Observations:
Romania is more paradoxical than other Balkan countries I've visited. Romania will join the EU in January 2007 yet the country struggles with issues of procedural transparency and the "can't do" or "someone else should be responsible for doing it" attitude. I am perhaps overly simplistic when I say that Romania suffers not just from the legacy of Communism but from the despair created by legacy of President Nicolae Ceausescu's world of rationed Communist existence. Perhaps it was the simple act of trying to survive in harsh times that makes people unwilling to be more proactive today. There are certainly entrepreneurs here but the employment laws make it difficult to fire employees, perform relevant employment performance reviews and offer productivity or merit pay increases. Much of this is true elsewhere in the region but the challenges surprise me because of the EU membership.

I spoke for an hour today with a trade unionist who insisted the problems with Radio Romania lie with the government--including influence of former Communists who are too close to the seat of power. I'm sure there's truth in what he says but he was unwilling to acknowledge that the trade unions appear to be stonewalling any changes that they don't fully support. There are about 2,500 employees with Radio Romania in Bucharest plus another 800-900 at the eight regional stations. How many of the Bucharest employees are mere ghost employees, put on the payroll by a brother, father, uncle or mother, and none of the ever show up for work? It is strictly a wild guess of mine but when I examine the amount of programming that seems to come from Bucharest, I can't help but believe that several hundred people may be ghost employees. I could go on but friends tell me they'd rather read about the adventures of travel and not the politics.

The drive from Bucharest was easy and comfortable. Two drivers made the trip...one as far as Sibiu....the other drove to Cluj. The didn't take unnecessary chances when passing and kept their speeds to reasonable rates. I traveled to Tirana, from the Albanian border with Montenegro, and practically saw my life flash before my eyes with the "aggressive" driving.

For dinner tonight I had a wonderful meal of cabbage rolls...cabbage leaves stuffed with meat, rice and spices and baked at a low temperature. I talked through with my host the preparation steps and will repeat this at home. Also, I ate polenta and white cheese as an appetizer. Very good (and traditional) as well.

Last night's dinner included baked cheese--a hard cheese dipped in egg or milk, covered with bread crumbs and fried, and chicken liver and onions served with country potatoes. The country potatoes were first boiled and then grated, mixed with some onion and paprika and fried. Very tasty. Both meals have included Romanian red wine and sparkling water.

The good news is that I only eat two meals a day....breakfast and lunch. Breakfast has been similar to meals I've eaten elsewhere in the Balkans....that means tomato wedges, cucumber slices, and sharp white cheese. Again, wonderful!

I've not seen much of the city. My hotel is a short walk from the radio stations and too far in the early night of November to walk. Tomorrow I will have a chance to see some of the city.

There's a small grocery store a short distance from my hotel. I'm going to walk over there and see what's on the shelves!