Actually, we did not want to leave Romania. We wanted to extend our stay for a couple of weeks. Dmitry received the second laptop and started working. It would be smart not to rush anywhere. 

We booked our apartment through AirB’n’B and though we never met our host we had very good communication in messenger. She always responded in 10-15 minutes. Two or three times during our stay she offered to meet for a cup of coffee and we would be glad to do so. However, every time she canceled the meeting at the last moment. We texted her to ask if we could stay for two more weeks and…

– Hello! We would like to stay in Cluj for two more weeks. Is your apartment available?

No response, but WhatsApp shows that the message has been read.

– Hello again! Sorry to bother you, but could you, please, answer?

No response, but WhatsApp shows that the message has been read.

Three days later:

– I hope that you are OK. We are leaving tomorrow. What shall we do with the keys?

No response, but WhatsApp shows that the message has been read.

Last day:

– We are leaving in two hours. Will you pick up the keys?

No response, but… you’ve got the idea.

– We left the keys in the letter box.

No response.

We were really confused about all this and did not feel comfortable to leave the keys in the unlocked letter box. Honestly, it is a very unpleasant feeling to be ghosted for no good reason. Three weeks later she finally answered us. “Did you leave the keys in the mailbox?” – she wrote.

We had a feeling that Romania did not want us any more. That same night we had a proof. We wanted to stay in Romania for one more night and cross into Serbia in the morning, but there was some festival in Severin and all hotels were booked and there were literally buses full of tourists. We treated ourselves to papanasi – a Romanian type of donut – and left Romania at night. It always has to be night.