Travel in
Romania is an
rewarding as it is challenging. The
country's mountain scenery and great
diversity of wildlife, its cultures
and people, and a way of life that
at times seems out of the last
century, leave few who visit
unaffected. However, although not as
impoverished as Albania and most of
the countries of the former Soviet
Union, it is still one of the
hardest countries of Eastern and
Central Europe to travel in. The
regime of Nicolae Caeusescu drove
the country to the brink of
bankruptcy, and Ion Iliescu's
efforts to provide tangible fruit of
1989's revolution further disrupted
the economy; as a consequence Email
Constantinescu's government had to
embark on a savage austerity
programme which has led to big cuts
in real earnings. Coming here on a
package deal - to the Black Sea or
Poiana Brasov, or on a "Dracula
Tour" - will effectively shield
you from such realities. Travelling
independently will have its
frustrating moments, balancing
inclinations and plans against
practicalities. However, it would be
a shame to let such factors deter
you from at least a brief
independent foray. Much of Romania's
charm lies in the remoter,
less-visited regions, and it's the
experience of getting there that
really gives you an insight into the
country. Rather than expecting an
easy ride, try to accept whatever
happens as an adventure - encounters
with Gypsies, wild bears, oafish
officials and assorted odd
characters are likely to be far more
interesting than anything purveyed
by the tourist board.
Romanians (the country's
largest ethnic group) trace their
ancestry back to the Romans, and
have a noticeable Latin character.
They are generally warm,
spontaneous, anarchic, and
appreciative of style and life's
pleasures - sadly, in contrast to
the austerity with which they're
saddled. In addition to ethnic
Romanians, one and a half million
Magyars pursue a traditional
lifestyle long since vanished in
Hungary, while dwindling churches
their ancestors built in the Middle
Ages to guard the mountain passes.
Along the coast, in the Delta and in
the Banat there's a rich mixture of
Russians, Ukrainians, Serbs,
Slovaks, Bulgars, Gypsies, Turks and
Tatars.
Bucharest has lost much of
its charm - its wide
nineteenth-century Parisian-style
boulevards are choked with traffic,
once-grand fin-de-siécle
buildings are crumbling and the
suburbs are dominated by grim
apartment blocks - but it remains
the centre of the country's
commercial and cultural life. Many
of Romania's other cities are
blighted by industry and best
avoided, but Brasov, Sibiu, Cluj,
Oradea and other historic towns
still show glimpses of past glories.
To the north and west of the
country, Transylvania and Banat are
the provinces that are most western
in feel and allow the easiest
travelling, with private hotels,
buses and taxis, and information
more readily available. Coming from
the capital, Brasov is the gateway
to Transylvania; just twelve
kilometres from the ski resort of
Poiana Brasov, its medieval old town
is a good introduction to the Saxon
architecture of the region, which
reaches its peak in the fortified
town of Sibiu and the jagged skyline
of Sighisoara. Further north and
west, the great Magyar cities of
Targu Mures, Cluj and Oradea have
retained a wealth of medieval
churches and streets, as well as
impressive Baroque and Secession
edifices. All these cities are
served by international trains from
Budapest, and any could be your
first taste of Romania if you're
arriving overland.
The best of Romania, though, is
its countryside, and in particular
the mountain scenery. The wild Carpathians
, forming the frontier between the
province of Transylvania and, to the
east and south, Moldavia and
Wallachia, shelter bears, stags,
chamois and eagles; while the Bucegi,
Fagaras, and Retezat ranges and the
Padis plateau offer some of the most
undisturbed and spectacular hiking
opportunities in Europe. In contrast
to the crowded Black Sea beaches
along Romania's east coast, the
waterlogged Danube Delta is a
place set apart from the rest of the
country where life has hardly
changed for centuries and where
boats are they only way to reach
many settlements. During spring and
autumn, especially, hundreds of
species of birds from all over the
Old World migrate through this
region or come to breed.
Few countries can offer such a
wealth of distinctive folk music,
festivals and customs, all still
going strong in remoter areas like
Marmaures and the largely Hungarian
Csango and Szekelyfold regions.
Almost any exploration of the
villages of rural Romania will be
rewarding, with sights as diverse as
the log houses in Oltenia, Delta
villages built of reeds, watermills
built entirely of wood in Marmures,
and above all the country's
abundance of churches, which reflect
a history of competing communities
and faiths. In medieval Transylvania
four religious (Roman Catholic,
Reformat, Lutheran and Unitarian)
and three "nations"
(Saxon, Hungarian and Székely) were
recognized, a situation stigmatized
as the "Seven Deadly Sins of
Transylvania" as the Romanian
majority and their Orthodox were
excluded. In Moldavia and Wallachia
Orthodoxy had a monopoly, but the
clergy were as likely to be Greek as
Romanian, and as late as the
nineteenth century held services in
incomprehensible Slavonic rather
than the native tongue. This
religious mix, together with the
frequency of invasions, accounts for
Romania's extraordinary diversity of
religious architecture . In
Moldavia and Wallachia masons and
architects absorbed the Byzantine
style and then ran riot with
ornamental stone facades, most
notably at the monastery of Curtea
de Arges and Iasi's Three Hierarchs
church, and in Oltenia, where the
"Brancovenau style"
flourished, with its porticoes and
stone carving derived from native
woodwork motifs. The frescoes so
characteristic of medieval Orthodox
churches reached their ultimate
sophistication on the exterior walls
of the Painted Monasteries of
Bucovina, in northern Moldavia,
which are recognized as some of
Europe's greatest artistic
treasures. Fine frescoes are also
found inside the wooden churches of
Maramures, with their sky-scraping
Gothic steeples.
