In 1993 and 1994 business brought me frequently to Romania. At that time it felt still mystic and obscure as it had just left the dark times of the Ceauvescu era. Fortunately I had two great buddies there, one hailing from the German-speaking minority in Romania and now living in Bucharest, the other having just moved to the beautiful Carpatian town of Sibiu, becoming there the king of Carpatia.

Thanks to my buddy, in Bucharest I was lucky to exclusively venture through the Xxrooms of the former palace of Romanian dictator Nicola Ceaucescu, Romania was wild those days, as I had to fight off street children on a visit to the main Carpatian town of Brasov. At the castle of Bran, formerly Count Dracula’s, my blood almost froze, just by thinking that the forests surrounding the castle are full of wild, brown bears.

My next visit to the new European Romania is due since long as my last encounter with Romania dates back to 2009: Ironically it had happened unexpectedly on a holiday in North Korea: My North Korean guide had invited me to a Karaoke session at the Pyongyang Diplomatic Club. I couldn’t refuse. Since the range of diplomats in North Korea was rather small, Chinese, Russian, Indonesian, British, Swedish, Germans – the club was rather empty and I happened to be a lonely singer. Suddenly there were two kind Romanians introducing themselves as members of the local Romanian Embassy, highlighting the fact that they had been the representative’s of their respective Embassy since the times of Ceauscescu. Romania, as mystic as ever.