Visit Romania!

[Armatus]

I thought the dudes all suited up in black tactical outfits from head to toe on the four wheelers were badass.

[Kjertesvein]

That's it, Romania has just been signed the highest priority of 2013.

I've parashuted in two continents, but seeing this made my butterflies or buttery again.

For adrenaline and thrilling sensations lovers

Bungee jumping from Vidraru Dam (166 m high, second place in Europe after a Swiss Dam, one used in that James Bond movie i think). The place is actualy close to Vlad Tepes Dracula residence at Poienari Fortress, in a very cool area



This is the third place in Europe, Rasnoavei Gorges (just 140 meters high), another very cool and spectacular area



A so called "tiroliana" (traversation from one crest to another over the precipice attached to a rope/cable zip line) is available too on both locations

~Wille

[Basileos Leandros I]

So in 1877 Romania declared independence from the Ottoman Empire, but it was divided?

Indeed. Full unification was only achieved on the 1st of December 1918 with the Great Union, hence why the National Day is on the 1st of December.

Kjertesvein, apparently Vidraru Dam surged (pardon the pun ) to popularity after the Top Gear episode when they slept with their cars underneath it.

[Basileos Leandros I]

I really apologise in advance for the shameless self promotion but at the request of some of my friends, I made a blog post about Bucharest nightlife.

Some of you asked me about Bucharest and the places to go to, so this should definitely come in handy for those of you who want to visit!

You can check it out over here - http://www.randomwander.com/bucharest-nightlife/

[Basileos Leandros I]

A Merry Merry Christmas from Romania!

Or how we say it here, Crăciun Fericit!


Children singing traditional Romanian Christmas carols




Taken from here - http://www.facebook.com/273.ro

[Basileos Leandros I]

A very Happy New Year from Romania! Best wishes for the year of 2013 and perhaps some of you will come and explore the country!


Vidra Lake




Taken by Dany Cosma - https://www.facebook.com/273Reasonst...tovisitRomania

[Vítor Gaspar]

Pretty much as safe as you'd expect any other country to be. The major cities are very safe compared to cities from other European countries, the most common crimes here being thefts and scams.
Alone is not necessarily a no-no, but in that case you should stick to the beaten path.


The rural areas then to be safe-ish but drinking is very common, so you should expect the exact same dangers you usually expect from a bunch of drunken people. Gypsy villages are not so safe though, some are friendly, some are not.
In the cities it is hard not to find someone who does not know English, in the rural areas English is not so common, but you'll still be alright. If you also know some Spanish or Italian you will have no problems.

Transportation is mostly by train, higher classed trains are safer and better than the cheaper ones. Inside major cities transportation is done by bus and tram (metro in Bucharest). The Bucharest metro is one of the safest in the world. Trams and buses are cheap, mostly reliable, but they are prone to pickpocketing so be careful.
Cabs are decent but they tend to over-charge foreigners, especially Bucharest cabbies who are notorious for taking tourists (even romanian tourists) on the longest route possible and charging up to 2 times the fare.

Thank you all I am Portuguese, so I guess I could survive in Romania, language-wise. The basic words are often very similar, and there's a large Romanian diaspora in Portugal - they speak Portuguese, very, very well, because even our accents and words are sometimes very similar.

Speaking of which, our countries barely have any historical relationship, but I heard the Portuguese are sort of liked there in Romania, isn't it? I've met this Romanian girl who told me you guys even had Portuguese shows on TV (dubbed, of course) and there are even streets named after Portugal in Romania. I don't know if this is true, but Wikipedia seems to confirm it There was even this poet called Lucian Braga (Braga is, oddly, the name of the 4th largest Portuguese city) who made poems about us (Romanian and Portuguese, calling us brothers divided by fate ) during communist times.

In other words, speaking English, Spanish and Portuguese would make it easier in rural Romania (especially Spanish and Portuguese), I guess?

I'd really love to visit Romania one day.

[Basileos Leandros I]

The Portuguese are liked in Romania - if you watch football, CFR Cluj had the most Portuguese players in Champions League, more than Benfica or Porto.

Oh, and the poet, his name is Lucian BLaga, but sounds similar to Braga. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucian_Blaga

Speaking Spanish and Portuguese, if the guy doesnt speak English, then perhaps you can try that out.

