Sample travel article: Romania
Romania –The Paradise between the Carpathians and the Black Sea
Written by: Cristina Dima
Date: Feb 20, 2006
“Considered by many the most beautiful country in Eastern-Europe,
Romania still claims regions that seem bastions of a
medieval past long since lost elsewhere.”
(Fodor’s Eastern and Central Europe)
Romania (formerly spelled Rumania or Roumania; Romanian: România) is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Ukraine and Moldova in the northeast; Hungary in the west; Serbia and Bulgaria to the south along the Danube River. Romania has a stretch of sea coast on the Black Sea and the eastern and southern Carpathians Mountains run through its center.
Facts and Numbers:
• Official name: Romania (România)
• Capital: Bucharest (Bucureşti)
• Official language: Romanian
• Surface: 237.500 square km
• Inhabitants: 22.77 million (96 inhabitants/square km)
• Religion:
o Orthodox: 87%
o Catholics: 5%
o Other: 8%
• Currency: new leu
• Government: republic
• National day: 1st of December
Getting here:
By air
Regular and charter flights of Romanian air carriers (notably Tarom the national airline) or of the foreign airlines with offices in Bucharest (Delta, Air France, Lufthansa, Alitalia, Swissair…) connect Bucharest and the world’s major airports. Romania’s international airports are Bucharest-Otopeni, Constanta-Mihail Kogalniceanu , Timisoara and Arad.
Otopeni International Airport at Bucharest is 16 kms from the city centre. Transfers can be made by airport coach or by taxi. In the latter case it is wise to agree the price with the driver before beginning the journey. Check with your travel agent as tour operators can often supply transfers at very competitive rates.
By rail
International express trains connect the main central European capitals with Bucharest, the Black Sea coast and main cities. Romania is a member of the International Railway Tariff Systems RIT and Inter Rail.
By sea and river
Cruise ships call at the Port of Constanta (on the Black Sea coast), the country’s biggest port. Passenger boats also operate on the Danube and the new European riverway Rotterdam-Constanta, including the Romanian Danube Canal-Black Sea.
Romania applies the international regulations of the Convention for the Customs Facilities for Tourist Traffic.
When to come
Romania is truly a country for all seasons. A country for lazing in the sun and taking it easy, touring for cultural enrichment, winter sports, hiking, boating and activities of all kinds.
When to come thus depends on what you want to do! Beach holidays on the Black Sea are at their best between June and September, and at the other end of the scale winter sports in the Transylvanian Alps are best practiced from Christmas until March. Spring and autumn are perfect for touring vacations through out the country, while Bucharest is at her best right through from spring to autumn, although not lacking charm in winter too. This is the time to take in the opera season, attend concerts, and partake of hearty Romanian cuisine in warm and welcoming restaurants.
Romania offers a rich tapestry of tourist attractions and vacation experiences unique in Central-Eastern Europe: medieval towns in Transylvania, the world-famous Painted Monasteries in Bucovina, traditional villages in Maramures, the magnificent architecture of Bucharest, the romantic Danube Delta, fairy-tale castles and the Black Sea resorts, the majestic Carpathian Mountains, spas and much more.
The Medieval Festival in Sighişoara just ended, it takes place every year at the end of July. Travelers from every corner of the world come to enjoy the city and the traditions. Originally a Roman town, Sighisoara is one of the greatest medieval cities left in the world. The city has a walled citadel on the hilltop with secret gateways and passages, a 14th century Clock Tower and the house where Prince Vlad Tepes lived. The doors of the house are intricately carved. Colorful traditional costumes are worn on Sundays and for weddings and festivals because they have special meaning. As for festivals, you will find them in full swing beginning with Easter. The Saxon town background is unrivaled as a setting for fully costumed re-enactors. The Medieval Festival project is based upon certain principles essential for organizing such an event, bearing national and international impact, in accordance with the patrimonial value and uniqueness of Sighisoara burg.
Because the historic centre of Sighişoara has preserved in an exemplary way the features of a small medieval fortified town, it has been listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a World Heritage Site.
Along with the great medieval towns, Romania also is proud of the mountains, especially of Prahova Valley (Romanian: Valea Prahovei), a string of resorts that bring magic in ones life. It is a touristic region, situated about 100 km north of the capital city of Bucharest.
The region is a popular destination for mountaineers and for winter sports fans. The most important resorts are:
• Predeal, an important mountain resort, Predeal is located of the Prahova Valley
• Azuga: Azuga is located at the foot of the Bucegi Mountains, and contains the longest ski run in Romania, the Sorica. The town also has a famous beer factory that brews Azuga Beer.
