To my fellow Romanians

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harvestt77@reddit

It happens that I know both Romanians and Albanians very well and I can say that Romanians are a softer, polished somehow different version of the Albanians. My best friends that I have made as an adult are Romanians...

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Thank you for sharing this.

I’m actually married to a Hasjan, and before meeting him, I never thought that as a Romanian I would have so much in common with Albanians. My in-laws were also surprised by all the similarities we share.

Through this post, I was hoping to hear about people’s personal experiences with the specific groups I mentioned, not to get geography or history lessons. But it seems like most people missed the point.

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harvestt77@reddit

I totally understand you (I am in the same shoes 😉). Romanians do not know Albania and Albanians and during the last 30 years or so it has been easier to talk about stereotypes, rather than about real experiences. Albanians on the other end felt backstabbed, by the only Balkaners that they considered as friends, when it came to the recognition of Kosovo's independence...but it is a totally different story when it comes to real life. I think that in general Albanians and Romanians get along very well, without recognizing or accepting the similarities that exist between both nations. I personally have known so many mixed couples of Albanian and Romanian partners...

Do you speak any Albanian? I would recommend you albaniaperomaneste dot com.

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Obvious-Wolf1330@reddit

You must understand that it is very hard for us. 1. Old, long lasting good connections with the serbs. 2. Transnistria and Moldova. Romania used its whole elite to help you in 1913. We dont have problems with you. You do tho.

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harvestt77@reddit

I understand the sympathy for Serbs, even if you look deep into details it's more like a one-sided relationship, but it is not for me to argue over it.

Albanians have nothing against Romania or Romanians. We just believe that we lost someone that we considered a friend! There is no similarity between Kosovo and Transnistria...ZERO! Moldova and Kosovo, yes!

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Obvious-Wolf1330@reddit

Ha, you talk about 1918 when the serbs wanted to take Banat from us? Dont worry, we know about it very well. But they also helped us when our grandparents escaped communist Romania. It is, they can declare that they are a state, they can destroy even more the balance of Europe. Having another Kaliningrad is a no no. Also, thank God you never had to share a border with Russia, something we might have to do very soon. Trust me, we are not in a good position, tho I would like to thank you for your honourable treatment when it comes to Aromanians, something other "friends" in the Balkans dont do. You didnt lose anything, trust me on that. PS. Pay close attention to Italy, it doesnt look very good what they are doing in your country. You are a nation that doesnt need those clowns.

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harvestt77@reddit

Well, I said I won't go into details 😉. It's a good thing to have a good relationship with your neighbors, after all!

We did not lose anything indeed, but Romanians are not seen as before (if that matters to Romanians, which I think it doesn't). You supported us in 1913, when Kosovo (guess what) was not under Serbia, you opened the airspace for NATO (to get access to NATO +EU) and then...Kosovo je Serbia. We see it as pure induced ignorance on your side, when we know that you are smarter than that 😉

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Comfortable-Aerie146@reddit

Well as a Romanian I was born in Spain and now live in Austria. My family comes from the Northwest of Romania near Hungary

Funny thing is the people whom I have had the best connections where Turks and a bit with Austrians but with Turks idk how but I had so good connections we laugh together we understand eachother we complient eachother. No Turk has made fun of me. Strangely I cant say the same from Serbs I have had very negative experiences with them ( of course not everyone but with some) and even with some Romaninas I had negative experiences. But with Turks I never had any problems. A lot of girls that I liked or I founded attractive where turkish.

I also connected a bit with Austrians, they are kind of introvert, quite, they are not that wild. And I also have a similar character like them ( introverted, quite etc.) Spaniards where completely opposite and never felt truly welcomed.

I also am very connected with Vlahs I have a best friend who claims to be Vlah his parents can speak romanian and I can say I feel very connected with him.

As for other groups I didnt have much contact with them sadly.

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eastern_petal@reddit

It's so funny how different our experiences are. I lived in Germany for over a decade and Turkish people were the worst to me: extremely nationalistic, selfish ( meaning they would support each other to other people's detriment), with an inferiority complex. I was rarely, if even, insulted by Germans, but had more than one Turkish person implying that we are g*psies, insinuating that we are beggars, that Romania is a poor country. They also have a pretty aggressive attitude. I really disliked most of those I interacted with. So much so that I gave up on visiting Istanbul, which has been on my bucket list for a long time. I know that there are also good Turks out there, but after all these occurrences I feel like I'm getting an allergic reaction when I hear "Türkye". Also, the language sounds like a scratch on a chalkboard to me.

