What would YOU change about Georgia?

During the two short weeks of my stay in Georgia, Nata and I have asked this seemingly random question to people from all walks of life and age to gauge the discontent in the wonderful country of Saqartvelo. Except form the points Energy and City Planning (added by me) everything was solely based on Georgian citizens’ opinion and experience. I have collected them here in a short overview to give people a chance to see that they are not alone in their opinions. Change in a democracy can happen if people realise that they are not alone and that their representatives should fight for a brighter future for all.
Please note that I haven’t been able to touch upon subjects such as health, nationalism, economy, or political election campaigns. The list is not complete, and more people (maybe experts) would need be asked what they would want to change.

Education

Schools and educational institutions are in a dire strait. Their quality is horrible, children and adults are not educated well, they are poorly informed about their voice and power. This does not even touch upon trivial lessons like mathematics, science, or languages and the like. We refer purely to the political education. For a healthy democracy to establish itself and grow in power and reach, every citizen needs to be informed about what they can do, what their role is in a democracy and what the servants of the state (i.e. politicians) are supposed to do for the improvement of the country. Also, the education should aim at teaching people how to discuss instead of fighting each other.
Furthermore, teachers have very little respect for their pupils and themselves, for they do not know what their purpose is. If they truly wanted to push their pupils’ interests and knowledge, they would be impartial as to where pupils get their knowledge from – their role is not to be the only teachers, but to help guide the flow of knowledge and fact-check their pupils.
Pupils need more time in between classes to rest, eat and spend their energy instead of rushing from one classroom to another and being punished for not being able to go to the toilet and eat in a 5-minute break. Teachers don’t trust their pupils, believing they will “run off” or go home if allowed to play in the yard during breaks. This should be a huge warning sign to everyone working in the education sector.
Sexual and drug education are not being taught in schools in Georgia. Although these represent an important part of young people’s concerns and interests, education on harmful drugs (and use) as well as procreation and the dangers of unprotected sex are virtually being silenced by the state. Without proper education, the young society is at risk of become depended on drugs and may be exposed to an unnecessarily high risk of STDs and unwanted pregnancy (and, of course, unfulfilling marriage).
While the education is not used to address these problems, overwhelming propaganda campaigns are launched to discredit democratic institutions and create a split between social groups.

Political Institutions

Certain political institutions need to put in place to reduce the risk of abuse of power. They mustn’t be influenceable by political figures. Their role is to observe that all political procedures are respected, and, if there is an abuse, immediate reactions must follow, no matter the political orientation of the observer or he who has done the abuse. It is absolutely necessary to introduce them to the political field.
TV is not an institution and should never be used by one party only to promote their ideas and spread their propaganda, which is sometimes portrayed in a perverse utopian and disillusion way that touches upon the most basic of all human drives. Not only can a TV help awkward couples unwind and get down to action. It can also enlighten people of all creeds and nations to possible solution and inspiring skills and talents.

Power

Anyone who enters the field of politics in Georgia is going to change his or her comportment. They will no longer use public transportation and factually isolate themselves from the common people. The chief reason why people would choose the path of politics is not an altruistic wish to make Georgia a better place for everyone to live in, but purely a reason to establish themselves as powerful and wealthy people. Being in power comes with certain perks, such as modern car and driver, housing in healthy neighbourhoods, relations with business and economically strong players. To reduce the abuse of power, the attractiveness of a political position needs to be curbed.

Culture

Albeit having a Black Sea Arena might at first sight seem like a nifty thing to have, upon closer inspection it will become all too clear that this is simply a trick to cover the lack of political and financial support for culture. The tickets are often very expensive and out of reach for most Georgians, the Arena is barely used at all (5 concerts in 2023). While this Arena is used as a political propaganda flagship by the leading Georgian political party, Qartuli Otsneba, the voice of the opposition is being repressed and discontent continuously ridiculed. Small Georgian musicians and artists are not able to establish themselves nationally and internationally for lack of support, while millions are spent on bands that were famous 10 years ago. A shift in financial aids is imperative for a healthy cultural sphere and an artistic expression of people’s voices.

