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Bucharest, Romania, 2021.
I had the supreme displeasure of being harassed by the guards at the Bucharest Prefecture for apparently not closing a bathroom door properly. Two guards escorted my wife and me from the premises as we attempted to get an apostille applied to our marriage certificate. It was an episode directly out of the communist-era where State officials became experts at obsessing about meaningless details in an effort to control the populace. Romania still has a long way to go. It is not the West by any means and never will be.
While the apostille was finally issued, my name was misspelled rendering it useless. We are personae non grata at the Prefecture which is ok as we will never be back there.
Pictured is the guard office straight out of communism minus the Sting poster.