With a Black Sea coast to the east, it is bordered by Bulgaria to the south, Serbia to the southwest, Hungary to the northwest, Moldova to the northeast and Ukraine in both the north and the east While its southern regions are usually seen as part of Southeastern Europe Balkans, Transylvania, its largest region, is in Central Europe
The country - which joined the European Union in January 2007 - is currently enjoying its highest living standards since Communist times, with foreign investment on the rise and one of the fastest growing economies in Europe
In ancient times the territory of present day Romania was inhabited mainly by Dacian tribes, which were a remarkable, although not very well known, culture The Dacian kingdom reached the height of its power in the 1st century BC, when their king Burebista ruled from his power base in the Carpathian Mountains over a vast territory stretching from Central Europe to the Black Sea The intriguing network of fortifications and shrines built around the Dacian capital Sarmisegetuza, in today's south-western Transylvania, has been relatively well preserved through the ages and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site
In 106 AD the Dacians were defeated by the Romans and most of their homeland became part of the Roman Empire Being very rich in natural resources especially gold, the region prospered under the Roman administration: cities developed rapidly, important roads were built and people from all over the Empire settled here That's why, despite the fact that Roman rule lasted less than 200 years, a population with a distinctive Latin character and language emerged, which was however influenced by the Slavic peoples with whom it later came in contact
In the Early Middle Ages Hungarians began to settle in the area today known as Transylvania, which would eventually become part of the Kingdom of Hungary Germans also settled in that area in several waves, some coming as early as the 12th century In order to protect themselves from the frequent Tartar and Turkish invasions they set about building fortified cities and castles, many of which remain to this day South and east of the Carpathians the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia were created in the 14th century Starting with the 15th century, both of them and for a while Transylvania too fell under the domination of the Ottoman Empire
For a short period in 1600, Michael The Brave Mihai Viteazul ruled over all three principalities, thus briefly becoming the de-facto ruler of a unified Romania The international scene, however, was not ready yet for a unified Romania, and thus his union fell a short while later
A Romanian national revival movement started in Transylvania in the late 1700's and swept across the Carpathians, inspiring the 1859 union of Moldavia and Wallachia, thus creating modern Romania In 1917-1919 Transylvania and Eastern Moldavia present day Moldova were united with Romania
"Soviet occupation following World War II led to the formation of a Communist "peoples republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king Between 1947 and 1965, Romania was led by Gheorghiu Gheorghiu-Dej, who led the country with a pro-Soviet stance throughout most of his administration In 1965, he was succeeded by Nicolae Ceauşescu who was less enthusiastic towards the Soviet Union and maintained a more neutral foreign and domestic policy than his predecessor while, during the 1980s, the Securitate secret police became a strong force The leader was overthrown and executed in late 1989"CIA World Factbook Former Communists, regrouped around the Front of National Salvation and the Romanian Party for Social Democracy dominated the government until the 1996 elections, when they were swept from power by a fractious coalition of centrist parties but after failed reforms were replaced by the Social Democratic Party Both groups attempted to amend ties with Hungary, which were deeply fractured in the 1980s, when Ceausescu either encouraged the large Hungarian community to leave the country or exile them outright 5000 Hungarians left Romania per year The 2004 elections brought to power an alliance formed by the National Liberal and Democratic parties They currently govern with the support of most minority parties in Romania In 2008 Romania held its legislative elections with the right wing party of the PDL Democratic Liberal Party won the national elections by a small margin against the PSD Social Democratic Party The current Prime Minister is Emil Boc while the Deputy Prime Minister is Dan Nica of the Social Democratic Party
As of the year 2009 the Romanian Government has decided to implement a massive infrastructure investment programme which will benefit the whole country The Romanian Government hopes to successfully implement the massive infrastructure program by the end of their mandate in 2012