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Comfortable-Aerie146@reddit

Hm Well thats interesting. Like I said only rude people I ve encountered where serbians and once a croat who also said the same things like you with the turks saying that I am a gypsy that I steal etc.

But I never heard that from a Turk. Maybe it depends if they are born in Europe or in Turkey and if they have a decent life/job? I dont know.

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eastern_petal@reddit

All the ones I was talking about were born in Germany. I worked in a pretty decent field. I also worked in a Turkish neighborhood the last two years and it made me dislike them even more. But maybe it's a personality thing as well. As I said in another comment, I vibed best with Polish people.

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Comfortable-Aerie146@reddit

Well then sad to know you had bad experience with them I kindda understand why you are frustrated.

I also wish I could meet polish people I ve only met one he was kindda ok wasnt rude or anything, but we had totally different views about life.

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eastern_petal@reddit

Maybe you're the gregarious, extroverted kid of Romanian. :) I'm more on the reserved side. I think this makes a bigger difference than the region we come from.

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Comfortable-Aerie146@reddit

Me extroverted? Nah, no way,

Yeah I do like to learn about different cultures and would like to meet different people and see the differences between everyone. I just dont seem to look like it or dont show it too much.

But appart from that nah. Um only exteoverted with friends and people I feel comfortable with.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

You provided me which such valuable input.

These were the type of answers I was looking for not history, geography or culinary lessons.

As for Serbians, I can share the same opinion as you. I felt no connections with Serbians whatsoever.

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Comfortable-Aerie146@reddit

thank you. Yeah The Balkans is a really strange place and its funny for me to see with whom I can connect better.

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Sekwan2000@reddit

I don't feel connected to E.Slavs myself : p

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Lazy-Relationship-34@reddit

That's because you're our mirror image. 😉

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Sekwan2000@reddit

Romania? Honestly, that feels much closer to home

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Parking-Hornet-1410@reddit

Did you enjoy your time there?

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Sekwan2000@reddit

Never been actually, it's on my list though

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Same here, to be honest. I don’t really feel connected with Slavs either. I can appreciate the cultural richness, but I’ve just never felt that sense of familiarity or ease that I do with Southern Europeans or fellow Balkan people.

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whatevergirl8754@reddit

Fellow Balkans are by majority Slav though. Ex Yu and Bulgaria?

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

I have met Bulgarians and connected almost instantly, however the encounters were brief so I am not able to further expand of my experience with them 😂

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NefariousnessNo9495@reddit

I’ve been living in Poland for the past 3 years and I definitely feel at home here (food, customs, etc.).

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eastern_petal@reddit

Felt the same when I visited Poland, they're just a tad colder? But the Polish co-workers that I had felt very familiar.

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NefariousnessNo9495@reddit

Yeah, agreed. Overall yes, but it really depends.

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i-m-only-in-for-lolz@reddit

All in all, I feel the closest to the English. Learning English quite early and having BBC playing day and night, I picked up a lot from them, to such level that I ended up feeling at odds with the world surrounding me. There's a very English flavoured kind of stubborness and willingness to do something just for the sake of it that I absolutely adore. I also found a lot of freedom of thought and acceptance of the everyday eccentricity that, somehow, becomes part of tradition. A great day starts with tea and ends at the pub, as long as you feel you hace earned that beer.

Spending time in Italy, however, made me realise just how close I am to them, especially the Northern Italians. So close that I'm even going to study there, soon. Similar life perspectives, similar work ethic, a rather relaxed, content manner of dealing with life, a lot of passion for what you have chosen to do with your time, and, generally speaking, a lot more balance in just about everything.

I feel virtually no connection to the Balkans. The closest things to this world are two Serbian Mahavishnu Orchestra pressings and a dolphin shaped, Croatian keychain bottle opener. Out of all the neighbouring countries, I find Hungarians to be the closest to me, mostly due to Austria, but every single Hungarian I have met was rather stiff and uptight.