Employment

At the time of writing, working in Georgia can be both extremely challenging and disappointing for there are very few regulations to prevent abuse and exploitation of the working force by their respective employer. While this could be seen as beneficial for small businesses that would struggle from high spendings on human resources, uneducated and inexperienced workers will never develop an adequate spending power and will forever dwell in poverty. Introducing policies that would require every employer to fix contracts for their employees and guarantee them a minimum salary would be a first step towards a fair marketplace, a new burgeoning social class and a great economic boost.

Military

The Georgian military is reserved primarily for the less-fortunate, not educated and for those most prone to fall for nationalistic propaganda campaigns. Because of the poor mental state of the cadets, orders are not understood well. If the military was aiming at creating a strong defensive force it would have to train educated, able-bodied and able-minded people to be resourceful and efficient. It would, furthermore, need to equip their soldiers with modern weaponry instead of using used, rusty, and worn-out Soviet equipment. Finally, overall fitness of Georgians is questionable, and many would probably not be able to even the lowest requirements for the military service (should they be drafted). Having a healthy population is paramount to creating effective defensive capabilities. It would also serve as a deterrent against potential further Russian expansions.

Nature preservation

The preservation of the extraordinarily beautiful, diverse, and rich nature of Georgia is strictly limited to a few national parks such as Vashlovani or Borjomi. However, the greatest part of the Georgian society is only dimly aware of their environment if at all. In fact, the country is suffering under the weight of trash thrown into ditches next to roads, in rivers, in forests and everywhere imaginable. Though garbage collectors are working regularly and under pitiable conditions, only a fraction of trash is collected. Plastic bags roam the streets, cigarette stumps are ubiquitous. Grazing animals and stray dogs are eating them, and the trash returns to humans in another form. Recycling is but a word. No efforts have been taken to reduce garbage use or recycling. If the government does not address the problems as such, the country is going to be covered in trash, which will have serious effects on tourism and on Georgian citizens’ health. Campaigns that target people’s awareness of their own impact may come in handy.
Industry pollution is another issue. Emissions are being emitted without filters and enter the ecosphere from the air and the water. These are often toxic and have seriously detrimental effects on humans, plants, and animals alike. Standards need to be introduced to save lives.

Mobility & Transportation

Georgia has to transition away from a car-driven economy and transportation to more eco-friendly and efficient means. Living and traveling/commuting in Georgia means being exposed to constant dangers of life. While millions of cars drive at unreasonable speeds on tricky roads without any attention to street rules, pedestrians most often walk on the streets, thus exposing them to drunk drivers, mud, smog and other unpleasantries. Beside the two or three mediocre trains operating in Georgia, almost all transportation in car based. Constant traffic jams, high carbon emissions and a strong dependency on energy imports from Russia and Azerbaijan are the consequence – a consequence Georgian politicians don’t want to address. Stress and a higher mortality are also linked to the Georgian dream that is a stinky and polluting mobility. For the streets of Georgia to calm down and allow for a smoother mobility, steps must be taken. These include blocking roads to cars, allocating a strict parking policy that has every wrong-doer’s car removed, construction of park houses, allowing for safe spaces for pedestrians and cyclists, connecting public transportation hubs. A safe and clean mobility also requires high investments into trains and railways in general, including the metro in Tbilisi and possibly the creation of a tram along the river Mtqvari. The rights of pedestrians must be protected by the police. Ruthless behaviour by car drivers has to be stamped out, awareness about pedestrians have to be raised during driving lessons. Last but not least streets in Georgia need to be renovated and all potholes closed. This primarily concerns people from poorer towns and cities who also do not have the means to have a solid car insurance nor the means to repair their cars.
Precarious roads like the Rikoti Pass are suffering from closures more and more often. The Road and Street Department of the State (should it exist) must solidify the road and keep it clear of huge snow fall, erosion and other naturally occurring hazards.

