If you want to go to Romania for vacation there are a few things you should be aware of. You might have heard different things, some bad, some good, but like any adventure you have to be as prepared as you can. Do your homework on Romania, breathe deeply and just go on an adventures that will sure leave you with a bunch of great memories and stories to tell to your friends, family and who knows… grand grandchildren!
So here are ten things you should learn about Romania before booking an amazing experience in this country.
10. Romania is an European country
If you think to Europe, you might have in mind France, UK or Germany. Well Europe has Romania too. Not only geographically – it is located in the Southeastern part of Europe – but also, Romania is a UE country since 2007. The money used here is LEU, not Euros, but there are plenty of exchange offices. One Euro is about 4.5 Lei, and one dollar is about 4.0 lei.
And even thou until December 1989 Romania was known as a communist country, today they fully enjoy the democracy and they have in almost all the aspects an occidental way of living.
9. The Capital of Romania is Bucharest
Although many times people tend to think Budapest is the capital (one time a tourist missed his flight connection because he landed in Budapest instead of Bucharest) you should know Budapest is the Capital of Hungary and Bucharest is the Capital of Romania.
Also, between the two world wars, Bucharest was known as “little Paris” due to the amazing resemblance with Paris, the French Capital. Buildings look alike, some boulevards are imitating famous French boulevards, and they also have an Arch of Triumph. They don’t have an Eiffel tower, but the pieces of Eiffel Tower were made in Romania, at Resita. If you want to learn more about Romania’s capital you can book a tour of the city with a guide (they would probably let you know also some unknown secrets of this amazing city).
8. Romania has all the relief forms
Well if you don’t know whether you want to go to the sea or to the mountains, with Romania you hit the Jackpot: they have it all. And something extra – a beautiful Danube Delta. You can go and enjoy some sun over the beaches of the Black See. The most eligible place to go is Mamaia, where you will also find the best pubs, restaurants and clubs.
If you choose to go to the mountains, they have the Carpathians. In winter you can sky, and during the summer you can relax visiting the amazing natural Park of Bucegi, camping or hiking. As for Danube Delta, it is the second largest Delta in Europe and since 1992 it’s part of the UNESCO’s world heritage.
7. In Romania the food is amazing
If you go to Romania it’s a must to eat traditionally food. You could gain some pounds after that experience, but it’s worth it. Most famous plates are sarmale, mamaliga, mici, salata boeuf (although this one sounds French, it’s not. They haven’t heard of it in France), bors, piftie, branza de burduf, zacusca, ciorba, tocanita, poale in brau or cozonac. ) But if you are in a hurry and you want to visit as much as you can and don’t have the time to go to a restaurant and eat traditionally Romanian food, you could and should try a fast-food dish named Shaorma. It’s not really a traditionally dish, it’s imported from Turkey but Romanians made it famous and adopted it like their own. And because you can’t just eat, you have to have a drink, then besides the wines which are very good, some having won important international prizes, you have to try the Romanian traditionally drink called tuica. Oh, and don’t forget, before you drink instead of Chee
rs! You have to say Noroc! (free translation Good luck).
6. Romania has some unique and interesting places to visit
The Marry Cemetery where all the graves are full with colors and each grave’s stone has a funny poetry about the deceased. You can find this in the Northern part of Romania, in Maramures County, at Sapanta. Probably this is where the Romanian saying To die of laugh comes from… Who knows!
The Voronet Monastery, also known as the Sistine Chapel of East, it is world famous due the amazing blue it’s covered in. They say it’s a unique shade of blue, and it cannot be found anywhere else in the world. This is why, this color it is also known as Voronet blue.
The Peles Palace, where it was one of the residences of the former royal family of Romania, has been the chosen location for many American movies, among which Youth without youth (2006) by Francis Ford Copola, A princess for Christmas (2004), The Brothers Bloom (2008) etc. If you ask yourself what is the reason for filming at Peles Castel, the answer won’t surprise you if you visit it. Besides the amazing Carpathians Mountains view, the castle seems to be brought to our world directly from the fairy tales universe. So if you want magic, you have to visit the Peles Castle.
5. Dracula comes from Romania
Are you a fan of vampire movies? Well than you probably heard of the most famous vampire in the World: Dracula. According to the legend, he lived in Transylvania, right in the middle of Romania. This has to be a must on your trip agenda. To learn more about him you should go to Bran Castle in Brasov and to Poenari in Arges County – the castle here is believe to also be the inspirational source for Jules Verne’s The Castle of the Carpathians.
However, in reality, the ruler that is known as Dracula was actually Vlad Tepes (the Impaler), son of Vlad Dracul (which had his name from the orders of Dragons). Tepes was a harsh ruler and he used to kill all the thieves, liars and of course all of his enemies).
4. Driving in Romania is an adventures
If you think to rent a car and drive across the country, you should be a very patient and calm driver. The roads are not entirely bad, but the highways are almost inexistent, the drivers tend to go over the speed limit a lot, they use ugly words almost all the time and while driving through villages you might see all of the sudden on the road in front of you a horse, a chicken, some cows or people just talking in the middle of the road. Oh, and you have to be careful because many roads have holes some little, some big, therefor you have to pay extra attention while driving. So be patient, carful and calm!
If you don’t feel like engaging in such an adventure you could take the train, but you’ll have to be prepared not to arrive on the schedule hour. The trains in Romania usually have a delay of 30 minutes are more. However, if you want to use a car, maybe it would be better to rent a driver too. That way you can relax and enjoy the trip! But, just be careful about taxi drivers, they tend to overcharge you when they see you’re a foreigner.
3. People are nice and girls are beautiful
Romanians are famous for their hospitality. If you need directions, information or if you just have questions 9 out of 10 Romanians will stop to help you, and if they don’t know they will stop others and ask for help. If you will visit someone’s home, they will treat you like the most important person they know: they will feed you, tell you jokes (Romanians are a funny people), offer to show you the surroundings etc. And probably every single person you’ll meet is going to try to teach you some Romanian’s words.
As for girls in Romania it’s a well-known fact they are extremely beautiful. A few days ago there was a funny picture on Facebook with a daughter asking her mother “Mom what means ugly?” and the mother answers “I don’t know honey, we are Romanian girls!). Just go see for yourself.
2. Romania is a Latin country
You probably associate Romania with Russia (they have been more than 25 years under Russian’s influence), but it is a Latin country. The ancestors of Romanians are the Romans mixed with native inhabitants – Daci. Romania and its language were formed on the same way as France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal and as their languages.
Besides the Romanic language connection with the above states, Romanians also have the Latin spirit: they are very passionate about different things (like football or their opinions in general), they are great dancers (or if not great at least they love to dance), they talk a lot, the national flag it is similar with the flag of Italy or France (blue, yellow, red positioned on the same way), the music it is full with vitality and in the rural areas you will find many traditions from Roman’s Empire having survived almost undamaged.
1 Romania has a very good internet connection
Yes it is true what you’ve been hearing on TV: the internet in Romania is better. It’s not a myth, it’s not a legend but it is pure reality! Most people, especially in urban areas, have internet at home and on phones. In cities like Bucharest, Craiova, Cluj, Timisoara you have free internet in parks, restaurants, pubs, bus station, taxi, hotels etc. And in most of the cases you won’t even need a password, just press Wi-Fi connection on your phone or tablet. If a password is needed, you’ll receive it from the waitress, taxi driver, hotel personnel etc. Just ask for it!
However, in rural areas you might find people that not only don’t have internet connection, but they haven’t seen a computer or mobile phone in their life. That’s Romania, a country of contrasts, but definitely not a boring place!