[Basileos Leandros I]

A bit of shameless advertising once more... Two more posts concerning Visit Romania, with some superb photographs.

http://www.randomwander.com/visit-romania-part-2/ - Wallachia


http://www.randomwander.com/visit-romania-part-iii/ - Transylvania

[mrmouth]

Just another overlooked country in Eastern/Southeastern Europe. Stunningly beautiful with plenty of interesting history. Glad we (States) are friendly with you.

I saw parts of Kosovo and it was the same thing about being overlooked. Although at that point it was understandable.

Now people who know better are likely to venture that far East/SE when in Europe. You will hear about the benefits of going "farther east" if you make it as far east as Budapest - which many backpackers do these days.

Go East, young man.

[Basileos Leandros I]

I second what mrmouth said above.

Go further East and explore!

[Basileos Leandros I]

Last part of shameless advertising, featuring some really nice photographs from all over the country. Check them out here:

Transylvania - http://www.randomwander.com/visit-romania-part-4/

Photographs from all over - http://www.randomwander.com/visit-romania-part-5/

Photo credits go to my friend.



Sighisoara at night




Peles Castle




Check out the rest of them here - http://www.randomwander.com/visit-romania-part-5/

[neoptolemos]

Brilliant!!!
I am true fan of Romanian architecture!

[Basileos Leandros I]

Brilliant!!!
I am true fan of Romanian architecture!

[Wallachian]

Brilliant!!!
I am true fan of Romanian architecture!

We owe some of our country's architectural beauty to the Germans and more specifically to the Saxon colonists that lived in Transilvania. They were fantastic builders

[neoptolemos]

We owe some of our country's architectural beauty to the Germans and more specifically to the Saxon colonists that lived in Transilvania. They were fantastic builders

And that's how Romanian architecture is unique.Everyone was contributing to its architectural wealth!

[Basileos Leandros I]

Queen Elisabeth of Romania gave a rather colourful description of Peles' architecture.

Italians were masons, Romanians were building terraces, the Gypsies were coolies. Albanians and Greeks worked in stone, Germans and Hungarians were carpenters. Turks were burning brick. Engineers were Polish and the stone carvers were Czech. The Frenchmen were drawing, the Englishmen were measuring, and so was then when you could see hundreds of national costumes and fourteen languages in which they spoke, sang, cursed and quarreled in all dialects and tones, a joyful mix of men, horses, cart oxen and domestic buffaloes.

[Armatus]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Peles Castle




Check out the rest of them here - http://www.randomwander.com/visit-romania-part-5/

Nice, I'm working on trees of similar kind on my property, candle pruning them like that so they grow tall spires.

[Tantalaul]

Hi all, a little guide for people who want to Discover Eco-Romania. Visit area of outstanding natural beauty, mountains and lakes, forests and valleys - all teeming with wildlife. Discover some of the most superb, unexplored scenery of Europe. Climb the lofty peaks of the Carpathian Mountains rising to over 2500 metres. Explore dense pine and beech forests still inhabited by the Carpathian brown bear, wolves, deer, wild boar and the rare lynx - more than a third of the European population of large carnivores still roam the Romanian forests.
Note: The Association of Ecotourism in Romania (AER) has achieved a partnership for nature conservation and tourism development among tourism associations, non-governmental associations acting in local development and nature conservation, nature conservation projects and travel agencies. Therefore, the innovative idea promoted by AER is to bring together the public and the private sector in a partnership for nature conservation and sustainable tourism development.

[Armatus]

Hi all, a little guide for people who want to Discover Eco-Romania. Visit area of outstanding natural beauty, mountains and lakes, forests and valleys - all teeming with wildlife. Discover some of the most superb, unexplored scenery of Europe. Climb the lofty peaks of the Carpathian Mountains rising to over 2500 metres. Explore dense pine and beech forests still inhabited by the Carpathian brown bear, wolves, deer, wild boar and the rare lynx - more than a third of the European population of large carnivores still roam the Romanian forests.
Note: The Association of Ecotourism in Romania (AER) has achieved a partnership for nature conservation and tourism development among tourism associations, non-governmental associations acting in local development and nature conservation, nature conservation projects and travel agencies. Therefore, the innovative idea promoted by AER is to bring together the public and the private sector in a partnership for nature conservation and sustainable tourism development.

Great I would love to visit primeval forests.