It's not just the old castles and Saxon fortified villages, it's a
way of life which still lives in the verdant valleys and wide plains of
the Romanian heartland.
With meaningful reforms completed for social justice and other
European Union reforms, Romania's debut as the EU's newest country in
2007 brought Romania back to it's destiny in modern Europe.
Being "cheap" is entirely unintended by the average Romanian on
around $300 a month salary. But, you'll enjoy the great prices
nonetheless, from the fresh and fabulous food at the local market
square, to great lodging, fun tours and quality clothing at rock-bottom
prices!
Let's be honest. The Americans wouldn't put five bases in
Romania if it wasn't pretty secure. With a murder rate in the
Bucharest one tenth that of Houston, and with guns and drugs equally
sparse, Romania is indeed safe!
The food seems a little Italian and a little Turkish and a little bit
Slavic too. Not surprising perhaps as this cross-roads of cuisine
has kept the best of these influences through time!
86% Romanian Orthodox and proud of it! This "original"
Christian church features the Eastern rites and more icons, gold, and
beautiful old painted panels than you can take a picture at!
The ski slopes of Romania beckon Europeans annually with fabulous
rates and some super slopes. Let the Carpathian Alps be your
winter wonderland and fall in love with the best of Romania's peak ski
season!
Miles of white beaches, gentle surf and a smooth sandy bottom make
Romania's sea coast a favourite with the discerning beachlover.
Sleepy seaside villages with great little restaurants, and endless days
in the sun await!
Home is where the heart is, and the way to a man's heart is through
his stomach!
Romanians eat a shocking quantity of sunflower seeds, perhaps not
surprising with the vast expanses of yellow sunflowers across the
Wallachian plains in Oltenia, Muntenia and Moldova, a shimmering swatch
clearly visible from space on a sunny summer's day (at about 5km up).
Remember when you were little, and you drew mountains like triangles
all in a row?
Well, those mountains really exist! They're called the
Carpathian Mountains and run through the middle of the Country, with 10
peaks over 8000 feet and 7 over 2500m!
Below: The stunning Southern Carpathians near ibiu
Almost as surprising as
having New York on top is finding Romania at the bottom of the
politeness stakes.
New York
USA
80%
Toronto
Canada
70
Berlin
Germany
68
Zagreb
Croatia
68
Auckland
New Zealand
67
Mexico City
Mexico
65
Stockholm
Sweden
63
Budapest
Hungary
60
Madrid
Spain
60
Prague
Czech Republic
60
Vienna
Austria
60
London
United Kingdom
57
Paris
France
57
Amsterdam
Netherlands
52
Helsinki
Finland
48
Milan
Italy
47
Sydney
Australia
47
Moscow
Russia
42
Bucharest
Romania
35
Mumbai
India
32
In a survey of general politeness, using several standardised test on
city streets, the harried citizens of Bucharest failed miserably.
The recent Reader's Digest test of politeness using several basic
activities to elicit responses ranked Bucharest at 35%, versus a whopping 80%
for New York, perhaps a counterintuitive result!
In a 2006 European survey, it was shown that only 6.8% of Romanians see
themselves as being particularly polite, although the opinion of the rest of
Europe showed Europeans generally to be neutral on the reputation of Romanians
as a polite people.
Romanians themselves have an intense navel-gazing interest in how they
perceive themselves, talking more about their own behaviour in public than most
Europeans, perhaps with good cause. It is only in the last two decades
that Romanians have had a truly unclouded lens on the rest of Europe and the
world with which to compare themselves.
The climate is temperate continental, with slight ocean influences in
the West, Mediterranean in the South-West, and excessively-continental
in the North-East.
The annual average temperature varies between 8°C in
the North and 11°C in the South. Average annual rainfall
does not exceed 700 mm.
For a European nation, Romania's weather on the wide Wallachian
plains is actually fairly tame, and some moderation is felt from the
Black Sea coast. Still, you can find a frozen lake or two in
the middle of summer in the high Carpathian mountains, so a temperate
paradise it is not!
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