Moldova and Romania
- Thread starter frogwoman
- Start date
untethered
For industry & decency
From what I know (second hand) it's mainly civilised and safe. It's in the process of being globalised via its recent EU membership, though this is reaching the rural regions quite slowly, many of which are very impoverished by western European standards.
Architecturally there's a strange combination of the worst kind of Communist-era buildings and planning along with a great deal of older stuff. Culturally, Romania looked towards France before WW2, with Bucharest earning the nickname, "Paris of the East". Much of the Francophone/Francophile culture has now diminished following 50 years of Communism and another couple of decades of Anglo-American globalisation.
Sibiu was European Capital of Culture last year, if you like that kind of thing.
Mostly socially-conservative. Always a plus.
Lucian Boia's Romania is a good primer for the country's social and political history.
Count Dracula is of course a fictional character. The real life Vlad Tepes is much more interesting!
Architecturally there's a strange combination of the worst kind of Communist-era buildings and planning along with a great deal of older stuff. Culturally, Romania looked towards France before WW2, with Bucharest earning the nickname, "Paris of the East". Much of the Francophone/Francophile culture has now diminished following 50 years of Communism and another couple of decades of Anglo-American globalisation.
Sibiu was European Capital of Culture last year, if you like that kind of thing.
Mostly socially-conservative. Always a plus.
Lucian Boia's Romania is a good primer for the country's social and political history.
Count Dracula is of course a fictional character. The real life Vlad Tepes is much more interesting!
untethered
For industry & decency
As much as I like big cities, if I went I'd be looking to spend at least as much time outside Bucharest as in it.
Many of the provincial towns are really picturesque, though often they have well-preserved traditional urban centres ringed with dreadful tower blocks. The countryside is how I'd imagine England was like 50 years ago. There are still genuine peasants working on the land and in traditional rural crafts. Horse-drawn carts are commonplace. There's even skiing in the Carpathians centred around Brasov.
If you're not into driving and you want to get two for the price of one, there's a pretty good train service from Budapest to Bucharest which goes right through the centre of Romania.
Many of the provincial towns are really picturesque, though often they have well-preserved traditional urban centres ringed with dreadful tower blocks. The countryside is how I'd imagine England was like 50 years ago. There are still genuine peasants working on the land and in traditional rural crafts. Horse-drawn carts are commonplace. There's even skiing in the Carpathians centred around Brasov.
If you're not into driving and you want to get two for the price of one, there's a pretty good train service from Budapest to Bucharest which goes right through the centre of Romania.
frogwoman
Let them eat newts
Cool - that sounds amazing. And yeah - if I did go I wouldn't only want to go to Bucharest, i wouldn't want to spend all my time in one place, lol!. Does Romania have a coastline? I'm guessing not.
Have you been to Moldova btw?
untethered
For industry & decency
Like a lot of eastern Europeans, Romanians often spend their holidays on the Black Sea. They've got their own bit of coast (look at a map!). Tourism is centred around Constanta, but I'm sure there are other interesting smaller places on the coast.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constanta
No, though from what I hear it's even more of a time warp than Romania.
frogwoman
Let them eat newts
Ah yeah
I always assumed it was landlocked. Some of those pictures of the buildings in the article are wicked. It looks amazing. LOL - a time warp? I'll have to go
Ground Elder
Well-Known Member
Never mind the dogs - watch out of the bears 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3756078.stm
My wife went to Romania recently to a Roma town near Brasov. Beautiful scenery, but otherwise fairly "grim, with a vague air of menace".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3756078.stm
My wife went to Romania recently to a Roma town near Brasov. Beautiful scenery, but otherwise fairly "grim, with a vague air of menace".
untethered
For industry & decency
I get the impression they're Partying like it was never 1989.
I don't want to put you off going, but I've been to Bucharest and Sibiu, and I won't be going back in a hurry. Bucharest is shockingly, shockingly poor for a semi-developed European nation. The "Paris of the East" stuff is still there, but not just derelict, but basically empty, condemned and boarded up (dunno why, as you'd think that would be the epicentre of tourism and redevelopment). The pollution is terrible, the pavements and roads - in the city centre! - are sand, holes and rubble, the traffic congestion is gross, the food is absolutely disgusting, and I felt at night it was dark and a bit menacing. The people are fairly chippy rather than that friendly. The roads in and out of the airport have billboards for luxury appartments and golf courses, next to wasteland, flytipped rubbish and grey dirty grim appartment blocks with broken windows that look derelict but are actually lived in.
I was in a suit at about 11 at night, after an hour's walking exploring I could only find a Macdonalds open (plus tawdry casino and western hotels), and got approachedb y two different sets of menacing Romanian geezers in shell-suits asking if I wanted "girls." I felt threatened, and bear in mind, this was during the NATO summit, when five THOUSAND extra police were in town, and I was about 500 metres from where Bush, Putin etc were staying.
I hate to say that, 'cos I was really looking forward to it, and I'm sure there are good bits I missed, but first impressions were shocking and bad. Fascinating, of course, but not great for a holiday.
And Sibiu has a beautiful but artificially reconstructed, and the Romanians, bless 'em, have gone full on for this 'anything western is good' mindset, so all the cafes and even the 'posh' restaurants have huge flat screen TVs with MTV BLARING out at all times, even if you ask them to turn it down.