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asmo_192@reddit

I think the only right answer is that each rehion feels closer to what powers used to be there, so Moldova feels closer culturally to Russia, Wallachia to the rest of the balkans and Transylvania to Central europe (because of Austro-Hungarian Empire)

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BreakfastDecent4623@reddit

,,Moldova feels closer culturally to Russia"...really? How do you think that moldavians, as the eastern region in Romania, not the country, can feel closer culturally to Russia, a country that invaded them multiple times and when they did, the soldiers behaved like escaped animals ? No, you are wrong here. And after the communism, I severely doubt that a significant percentage of Romanians feel close to Russia, even culturally.

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asmo_192@reddit

I already know romanians have very strong feelings against russia. But it's not like it's our choice to be or not close culturally to countries like Ukraine, parts of which were also part of the Russian Empire

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eastern_petal@reddit

I come from the Romanian region of Moldova and I met some Ukrainians, Russians while living abroad. It's hot or miss with them. Some are arrogant and would look down on us( even Ukrainians, even if they were and are a poorer nation), but those who are decent humans are very easy to connect with. We come from similar backgrounds so there's a certain ease when we meet. We often forget that people are not their rulers.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Although I appreciate your input, I was mostly looking for personal experiences with these groups rather than a right answer from history or geography point of view.

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asmo_192@reddit

Very far from Italian, Portuguese or French culture in comparison, don't listen to people who say otherwise. As a romanian you don't feel like home in Italy, but in Hungary , Bulgaria or Ukraine for example you couldn't even tell if it wasn't for the different language

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Lazy-Relationship-34@reddit

Each to their own. 🙂

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MirrdynWyllt@reddit

Somewhere between Bulgarians/Serbs , Hungarians and Ukrainians. I’ve been to S Europe and W Europe and I don’t feel close to them at all.

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Lazy-Relationship-34@reddit

I believe that this is a wonderful question that calls into question all patches of Romanian existence and culture. I will break down my answer in several categories, but before anything, I want to preface this by saying that I am Bucharest born and bred, hence my views may differ from those of Romanians born in the north, east or west.

In language, temperament and joie de vivre, I think that us Romanians are most like our Latin siblings.

In our outlook on life and death, family and work, tradition and modernisation, Romanians are most like their southern and eastern neighbours.

There’s this famous anecdote about Romania and Poland being the mirror image of each other, since Poles are a Catholic Slavs and Romanians are Orthodox Latins.

In my experience, I found Easterners (or better said former Eastern Bloc nations) and Balkans to be most like us in terms of generosity, hospitality and priorities in life. In comparison, Westerns tend to be more laid back and self minded (but not self centered!).

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

What’s your experience with the groups mentioned?

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Lazy-Relationship-34@reddit

The Portuguese have a different ‘feel’ than the rest of the Western Latindom. They aren’t called honorary Balkans for nothing. The ones I met were quiet, polite and generally knew how to have fun. They enjoy having deeper conversations and cracking small jokes about their neighbor, which is something that we can relate to.

I found that Spaniards and particularly Italians match us in temperament. Depending on where you’re coming from, we tend to be adventurous, boisterous and happy together. We love a good gossip, so our linguistic commonality comes in a clutch.

The French also have a different feel in the sense that they tend to be more aloof than the others, but they do become warmer with time.

Last, I see no difference between us and Poles. I found Poles to be just as warm, generous and hospitable as we are. We tend to have a similar outlook on life, our ambitions and incentives. I love how proud Poles are of their country, and how open they are to others’.

I noticed that you said this earlier, too, but I personally cannot distinguish a Bulgarian from a Romanian. We are that similar in every aspect you can think of.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Quiet and polite? 😂 Not sure which Romanians you have been hanging out with, but it’s definitely not the same ones I know. We are more likely to turn a deeper conversation into a full blown debate over sarmale vs sarma.

I find it really interesting that you feel so connected to Polish people Personally, I’ve always found them to come across as quite cold and harder to connect with, but I fully agree with you on Bulgarians.

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redikan@reddit

Yo why is it Albanians/Turks? The other ones make sense but that grouping is just plain stupid

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

I get that you are kosovar but calling the Albanian-Turkish connection “plain stupid” is crazy.

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scarlet_pimpernel47@reddit

It's the same "connection" as every other balkan country. You're grouping them as if they're the same people

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Right, because clearly every Balkan country has exactly the same relationship with Turkey. How could I forget?

