Signs of Progress

Just got back from Romania, my second trip in less than a year. I'm still amazed at the progress the country has made in the last few years. But the old ways of living cannot dissapear overnight which makes for an interesting contrast everywhere: the old and the new living side by side. Take for example the new trains that run now between the major cities: fast, clean and comfortable; a huge contrast with the old, clunky and dirty trains that still carry the majority of passangers.

It's easy to confuse this with the rich vs. the poor, but I prefer to think of it as the old vs. the new. Outside Sighisoara I ran upon this old couple with a donkey-pulled cart. It's quite rare to see them these days. On the same road that this cart travels, you may very well see the latest BMW flashing by.


Further down the road I saw this old man with his hybrid horse/car contraption (I guess we'll call this a one horse-power car). A rare sight indeed. Ok, so not everyone can afford a BMW yet.