When the economic, social and political development is concerned Romania is doing well in comparison to other countries in the Western Balkans region and other surrounding countries in Eastern Europe such as Ukraine and Moldova However when compared to Western Europe, Romania still has some ways to go to reach that level of development that is enjoyed by the Western Europeans However Romania's membership in the European Union will help in closing the gap in the years to come
The official language of Romania is Romanian, limba română, which is a Romance language and one of the closest contemporary spoken languages to Latin Aromanian is the closest living relative and only other member of the Italo-Eastern subdivision of Italic languages to Romanian Aromanian is a minority language spoken in Macedonia where it is one of two official languages, Greece and parts of Romania In contrast to Romanian's heavy Slavic, German and Hungarian influences, Aromanian takes many words from Greek Some 10% of the Romanian vocabulary is of Slavonic origin and less than 5% is from Turkish, Hungarian or German Minority languages spoken in Romania are Hungarian, German, Turkish and Romany the language of the Roma, or Gypsies, albeit most of these words have fallen out of use for a long time Russian and Ukrainian can be heard in the Danube Delta as well French used to be the second well-known language in Romania, since it used to be compulsory in every school; however, it has been mostly displaced by English A well-educated Romanian who graduated from an average university can usually speak English and another European language, such as French, German, Italian, Spanish about 8% or Russian If you leave the common touristic routes, Romanian is the only way to ask for information That won't be such a problem; learn some basic words and ask them to write the answers
Although some might speak Russian due to Romania's past as a part of the Eastern Bloc, one should not count on it About 7% of Romanians understand Russian but only about 4% are fluent in it The chance of one doing so is very small, as the Ceauşescu administration and subsequent leaders made learning the language optional, rather than compulsory; and other languages especially French, Italian or other Romance languages took the place of Russian in schools
Most Romanians may understand Spanish or Italian basic words for some reasons First of all, Romanian is a Romance language as written before, so many words as well as many grammar peculiarities are similar Second, many people have worked in these countries and spread their languages to home places Last, but not least, the Spanish language took an important place during the '90s due to very-well-known telenovelas of Latin American origin, so many young people learned this language quite well
If you want to find out some common phrases/words in Romanian, see the Romanian phrasebook
The following are some possible itineraries for traveling Romania :
Romania is one of the most religious countries in Europe, and the Orthodox church is omnipresent You will certainly want to visit some churches and monasteries for their beauty and history, but why not take the chance to experience an Orthodox mass? The congregation is usually standing and it is perfectly normal to show up only briefly during the mass so you can come and go at your leisure without disturbing anyone Show up at any church on sunday morning, stand quietly in the back and observe Be suitably dressed, see the section "Respect"
You will experience bible readings, prayers and other rituals accompanied by a short sermon explaining the text You are not likely to understand much, but you can notice the varying levels of involvement among church-goers, visible in how long and where people stay at the mass, and how often they sign themselves with the cross, or even genuflect Organized congregation singing is not common but is conducted by a choir with each church-goer joining when he feels like The choir singing can be captivating, the quality usually reflects the importance of the church
The altar has sections with doors that open and close depending on the church season You will also see candles sold, they are lit in or by the church in separate trays for the souls of either dead or living people Try to find out about special holidays and rituals, perhaps the distribution of holy water by the truckload at the baptism of Christ boteaza or midnight masses at Christmas or Easter the Orthodox Easter may be off by one week compared to the Western Weddings are often saturdays, the ritual is very colorful and interesting
The national currency of Romania is the leu plural lei, which, literally translated, also means lion in Romanian The leu is divided into 100 bani singular ban On July 1st 2005, the new leu code RON replaced the old leu code ROL at a rate of 10000 old lei for one new leu As of the beginning of 2007, old ROL banknotes and coins are no longer legal tender but can still be exchanged at the National Bank and their affiliated offices
