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In Which I Hear Echoes Of The Past
November 8, 2008 by Mike
Constanţa
So.. what of Romania?
The land of the Romans. Descendants, I have been told proudly, of retired Roman Legionnaries who retired to the delta of the Danube.
I'd like to thank them. I'm back in a land of the Latin alphabet, and more than that, a Latin language. Have you read The Name Of The Rose? Remember the monk who speaks a mixture of alle die sprache de tutti Europa mit le star of der book? Una espece de proto-Esperanto, innit.
Turns out he was actually speaking Romanian.
With a smattering of French, Italian, Spanish.. and English and German.. I can read the language pretty well.
The bike is in the Parcare Privata of the hotel.
It's next door to a Magasin Mixt. Further along, there's a Magazin Alimentar which, you won't be surprised to learn, is where to buy legume and fructe. There's a Cosmetica too, next to a Clinica Veterinara that specialises in treating animales de companie -- pets. You can buy a bilete de avion in an Agentie de Turism. It's not all buy buy buy, though. Relax for a moment in the Galeriile de Arta.
Although at times it seems hard to find any building which isn't actually a mobile phone shop or a currency exchange.
People put signs saying "Nu Blocati Poarta" on their driveway gates.
This evening I could have eaten the scaloppina de porc, or how about a mixt grill, an omlette with ou -- of course -- and some ceapa; or a salata cu fructe de mare. I tried a bottle from the vinuri list and finished off with a cup of cafea.
I might have had trouble with the a patru formaggi pizza but if it was anything other than patru -- unu, doi, trei or perhaps cinci formaggi and I'd have understood straightaway.
I could go on. Well, I do go on.. but you know what I mean.
Understanding the spoken word? When a Romanian tries to speak to me? Errrm, give me another day or two;-)
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