City planning

Everyone who has ever stepped foot into Didi Dighomi will know what a faulty and inconsistent city planning looks like: chaotic, dirty, uncomfortable, and perilous. Drivers have to be very careful to even get there, as hour-long congestions and missing exists from the main road artery are a permanent concern. Once there, high buildings for a growing population are being built without any respect to the local geography, the population density, mental health, and circulation. As there are no metro stations and few bus lanes, most workers are forced to commute by car, hence taking up more space than they would need to. An acute lack of parking lots causes people to park anywhere they seem fit – no authority seems to pay attention to this. There are barely any, if any at all, pedestrian lanes (trottoirs), which makes moving through the newly built quarter capricious and deadly.
The absolute lack of pedestrian lanes in general in Georgia is a statement of disrespect towards the less wealthy, to those who like to stroll, and the youth, who are not allowed to drive. This is a huge issue all over Georgia and is not limited to the capital.
Seemingly no thought has gone into city construction or urban development in general. Buildings are built anywhere with little regard for the inhabitants. Houses are often not attached to existing sewage lines; they have no access to gas and electricity. Cities grow continuously and in an unrestrained manner. To curb tumorous towns, a virtual grid must be established which defines where and how can be built in certain locations. For this reason, town halls need to employ more people and digitalisation must step forward.
Cities should also employ water evacuation systems that allow for the surplus of rainwater and a safe passage of water into the rivers. Water purification plants also need to be built along the rivers of Georgia to preserve the hydro eco system and provide with fresh fish for locals.

Agriculture

Farmers are unable to sell their produce in Georgia, as competing producers from abroad produce cheaper than Georgian farmers (meat is being imported from Brazil, many vegetables come from Türkiye). Not only does this result in a massive rural evasion and an unhealthy inflow of uneducated country folk into urban areas (hence destabilising both cities and villages), but it also means that the general quality of produce drops immensely. Controls on the safety of imported produce may be lower than controls on locally grown produce made with Georgian standards.
Farmers should be incentivised to stay in their hometowns, earn more for their hard work and have safe spaces in the city where they can offer their produce to people. The difference in taste and colour tells a tale of difference in quality and Georgian citizen should listen to the story. After all, Georgians have suckled on beans grown in Georgia during the hardest time of their existence. What if this resource is suddenly not available anymore?

Energy

Energy-wise the country of Georgia depends chiefly on imports of natural gas, petroleum, and other fossil fuels from its autocratic neighbours. As we have seen the budget of the military powers of Azerbaijan and Russia rely on exports of fossil fuels. In order to reduce the risks of further escalations and loss of territory of Georgia, spendings on fossil fuels must drop significantly. Investments into clean energy is essential for a peaceful future. Becoming energy independent would signify a decrease in military projection of Georgia’s neighbours and an increase of the Georgian national budget, which is turn can be spend on their own defence capabilities.
80% of its electricity needs are covered thanks to their richness in water and the possibility to erect dams. However, due to climate change and uncontrolled grazing of cattle, as well as an inefficient heating of towns with wood, improper ways will sooner or later translate into the premature melting of glaciers and a drop in water availability. The switch to clean energies such as solar or wind power – both of which are widely available in Georgia – could result in many positive outcomes: energy sufficiency, cleaner power, reduced dependency on energy imports, democratisation through community-led solar power plants, boost of the local economy, and many more.

Orientation

East? West? Or rather North? Why not try South?
Georgian politics focus on providing its citizen with unrealistic, perverse, and utopic ideas of what the future of Georgia looks like, without offering actual relief for the poor and those in need. It also doesn’t boost business-minded people, as your success largely relies on contacts within the government or your political orientation.
Georgia has had their golden ages, and it seems like these days lay in the past and cannot be rekindled. Which is deceptive, as the past offers important figures like Queen Tamar or Davit the Builder who have pushed the kingdoms through innovation, calculated thinking, gender-equality, and breakdowns of corruption and nepotism.
Georgia does not need to look East or West and try to wedge itself somewhere between two equally disastrous powers, but rather find its own way, that suits its intentions and culture. Therefore, it is most important for Georgian citizen to remember what they strive for: A strong culture, a beautiful nature and hospitable people living in their homelands where they can preserve their way of living and being. I believe that by implementing the above-mentioned points and some more that I haven’t been able to research in the last 2 weeks, Georgia may soon find itself in a position of power, where its people can breathe clean air, stay the beautiful people that they have always been and decide in unity what the next course of action should be. Georgia can be a beacon of hope and democracy in a rapidly evolving world. The earlier people realise their potential, the sooner they can leave behind the weighty past and look forward again.