Coins are issued in 1 gold, 5 copper, 10 silver, and 50 gold bani denominations, but 1 ban coins are rare Banknotes come in denominations of 1 green, 5 purple, 10 red, 50 yellow, 100 blue, 200 brown, and 500 blue and purple lei denominations, are made of polymer plastic, and, except for the 200 lei, correspond to a euro banknote in size However, 200 and 500 lei banknotes are not common
Romania is relatively cheap by Western standards - one US dollar buys about 329 lei and one euro buys about 418 lei exchange rate 19-05-2010 With this, you can buy more in Romania than you can in Western Europe and North America, especially local products However, be advised that although you can expect food and transport to be inexpensive in Romania, buying import products such as a French perfume, an American pair of sport shoes or a Japanese computer is as expensive as in other parts of the EU Clothing, wool suits produced in Romanian, shirts, cotton socks, white and red wine bottles, chocolates, salami, a wide range of local cheese, inexpensive leather jackets or expensive and fancy fur coats are possible good buys for foreigners
When exchanging money, it is extremely advisable to use exchange bureaus or to use cash machines which will provide ready access to most foreign bank accounts Absolutely avoid black market transactions with strangers: in the best case scenario, you might come out ahead by a few percentage points, but that rarely happens Most apparent black marketeers are actually con men of one sort or another, who will either leave you with a bankroll that turns out to be full of worthless Polish zlotys or will simply engage you in conversation for a few minutes, awaiting the arrival of their partners who will pretend to be the police and try to con you into handing over your wallet and papers This con game is known as a maradonist Exchanging money in the street is also illegal and in the worst case scenario, you might spend a night in jail as well It is not recommended to exchange money in the airport either - they tend to overcharge on transactions and have very disadvantageous rates - you should use a card and the ATM machine for immediate needs taxi/bus and exchange money while in the city
You should shop around a bit for good exchange rates Some exchange offices in obvious places such as the airport may try to take advantage of the average tourist's lack of information when setting the exchange rate, and it is not advisable to use eg airport exchange offices, as the exchange rates may well be quite unrealistic Prior to leaving for Romania consult the Bank of Romania 28 for a rough estimate of what exchange rates you should expect Typical exchange offices should not list differences larger than 2-3% from the official exchange rate Also, when picking an exchange office, make sure it has a visible sign saying "COMMISSION 0%"; Romanian exchange offices typically don't charge an extra commission apart from the difference between the buy and sell rates, and they are also required by law to display a large visible sign stating their commission, so if you don't see such a sign or if they charge something extra, keep going Choosing a reasonable exchange office, which is not hard to do with the data in this paragraph, can save you as much as 10%, so this is worth observing Changing money at a bank's exchange office is also a good idea
Romanian transactions generally take place in cash Although some places will accept Euro or USD you will generally be charged an additional 20% paying by this method and it is not advisable, although this is changing The best method is to pay using local currency - lei RON Most Romanians have either a charge card or a credit card - however, they are generally used at ATM machines - on-line payments are still somewhat new, and many companies and people still look at them with suspicion - so much so, that even on-line shops will make you pay on delivery You can however pay by card in many shops and in most supermarkets Accepted credit/debit cards are: Mastercard, Visa , American Express in some places - although this is rapidly expanding because of a very aggressive campaign by American Express and Diners Club usually only in hotels, and even then expect stares and incredulity that such a card even exists Almost all transactions at POS machines supermarkets, shops etc will ask you to enter your PIN code as well
Most small towns have at least one or two ATMs and a bank office, with large cities having hundreds of ATMs and bank offices It is not uncommon to see three bank agencies one next to another in residential neighborhoods of Bucharest ATMs are also available in many villages at the post-office or the local bank-office Romanian for ATM is bancomat Credit cards are accepted in large cities, in most hotels, restaurants, hypermarkets, malls Do not expect to use a credit card at any railway station or at the subway the subway and RATB of Bucharest, for example, are cash-only because they consider that card transactions would slow down the queues at the ticket booths Gas stations and a great number of other stores accept Visa and Mastercard It is advisable to always have a small sum of money in cash about 50 RON or even more, even in large cities