• Buşteni: is a small mountain town in the north of the county Prahova, in the center of Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, at the bottom of the Bucegi Mountains, that have a maximum altitude of 2500 m. Busteni’s average altitude is 900 m. It is one of the most popular mountain resorts, offering spectacular views, with lots of year-round tourism opportunities, ranging from skiing to mountain climbing.The town and the surrounding mountains have been a place of military confrontations in 1916, during the First World War. A large commemorative monument (about 25 m high), Heroes’ Cross ( Crucea Eroilor) lies atop Caraiman Mountain, at nearly 2100 m. The average population is 15,000 inhabitants, although numbers vary greatly because of tourism. The main local industries are wood industry and tourism. Many holiday houses have been recently built in the town by Romanian politicians and celebrities
• Sinaia:(population: 14,636), one of the most beautiful mountain resorts of Romania, presents itself to the visitor with a past rich in cultural and social events. Former Royal Summer Residence and bearing a holy name – the name of Mount Sinai – a name that was given for the first time to the homonymous monastery by Prince Mihail Cantacuzino (XVII Century) - Sinaia combines in a unique way the beauty of nature with the beauty of the architectural art. Here it is found the Peleş castle, the summer residence of king Carol I of Romania.The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery around which the town was built. The monastery is in turn named after biblical Mount Sinai.Sinaia is about 60 km North-West of Ploieşti and 50 km South of Brasov, in a mountainous area on the Prahova river valley, the altitude of the city varies between 767 m and 860 m.Among the touristic landmark, most important are the Peleş Castle, the Pelişor, the Sinaia Monastery, Sinaia Casino, Sinaia train station, Franz Joseph and Saint Anne Cliffs.
Romania is also proud to have The Danuble Delta –the best preserved delta in Europe.
Every year, the alluvium deposited by the Danube increases the width of the Delta by around 40 meters, making it extremely dynamic. Near Tulcea, the Danube is divided in three river branches before it flows into the Sea: Chilia, Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe (Saint George), but many other channels make split the Delta into areas with reed, marshes and forests, some of which are flooded during the spring and autumn.
The Danube Delta has been entered onto the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and Biosphere reserves. Around 2,733 km² of it are strictly protected areas. This is the place where millions of birds from different places of Earth (European, Asian, African, Mediteraneean) come to lay their eggs.
The soft sandy beaches along Romania’s tideless Black Sea coast are the country’s main tourist spots with the prospect of warm water, plentiful sunshine and an extremely low cost of living attracting more and more foreign visitors.
The high season runs from mid-May to late September and there are currently nine main resorts lining the coast.
Most are well developed and lively but we feel the one that provides the best option for both couples and families is Mamaia, just north of Romania’s largest port, Constanta. An 8 km strip of beach between Lake Siutghioln and the Black Sea, the main activities here are swimming, sunbathing, drinking and strolling along the beachfront boardwalk.
Gastronomy
Although international cuisine is available in restaurants, make sure that you savour the local Romanian dishes. Romanian cooking is rich, tasty and substantial, as befits a country where all food is still naturally grown, where fruits and vegetables follow their normal seasons, and where the winters are cold.
Pork is a special favorite, but you will find good beef, veal, and chicken too. They are all delicious simply grilled. Typically Romanian specialties include a range of soups - try “ciorbă”, a sour soup made from fermented bran, bacon, potatoes and beef or chicken. Hearty stews such as “Tochitura Moldoveneasca” are accompanied like many Romanian meat dishes by “mămăligă”, a maize polenta. “Sarmale” is a spicy dish of bitter cabbage leaves stuffed with meat, and “mititei” is small grilled sausages perfumed with aromatic herbs. Among fish dishes sample carp on the spit, a local specialty in the Danube Delta.
A range of excellent white and red Romanian wines of the famous vineyards of Murfatlar, Cotnari, Jidvei, Dealul Mare, Odobeşti Valea Călugărească, accompany local and international dishes to perfection, while ţuica, the local plum brandy is often drunk as an aperitif. But be ware, it carries a sting in its tail! The local Romanian beers are excellent.
“No journey to Eastern Europe would be complete without paying a visit to Romania…”
(The Rough Guide)
Reference:
1. Statele lumii de la A la Z, 1998, Editura Tess-M, Timişoara
2. www.romaniatourism.ro
3. Information center in Arad, Romania
