midnight on June 5th. We landed at Dunkirk during the early hours of
the 6th and we were off!!!!!
The little van
did us proud. Packed to bursting she
zipped along and wherever we stopped she was much admired. We made our way
through France and Belgium and a little bit of Holland. Last time I was that side of the water there
were borders and a change of currency, but now it’s like going through
different counties over here with just a little sign. As we got into Germany
the weather and terrain improved. We
started seeing castles and medieval buildings. We stayed our first night in a
guest house in Germany. Next day we
headed for Hungary passing through Austria.
We kept mainly to autobahns but couldn’t resist taking a detour when we
followed the Danube into Vienna. We
resisted the temptation to explore Vienna and slept our 2nd night in
a lay-by in Hungary. We hit Budapest in
morning rush hour. It was a shame to
rush through these wonderful places, but we had long way to go and our sights
were set on our goal of Romania.
The suburbs of
Hungary reminded me of Romania; the familiar little houses and the huge blocks
of flats, but the fields were bigger. We reached the Romanian border in good
time and going through the border was pretty painless and were we ever pleased
we weren’t in a truck as the lines of trucks were enormous and it looked like
they had been there ages. We sorted out
money exchange and car insurance. Then
we were off! I spoke to Adi and arranged
to meet him and Gabi in Cluj. Gabi is a
physiotherapist at a kindergarten for children with special needs in Cluj. She and Adi have been involved with Network
Gloria for a long time.
The border
towns were pretty depressing; also it was raining, so that didn’t help. We then drove through stunning mountainous
areas on the way to Cluj. It was lovely
meeting up with Gabi and Adi again. They
were in good form and very enthusiastic about their work and studies. Adi has set up with a small publishing
company with a friend. He has done a lot of illustrations in children’s books.
They were also planning to marry the following month. After a good meal out we
slept the night on the floor of the kindergarten. It was good meeting up with some of the
children again. Marian was sporting his new leg braces and was in great form. He’s a plucky little fellow. We spent the following morning looking around
Cluj, visiting the botanical gardens. It’s a very attractive city with stunning
views, so in spite of the torrential rain we were able to see quite a lot
before making our farewells and heading off into Transylvania for a couple of days before getting to
Bucharest.
It was a lovely
drive. We went into Turgu Mures, which
we were to visit on our way back to see some of the women’s groups that were
set up there. It was a lovely- looking
town, which looked quite prosperous and then we made our way to Sighisoara, which is a very touristy town.
That night we
slept in the car park of a hotel, as all the hotels were full of coach tours.
Apparently Dracula had lived there. He
was as obliging in Romania as Charles Dickens was in England, living in lots of
different places. It is a very
attractive walled city built on a hill so there was lots of climbing involved.
The roofs were very colourful. We spent
the day exploring before continuing on our way, passing lots of lovely Saxon
towns and villages. The fields were full of people haymaking or picking fruits,
selling melons and cherries.
My previous
visits to Romania were in the winter so it was interesting to see the
countryside flourishing. A lot of the
houses had gardens full of vegetables and vine- covered porches with chickens
and ducks wondering around and the inevitable horse- drawn cart loaded with hay. I may
add at this point that driving in Romania is pretty hair- raising; not only are
the roads in bad condition but the drivers are on the whole blind!!!
The scenery was
lovely, but occasionally we passed derelict factories reminding us of the
decline. Our next stop was Brasov which is the centre of Transylvania. We contacted Colin Shaw (a friend of Network
Gloria). He went to Romania in the’ 90s after being a
social worker in Kent. He worked in
orphanages in the beginning, but is now running tours in his Land Rover. We planned to call in for an hour just to say
hello, but it was 24hrs later we took our leave. He is so enthusiastic and insisted
on giving us the full tour of Brasov. We
stayed in a local B&B and the next day he took us to see the wolves which
are in captivity in a very large compound. Time to make our way to Bucharest!!?
Oh, but there must be time for coffee, says Colin. This involved driving way up into the
mountains where there was a community high up in a stunning area even though it
was cloudy. It was still stunning with
lots of alpine flowers everywhere. Reluctantly we said our farewells to Colin and
made our way to our friends in Bucharest.
Summer in
Bucharest certainly makes it look much less depressing. Our stay there was very
busy. We visited old friends and some
new (see separate report). It was useful
having the van, which meant we were able to get around quite a lot more. We
went to Calarasi, which is about 136km south- east of Bucharest. This was to
visit Anca and her mother Maria, who had contacted us for help in order to
obtain a specialist wheelchair for her daughter. Anca is an amazing young woman who was born with
cerebral palsy. She is very intelligent. She uses a computer by controlling the mouse
with one foot. The keyboard is
displayed on the screen. She is writing her life story. She is determined to work, preferably on a newspaper. I have met some very interesting and
courageous people on this trip and of course throughout my life and Anca and
her mother are certainly among those.