And don’t forget: Violence is not an opinion, nor is it a sign of democracy and understanding of different point of views. Violence used by the state is inherently wrong and is but a projection of politicians’ inability to tackle a problem in a civilised way.

Putting the “grim” in Pilgrimage

Russia has this weird tendency to always be a little strange. This even applies to other spheres of life that one wouldn’t think of straight away. This weekend I had the extraordinary pleasure of experiencing my first short-distance hitchhiking trip: to the Raifa monastery. While the destination was but 30 minutes away by car, it already served as staff gauge for further upcoming trips. I was accompanied by a German girl, Sophia, who lived most of her life in a city right across the Mosel River, so basically in visual range to Luxembourg – I had to travel all the way to Kazan to meet my neighbour.

 

 

Raifa monastery has little amazing to offer to its visitors. It has the typical white-stoned walls, its golden cupola, the brightly and positive religious fresco that cover every single inch of the inner walls and, last but not least, it’s golden, shiny icons. And I may not be an expert on the matter, but I’d claim, that some icons value more highly than others. This is, some shine brighter than others, have been blessed zealously than others thus increased in magical/spiritual powers (how much mana must a priest or bishop invest to get a +10 Protection for Relatives bonus?) and show a different holy person or wise man. Even though I do not possess a picture to prove my testimony, there was a literal queue waiting to touch and even kiss an icon of Maria with Son. And the religious fervency with which they (i.e. especially women with children or babushki) threw themselves at a representation of holy people that no one has set an eye upon within the last 2000 years, made me question the rationality of these fine and humble people. Even on a different level, would it not be sufficient to carry the belief in one’s heart, rather than to spread it with ones lips on a picture that has been touched by thousands before? Is it not a little silly and hypocritical that one prays for a child that serves in the army (e.g.), rather than to make sure, that war isn’t a necessity at all? Would an active, defensive position not achieve more than putting ones trust in a being/spirit/dream and sometimes nightmare, that does little more than listen?

After witnessing this absurdity display of raw and untroubled Orthodox faith, we wandered around the premises of the monastery, investing into water from a heavenly water spring and holy bread and used the celestial privies. We made a careful inspection of the divine stone walls, that slowly started to crumble and inspected the cherubic monastic gardens. Blessed are the decorations outside the walls, for they are humble, yet still fascinate the eye of the observer; the modesty is more to the Lord, for he renounces the simple outward appearance. The propriety and decency weighs heavier than gold and polish, and they are more appropriate for people who profess to worship God.

 

 

 

One more detail in the monastery that startled me before turning to hitchhiking. What are monks supposed to do while living behind holy walls, untroubled by modern hysteria? Praying for oneself and meditating can be arduous work, since one will sooner or later encounter a bottleneck and run out of ideas. Therefore, one has established a place, where children can spend their time and listen to the dramatic and fascinating stories of their favourite biblical heroes or visit a military cemetery (spreading the word of God requires modern technology). Plus, if the children are gone to play with army equipment, yet one still has no time to worship our Lord, one can leave a small tip in the monastery; a monk will take over the labour and invest all of his magical power in protecting ones relatives before the evil forces.

 

 

 

A small note on hitchhiking in Russia: It’s working perfectly fine! Though we didn’t travel far away from the city, a no point did we wait more than 10 minutes and each driver was unique in a very specific way. However, the second car that helped us managing the final part of the road to the monastery was of greatest interest, as the driver was either suspicious or unwilling to helping us; it was but thanks to his passenger, who he picked up along the road as well, that he stopped. The passenger, however intrusive he might have seemed, promptly invited us to beer and sausages and was very keen on learning more about us foreigners, traveling to Russia, for he appeared to be blissfully astonished to hear this; especially, as he wondered whether Europe was cleaner than Russia (interesting comparison anyway). He was so absorbing in his manner, than he immediately succeeded in convincing the unaware driver to made a minor detour to the monastery, where the eventually left us off.

Our return to the city of Kazan was guaranteed by a former Танкист, a tank driver, who had served in the former GDR – it is very common for me to meet former soldiers while hitchhiking, who had all served in Socialist Germany for some years and who, without exception, all adored the German beer – and was on his way home.

