Michael Palin's New Europe - Wild Romania (my edit 3/4)

[vredroller]

Also he deals with all his graver subject matter with total respect, he's not some clumsy, bumbling tourist - and any moments that may suggest this are for entertainment. He's well-known and loved as a broadcaster in the UK, so these moments are largely forgiven - the way you would forgive your dad for wearing a silly hat at the beach. Anyone from another culture may not understand this about Michael Palin, or be able to distinguish this from his real talent for exploring people and places.

[vredroller]

I haven't followed the thread of alot of these arguments are Michael Palin, so sorry if I get this wrong - but I think if anybody saw his back catalogue of travelogues they would see that Michael Palin is a sensitive, good-natured humanist - who has a natural ease with people and is genuinely interested in people and places. Read his books. His reflections don't involve any authoritarianism, as he is modest too. And he's a Python, so oocasionally he uses humour. Try it, you may like it!

[Thatsjustmehere]

Keep the Dracula business going hahaha

[PoisonRemedy321]

Did he just pay 300 lei for some crappy Dracula mugs? Are you freaking kidding me?! Well done to that woman!

[nicktk]

@PoisonRemedy321 i guess it was in old curency 300k wich means now 30 Lei = about 8 euro :)

[allayst]

Advice: never take a taxi cab from the train station or airport. :P

[allayst]

I would like to visit more of Great Britain. When I will be old I will probably go to live in Montreux ( Swiss) ..is the most beautiful place I ever seen. :)

[allayst]

We have to show the passport to the Hungary border because we are not in the Schengen community yet.

And older people don't know English, maybe you will have better luck to the young ones.

[allayst]

I don't know when, maybe never. Anyway I prefer to live in Romania and just travel a lot. The thing is that I don't want a life between strangers. Romania never was part of the Soviet Union! I'm not irritated about soviet Union. It's about you made a wrong assumption. In the ex SU countries people are speaking Russian or a language related to it. Romania was a communist country as Germany was, but we never made part form the Soviet Union.Romanian is a latin language as french, italian...

[mailman63155]

As far as Romania's relationship to Russia, there could be some confusion because half of the Moldova *region* (ethnically Romanian) was turned into the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic at the end of WWII and was part of the Soviet Union, simply referred to as Russia by most Westerners.

[allayst]

You've got good intentions but you know nothing. Romanians also pay taxes to the European Union, and let me tell you something: we pay more than we receive back. That is because we are very bad administrated. Romania has a heavenly nature but that isn't enough! I know that we are far away in evolution but that doesn't mean that I have to thank you because you are British. EU needs Romania; I don't know exactly for what but otherwise we will not share the same Union.

[allayst]

When I'm traveling to a foreign country, and believe me I'm doing this quite often, I'm reading something about that or at least I'm looking at a map, to see where I'm going. That is why it seemed very strange that even about a year you have visited my country you didn't know that is not part of Russia.

And one more thing: nobody is altruist. For example the EU. If they help you they expect for a lot more back. So I don't have to thank to the GODS in EU that they accepted my country.

[allayst]

Yes I know London Is very beautiful, I visited.. clean...not quite. But anyway good luck with your Western European live. Our discussion ends right now!

[allayst]

Romania is part of Russia :)) .You are so uneducated, I'm sorry I don't want to offend you is the pure truth ;. In change you offended me by saying this stupidity. Romania was NEVER part of Russia. Is exactly like saying United Kingdom is part of France.

[mailman63155]

It's changing and getting incredibly more expensive. The cities change and the countryside less so. They still have a big problem with bloated bureaucracy and systemic corruption.

[mailman63155]

huh? It never was. Don't you have a history book or an atlas? It was part of the USSR sphere of influence, and it centuries gone by had dealings and wars with Russia, but no part of present day Romania was EVER a part of Russia.

[RyanRyzzo]

Palin... I'm Palin... Impaling....get it? haha.

[tattattoottoot]

Shouldn't Vlad be in his coffin at this time of the day?

[mailman63155]

true, but he is a foreigner with only a casual interest in making a tv program, not deeply understanding his subject matter

[teufelstaub]

What seems so ironic is that Michael Palin is completely unaware that Wladyslaus Dragwyla was the one responsible for creating a walled fortress city out of the existing connected villages in 1459,thus founding Bucuresti.He's happy to purchase a "Dracula" mug,but doesn't know the real man behind the name.Our knowledge of this great hero and his era is very scant,and needs to be addressed in our schools.Without the Balkan heroes we'd all be muslims now.Multsumesc foarte mult!

