Going back home becomes harder and harder every time. Perhaps is just that I am perceiving all those wonderful places I grew up as a stage that I shouldn't regress back to, perhaps it is just hard seeing your family and friends grow older and weaker and you also loose track of the new branches and offsprings emerging in your family; or perhaps it is just a sharp reminder of why you left in the first place. Anyways, a sweet and sour mix (more towards the sour) just like a good chinese westernized food.
Anyhow, I got to go through these emotions again this week. Lots of useless bureaucratic paperwork for my new job in the Netherlands draw my sorry bottom to Bucharest, Sighet and Baia Mare to receive a provisional visa, exchange my birth certificate to an international one, and get a "nice" apostile for the Groningen city hall (i just wonder why we need this in the first place, and how legal is a color printed HP {probably 300dp} apostile with a stamp that you can barely see, and in Romanian only/?/?). However, a man's gotta do what a man gotta go. Especially if the law abiding citizen status is something one cares of. So I did it. Lots of tiring travel and some stressful situations (a close call of a car crash that freaked me out a bit), hope all is taking care of by now, so I don't have to re-do anything.
Now, getting back to the sunny side of the rainbow, it was nice going back home, enjoying one day of summer in Bucharest (38 C) with a biking tour of Park Herastrau, and a good hike day in the Carpathians. It was very exilirating going back to see the "pearls" of Bucegi Mountains (the Sphinx and Babele) two stone formations believed to be carved by ancient civilization on a plateau of 2000+ meters. See the Caraiman cross and hike to Omu peak. Despite the lack of bravery (no time deh! so I took the cabin up & down) in terms of hiking, it was a good workout. But more than everything, a sweet and sour mix...to revisit all these places where I have been with my friends hiking, while in college, with all the time on our side. A bit of nostalgie and sorrow but still some nice places to revisit. The pictures below are just a sample of what I am talking about.
Now, riding back the train, I see again the gray side of Romania. Autumn arrived here as well, incidentally about the same time that I arrived. Should we hope for some Indian summer? I wouldn't keep my fingers crossed but if you feel like it, go ahead. This morning the temperature plummeted to 5 C in my home region, and it should be hard to imagine mid-20s again. But hey, climate change is like a roulette, so it might work indeed.
'Till next time, Romania!
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