Conclusions

Abstract

During the socialist period, 2 Mai and Vama Veche represented an alternative space where vacationers embraced an emblematic freedom not seen or experienced before or elsewhere, far from the boisterous life of other seaside resorts and urban centers. Legacies of empires and war, ethnic and religious diversity, the wilderness as well as the fluidity of the border are all part of the fascination that these communities continue to hold in the Romanian imaginary. The stories about the Second World War that delighted older generations of tourists and locals are rarely heard today, having been replaced by colorful accounts about life during socialist times. The German bunkers built during the Second World War in those two villages to protect the country from Soviet invasion proved too strong for ordinary tools; demolition was deemed expensive and thus they were incorporated into the newly erected structures meant to accommodate the ever-increasing flow of tourists. To this day, Vama Veche means freedom for a large segment of Romanian youth, the solitary hippies from different parts of the world, the bikers, and old timers in search of glimpses of the past.