20 years in Romania...

Advantages: Beautiful places, friendly people, and many others...
Disadvantages: You can not see all of it in 1 week...

...ROMANIA First I have to confess, maybe I repeat my self, but Romania is my birth country, despite the fact that now I'm living in Cyprus because here my hubby wants to live. All I want to do here today is to write some tips of what is Romania, where is this country, what kind of people they are making this country and not last what really deserves to be visited during a holiday. Yes, maybe you'll tell me you've already learned which places worth a visit, but I can bet you on anything You Don't Know (I don't want to be rude, but this is the truth, it's a very big country with hidden treasures, that nobody bothered to show them more in details or the persons they were in a visit in Romania they didn't knew where to go) And because is a review of a country, but in the same time my...

cam3lot 15.10.2006 (18.10.2006) · Read review
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Review of General: Romania

Romania: Europe's Hidden Gem

Advantages: Amazing countryside, Friendly People and still amazingly cheap
Disadvantages: It get's cold at winter, Joining the EU in 2007

...Although for most Romania probably appears to be an impenetrable and somewhat undesirable destination for a holiday, I couldn't disagree more vehemently. Although prior to my travels to the far reaches of Eastern Europe, I too was a little sceptical about what I might discover. My only real knowledge of the country (barring football) was the images of the orphans in the early 90's and of the overthrowing of a rather tyrannical communist regime in 1989. Whilst the country has moved on into the democratic system, it is fair to say that the legacy of Ceaucescu still lingers in the air. Unlike it's western European neighbours Romania is trudging into the 21st century. With a mix of Bucharest's ugly concrete communist tower blocks and the maintenance of peasant traditions in the countryside, Romania is unlike most other countries...

stephen_logan 08.11.2005 · Read review
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Review of General: Romania

The Heart of Romania

Advantages: Great location, Friendly people, Cheap on the pocket
Disadvantages: Gypsies and beggers

...Transylvania (though in Romania spelt Transilvania) starts from the heart of Romania upto the borders of Hungary and Yugoslavia. Being the new part of Romania, transylvania once was apart of the Austrian Hungarian empire until after world war one. The Carpathian mountains seperating old Romania from the new highlight a beautiful site with clean air and fresh running water, with eye catching views in the summer months with clear blue sky's. Transylvania has a number of large cities namely 'Brasov, Sibiu, Cluj and Timisoara'. The only major airport in Transylvania being at Timisoara is near more to the Hungarian border than the centre of Romania. I have been to Transylvania a great number of times and alway returned to the same place as my base, this place being the city of Brasov. Brasov being actually the heart of Romania is...

Britishninja 18.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of Transylvania (Romania)

My time in Romania

Advantages: Culture, People, Scenery, Cities, Difference to the UK
Disadvantages: Food - if you don't like difference, Travel - 5.5 hours by road from Bucharest to Sibiu!

...Food - if you don't like difference, Travel - 5.5 hours by road! I went to Romania between the 25th of October and the 2 of November 2006, after been invited on a school exchange there. I am writing to portray my experience of Romania (Sibiu to be more specific) First of all of the places mentioned in this review are in the vicinity of Sibiu which is in the centre of Romania (Apart from Bucharest which is around 300km to the south of Sibiu but still in Romania) now we need an introduction to Romania, Transylvania and Sibiu; here we go? Romania: In my opinion Romania has got majestic castles, medieval towns, great hiking and wildlife, and of course cheap skiing. If you go to Romania you will be floored at how different the country is from the UK and other more western countries, the culture, food, scenery, money and language...

harperdude 12.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of General: Romania

Bucharest - don't overlook it!

Advantages: Lots to see and do, loads of cultural and historical stuff, fairly cheap
Disadvantages: Traffic, lots of concrete

...of the older buildings in the centre of Bucharest were bulldozed in order to make room for the huge monstrosity that was the bricks and mortar symbol of Ceausescu's regime, ironically named "the palace of the People". Finally, the overthrowing of the Communist regime in Romania was much less peaceful than the events in other countries and it was played out on our television screens. Anyone old enough will surely remember the images of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu being executed and there are reminders of those bloody events all over the city. It would be a shame, though, to let these things persuade you that Bucharest is not worth visiting. The city may not have an obvious touristic centre but there is still plenty to see and a real effort has been made to show Romania's cultural and historic heritage in other ways. The vast concrete square...

fizzytom 10.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Bucharest (Romania)

my 2 weeks in Romania

Advantages: Experiencing a culture so different to ours. Meeting v. friendly people
Disadvantages: Be careful of the gypsies!