Romanian businesses are not mandated to provide you with full change for every transaction, and frequently their tills are short of coins in particular Fortunately many prices are in round multiples of 1 RON, and they are almost always in multiples of 10 bani Even if a store can change, say a 100 RON note, they will ask you for smaller change first For very small amounts say 20 or 50 bani they will sometimes insist on you buying something of that worth instead of giving you change
Don't expect Romania to be a cheap travel destination! Inflation has struck Romania in many places, and some prices are as high or higher than those in Western Europe, but this is often reserved to luxuries, accommodation, technology, and, to an extent, restaurants However, food and transport remain relatively cheap but more expensive than in other countries in her region, as does general shopping, especially in markets and outside the capital, Bucharest Bucharest, as with every capital in the world, is more expensive than the national norm, particularly in the city centre In the past 2-3 years, Bucharest has become increasingly expensive, and it is expected to do so for some years
The best places to shop for food are farmers' markets Food sold here is brought fresh from the country, and, by buying it, you are both supporting local farmers and consuming something that it fresh and in the overwhelming majority of the cases natural and organic - in many cases, what you are buying today has been picked freshly yesterday from the countryside You also get the experience of buying food produced as part of an old and living tradition that has not yet been through the forgetting-and-rediscovery process behind much "traditional" and "natural" food in other industrialized countries Recently, the food in the markets is sold by intermediaries, who buy cheaply from farmers and sell products, tripling the price However, this is illegal, and, in many cases, farmers' markets now require that farmers show a specially designated certificate in order to rent a stall
However, some tourists can't resist Romania's hypermarket temptation, especially in Bucharest Hypermarkets are relatively popular and recent in Romania, but this ensures that nearly all of them are modern and sparkling clean, with brightly lit aisles, neat shelves and smooth-gliding carts, that you may find it hard to look away and head for the markets! Common hypermarkets are Carrefour 29, Cora 30, Kaufland 31 and Real 32 There are also cash & carry stores like Metro 33, Selgros 34, etc
However, shopping in supermarkets can be expensive, and not half as fun, as you don't have the chance to haggle Despite this, all Romanian supermarkets sell products of EU standards, and usually make for a very quiet, clean and white shopping experience that can best be likened to duty free shopping in airports
Remember, however, to not confuse supermarkets with neighbourhood grocery stores called 'alimentară' - nowadays, 'alimentară' also refers to small supermarkets The stores are dim, old Communist-era shops that can be cheaper These shops, which can best be compared to British cornershops, may be convenient if living in the suburbs or in smaller towns But, despite their seemingly poorer appearance, they sell good-quality food, and besides, most of them have been renovated anyway to the point that they are still not as aesthetically-pleasing as supermarkets but just as wide-ranging, modern and functional In 'alimentara', expect strange systems of payment or selection: you may not be able to take items off of the shelf yourself, or one person may tally up your total before another handles the cash, etc Many locals however actually prefer these establishments, since they offer a personal touch, with many salespeople remembering the preferences of each buyer, and catering specifically for their needs
Opening hours are extremely predictable and amazingly long Many shops will have a "non-stop" sign - meaning they are open 24 hours, 7 days a week Shops that are not open 24 hours are usually open 8 AM - 10/11 PM, with some keeping open in summer until 2 or 3 AM Supermarkets and Hypermarkets are open 8 AM - 10/11 PM as well, except during some days before Easter and Christmas, when they remain open through the night Pharmacies and specialized shops are usually open 9 AM - 8/9 PM, sometimes even later while farmers' markets usually open their doors at 7 AM and close at 5 or 6 PM
A traditional countryside shopping is the weekly fair târg, bâlci or obor Usually held on Sunday, everything that can be sold or bought is available - from live animals being traded amongst farmers they were the original reason why fairs were opened centuries ago to clothes, vegetables, and sometimes even second hand cars or tractors Such fairs are hectic, with haggling going on, with music and dancing events, amusement rides and fast food stalls offering sausages, "mititei" and charcoal-grilled steaks amongst the many buyers and sellers In certain regions, it is tradition to attend after some important religious event for example after St Mary's Day in Oltenia, making them huge community events bringing together thousands of people from nearby villages Such fairs are amazingly colorful - and for many a taste of how life was centuries ago One such countryside fair although definitely NOT in the countryside is the Obor fair in Bucharest - in an empty space right in the middle of the city, this fair has been going on daily for more than three centuries
