Romania – The Land
Romania is situated in the South Eastern part of Central Europe having borders with Ukraine to the east and to the north, the Republic of Moldova to the east, the Black Sea to the southeast, Hungary to the northwest, Serbia to the southwest. To the South , Romania shares borders with Bulgaria which consists mostly of the Danube river that ends its long journey through Europe at the Black Sea , after forming one the largest and beautiful wetlands in the world – the Danube Delta.
Romania’s territory has beautiful mountains, hills, fertile plains and many rivers and lakes. The central part of Romania is traversed by the Carpathian Mountains. Having the shape of an arc, they are divided into 3 major ranges: The Oriental Carpathians, the Southern Carpathians (known as the Transylvanian Alps) and the Western Carpathians. Each of these ranges has different types of terrain: glacial, volcanic, structural, karstic. The Eastern range begins with the Rodnei Massif south of the Ukrainian border and goes down to the Vrancea Mountains east of Brasov and from this point they take a sudden turn to the west forming the Southern Carpathians with a series of massifs. The highest point is in the Fagaras Mountains where the Moldoveanu summit reaches 8,349 feet (2544 meters). The Apuseni Mountains (the Western Carpathians) reach heights mostly below 1000 m (3280,32 feet) and are primarily limestone. This is the most extensive Romania’s karst scenery with deep water-eroded gorges, sinkholes and many caves. Inside the Carpathian curves, there is an area of rolling hills, forests and farmland, the buildings in this region having a strong sense of the medieval era. In the west, there are large plateaus where pastoral villages and towns lie among the hills and valleys. In the east and south of the mountains, there are low-lying plains which end at the Black Sea.
Romania has an impressive amount of forests and meadows, in fact the forests cover over a quarter of its territory and is made of lime, oak and hornbeam and as the altitude increases you can find distinctive stands of beech, silver fir and sycamore and if you get higher, you can find a blanket of bushy dwarf mountain pine and various shrubby willows. On the upper pastures and rocky heights many of Romania’s endemic flowers are to be found, including pinks and hawkweeds, alongside orchids, gentians, primroses, bellflowers.
The fauna is one of the richest in Europe including bears, deer, lynx, chamois and wolves. In fact, Romania is renowned for its wildlife. Around 40 to 60 percent of Europe’s brown bears live in the woodlands of Romania. This impressive statistic is the result of the remarkably intact woodland ecosystem and traditional land-management practices. In 1960 the bear population was somewhere around 1,500 individuals, but during the Ceausescu regime, this has grown to more than 8,000. This occurred partly to the hunting preferences of Nicolae Ceausescu.
Romania has a temperate climate, with four distinct seasons. Spring is pleasant with cool mornings and nights and warm days. The summer is usually very hot in the south and east where the temperature usually reaches 100F in July and August. Autumn is dry and cool, with fields and trees producing colorful foliage. Winters can be cold, especially in the mountains and big snowfalls may occur throughout the country.
Romania has a long history which hasn’t been very peaceful since various migrating people have invaded it over the centuries. In fact, for a tourist , probably, the first feeling you get when you come to Romania is the fact that this country has a sense of old country , with a big history and great traditions which makes it very interesting to visit. The Romanians impress the visitors with their friendliness. One thing you can be sure of, they know how to treat a guest and it is well known the fact that it’s pretty common for them to invite you in their home, especially in the villages treating you with the best food they have and probably a shot of palinca or tuica (a sort of home made plum brandy) but be careful those drinks can knock you out.
Religion plays an important role in the daily life of the Romanian population, no matter if they are Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant denominations, this making it one of the most religious nations in Europe. Most Romanians are Orthodox Christians.
The official language is Romanian, a Roman language. English, French, German and Hungarian are the most widely spoken foreign languages.
Known for its wide, tree-lined boulevards, glorious Belle Epoque buildings and a reputation for the high life which has earned the nickname as “little Paris” in the past, Bucharest is Romania’s largest city and capital and a bustling metropolis. It is home to many cultural buildings.
So Romania’s main attractions are the historical regions, the beautiful cities, the Black Sea resorts, the castles and fortresses, the Danube Delta , the medieval towns , the national parks, the painted monasteries, the spas and traditional villages.
