More often than not when my friends back home in Adelaide discover that I am temporarily calling Bucharest home I am confronted with a recurring question: “Where’s that?”  A simple Google search or a glance at a world map could easily inform them that it is the capital of Romania. Yeah, Romania; one of those scary ex-communist Eastern European countries that not only is packed-full of gypsies and wild dogs but also the home of Dracula himself. Surely that means visiting the country will result in you having all your worldly possessions stolen while being torn into pieces by a street beast.

Snow-kissed Bucharest

But believe it or not Romania isn’t just full of dogs and vampires and the Roma people, commonly referred to as “gypsies”, only account for 2.5% of the 22 million population. In fact whenever I meet fellow Australian travellers who do make it all the way out to Romania, (usually after running low on funds in Western Europe) they are surprised by the beauty of the countryside and cities, the quality of food and of course the extreme kindness of locals.

As far as cleanliness goes, Eastern European cities are comparable with any other European city. Sure, if you are coming from a small neat Aussie suburb, you may be shocked to see that someone has left their Donar Kebab wrapper on the side of the road but to be honest locals prefer ‘Dristor Kebabs’ so it was probably tourist litter.

Exploring Dracula’s Residence

What about the Romanian countryside? Believe me, it’s gorgeous. Transylvania is not only home to Dracula’s castle – a surprisingly spectacular gothic fairy-tale-like piece of architecture – but also contains some of Europe’s best-preserved medieval towns. What about the mountain ranges? Stunning. The Western Carpathians is a mass of exquisite mysterious beauty, where ancient legends feel as real as the spectacular ski slopes that scatter the land. But all of these magnificent highlights seem to be missed on most Aussies’ ‘Grand European tours’.

Romania isn’t the only country that gets forgotten by us ‘westerners’. There are many surrounding countries that I could add to the list of scary unknown lands, including Bulgaria, Serbia, Moldova, Macedonia and Albania. What’s the excuse for our ignorance of these countries? Please don’t say, “They’ve all changed names so often how are you supposed to remember them?” How do you feel when people ask you how long it takes to get to work riding a kangaroo? Ignorance can be blissful, in the same way it can be offensive.

Bucharest’s House of Parliament: The Second Largest Building in the World

Why is it that so many Australians are so oblivious to these Eastern European countries? Is it our isolation on the other side of the world that’s making it far too easy for us to be blind to these fascinating countries? Is it a flaw in our Education system? Are we overlooking too much of the world when we learn Geography? Of course we can’t be teaching 13-year-olds the history of every country on this colossal planet but surely we should at least be able to locate these places on a map. Have we fallen into the same trap of the USA, taking on a mindset that allows (and almost promotes) ignorance to the greater world, more interested in celebrity gossip then international news? Should we be making our children recite all 196 country names or forcing them to memorise capital cities in order of population or McDonalds consumption? No, probably not.

Autumn in Romania is Magnificent

So how can we break the stigma of these unknown lands? Ensure that our children know that Romania isn’t just Transylvania – land of the living dead? In this modern age we have unlimited access to world news, documentaries and I know how difficult it can be to drag those big eyes away from the hypnotizing screen but maybe instead of allowing repeated screenings of Twilight and Vampire Diaries could we promote more educational TV viewing for the next generation? Could we somehow use the gift of technology to invest in our children’s worldly knowledge? Plus that library around the corner is just begging them to pay a much overdue visit.

And what about older Australians? Do we care too much about reality TV that we forget people on the other side of the world are making breaking news? You probably have been seeing horrifying photos of Ukrainian protests appearing in the news recently but do you really know what’s going on? Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have left the warm comfort of their homes to stand out in subzero temperatures, just be involved with the pro-European Union protest movement. Having the opportunity to have been present at some of the protests I can tell you first-hand that these people aren’t all just crazy left-wing activists, there are everyday, ordinary people – a lot like you and I, determined to be involved in the evolution of their country.

If given the opportunity I believe that all Australians have the potential to gain a real appreciation for life on the other side of the globe. There is a reason I am calling Romania home, and I can assure you it’s not because I’m hoping to run into Edward Cullen on the Bucharest metro.

Bucharest’s beautiful Old Town

• Australians
• Bucharest
• Dracula
• Eastern Europe
• Europe
• Gypsies
• Romania
• Romanians
• Transylvania
• Travel
• Vampires