Please excuse the bad quality

Our voyage ended back in the city of Kazan, where we were greeted by a world, completely opposite from the one that we had just left: Welcome back to Soviet Union!

 

Victory Park

 

 

 

 

An offer that we simply couldn’t refuse (Vodka with the local mafia)

After being thrown into the absurdity that is Russia and surviving the first week without any frostbite, we got acquainted with the local mafia. Yes.

Strolling through unknown places often results in a permanent distortion of one’s horizons. One feels vulnerable to be moving in a location as the possible dangers are unidentified, yet at the same time it is oddly attracting, because it holds secrets that will never be undiscovered if one choose not to leave one’s “Comfort Zone”. The possibility of meeting interesting new people or running across a bar or restaurant that may just become one’s favourite despite the old-fashioned appearance are quickly reduced to a bare minimum. Unfortunately, this will cause in a drainage of inflow of information to the brain and will surely result in a gradual disinterest in the world and its countless hidden beauties.

Taking this place for example! 

Be the Trinity to my NEO!

A typical local’s bar on the outskirts of Kazan. Its facade hardly welcomes anyone to move inside. Built in a 90s/post-Soviet fashion, it must have welcome and produced a number of alcoholics, probably directly equal to the amount of children born in this district within the period of roughly 30 years. Even though its look does not promise anything, the value of this very unique place should at no point be belittled. The sudden introduction of a, say, foreign element could provoke various reactions: One of them could be the spontaneous urge to show what their perspective on their home look like.

As Ludwig and I have moved out of our Comfy Zone and faced new living conditions, we constantly seek to push our horizons to new limits – many projects have already been discussed, travels planned, cooperations with friends and local “partners” schemed. In order to discover our new habitat, we decided to visit this strange-fated bar called NEO along with our Italian friend (for discretion reason, we shall henceforth refer to her as Maria). Simply because NEO already indicates two strangely distanced things. On the one hand, it means something new, a start to a truly Russian experience with many of its stereotypes confirmed. On the other hand, it could be discussed whether it is a reference to the film character Neo from Matrix; he, who escaped the illusion that his old life was to go through a phase of shock and terror, but who eventually learned to embrace the reality and grow up in it (the phase of liminality made his see the truth). After emptying half a bottle of vodka in our dear dorm, we swiftly ordered a fresh one once we entered NEO. We were greeted with suspicious looks who turned into well-meaning ones the second we started speaking Russian.

The scene was as follows: The place barely had any decorations on the inside, with the exception of a few badly printed versions of famous Russian artworks. The prices were very low, close to the ones you would get in any ordinary shop in Kazan (i.e. around 400 Rubles/5€ for ½l of tasty vodka). The products were very standard; one could buy the usual kinds of alcohol, cheap beers, snacks and dried fish enveloped in plastic. All guests (all men apart from the middle-aged woman Natasha) were playing cards for money, only Evgenji was dozing away all by himself – to be fair, I have no idea what his name was, but he practically instantly got up from his seat when Natasha demanded it.

We got off on the right foot. I was nicknamed “Pushkin”, we drank vodka and played Russian card games. After a few drinks, our conversation became more eager and we suddenly found ourselves outside with the locals, who turned out to be part of the mafia. Natasha was the most prominent, and at the same time most hospitable person. This may mostly due to the fact, that she didn’t buy for any of the consumed drink and snacks and her unlimited power when it came to ordering people according to her will. But what else can you expect from the daughter of “the man who owns the Crimean Peninsula”. Holidays in Ukraine guaranteed! (Goodness, I will be lynched by someone for this…) After finding out that she was pregnant with her 5^th child already, we asked her if it wasn’t a better idea to stop smoking entirely instead of switching to Marlboro Light. Though a complete abstention from cigarettes probably won’t help the fact that she had intoxicated herself throughout the whole evening with coffee, vodka and different cognacs. After this everything becomes blurry and cloudy in my memory… The combined brain power of Ludwig, Maria and me managed to fill some of the hazy parts: we drove around in a taxi all night long in search of the most beautiful flowers of the city, so that Natasha could decorate her mother’s grave. A typical monday evening, apparently. Every now and then we settled down in some place in order to eat a great load of food (possibly Georgian, but this part is extremely unclear) and have new drinks.

