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| WELCOME TO ROMANIA |
Romania is a Latin speaking island in a Slavic sea, an orthodox enclave in a catholic Europe and a gate to the Orient.
Known more under its negative aspects – Dracula (the medieval vampire), Ceausescu (the modern “vampire”), the abandoned and/or handicapped children and the cohorts of gypsies that have invaded many of the streets of Europe – Romania has infinite more positive aspects tied to the nature of the places, of a surprising variety as well as the traditional civilization, most of it preserved, in spite of the modern decades wearing the communist coat. It is a real challenge to establish a hierarchy of the most important areas and objectives that can be visited by one on a limited time schedule.
Situated in S-E of Central Europe, Romania is inhabited by a neo-Latin and Christian “ab initio”, (the Pont-Danube arias are evangelized by Andrei, the apostle) along with numerous ethnic groups settled, through the ages (Hungarians, Germans, Slaves, Turks, Jews, Greeks etc.) having positive results – for the most part – under the cultural aspect. This country has gorgeous sceneries, in which the natural elements – the Carpathian Mountains, the hills covered in orchards and vines, the plains with vast agricultural cultures, offer a truly colorful symphony in the summer time – combine, in a kaleidoscopic manner, with the elements created by the rural/traditional and urban civilization, with the strong central-European connotations in Transylvania and in the Western side of the country, and the oriental-Balkan ones in the extra-Carpathian regions.
In Romania, the whole range of tourism is practiced, from the ecologic kind (the first place being taken by the Danube’s Delta, unique in Europe, the Biosphere Reservation included in the UNESCO Global Patrimony), to the mountain tourism, of hiking in the summertime in the high regions of the Meridian Carpathians, also called the “Transylvania Alps” – with basins, valleys and glacial lakes, visiting many caves of the Apuseni and Banat Mountains, crossing the spectacular gorges such us the Bicaz Gorge and the passes, the Iron Gate being the longest in Europe – and of winter sports for the cold season (Poiana Brasov, Predeal, Sinaia regions being some of the places for this), to the heliomarine treatments tourism (on the Black Sea coastline – known regions being Mamaia, Mangalia, Neptune, Olimp etc.) happily completed by visiting the vestiges of some of the first European towns – Helen colonies from the 7-6 century B.C. – such as Histria, Tomis, Callatis, to the spa treatments tourism (renowned regions being the Herculan Spas – known since the roman times, the spas from the Valcea district – the Olanesti Spas, Calimanesti, Govora and so on, Harghita and Covasna – the Tusnad Spas, Covasna and so on).
The cultural tourism has an exceptional potential; discussing the culture of the rural/popular tradition, alive in the world of the villages in the hills and mountains, many of them being true outdoor ethnographic museums, as well as the urban culture, laic and religious, with objectives that have confronted the hard times and the political regimes. The most known examples of the rural cultures can be fund in the villages situated in the center of the country, near the Bran Castle (once the layer of little Dracula), as well as those situated in the north-western side of the country, from Oas and Maramures (with the famous “joyful cemetery” at Spanta and the famous wood churches that are included into the world’s cultural patrimony, true marking stones of a wooden civilization).
The Middle Ages, left its own splendid and unique inheritance, like the churches with interior and exterior paintings from Bucovina (Voronet, Moldovita, Sucevita etc. being included as well into the UNESCO Global Patrimony), like the monasteries from the north of Olt region (Horezu, Bistrita, Arnota), from around the Iasi, Suceava, Targoviste regions (once capitals of the Romanian states) and like the “Saxon” cities from Transylvania (Sibiu – that has been declared the cultural capital of Europe in 2007, Brasov, Sighisoara Medias etc.)
Numerous elements of interest are also offered by the big cities, starting from Bucharest, the greatest city in this part of Europe (2 million people), also called “little Paris” in the 19th century (the name being tied first to the French cultural influence and then, around the year 1900, it was tied to the buildings in the central area of the city, that were built following the plans of French architects), continuing with Iasi (that was the capital of Moldova for 3 centuries and which represents a true museum city), Constanta (with its famous casino among many tourist attractions), Cluj-Napoca (the most important city in Transylvania, built on the remains of the Roman city called Napoca), Craiova (the biggest city of the Olt region/ Small Valahia) etc.
The transport infrastructure and that of the tourist services (hotels, restaurants, fun attraction etc.) has been considerably improved in the last two decades, recovering partially after harsh “inheritance” of the communist regime that had other priorities.
We wish that you have a great vacation, of which you will remember with pleasure and maybe induce the pleasure of knowing more about this “Latin island” in the South-Eastern side of the continent. |
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