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DocGerbill@reddit

I think we're somewhere between Italians and Bulgarians culturally.

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ZhiveBeIarus@reddit

What is your similarity to Italians, wishful thinking aside?

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eastern_petal@reddit

What makes you think that we look up to Italians, dumbo?

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DocGerbill@reddit

really loud, spoiled children, fat uncles, organized crime

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Responsible-Cat8@reddit

I feel the same way. I’ve had the chance to work with people from many different countries, and I’ve always felt a special connection with Italians, maybe because we share similar values. As a Romanian, I sometimes think of us as a more modest version of Italians, but with the same warm spirit. I also see many similarities between us and Bulgarians, just with a Slavic touch. I really like Turkish people too, we have a lot in common. I also have a lot of admiration for Serbs and Greeks. Honestly, I have a deep appreciation for all our neighbors.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Is this your experience with these groups?

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ragusj@reddit

so Balkan

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DocGerbill@reddit

Definitely Balkan is a big part of it, but I think we're quite further away from Serbs and Albanians for example.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

I get what you mean. The Balkans are definitely not a monolith. Even though we share certain cultural traits, there are still noticeable differences.

Personally, I feel a surprisingly strong connection with Albanians, maybe because of similar values, social dynamics, and even language as there are so many similar words.

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atalexradu@reddit

Living and working in Austria for a decade now, in the melting pot of what we sometimes call the capital city of the Balkan, Vienna.

Easiest to form connections with, chat, laugh, discuss mundane things: Bulgarians, Greeks, Italians

Easiest to have basic contact with, smalltalk and get things done: Turks

Always nice to meet at events and have a conversation with: Poles, Hungarians

Though a lot in common with Serbs (such as food for example) I find it harder to relate with them. Might be they prefer socializing with former Yugo types.

Albanians did not meet many, but studied with a few in highschool and I remember having good times with them, few similarities in spoken language, great guys, great fun.

North Macedonian few around, but always nice to chat with as well.

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Wonderful_CG@reddit

In my personal experience (study, work and vacation) I felt well connected to Bulgarians, Polish and Albanians. Even if Romanian is a Romance language and there are cultural similarities at personal level I felt Italians, Spanish and French distancing themselves. I felt a good connection with people from Latin America.

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abhora_ratio@reddit

Based on my personal experiences (work and holidays):

During international meetings I always find a Greek and an Italian right next to me :)) we can talk about anything for hours, regardless of their age. But the people I have the most fun with are Belgians, Irish and (sometimes) Germans. I don't know why.. they seem to have a similar level of sarcasm as I do 🤷‍♀️

During holidays: I have mixed up feelings about Italians. Most of the times they get me angry and laughing at the same time. But if I had to chose from all the interactions so far, I would chose Polish or British. They are polite but talkative, have good sense of humor and overall I had only good interactions with them 🤷‍♀️

PS: please note I have not mentioned any history :))

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Sensitive-Mango7155@reddit

I’m not Romanian but some of my closest friends have been from Romania, Serbia, Albania, and Bosnia.

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Sensitive-Mango7155@reddit

Also forgot Bulgaria!

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Future_Start_2408@reddit

All of these groups somehow feel equally close and distant: Spanish/Portuguese/Italians because of the Latin language, Russians/Ukrainians/Polish due to geographical proximity and Orthodoxy for Russians and Ukrainians and Albanians/Turks because of shared Ottoman history and the Daco-Illyrian connection for Albanians.

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BestZucchini5995@reddit

Orthodoxy and some drinking habits ;)?

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Is this a personal experience with these groups?

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Future_Start_2408@reddit

Not necessarily! I have met at least 1 person from most of these ethnicities/nationalities, but not to to the extend to form a deep personal relation.

I don't think I have ever met an Albanian or Pole off line though.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

That’s a really balanced way of looking at it. I like how you highlighted different layers of connection with each group. It’s true, the Latin language ties us to Southern Europeans, and the shared Orthodox traditions and geography bring us closer to Eastern Europeans. And yes, the Ottoman legacy and that Daco-Illyrian theory do make the Balkan connection feel unique.

I also find that I can usually understand Spanish or Italian quite well, but they almost never understand me when I speak Romanian. Tt’s funny how that works.

