Overnight

My last day in Romania was wonderful. We were in the fields with the sun beating down, finding out all sorts of interesting things. We were surrounded by clouds of the most brilliant butterflies, who flitted about us all day.


Not least, someone had planted corn on one of our bits of land. The interesting thing was that we had bought an entire block, but the miscreant had only used a small part at one end. It transpired he came from another area, had not heard we had bought it, had been renting it for several years, and the vendor never bothered to tell him it had been sold. A quick visit got the agreement to transfer the rent to us.


The goat man reported we had 12 extra goats ( I'm not sure quite how, as we only started with 6 nannies), but of the 12, 6 were billys and would be sold in October. So now we will own 12, and on the present rate of increase by next year we will have about 30. I don't understand it either.



The day was rounded off by agreeing to buy some other disparate pieces of ground , some of which we actually wanted. The problem is the government only pays the pension to the vendors if they withdraw entirely from farming, ie sell all they own. Frequently - if not all the time - we have to buy bits here and there we don't want. Every now and again, some of the odd bits join up and then it becomes rather more interesting.

The day finished with a drink or two in the Mayor's garden ( we helped collect the Mirabelles from which he makes a delicious drink) followed by dinner at almost the right time in the Unglerus in Biertan. It serves the best cabbage salad of anywhere.

Nothing would do after dinner but that the Mayor would visit his friend the artist Ion Constantinescu who lives nearby. Of course, another bottle was broached which naturally meant we had to buy something....But it did mean we got free invitations to his next show on 17th October. Alin told me that the ending of his name (.. escu) indicates an important man in Romania, or one with connections, that all important part of doing business there.

After all this it was back onto the night train back to Budapest which leaves Sighisoara at 23:26. As I've mentioned before, night travel is now my preferred time to move about. As my Granny would have said, " What kind of night-hawk are you?" There was hardly anyone on the train, and it arrived bang on time the next morning. The station hotel knows me well now and allows me to shower and shave in an empty room, before taking their breakfast. I spent a lovely day in Budapest and flew back to Prestwick in the early evening.
The most important thing to do in Budapest is to haggle, especially with the taxi drivers. A trip to the airport can cost as much as Eur 50 or as little as Eur 10. The problem is finding the right driver. I discovered by accident that they can change the charges made per kilometer on their meters, so it is critical to get the price agreed first.