...Two friends and I, who are all starting our Medical course at university this year, decided that instead of taking a gap year, we would spend 2 weeks in Romania teaching English. Our courses lasted 5 or 6 years and we were reluctant to take a further year out. We looked in the Careers Library at school and one of the first pieces of paper which we looked at was by the British-Romanian Connections, advertising this teaching opportunity. None of us had attempted anything like this before, so this is why I am writing the article as hopefully, it will help others to decide what sort of resources to take for both teaching and everyday use, and also, safety precautions to adhere to. On 23rd July 2001, we arrived at Bucharest at 1pm (their time), the outside temperature was a sweltering 28°C and we were thankful that we had brought our...

kavita 02.09.2001 · Read review
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Review of General: Romania

Yet more proof Jeremy Clarkson is an ignorant b*****d!

Advantages: Beautiful scenery, friendly people, very cheap
Disadvantages: Too many misconceptions from people who haven't been!

...I must confess that my inspiration to write this piece was watching Jeremy Clarkson's ignorant ramblings on this week's Top Gear episode filmed in Romania, less than a week after I myself returned from living and working in the country. This isn't going to be a run-down on what there is to do in Romania, there are countless travel sites for that. Nor am I going to solely trash Clarkson's somewhat skewed views, I can save that for a thougthfully-worded letter to Top Gear. Instead I am going to share with you some insights from someone who has lived in this fascinating country and seen it for what it truly is. My first hours in Romania were a total culture shock. From arriving at the newly-refurbished Otopeni airport I was transferred to my new home in a tiny Transylvanian village, along the way travelling through the suburbs...

bamamo 16.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of General: Romania

My Must See Places

Advantages: Very different, low prices, many places of interest
Disadvantages: Confusing Money

...The city of Bucharest maybe behind the times compared to the west but this is what makes Bucharest magical. In Romanian, the word "bucurie" means "joy" and the city has had this name since 1459 after Prince Vlad Tepes changed it from its original name Citadel of Dambovita. Bucharest was officially named the capital of Romania in 1872 gradually becoming the economic and industrial centre. Bucharest greets its visitors with many beautiful areas both modern and historical, from churches decorated with yellow stone angels to peaceful lakes surrounded by parkland. I have comprised a list of my favorite places to visit to help you plan your perfect day out in the city:- The Palace of Parliament (Palatul Parlamentului) is a gigantic building in the middle of the city, probably the most famous in Romania. It was built buy the former...

damo1980 28.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Bucharest (Romania)

The Carpathian's Cultural Centre

Advantages: Lots of history, proximity of the mountains, caters to tourists well
Disadvantages: Getting more expensive, quite hilly

...Picturesque Brasov is Romania's second city and sits nestled in a valley where the southern and eastern Carpathians meet although as the city prospers the town is gradually creeping higher up the hillsides. Although Brasov gets a lot of visitors because of the nearby skiing resort of Poina Brasov and because of its proximity to Bran Castle with its associations with Vlad Dracul, it is a really charming and attractive city in its own right with plenty to see and do, lots of great places to eat and some really lovely accommodation. Like many towns in this part of the world the main bus station is situated on the outskirts and you need to take a taxi or shuttle bus into town. As we had a vague idea of the area where we wanted to find accommodation we splashed out and took a cab; we knew that if we weren't lucky with the first place we...

fizzytom 09.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Brasov, Romania

Angels with dirty faces

Advantages: Some interesting sights, useful for visiting painted churches, tochitura
Disadvantages: Lots of begging, maybe you don't like stark Eastern European cities (why not???)

...I'll be the first to admit that we didn't make the best use of the short time we spent in Suceava. It's a useful base to explore the celebrated 'painted churches' of this part of Romania (Moldavia - not to be confused with Moldova, which is a country to the east of Romania); we, however, chose to view a very poor exhibition of waxworks at the old fortress and watch Roma teenagers in thrilling horse and cart races - alas I was throwing myself into a hedge to save my life so didn't manage to capture the latter on camera. Suceava - pronounced 'Soo-sharva' is situated in north east Romania, about 25 minutes south of the border with Ukraine. There are one or two older buildings but it's pretty clear that the city was extensively developed in the 1960s and 70s with Soviet-style squares and concrete megalith hotels. We visited in summer...

fizzytom 25.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Suceava, Romania