Visit Romania!

[Wallachian]

Oh man i love Parang Mountains, used to go skiing there when I was a kid. Definetly need to put up some pics from winter time with the nice slopes

There we go





If you are a passionate of skiing like me this is the best website for ski information in Romania and it's in English
http://www.romania-ski.info/

[Basileos Leandros I]

Couple of edifices from Romania.

http://www.facebook.com/273.ro

Cantacuzino Palace, Bucharest



Tropaeum Traiani, Adamclisi (raised by Emperor Trajan after his victory over the Dacians)



Rupea Fortress, Brasov



Sturdza Palace, Miclauseni

[Andynomite]

God's Bridge

Ponoarele is a commune located in Mehedinţi County, Oltenia, Romania. Here is a natural monument named God's Bridge, one of the only three natural bridges existing in the world. It was formed when the ceiling of a cave had collapsed. The bridge is actually a 4 m thick rock arch, with an opening of 25 m and a length of 50 m. The natural vault has an amazing resemblance with the ancient Roman bridges, and this 13 m wide arch supports a natural road 6 m wide (the road extension Ponoarele-Izverna), which is used by cars and heavy vehicles. The other two natural bridges exist in the U.S. (88.4 m high, 10 m wide) and France (l'Ardech), but God's Bridge is the only circulated. The bridge is between two karstic lakes, Zătonul Mare and Zătonul Mic.

Several legends tell about the apparition of the bridge. "It is said that the Devil lived in Ponoarele Cave. The locals asked God to chase him away, and God hit with His palm the cave ceiling, which collapsed and blocked the cave's entrance. But the Devil escaped by the other mouth of the cave and climbed the Devil's Rock, place from where he watches the people who enter in the cave and sometimes he drowns them in the Zătonul Mare lake".

Another legend: "It is said that Saint Nicodim had a dream about a waterfall indicating the place where to build a monastery. One day, in 1370, he arrived in Ponoarele, searching the place he dreamed about, but two rich families made him leave; they put a chicken and a knife in his bag, then accused him of theft. Ashamed, he departed, but before he cursed the locals. God traced an arch with His finger over a ravine, building a bridge for Saint Nicodim who followed his destiny and built the wonderful Tismana Monastery".

It seems that God protects the ones who pass over His bridge: in the past years, several bikes, cars and trucks fell off the bridge (25 meters!), but the drivers escaped with minor injuries!

[Trey]

To add to what Getwulf said, there's a couple of good, cheap hotels in Bucharest if you wish to stay.
There's the Accor group, mainly with Ibis and Novotel, and Ibis can be be around 70 euros per night with breakfast included, for a double room if I'm not mistaken. Furthermore there's the idea of small, boutique hotels which started to take shape and they're relatively cheaper than the norm.

If you want to go to the best hotels, there's a couple of them - InterContinental Bucharest, Crowne Plaza Bucharest, Radisson Blu Bucharest, JW Marriott (it's a JW) and Carol Parc Hotel.

Regarding the meals, if you eat out in town and stay away from the fancy restaurants, it varies from around 20 to 30 euros for a decent sized meal. If you're a gourmand then it's obviously more but not more than 5-10 euros for a double portion. In Bucharest, the best places to eat are restaurants with tradition and the ones that are in places such as Lipscani which is more of a cluster of restaurants, and due to the fact that the competition is very strong they provide good meals.

There's plenty of traditional restaurants but there's also Chinese, Turkish, Lebanese and especially Italian if you wish to eat something different every night.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipscani

Thanks a lot for the tips guys.

[Basileos Leandros I]

Thanks a lot for the tips guys.

Glad to be of help.

And as always, you're more than welcome to visit.

[Basileos Leandros I]

I wanted to do a post about the Romanian Royal Family so here it is finally.

Why did I want to do it?

The Romanian monarchy consolidated the state and greatly raised its prestige, so much so that Bucharest in the 1920's was a very fashionable place to live in, hence the nickname Little Paris. In the brief time of the monarchy, from 1866 to 1945, Romania became a known country throughout the world and at the same time respected for the progress and achievements it had managed to achieve.

What's the connection with a thread presenting Romania?

As I mentioned earlier, the Royal family more or less put Romania on the known map of the world. Queen Marie's visit to New York caused a ticker tape parade in the middle of the city, showing how much the status of the country increased from when the family took over. Also, under their guidance, some of the most visited Romanian landmarks have been built or restored to their former glory, the notable examples being the Peles Castle and the other being Dracula's castle, the Bran Fortress. In a nutshell, the Royal Family drew considerable positive attention to the country

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_Royal_Family



Brief History

The first Romanian king of the United Principalities (Rom. - Principatele Unite) was Alexandru Ioan Cuza from 1859 to 1866 when he was forced to abdicate. The true Romanian Royal Family was established in 1866 after Prince Karl of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen (Prince Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen) took up the throne of the United Principalities, backed by both France and Prussia.