Not the actual grave

My memory fully returned to my at sunrise. Just as the first lights of the next beautiful day slowly pushed away the darkest shadows of the night, we decided to leave Natasha to her mafia business somewhere outside of the city and headed back to the student’s dorm. The guards must have much rejoiced at the aspect of writing down mine and Ludwig’s name as we came lurching to the outer gates of our prison (first of 3 warnings) – I do believe that, by returning at the first light of the young day in a condition that is beyond good and evil, we actually provide the fine gentlemen and ladies with a purpose in their lives. Of course, they did not note Maria’s name. As soon as we awoke, the recollection of loose pieces of memory had begun – and so did this blog article.

With the new contacts and the knowledge that a fascinating Russian adventure can kick off at any given moment, we assure you, our dear readers, a continuation of the quality offered so far.

Stay tuned for new!

To new shores

 Well, let’s get back to writing – shall we? It’s already been some time since i wrote the last time and since I’ve returned from Romania. Therefore, it is wise to put myself into the right writing atmosphere. Suit, coffee, music, a quick skimming through pictures and off we go. If you’re interested in the music:

In between Georgia and now a long time has elapsed in which it appears that I hadn’t had the time to write or travel as I didn’t upload any new stories to this site. This, however, is hardly true.  In fact, I have more time than in Georgia. I’ve become slightly lazy and the challenge of competing with the other volunteer’s publishing articles has greatly lessened. In the meantime, my focus has gradually shifted towards reading and adopting styles from writers that can be considered more “important” than my humble self. Fear not! For the writing will continue! Those few that I managed to satisfy with my half-assed, semi-sarcastic and surely completely biased correspondence will get what they’ve been craving for – now.

First of all, I’ll give you a quick overview on the year that separates me from Georgia… expect that it didn’t. For I have already returned there 3 more times since my official departure last March; and I’ve traveled almost all by myself through Balkans by hitchhiking a month after my returning to Luxembourg; and I helped in the task of challenging the recent status quo in politics by protesting against lignite coal in the Lausitz region and by learning the language of the most dreadful of all European and Western countries’ enemy’s language: Russian. Have my studies given me any advantage in communicating with locals while in Romania, Georgia, Armenia, Lithuania, Poland and Eastern Germany? Almost not at all. My Russian remains to this day (quite) bad. I will, however, be working on my language skills.

Let’s get to the actual story, which commenced more than a year ago, back in Georgia where the infamous WTF gang decided to start a major campaign towards Russian territory with the main objective being the magnificent Baikal Lake deep within Siberia. What exactly happened to the fighting spirit of our group I still don’t fathom, but it must be noted that more and more members turned their back on their fellow travellers and chose the routine, the every-day working life and thus backstabbing us. Much that once was, is lost. The initial group diminished in size and morale, and eventually ended up in splintering groups of which one was representative for the whole group on Woodstock and the other in Transylvania – the latter being the heart and soul of the whole movement, including the important elements of hitchhiking, musical skills, random mountain-spotting-and-climbing attitude and minor alcoholism. Sure, some minor deviations have occurred and the changes in character in everyone cannot be unseen.

Good, now that I’m finally done with the 4th introduction, I can start with the telling of  the chronological course of events; additionally, I will try to figure out some minor overlapping elements with Georgian mentality and experience that will be analysed in further detail in this article:
Gabi (Ltu) and Paula (Pol) first met somewhere in Romanian mainland after dealing with Wizzair’s incompetence and sudden cancelling of flights, then continued towards Brasov where Sepp and I would join them (actually the name of the city Brasov is written with some kind of nipple, that transforms its pronunciation into something similar [Brashov]. Actually, Romanian happens to be of an extremely interesting structure and history so that one can find elements of all neighbouring regions in it, with the basic structure founding on Latin). And that’s exactly what we did. Luckily, a lot faster than expected as a friendly Romanian guy agreed on taking us all the way from Dresden to Brasov (1400km!!!). Before meeting us he had already driven through most of Germany and had enjoyed something close to 2 hours of sleep. He insisted on driving all by himself. On the way, we had 2 breaks of 4 hours in total which he used to rest. Furthermore, he had some food provisions that consisted of the cheapest bread and meat you can buy in Lidl, which he gladly shared with us. Funnily enough, he laughed at us for falling asleep from time to time. Once we got to Romania, he unloaded his car in his employer’s father’s home where we got some strong homemade wine – a fine welcome into a new culture.

