I was enjoying a quiet Saturday morning when the Unsleeping Eye brought me this rather dry announcement (in Romanian). Say what? My translation: Along with potential price hikes in the cost of food as the result of a 2 lei per kilogram packaging tax, Romania could face sanctions [by the EU] as a result of not reaching recycling goals. That 2 lei (about 50 euro … Continue reading Rut Roh
Well, it’s only “crazy amounts” of money if you’re unfamiliar with the standard amount of graft and corruption that goes on every day in Romania, especially in the capital. From here: Among the more jaw-dropping details are districts paying €1,000 ($1,083) apiece for park benches, and one area splashing out a total of €8,200 ($8,886) on 13 trashcans lovingly fashioned from exotic wood. No mention … Continue reading Bucharest Squandered Crazy Amounts of Money
Word Count: 620 The other day, I took the following photograph of a carrot I bought at Chisinau’s wild and crazy central market: If I told you that I paid 3.5 MLD/kg for it, or less than $0.03/lb (0.16 euro/kg), you’d probably just shrug your shoulders and say, “Eh, that’s Moldova for you”. But I’m not posting this picture to talk about prices in Moldova. … Continue reading The Good, the Delicious, and the Ugly