[mailman63155]

Hey! He's only an old comedian and TV show presenter. He's not writing a Masters thesis, he's a freaking tourist.

[alunesifistic]

A 'freaking tourist' he may be in his spare time. A freaking DOCUMENTARY MAKER is what he is here. When you come in front of thousands of people, on TV, and you use your popularity and credibility to say lots of bullocks about a country about which your audience doesn't know much, that doesn't sound entirely innocent to me. Manipulative, rather. It's not about writing a thesis. A bit of decency would have sufficed.

[mailman63155]

A travelogue-maker. That's a LOT different than a documentarian. This film, and Countryfile (also with its flaws) join my TRUE documentaries about Romania, to make a well-rounded collection.

[alunesifistic]

And may I ask what those TRUE documentaries about Romania you are referring to?

About my other comment - I was trying to explain that it is still better to be 'mosty ignored' than to be known as someone you are not - and condescended for it.

[mailman63155]

Then get in line. Nobody knows the TRUE story about anybody or anything. You don't even know what really goes on in your own City Hall, much less your own country.

What I was *trying* to say was "films designed to be serious acadenic documentaries." Not casual amusing travelogues made by entertainers.

[alunesifistic]

Right. Well, let's just hope he isn't going to make any 'travelogue' (obviously, an important nuance) on Poland soon. Otherwise, God knows what 'casual' take of the concentration camps we could be presented with by this pretentious buffoon.

[mailman63155]

Dear "alunesifistic" - His job is to amuse viewers, not overly-embarass his subject countries. You notice that he didn't mention Sighet prison or the sad fact that one of Rep. of Moldova's chief exports seems to be hot girls into the sex trade.

[alunesifistic]

Quod erant demonstrandum.

Where have you gleaned the information that Moldova's chief export SEEMS TO BE hot girls? The Daily Mail? Documentaries such as Michael Palin's? Most probably.

That is why I still believe that nobody ought to allow themselves to speak casually about serious issues, such as to amuse their audience with the painful history of another nation. You cannot speak lightly of Sighet or Auschwitz. I find his condescendence intolerable.

[mailman63155]

Didn't you ever see any Monty Python movies? Search in YouTube and see that Palin and his colleagues make fun of everything. Get a sense of humor. People who can't smile are sad indeed.

[alunesifistic]

I've only just realized that you had actually posted this. In your presentation, you called it yourself a 'great BBC documentary'. Which carries a lot more prestige than a 'casual amusing travelogue made by an entertainer', doesn't it?

To be honest, I don't know why all these people bothered to talk to this man. Not having the same sort of humour, they probably didn't realize he was going to amuse his audience at their expense. Sad, really.

[mailman63155]

Dear teufelstaub - Your follow-up message seems to have disappeared, but it said as follows:

[mailman63155]

"It's noble of you to defend him.However,many folks glean their scanty knowledge from ill-informed and ridiculous parodies of world history such as this and will accept it as gospel truth.You should accept some responsibility when reporting the history and social conditions of another land or people,or simply state that it's your own skewed version.If this was England he'd be outraged with another journalist for being so dismissive,condescending and ignorant!He's paid for this work. "

[mailman63155]

Actually, I'm just a forgiving bastard without a chip on his shoulder. He wsas not condescending or too wrong too many times. And seeing as this was one show in an entire season and he is most certainly not a tenured historian, doing his own research, I can forgive much. He's still only a tour guide. At least there was a reasonably positive program about a country mostly ignored.

[alunesifistic]

Just for the sake of the argument, I don't mean to be offensive in any way. Still - what would you choose - to remain unknow to the 'mates at the pub' or let them know you, as a guy with, say, some shady paedophile episode in your past, but essentially rather normal these days...

[mailman63155]

ummm... I don't get it. Sorry.

[alunesifistic]

I couldn't agree more with you. Thumbs up for your other comment as well.

[nutzw1]

@teufelstaub Yeah.. well.. the thing is that.. Romania is not part of the Balkans...

[Trottel9]

@teufelstaub If i remember right, the woman in the beginning of this video told the right story about Tepes' succusses and how he defended the country. Now he shows the funny tourist attractions.

[Gharmr]

fuck...Vlad the Impaler could not bring enough pain to such a surpestitious cartoon intoxicated asswipe...

[carnal84]

EU AM FOST ACOLO!!!

[alunesifistic]

'Romania must have felt itself to be part of Europe...'. The arrogant cheeky bastard!

[mailman63155]

Hey! He's only an old comedian and TV show presenter. He can't know everything! LOL