Brasov. Like most cities from former Siebenbürgen it was built by Germans, which also explains its German name of Kronstadt. Beautiful architecture, countless translations into German (however, not necessarily into English), teenage street musicians jamming in the park for their pleasure and two exhausted Gopnik-like travellers finally welcoming their female equivalents in the newly-discovered city – reintroducing Gabi(-ja-chacha-yan) and Paula, the Mysterious Dragonmaster (Վիշապագետ), to the scene. An entire book’s content could hardly suffice to fully portray their personalities, so that I will content myself with the introduction by adding a group picture:

From Brasov, where we explored the huge touristic Hollywood-like sign (also lacking this strange kind of nipple), we continued southwards in the typical style that we had to gradually adapt while in Caucasus: missing the last bus, so that one’s forced to accept a local’s private car that’s easily transformed into an unofficial taxi, thus avoiding taxes and paying less that one would have by taking a bus/marshutka. We eventually escalated a long and winding path leading to the “7-ladder-canyon”/Sapte Scari, where we stayed with the park ranger and her family. Thanks for our predilection for wine, we were able to offer some to the ranger who courteously turned it down, notwithstanding genuine Romanian hospitality by offering us intel on the region (including its bear family that inhabits the mountain range and the lonely fox) grilled potatoes and bread.

Best facial expressions…they’re simply INFINITY

The successive day gave way to heavy rainfall just past afternoon. Before that, our small group was able to skip the payment for the entry to the Ladders, climb through the creek, escape the canyon’s cold, jurassic soul by sliding down a steel rope and playing frisbee for some hours on the shining green meadow just downhill. If we hadn’t taken the bus, we would probably have drowned on the way to Sinaia. Also, we would never had heard the tourist’s information guide, telling us about the dangers of climbing Omul: 2-5m visibility if we’re lucky, 2300 bears in the region, temperatures far below 0° on the summit, at least 27 hours of walk in order to get to Bran on the other side of the national park. Enough to scare us off, aye? Putting our lives at risk for the sake of a view that would be denied – something absolutely ridiculous. For a group like ours, that hasn’t even any material to protect us against heavy rain, neither having adequate shoes for anything that exceeds a stroll on the beach (please note that the shoes that Sepp’s wearing on the picture were the best he had; the same shoes carried him over many summits in the course of the following days while granting him knee ache at the end of our trip), information like this should scare us off like a flock of sheep that sees the shadow of something that barely resembles a wolf.
Here’s a collection of pictures that shows us being reasonable and avoiding such an endeavour:

We didn’t sleep in a tent, but in a mountain rescue hut… mostly because they told us that it’s prohibited to pitch our tent on the premises of the National Park of Bucegi. The possibility of getting caught in a half-frozen state and still having to pay 3-6000Lei was an argument convincing enough to make us pay the reasonable prices of 40Lei per night per person and stay in a (bloody, exceedingly) warm quarter. We were offered some mountain cheese.

MEMES! Why are there only so few memes…?!

Well, what is Romania famous for? Exactly! for its magical garlic that has the power of prevailing against the devilish powers of their national demonic spawn. A mythical construct created by mingling Bram Stoker’s creative spirit, the desolate nature of Romania about 200 years ago and one of Romania’s most infamous personality, the Voivode Vlad III. Draculae or Vlad the Impaler. Time for some historical background! While being a hostage of the Ottoman Empire he soon learned the art of war, only to return to his home country where he claimed the Romanian throne and restored the order in a most brutal way (inviting all gypsies, homeless people and mentally and physically disabled to a feast, then locking them in and burning them alive; all oppositions from the nobility was liquidated in a similar way). When the Ottomans felt menaced by this sheer exhibition of power, they invaded the country. Vlad expected a raid and used the tactic of the Burned Soil After a gruelling, unsuccessful summer campaign of heavy losses against an enemy that used an unsupportable guerrilla technique, they were confronted with a literal forest of spiked corpses. Every single captured Ottoman soldier was put on a thin stick, which made its way through the POW’s guts. Needless to say, the process of dying was performed under an unimaginable amount of pain. Upon seeing this demonstration of pure inhumanity, the morale of the army reached its breaking point and they returned home. Vlad’s brother, however, led another expeditionary force and succeeded in laying siege to Vlad’s fortress: Bran castle (visible in the background).