Romanian food is distinct yet familiar to most people, being a mixture of Oriental, Austrian and French flavours, but it has some unique elements The local dishes are the delicious sarmale, mamaliga polenta, bulz traditional roasted polenta, filled with at least two kinds of cheeses, bacon and sour cream, friptura steak, salata boef finely chopped cooked veggies and meat salad, usually topped with mayo and decorated with tomatoes and parsley, zacuscaa yummy, rich salsa-like dip produced in the fall as well as tocana a kind of stew, tochitura an assortment of fried meats, and traditional sausages, in a special sauce, served with polenta and fried eggs, mici a kind of spicy sausage, but only the meat, without the casings, always cooked on a barbecue Other dishes include a burger bun with a slice of ham, a slice of cheese and a layer of French fries, ciorba de burta white sour tripe soup, ciorba taraneasca a red sour soup, akin to bors without the beet root and using instead fermented wheat bran, with lots of vegetables, Dobrogean or Bulgarian salads a mix of onions, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, white sauce and ham, onion salad - diced onion served in a dish, tomato salad - diced tomato with cheese, pig skin - boiled and sometimes in stew, and drob haggies - a casserole made from lamb or pork liver and kidneys Local eclectic dishes include cow tongue, sheep brain Easter, caviar, chicken and pork liver, pickled green tomatoes and pickled watermelon
Traditional desserts include pasca a chocolate or cheese pie produced only after Easter, saratele salty sticks, pandispan literally means spanish bread; a cake filled with sour cherries, and cozonac a special cake bread baked for Christmas or Easter Bread without butter comes with almost every meal and dill is quite common as a flavoring Garlic is omnipresent, both raw, and in special sauces mujdei is the traditional sauce, made of garlic, olive oil and spices, as are onions
Generally, there is good street food, including covrigi hot pretzels, langoşi hot dough filled with cheese, gogoşi donut-like dough, coated with fine sugar, mici spicy meat patties in the shape of sausages, and excellent pastries many with names such as merdenele, dobrogene, poale-n brau, ardelenesti, thin pancakes filled with anything from chocolate and jam to bananas and ice cream Very popular are kebab and shawarma şaorma, served in many small shops
Most restaurants in Romania, especially in more regional areas, only serve Romanian food, even though it is similar to Western European food Especially in Bucharest, there is a wide variety of international food, especially mediterranean, Chinese or French There are also fairly plentiful international fast food chains The interesting truth about these is that they are just nominally cheaper than restaurants, with the quality of the food being of an international standard but quite much lower than that served in restaurants Therefore, go for the restaurants when you can - they provide a much more authentic and quality experience at prices that aren't too much higher
Vegetarian and vegan travelers can easily find a tasty dish suitable for them if they ask for mancare de post food suitable for religious fasting Because Romanians are in their large majority Eastern Orthodox Christians, fasting involves removing of all the animal products from their meals meat, dairy products or eggs Even though Lent seasons only cover a small part of the year, you can find fasting food throughout the year However, note that most of the Romanians are unaccustomed with vegetarianism or veganism; still, you can find fasting food "mancare de post" all year round since most of the Romanians fast also outside Lent, on Wednesdays and Fridays, as part of their orthodox faith
Romania has a long tradition of making wine more than 2000 years of wine-making are recorded, in fact Romania is the 12th 2005 world producer of wine, the best wineries being Murfatlar, Cotnari, Dragasani, Bohotin, etc Its quality is very good and the price is reasonably cheap: expect to pay 10-30 RON for a bottle of Romanian wine about €3 - €85 Several people in touristic areas make their own wine and sell it directly Anywhere you want to buy it, it is sold only in bottles of about 75 cl Many of the monasteries produce and sell their own wine Most of the individuals wine makers, and monasteries will allow you to taste it first, but some may not