We went to Zimnicea,
which is about 1.1/2hr journey south on the banks of the Danube. It is a very
deprived area with very little work. Unfortunately
it is in the clutches of a very rich person who will not allow other industry
to be introduced into the area. That way
he keeps the wages low. Our contact there is Camelia, who is Director of the After-School
Club. She is a very good friend of the
Network. We had the usual “Camelia busy day” visiting all our friends there. It was so lovely to see everyone and so good
to see all the networking going on in that little town. Claudiu’s family had moved since I was there
last. Claudiu is completely wheelchair- bound after being paralysed in a diving
accident as a young child. They now live in a house instead of a flat. It has a thriving garden and turkeys,
chickens, ducks and a pig. They also have a small building in the garden, which
they use as a shop.
I was concerned
about Alin. He has become quite a
recluse. He does see Alexandra but is
isolated and refuses to go out. We
alerted Camelia who was going to get some of the others to contact him. There
does seem to be a need for our computer buffs to be put in touch with each
other. Dana and Camelia thought this was a good idea too. This was also highlighted later when we went
to Ploiesti to see Brother Mihai. Whilst there we met a group of people with
special needs who meet together regularly. They had some useful contacts and
information about AIDS and adaptations.
Dana and Camelia do tend to look outside of Romania rather than be aware
of the resources beginning to be available within the country, so Dana was
delighted to meet them.
I do believe
very strongly that financial help is, of course, very essential but I do feel
we are at the stage of enabling and empowering.
With Camelia we
did go to Alexandria and visited Florin, who is another amazing character and
in spite of not having hands or legs due to a rare disease he is remarkably
cheerful. He also is dependent on his computer contacts. He is a very talented graphic designer and
also writes poetry. I later mentioned
this to Adi who said he would get in touch with Florin.
We went to
Rosiori de Vede and met with Mirabela’s mother who is a delightful person and
made us very welcome. She had made us a
special dish to celebrate the Day of the Dead! Mirabela is a young woman who acted as
interpreter for us three years ago and has been networking for us since; she is
now at the University in Bucharest. We have been supporting her next door
neighbour - a young man who was
paralysed in an accident. We agreed to fund a trip to a clinic that he got a
lot of help from when he went last year.
The trip back
to Bucharest was good. I was sorry we
weren’t going to be in Romania to see the vast fields of sunflowers come into bloom. I’m
sure it is an amazing sight, but we did see lots of storks’ nests perched high
on telegraph poles with the chicks waiting for their parents to feed them. The
number of people working in the fields cutting the hay by hand and horse drawn ploughs impressed us. We saw
one person with a scythe in one hand and a mobile ‘phone in another!
Friends of Adi
had previously offered a house in Slanic (two hours north of Bucharest) to be
used as a centre for holidays for people with special needs and their families.
Circumstances had changed so it seems this won’t happen. However, we had planned to
go to that area and call in to see Brother Mihai in Ploiesti. So Dana and her husband Mihai, Roy and I
drove up to the salt mining area of Slanic.
It is a fascinating area. The
salt mine, now used as a recuperative area, is enormous. In fact it is so large
under ground that the buildings above it are sinking. It appeared to be a
popular area. A centre there for our families would be wonderful. (Could I re-mortgage
my house? Ummm…).
We went on to
visit Brother Mihai who runs a free church and radio station in Ploiesti. He had been doing most of the running round
for us sorting out the paper work for the pallets. Also that day there was a
meeting of a group of people, who have special needs. They meet there regularly. We met up with old
friends and new. It was also a good link
for Dana as they were a useful source of
information about AIDS and adaptations. After exchanging ‘phone numbers and
E-mail addresses we made our way back to Bucharest.
After a very
busy ten days and armed with gorgeous Romanian glass, lots of pottery and
baskets and, of course, painted wooden eggs, we said our tearful farewells to
Dana and family who are such special people. They always make us welcome in
their tiny one bedroom flat and provide us with wonderful food.