Under King Karl's (Regele Carol) leadership, Romania achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878.





King Karl is the one "responsible" for the creation of the superb Peles Castle.



Not only that but he's responsible for the smaller Pelisor as well. Both castles can be visited and have an impressive array of weapons and other items reminiscent of the royal era.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelisor





King Karl's died without issue and so the throne was passed to his nephew, King Ferdinand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_of_Romania

King Ferdinand married Princess Marie of Edinburgh, who became Queen Marie of Romania, one of the most loved figures in Romanian history. Because of her intervention after WWI, Romania was able to achieve the unification of all Romanian-speaking territories, including Bessarabia, modern day Moldavia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Romania




Queen Marie was also nicknamed the Soldier Queen for her dedication to the Romanian Army (lieutenant of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment "Rosiorii") but was also a Red Cross nurse (probably the only Queen to do so).



After King Ferdinand came King Karl the IInd (Regele Carol al II lea), this time one of the most controversial figures in Romanian history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_II_of_Romania

Apart from the troubled time under his reign, he gave orders to expand and improve the Royal Palace, which is now the National Museum of Art that houses an impressive collection of both international and Romanian artworks. Can be visited daily.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationa...Art_of_Romania



The last member of the Royal Family to sit on the Romanian throne was King Michael (Regele Mihai). To date he is the only surviving head of state from World War II, alongside Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria.



King Michael's actions at the closure of World War II are estimated to have shortened the war by around 6 months by turning arms against the Wehrmacht allies and supporting the Allied effort on the Eastern Front.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_of_Romania

Today, the Royal Family promotes the image of Romania overseas.

[Andynomite]

Impressive post. Two minor corrections though: the monarchy lasted up until 30 December 1947, when King Michael was forced to abdicate by the communists. Also, there is one more surviving head of state from World War 2: Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia

[Basileos Leandros I]

Impressive post. Two minor corrections though: the monarchy lasted up until 30 December 1947, when King Michael was forced to abdicate by the communists. Also, there is one more surviving head of state from World War 2: Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia

Indeed, my mistake, it's 1947.

[Basileos Leandros I]

Bit of a geography post over here to give some more information.

CIA Factbook about Romania - https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...k/geos/ro.html

And this is how Romania looks like.

[pchalk]

wow i need to go to romania

[Basileos Leandros I]

A couple of pictures from the Belis Dam in Transylvania.

The road towards the dam.

[Basileos Leandros I]

Promotional ad for Romania that will be featured on CNN, Eurosport and other major media channels.

[pc_gamer321]

Gah, looking through this thread is like stabbing myself in the heart.

I get this feeling of being homesick....and I wasn't even born in Romania nor have I lived there besides staying a few months. lol.


I must go back!!!!

[Basileos Leandros I]

Gah, looking through this thread is like stabbing myself in the heart.

I get this feeling of being homesick....and I wasn't even born in Romania nor have I lived there besides staying a few months. lol.


I must go back!!!!

You're more than welcome to come and revisit.

[MathiasOfAthens]

Romanian Women are very Beautiful, just like Polish and Russian Women, but Perhaps Ukranian woman are prettier than Russian, idk they all look alive. Can you understand French? Basileos, Roman is a bit of a romance language.

[Basileos Leandros I]

Romanian Women are very Beautiful, just like Polish and Russian Women, but Perhaps Ukranian woman are prettier than Russian, idk they all look alive. Can you understand French? Basileos, Roman is a bit of a romance language.

I personally have studied French a bit so I can, but even if I didn't, I would still understand many French words because of the "romance language" aspect.

[MathiasOfAthens]

Italian prob closer to you though from what I have studied. I learn quite a few phrases from my Romanian mates in California and we talked similarities.

[pc_gamer321]

You're more than welcome to come and revisit.

I intend to
My entire family lives in Romania for the most part. I must go visit lol.
Even though I wasn't born there, I consider it my homeland. Probably got that from my parents haha.

I do like the fact that Romanian was still my first language.

edit: Btw, you ever make a list of those songs? I would love to look them all up.

[annibal22]

I can only say George Hagi about Romania.

[Tantalaul]

Sucevita. La 50 de kilometri de Suceava gasiti Manastirea Sucevita.