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Asleep_West_3753@reddit

the first paragraph of this comment is definitely written by AI

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mermaidworker@reddit

I personally feel more connected to Italy and Portugal, especially Portugal.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Interesting. What similarities did you find with Portuguese people?

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eastern_petal@reddit

Although Lisbon is a capital city, dunno why it made me think of my grandparents' village in Vrancea at times. And I agree that we are similar to them, that laid back, modest attitude.

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HuygensCrater@reddit

Romanian who only comes in Romania during the summer. I went to Italy and Spain. I feel more connected to Italians, French, Roman langauges. The language is very similar and we share similar food as well, but also with the polish, ukranians and turks we share the same food.

In general I feel more connected to the Roman countries and then a bit with Poland and Turkey.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Thank for sharing this. Although a different experience than mine, I appreciate your input. It seems like so many people commented and decided to give me a history break down instead of talking about their unique experience which I was enquiring about.

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HuygensCrater@reddit

Your welcome! I know that our Sarmale (cabbage roles) and coltunasi (dumplings) originate from poland, turkey and Ukraine and I many of my family members made me them a lot. But food like profiterol comes from Italy and Spain and we make it here in Romania.

Some slavic words and Romanian words are similar but its 1 every 50 words that are like that. I can read Italian though which makes me feel closer to them than anything.

In general, I feel like we are most connected to the Italians and French, then Ukranians, Polish and Turks. This coming from a Romanian living abroad as well but visit my home country often.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Interesting. Personally, I have had almost the opposite experience, which is exactly why I started this thread, to hear people’s real life interactions and personal perspectives, not just comparisons of language or food origins. I find those everyday, human level connections much more telling.

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Neutrinomind@reddit

I feel closest to the people northish of us. So ukrainians, polish and hungarians. I know we have very different traditions in all of these countries but i feel the closest branding we can have for romanians is that of a carpathian nation, which the above countries also have a history with. Exception to this rule are the serbs, we are great friends with them and we coexisted peacefully for hundreds of years.

Next batch are the italians/spaniards/portuguese/greeks. I know in my brain we are different to them, but i cannot help but feel a deep similarity and sense of bonding with them. Idk, we are distant but in a way very close, like a lost relative we had been forced to cut off, since other people migrated between us and them. But on a personal level, i feel most similar with them.

After these ones come the bulgarians, austrians, serbs, germans, maybe russians. I know we are very similar, but i for one can’t feel that close to bulgarians, they have different history, language, myths etc. Germans and austrians influenced us very much, we lived side by side for centuries, we have a pretty interesting history with them, and a good deal of them contributed to the making of our principalities and became romanians.

Russians are not necessarily close to us in culture or temperament, but i can resonate with them since they are another orthodox people, have a long history of authorians fucking their country(just as we do) and we like it or not, we interacted pretty heavily these past couple hundred years. Bonus point for them, russian lipovans are a very appreciated minority in Romania.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

For me personally, things have played out a bit differently.

Where I live, there’s a big Polish community, and I was also in college with some Polish people, but we just didn’t connect. Same with Russians and Ukrainians as I often found them quite arrogant, which made it hard to bond.

With Spanish and Italians, I always understand a lot of what they say, but they rarely understand Romanian which makes the dynamic feel oddly one-sided and I feel like they a bit ignorant.

Bulgarians, though, I connect with instantly. But if I had to choose one group I resonated with the most, it would definitely be Albanians.

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harvestt77@reddit

🍻 I feel the same for Romanians!

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eastern_petal@reddit

I lived in Germany for many years and met a few different people from different parts if Europe. The ones I felt were most similar to were Polish people.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

I wish I could pin your comment. Although you had a different experience than me, you seem like the only one who fully understood my post and expressed your opinion based on your own unique experience.

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ProductGuy48@reddit

I think we feel connected to those cultures for different reasons.

We feel connected to Italians/Spanish/Portuguese in terms of language, culture and “latin spirit” (ie passionate, loud, often illogical, appreciation for the music and other arts, importance of family unit etc).

We also feel connected to the Balkan neighbours from the perspective of appreciating the struggle of life, enjoying little things with little money, everyone looking at us as second class people, similar foreign influences (eg Turkish) etc.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

I keep hearing that there’s a language connection with Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, but in my experience, they rarely understand Romanian words, while I can usually understand theirs.