It costs 35Lei to get to the other side of this fence… Bloody vampires! We should put them on some sticks!

I’d like to put your mind at ease: despite our general lack of garlic we were not visited by a nightly visitor with long and spiky canines. Yet, the only vampires in Romania are working in Bran. Those parasites asked a 35Lei fee – only to be allowed onto the premises of the castle garden! Bloody vampires! So we drank coffee instead and then searched a camping spot. Due to Paula’s great knowledge of the Romanian language, we were able to convince a local worker with a scythe to lead us to an ideal spot, where we enjoyed a refreshing night with another small bottle of wine (Georgia and Romania share a common enthusiasm for big quantities of wine; we purchased a 2nd glass bottle of 1.5l of very acceptable red wine) and grilled food.

Bran –> Sibiu (Hermannstadt). Many thanks to the two cars that helped us: a Canadian-Romanian couple who have a sort of weekend house in Bran, while actually living in Abu Dhabi; a former truck driver, residing in England, who had an excellent taste in music, whose driving skills reminded me of the typical Georgian driver.

After some tasty, nice, slightly salty Balls (Bulz, some traditional food with polenta) and a good night’s sleep we continued towards another peak, namely Cindrel. A lonely Canadian guy gave us a lift, after enjoying a local beer with me. The process of backpacking towards the top was rather spontaneous and quite exhausting. The beer earlier certainly didn’t help. And the weight of the additional wine bottle and cognac were of equal usefulness. We still managed to reach our camping spot, close to another ranger’s hut. Thanks to Sepp’s amazing singing talent no bear dared approach us… it is, however, likely that he was responsible for the Monsoon-like precipitation the upcoming morning. The high-pitched wind and its never-ceasing, cold company didn’t leave us for about 2 hours, until we finally made it to Cindrel’s top (2245m above sea level). It wasn’t until this moment, when the clouds finally lifted and gave way to a superb view on the landscape at our feet that the cognac tasted well. But the few drops that found its way down our throats onto an almost empty stomach as a reward for the arduous hike and tasted like the most exquisite beverage. The drink reminded me of the – usually very mediocre beer – Kaiser that I received after a similarly arduous bicycle tour to Udabno, Kvemo-Kartli, Georgia.

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After the highly exhausting, close to 50° inclined descent we arrived on a road. Sadly, we didn’t have cookies… (Thanks, OBAMA) so, instead of writing anything reasonable onto our fellow cardboard sign, Paula figured it being wiser to write “Mag/Shop”. By pure luck, some people actually did stop!
Our last stop as a group in Alba Iulia (also known as Karlsburg, but build around a fortress that was highly inspired by the French architect Vauban) was met with beautiful Langos, a few local beers and a freestyle on the grass dance floor within the outer fortress walls.

The next day, the WTF devotees parted ways – but not for the last time! For our trips are INFINITY! Distances are but a small barrier between us. The only thing that we’ll be missing might be watermelons (“Winter is coming”). Luckily, the next summer will come soon and there will be plenty of Cucurbitaceae and we need not worry. The fellowship will live on. See you, dear readers, next time. Til’ then, let us drink за будущее!

 

Here’s a short summary of my itinerary:
Berlin->Dresden->Brasov->Sapte Scari->Sinaia->Omul->Bran->Sibiu->Cindrel->Alba Iulia->Cluj-Napoca->Berlin

 

And some more knowledge that I’ve gathered in Romania:

• it’s acceptable to be racist against Gypsies, because nobody will disagree (at least we haven’t met anyone)
• Russian is useless; I didn’t use it even once
• the country is huge, far more enormous than we had expected… so, always a reason to go back
• everything is German: city names, explanations for tourists, tourists, the entire architecture of many cities

(PS.: I wonder if it makes any difference if you write 0° or -0°C…)