We then made
our way north again. This time we took
the one and only motorway (at the moment) in Romania. We had a couple of days
before getting to Turgu Mures to meet up with members of the Women’s Forum. It was great exploring the small towns as we
headed back to Transylvania. One memorable day was when we decided to find an
interesting looking road on the map that snaked its way up to Sibiu, which was
where we were heading anyway. Could we find this road?! “Well it must be down
here,”says Roy “Let’s ask in this garage,”says Judith. “No need,”says Roy. “I’m sure it’s this way”. So, three hours later and following lots of
plausible looking roads, which after several miles just stopped, we found our
way back at the aforesaid garage and this time asked for directions. “Yes, it’s just round the corner,” says the man.
Having said all that it was a fascinating morning seeing lots of little hamlets. We had a good walk and met some interesting
people and saw lots of ducks and chickens. Every so often along the road was a
public well.
Anyway we
followed this interesting looking road, which eventually took us via a
beautiful reservoir then climbed and snaked up the mountain. I think it was
there where ‘hairpin bends’ were invented! Gradually we found ourselves at the
snow line. We passed the only building
we had seen all afternoon . It was a
large grand looking hotel very splendid in glorious isolation. Further and further we climbed. Then suddenly as we turned one of those
amazing bends we were stopped abruptly by an avalanche of snow across the road.
So, armed with lots of fresh spring water we made our way back down the
mountain and that night we camped on the banks of the aforesaid reservoir. It
was a lovely evening. We ate a good meal
cooked on a campfire. Next day we finally got to Sibiu, had a whistle stop tour
of this very attractive town and stocked up with provisions at a lovely little market. We were very expert at
that stage at setting up at the sides of the road and cooking a good meal, at
times being joined by passers by and having sign language conversations or
being waved to by people in the numerous horse drawn carts.
After Sibiu we
made our way to Turgu Mures. We met up
with Lucia and Anna - two of the women involved with the Women’s Forum. This was the brainchild of the WI in
Yorkshire. Some years ago they started working with the women in Turgu Mures,
who wanted help to organise themselves into groups. During the communist era
groups were a big no no! So, over the years the WI have been over to Turgu
Mures and also sponsored some of the women to spend time in theU.K. They own a flat, which they use for meetings
and teaching. Like the WI they have different groups with different interests
i.e. one is involved with women who have or have had breast cancer; others were
involved in craft and some were lobbying for better conditions, such as child
benefits etc. I was struck by one room
that had very smart hats all around the walls and was told that they were
loaned out at a small cost to ladies who needed a hat for an occasion such as a
wedding. Great idea!.
Next day Anna
invited us to a teachers’ open day at the special school where she is the craft
teacher. It was very impressive: lots of craft, paper mache, artwork and a lot
more. I find it very humbling when I meet such enterprising people that in
spite of all the restraints persevere. Anna is also involved in setting up houses for
young homeless people in the country.
From there we
drove to Cluj taking a lovely route and stopping as usual to take numerous
photos. The wild flowers were in abundance and scenery was lovely. The only
unfortunate thing was that we met up with a long convoy of gypsies. I was
taking photos and we were literally accosted by a group of gypsy children who
started banging on the side of the van. It was a bit scary for a while until we
managed to get away.
At Cluj we met
up with Adi and Gabi. We went back to
their little flat before making our way towards the border. We spent that night
in the car park of a truck stop café. The
little van was dwarfed by the trucks, but after our incident with the gypsies
it felt safer than anywhere else did. It was a lovely drive to the border going
through the mountains in spite of the rain.
We drove
through Hungary into Austria and revisited the area along the Danube that we
had seen on our way. We found a disused wharf on the banks of the river and set
up camp there. It was great watching a stunning sunset. Then later a full moon flooded through the
open door of the little van. With the moon reflecting on the water it was
pretty amazing. The next day was a bit crazy.
We were on the home stretch and we kept going. Apart from a long walk
(longer because we got lost) in the woods near the services on the autobahn in
Germany, we kept going. We reached
Dunkirk that night. As we approached
Belgium the weather changed. Heavens
opened and there was a violent thunderstorm and torrential rain. We must have
come off on the wrong exit in Dunkirk because we couldn’t find the docks for
ages. It felt a bit eerie, as though they had moved the docks. However eventually
we found the Norfolk Line office, booked for the next morning and slept on the
dockside that night. We arrived back in England feeling as though we had been
away for months rather than three weeks. What an epic trip!!!!
It was such a
worthwhile trip for us personally. I do
feel that the people we are involved with appreciate our involvement. They are
however doing their own networking and maybe our role increasingly should be
one of support and advice. For instance I came back armed with items of craft
carved by one of our members who, with encouragement, could be helped to
continue with it and not have to rely on handouts.
We are hoping
that Dana and her family will come to England next year. We look forward to that.
I would like to
express my thanks to all those who gave all the support, sponsorship and
goodies towards the trip.
Judith King
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