Like all the countries with a strong Latin background, Romania has a long and diffused tradition of brewing beer, but nowadays beer is very widespread even more so than wine and rather cheap compared to other countries Avoid beers in plastic PET containers, and go for beers in glass bottles or cans Most of the international brands are brewed in Romania under a license, so they taste quite different than in Western Europe Some beers made under licence are still good - Heineken, Pilsner Urquell, Peroni You can easily realize whether a beer has been brewed in Romania or abroad and then imported simply looking at the price: imported beers are much more expensive than the Romanian ones A Corona, for example, may be 12 RON while a Timisoreana, Ursus or Bergenbier of a full 1/2 litre size will be 2-4 RON Some of the common lagers you may find around are quite tasteless, but there are some good brewers Ursus produces two tasteful beers, its lager is quite good and its dark beer bere neagra, Ursus Black, is a strong fruity sweet beer, similar to a dark Czech beer Silva produces bitter beers, both its Silva original pils and its Silva dark leave a bitter aftertaste in your mouth Bergenbier and Timisoreana are quite good All the other lager beers you may find, such as Gambrinus, Bucegi or Postavaru are tasteless in some consumer's opinionCiuc is a very decent and affordable pilsner , now owned by Heineken Expect to pay around 2-3 RON €06-€08 for a bottle of beer in the supermarket and sightly more in a pub
The strongest alcohol is palinca, with roughly 60 percent pure alcohol and is traditional to Transylvania, the next is ţuica a type of brandy made from plums - the more quality, traditional version - but also apricots, wine-making leftovers, or basically anything else - an urban legend even claims you can brew a certain kind of winter jackets pufoaică to ţuică, but this is sooner a proof of Romanian humour Strength of tuica is approximately 40-50 percent The best ţuică is made from plums, and is traditional to the Pitesti area Strong alcohol is quite cheap, with a bottle of vodka starting off between 10 RON and 50 RON A Transylvanian speciality is the 75 percent blueberry and sweet cherry palinca palincă întoarsă de cireşe negre better known as vişinată - but is usually kept by locals for celebrations, and may be hard to find
Finding an accommodation in Romania is very easy, for any price In all the touristic places, as soon as you get to the train station several people will come to you asking whether you need an accommodation, or you can book it in advance Those people welcoming you at the station often speak English, French and Italian Moreover, while walking on the street, you will often find cazare on the houses, that means they will rent you a room in their own house You'd better book an accommodation in the big cities Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Brasov and Iasi, since it'll be quite hard to wander around looking for a place to sleep, but anywhere else you won't find any problem at all
Rural tourism is relatively well developed in Romania There is a national association of rural guesthouses owners, ANTREC 35 who offer accommodations in over 900 localities throughout the country
For European people coming from an EU country, working in Reunion is allowed without a visa or work permit If you're from outside the EU, you will probably need a work permit Check with the French Embassy in your country Do not forget, though, that the unemployment rate is high If you work in the health sector doctor, nurse, it will be much easier
Voluntary service: Volontariat Civil à l'Aide Technique VCAT Conditions: you must be French or from another EU-member state or a country belonging to the European Economic Area You must be over 18 and under 28 years old inclusive You must not have had your civic rights revoked by a court or have been convicted of certain offences VCAT 10
| Meal in inexpensive restaurant | 19.91 RON |
| 3-course meal in restaurant (for 2) | 84.6 RON |
| McDonalds meal | 17.1 RON |
| Local beer (0.5 draft) | 5.52 RON |
| Foreign beer (0.33 bottle) | 6.79 RON |
| Cappuccino | 6.29 RON |
| Pepsi/Coke (0.33 bottle) | 4.62 RON |
| Water (0.33 bottle) | 2.86 RON |
| Milk (1l) | 3.93 RON |
| Fresh bread (500g) | 2.32 RON |
| White Rice (1kg) | 4.44 RON |
| Eggs (12) | 6.39 RON |
| Local Cheese (1kg) | 22.17 RON |
| Chicken Breast (1kg) | 20.75 RON |
| Apples (1kg) | 3.8 RON |
| Oranges (1kg) | 4.81 RON |
| Tomato (1kg) | 4.38 RON |
| Potato (1kg) | 2.23 RON |
| Lettuce (1 head) | 2.42 RON |
| Water (1.5l) | 2.57 RON |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 16.62 RON |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 bottle) | 3.24 RON |
| Foreign beer (0.33 bottle) | 4.34 RON |
| Cigarettes | 13.49 RON |
| One way local bus ticket | 1.98 RON |
| Monthly pass for bus | 60.72 RON |
| Taxi start | 1.75 RON |
| Taxi 1km | 1.98 RON |
| Taxi 1hour waiting | 14.77 RON |
| Gasoline (1 liter) | 6.05 RON |
| Utilities for a "normal" apartment | 375.62 RON |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) | 34.49 RON |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 959.24 RON |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 722.24 RON |
