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Chronologically, it sounds funny: I experienced heartbreak, but it felt good, then I went on vacation and it was great, also I met a bunch of friends which was also great, but I also got quite sick which sucked, and also an awesome guest visited in Amsterdam, and my doctors are helpful, also a new laptop, and I was on a boat!

Funny but reads awful. That’s why nobody really tells stories in chronological order! Lol. (Also it’s when an old fart like me uses “lol” non-ironically in prose that you know that “lol” is not cool anymore for the younger kids. Lol again. 🤣)

Anyway.

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A lot of the things that happened this month feel pretty important. In hindsight, each experience makes me feel somewhat different today than I was at the start of the month. July was a big month.

However, if I consider the overall story arcs of the entire year, one particular happening feels more impactful than the rest: a lovely romantic weekend at the beginning of the month. That particular story was very short: it lasted only three days! A proverbial summer romance, followed by painful heartbreak. Yet, during those three days, I experienced a spectrum of emotions I did not remember I was able to feel, and was able to look at the future in ways that I did not remember I could, and all these things felt very good.

In a way, my reflections from June had left me a little perplexed: I was on the verge of believing that I lost the plot and didn’t really know how to engage on the topic of romance anymore. It only took these three summer days to reset my beliefs about myself and look forward to the next episode with a mix of anticipation and joy.

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While I was processing my heartbreak, I headed east to Romania and Bulgaria. My main summer vacation plan was hastily put together in the last part of June, and prior to the first leg of my trip I barely knew where I would sleep, let alone what was there to experience.

I first headed to Sofia (София), capital city of Bulgaria, after a short connection in Bucharest. Originally, Bulgaria was planned as a side trip; I had been attracted by the prospect of meeting two friends there (more on this below). Knowing what I know now, this was an error in judgement: Bulgaria deserves far more attention than a few rushed days.

What makes Bulgaria unique in Europe is its blend of historical Roman, Greek and Ottoman cultural influences, together with the still strong presence and influence of the Orthodox Church.

Knowing only high level facts about the Bulgarian economy, I had expected a city with poor infrastructure, difficulty of finding my way around and perhaps struggles in finding good food and drinkable tap water. All these expectations were completely wrong! Sofia is a booming city with a working infrastructure, absolutely delicious food, and friendly and ambitious people all around.

I was initially a little anxious about not knowing how to read Cyrillic; thankfully, everything was translated and everyone I met was nearly bilingual with English. Bulgaria adopted the Euro in January this year and all businesses accept contactless payments now.

I was especially charmed to see the younger generation walking around and gathering at dusk to spend time together socially. I had only seen this previously in Tallinn last month; it is very far from what younger folk do in Western Europe nowadays.

From my home base in Sofia, I also organized a short road trip. The overall experience of renting and driving a car in Bulgaria have furthered and strengthened my opinions that Bulgaria is underrated. Rentals are frictionless, driving is pleasant (& other drivers well-behaved) and the forests alongside the highway are breathtaking. I even watched a documentary explaining that a new “high speed” train is planned between Sofia and Plovdiv for some time in the next couple of years.

My drive brought me to Plovdiv (Пловдив), one of the oldest cities in Europe (originally called Philippopolis). Plovdiv is somewhat smaller than Sofia but completely catches up with how much culture can be seen as much as experienced. There are numerous Greek and Roman ruins visible throughout the city center, alongside more modern construction. We can even walk among and on top them in most places! Also, one of the Roman amphitheaters has been built and rebuilt throughout history and is still being used today.

I was meeting two friends in Plovdiv and one of them took the initiative to study the history of the city a little bit before my arrival so he could play the role of a guide. His enthusiasm to show me stuff motivated us to walk all around the city despite the scorching heat, far further than I would have agreed to if I was on my own. 😅

For context, despite all my travel experience I have not yet visited ancient sites in Italy nor in Greece. So for me, Plovdiv was my first in-person contact with antiquity. Even though, rationally, a couple of rocks from thousands of years ago are just… rocks, I now understand at a deeper level how touching those rocks with our own hands can make us reflect quite deeply on our personal contributions to history.

Meanwhile, I also felt as if the Bulgarian people I met outside of Plovdiv do not consider it to be very important. But the friends I met in Plovdiv, in contrast, are very proud to live there and are quite conscious of how unique their city is. I’ll be back.

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After a short week in Bulgaria, I headed up to Romania, to my home base in Bucharest. My initial reasoning was that Bucharest is a very large city and that I would need an entire week to fully comprehend it. However, everyone I talked to before, as well as a friend I’ve met there on the first day, insisted that Bucharest was not so pleasant to visit and that my trip to Romania would be unsatisfying unless I would also head north to Transylvania / the mountains.

This is how, after two days in museums inside Bucharest, I found myself on a train to Braşov.

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I had expected the train itself to be an adventure: my initial plan was also to rent a car and drive there, but I was discouraged by my friends from from trying to drive around Bucharest, citing safety reasons. I had my own doubts about the Romanian train service, but in the end I was wrong again; both surprised and relieved that the service between Bucharest and Braşov was in fact quite comfortable, cheap, frequent and on-time. The views of the Transylvanian forest from the train are also completely unbeatable. Overall, this ride (and its return leg) made me happy in ways I hadn’t realized I needed.

Braşov itself was also idyllic. For context, throughout history, the south of Romania was mostly under Ottoman/Roman influence, whereas Transylvania (and the north of Romania overall) was under German influence. This translates to a completely different architecture and approach to urbanism. If it was not for business names in Romanian, I would have felt I was somewhere in Eastern Austria or Southern Hungary. (Which, historically speaking, I would have been in the past!)

Although my stay in Braşov was also short, I was able to make it count thanks to the graceful help of a friend whom I met there and who agreed to be my guide. Together we walked around the city and saw most of the interesting spots. I was also able to ask him all my questions about the city, its history, and the interests and challenges faced by young(er) Romanians who are not living in the capital.

From a tourism perspective, I feel I saw most sights that Braşov has to offer. I still would like to come back, though: it seems like a perfect spot for a resting holiday in the fall.

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Traveling back from Braşov, I spent some more time in Bucharest. Also accompanied with a friend, I discovered more sides to the city than at first; overall I would say it was much less boring than I was told it would be.

Like Sophia, Bucharest also contains large parks where the younger generation gathers and spends social time together. This too felt good.

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