Just a couple of days ago Alina didn’t know about my existence. And now we can watch winter Romanian traditions together in a big hall, walk in the city, spend time in a cafe, tell each other different stories, laugh. Just because we live on the same planet. Where everyone is a friend to everyone.

Does it sound pathetic? Yes!
And I’m glad I have a reason for this pathos.

There is only one road from Focșani to Bucharest. A car stream presses me to roadside, from time to time I run over flattened dog corpses. There are many stray dogs in Romania. Dead stray dogs as well.

Only one forest park on the way. Two cars are parked in depth, people’ve come to have a rest. So I do. I’m putting my tent up somewhere nearby.

The gas is over. Dry branches are around me, I’m starting a bonfire. The jacket is full of smoke smell, but I’m still watching the flame. It’s time to sleep.

A circular road goes around Bucharest. There is only one lane in each direction, so traffic jams stretch for kilometers. With some self-satisfaction feeling I’m passing a string of cars.

Andrei is waiting for me. He and Roxana are an amazing couple. I very like their DIY-approach. They bake own bread, Andrei sewed winter cycling gloves on those days, and so on.

My jeans haven’t dried up after washing, so I have a freaky outfit: thermo-pants and shorts over them. The center of Bucharest is quite beautiful, a mix of architectural styles, here and there you can see remains of constructivism. The whole city is covered by gray shroud of fog. Sometimes colourful gypsy skirts are cutting it through.

Andrei and Roxana have brought me to a climbing wall. It’s my first experience. Perhaps, the strongest impression is when you are on the top, and you need to release your hands and simply trust in your partner. At this point of narration I should probably write how cool is to live in a world, which is full of trust. And full of pathos, haha.