Romania Country

Introduction
Dracula romanticism and a country on fast-forward. Romania has the majestic castles, medieval towns, great hiking and wildlife, and cheap skiing of much of the 'undiscovered' former Eastern Bloc. You'll be floored at how different it is, but you'll almost certainly see signs that it's chasing the dreams of the rest of the West.

Horse-drawn carts jostle for space against fast cars whose drivers are talking money on mobile phones; farm workers watch The Apprentice on satellite in their medieval farmhouses. No longer the weird kid of Europe it was under Ceausescu's despotic tutelage, Romania is now making new friends and passed the entrance exams for NATO and the European Union with flying colours.

Geography:
Oval-shaped Romania is the third-largest Eastern European country, behind Russia and the Ukraine. It lies on the Black Sea and, moving clockwise from the south, shares borders with Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary, Ukraine and Moldova. The forested Carpathian Mountains account for one third of the country's area; another third is covered by hills and tablelands full of orchards and vineyards; and the final third comprises a fertile plain where cereals, vegetables and herbs are grown.

Destination Facts
Capital: Bucharest
President: Traian Basescu
Prime Minister: Emil Boc
Government: republic
Time zone: GMT +2
Area: 237500
Population: 22270000
People: Romanians (90%), Hungarians (7%), Roma (2%), Germans, Ukrainians
Languages: Much closer to classical Latin than the other Romance languages. Spoken by the Hungarian minority in parts of Transylvania. Eastern (Romanian) Orthodox (87%), Protestant (6.8%), Roman Catholic (5.6%), other
Currency: New Leu (L)
Major industries: Agriculture, manufacturing
Major Trading Partners: EU (esp.Germany, Italy, France), USA, Turkey
Daylight Saving: From end of March to end of October
Country Dialing Code: 40

Getting there and away
Romania is easily accessible, served by buses, trains and planes galore. There are plenty of scheduled flights to Romania from a dozen or so Western countries, and, with a single plane change, from a great many more. Most flights arrive at Bucharest's Otopeni international airport. There are also flights to Timisoara, Constanta Arad, Satu Mare, Târgu Mures and Sibiu. With an unbeatable train service linking Romania to western Europe and Russia, there is little reason to travel to/from Romania by bus. Romania's public bus system is virtually nonexistent, while fares offered by the numerous private bus companies operating buses to the West rarely compete with the inexpensive comfort offered by trains.

The exception to this rule is Istanbul. The bus (12 to 14 hours) is substantially cheaper and faster than the train (17-1/2 hours) - and they've banned smoking on it, which is just as well since most Romanians and Turks smoke like the proverbial chimney. There are plenty of trains from western Europe, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Moldova, Ukraine and beyond. There's no departure tax when leaving Romania, but there's a decent chance that you'll have to show your exit card - that's the wee piece of paper they may have placed in your passport when you entered the country and which you've probably lost by this stage.

Getting around
Romania's national airline Tarom flies at least four times weekly between Bucharest and the other major cities. Carpatair flies from Timisoara to nine Romanian cities. Buses are dead cheap and dead slow. They are also infrequent; only one or two buses a day service most routes. They're generally used only for outlying villages and more rural areas. Rail has long been the most popular way of travelling around Romania. They provide a frequent service to most cities, towns and larger villages within the country. There are five different types of train: personal are so slow that they generally travel with the doors open so passengers can leap on or off when the train is in motion; accelerat are faster, more expensive and less crowded; rapid and expres trains travel reasonably quickly and serve international as well as domestic routes; and Inter-City trains are no faster than the others (apart from personal trains) but are twice as expensive and twice as comfortable. Seat reservations are obligatory for all trains (except personal) and this is included in the fare.

Most Romanian roads are best suited to 4WD. They are in poor, potholed condition. Other hazards include horse-drawn carts piled high with hay, cows, pigs, drunkards and playing children! Similarly, if you want to cycle, the potholed roads makes the going tough for anything less than a robust touring or mountain bike. Boat is the only way of getting around much of the Danube Delta. Most towns within Romania have local buses, trams and trolleybuses, and Bucharest has a metro underground system. Taxis are available in all cities and towns, but can be more expensive for foreigners.

Weather
Romanian winters can be extremely cold and foggy, with lots of snow from December to April, with an average temperature just under 0° C (32° F). In summer there's usually hot, sunny weather on the Black Sea coast and east of the Carpathians, with days around 30° C (86° F) not uncommon. The majority of Romania's rain falls in the spring, with the mountains getting the most, the Danube Delta the least. In general, Romania's climate is transitional between temperate regions (the southeast can feel positively Mediterranean) and the more extreme weather characteristics of the continental interior. The average annual rainfall is 660mm, yet in the mountains that figure is usually over twice that amount, while in the Danube Delta it's often half that.