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ProductGuy48@reddit

Because Romanian is closer to Latin than those languages. They can understand us too just not as much.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Yeah, I know Romanian is Latin-based. Trust me, I’m Romanian too, but living abroad and meeting lots of Latinos, I can tell you firsthand they never understand a single Romanian word. Well, at least in my experience.

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ProductGuy48@reddit

My experience is the exact opposite, but, as I pointed out, there is a marked difference indeed between how much we understand them vs viceversa. But that doesn’t mean they don’t understand us at all.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

I am able to understand them because ma uitam la telenovele când eram mică 😂

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ProductGuy48@reddit

Based 😄

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eastern_petal@reddit

🤦

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whatevergirl8754@reddit

I believe as Balkans, they would be closest to ex Yu people. So while these are Slavs, they are still culturally much closer to them (well us, as I am one) than any other group you mentioned.

As mentioned, I am a South Slav (so from the Balkans) and have a close Romanian friend and we keep yelling “same” at the randomest shit.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Personally, I don’t feel that connection at all. From my experience, I just haven’t been able to relate to Slavic cultures or people in the same way I do with others in the region.

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whatevergirl8754@reddit

Fair enough, but my experience was different so far😊

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Haha and that’s absolutely valid. It’s all love.

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loqloqloqloq@reddit

On a culinary level, the answer is definitely Turkey. The positive outcome of being the bitch of the Ottomans for so many years is that we began to assimilate their food.

Otherwise, we might have ended up like Germany, calling a sausage a national dish. And no, mici is not a sausage, mici is a way of life.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

Turkish food is my favourite 😂

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PrettyChillHotPepper@reddit

Italy and Portugal, it's not even close.

France didn't feel familiar to me at all, Latin language but their personalities are German.

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eastern_petal@reddit

They are partially Germanic.

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LetopisetuRedditului@reddit

I would say Bulgarians, I always had great interactions with them and felt connected.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

I do too, not sure why I forgot to mention them 😂

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OkCheesecake5894@reddit

As a romanian I feel most connected to Moldovans, Bulgarians, Hungarians and Greeks.

On the grand chessboard I feel very connected to Poland

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

I did not mention Moldovans, as I consider them Romanian, even though where I live they claim Russian side more.

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-BarrenWuffett@reddit

It’s clear that we share more similarities with other Balkan populations than with Western Europeans.

Personally, I don’t believe we have much cultural common ground with Russians or Ukrainians.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

I feel the same about Russians and Ukrainians.

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MariMada@reddit

I don’t know any Albanians but always resonated with Turks, Bulgarians and to some extent Serbians. Had good Greek friend through university but at some point they’d drift away just among them Greeks.

I resonate really well with Latin Americans more-so than continental Spaniards or Portuguese. Zero match or mental chemistry with Italians; shocking to a point probably feel more foreign living in Italy than I did Austria.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

When I lived in Romania, I was actually around a pretty big Serbian community, but I never managed to resonate with them either. I just didn’t click, culturally or socially.

With Latinos and Italians, I often understand them quite easily, but they rarely understand anything I say in Romanian. Sometimes I honestly wonder if they’re just not trying or kind of acting a bit ignorant like, it goes one way but not the other.

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Constant-Twist530@reddit

Not Romanian but I spend time in Bucharest often and people there are definitely Balkan culturally - it’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Bulgarian people and I feel completely at home there.

That said, I know that Romanians closer to the border with Hungary may be a bit different.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

I have noticed that every time I meet Bulgarians where I live, we get along instantly. There’s just this natural ease, like we’re wired similarly somehow 😂

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Lazy-Relationship-34@reddit

Oh, Bucharest is definitely Balkan in most things considered, from its great mix of different architectural styles to the locals' driving!

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Fantastic-Video-1595@reddit

Romanians are more Bulgarians than Bulgarians to me, meaning most of the things I'd say about Bulgarians refer even stronger about Romanians. Like I thought Bulgarians care about their sarmas until I saw Romanians talking about their sarmale.

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bambiiambi@reddit (OP)

It’s true, Romanians really do take their sarmale seriously… but I have to confess, I don’t like them at all.

I always feel like I’m committing some kind of national crime when I say that 😂