That said, the Carpachian mountains around Sibiu and beautiful, and the air up there is the cleanest I have ever tasted. And yes, genuinedly full of peasants and Roma travellers on donkeys and carts.
So....don't let that put you off, but it's not Poland or Latvia or East Germany or one of those more prosperous ex-Soviet satellites.
I was in a suit at about 11 at night, after an hour's walking exploring I could only find a Macdonalds open (plus tawdry casino and western hotels), and got approachedb y two different sets of menacing Romanian geezers in shell-suits asking if I wanted "girls." I felt threatened, and bear in mind, this was during the NATO summit, when five THOUSAND extra police were in town, and I was about 500 metres from where Bush, Putin etc were staying.
I hate to say that, 'cos I was really looking forward to it, and I'm sure there are good bits I missed, but first impressions were shocking and bad. Fascinating, of course, but not great for a holiday.
And Sibiu has a beautiful but artificially reconstructed, and the Romanians, bless 'em, have gone full on for this 'anything western is good' mindset, so all the cafes and even the 'posh' restaurants have huge flat screen TVs with MTV BLARING out at all times, even if you ask them to turn it down.
That said, the Carpachian mountains around Sibiu and beautiful, and the air up there is the cleanest I have ever tasted. And yes, genuinedly full of peasants and Roma travellers on donkeys and carts.
So....don't let that put you off, but it's not Poland or Latvia or East Germany or one of those more prosperous ex-Soviet satellites.
Boris Sprinkler
Dont be scared
Nothing much to add, I was in Bucharest briefly a few months ago. But something Hackney mentioned re: anything western is good....I saw in the centre of town a large billboard poster with Jamie Oliver on it hawking coffee cups with things like "cool dude" and "hot babe" written on them.
Fedayn
Well-Known Member
My dad, 'step-mum' and two half-brothers live there. Right over in the South West part of the country town called Drobeta Turnu Severin. It's right on the Danube, right across the border from Serbia apparently Michael Palin visited there on his recent 'tour' of Eastern Europe. As untethered said there's still genuine peasantry and not some theme park re-enactment, but there's also rather grinding poverty, though more pronounced anbd abvious in the big cities than the poor but 'picturesque' countryside.
Bucharesti is a mess, a garish mismatch of Ceaucescu demolition/ reconsruction policies and the sudden invasion of equaly garish western consumerism
worth a day at most sadly - see if you can visit Nicky C.s grave - if you can fnd it! - meet a few ex party members weeping openly
We all know about the street kids in Romania, but its utterly fukin pitiful and heart wrenching to see them scurrying about , kicks being amined a them by all and sundry - I pulled out a pocket of Euro shrapnel to give to one lot and they then demanded notes - not as dumb as they look!
Much of ROmania is hugely undeveloped and the Fagras mountains and suchlik are a nice break from the urban horrors, but even in th countryside, you will see apalling ago-industrial complexes ( as they were called at the time ) - basically shoddy blocks of flats for deposessed farmers. The Industrial pollution around the mining areas is truly shocking - I have never seen putrid Violet coloured rivers before- biologically dead
Moldova is a different kettle of fish, poorer than Romania, but pleasant enough.Chisnau is a typical central Eurpean city with its wide boulevards and peiod houses once you get up the hill from the station a bit - fantastic cheap wine!
Go to Tirasapol - one of my favorite rubbish stalelets - Transnistria is a rogue state run by the Sheriff , with an entire circled Russian Division defending it- they are dug in along the borders with machine gun nests / tanks and shit - quite remarkable
JUst take the minibuz to Tirasapol from Chisinau and be prepared to wing it at the border - we walked in after a chat with a russian border board, £5 for his
"foreign money collection" and a couple of pacs of marlboros - they dont even stamp your passport ( not ours anyway ) - you ( did ) need a Visa for Moldova, but this may have changed of late
Dont take the train to Tirasapol - it takes about 4 hours for the 30 km and is a bit of a waste of everyones time
Tirasapol is a clean Soviet provincial city with banners of Lenin ,T34 tanks on plinths and possibley the biggest , most modern football staduim I have ever seen - and its hardly ever used - a plaything of the sheriff
worth a day at most sadly - see if you can visit Nicky C.s grave - if you can fnd it! - meet a few ex party members weeping openly
We all know about the street kids in Romania, but its utterly fukin pitiful and heart wrenching to see them scurrying about , kicks being amined a them by all and sundry - I pulled out a pocket of Euro shrapnel to give to one lot and they then demanded notes - not as dumb as they look!
Much of ROmania is hugely undeveloped and the Fagras mountains and suchlik are a nice break from the urban horrors, but even in th countryside, you will see apalling ago-industrial complexes ( as they were called at the time ) - basically shoddy blocks of flats for deposessed farmers. The Industrial pollution around the mining areas is truly shocking - I have never seen putrid Violet coloured rivers before- biologically dead
Moldova is a different kettle of fish, poorer than Romania, but pleasant enough.Chisnau is a typical central Eurpean city with its wide boulevards and peiod houses once you get up the hill from the station a bit - fantastic cheap wine!
Go to Tirasapol - one of my favorite rubbish stalelets - Transnistria is a rogue state run by the Sheriff , with an entire circled Russian Division defending it- they are dug in along the borders with machine gun nests / tanks and shit - quite remarkable
JUst take the minibuz to Tirasapol from Chisinau and be prepared to wing it at the border - we walked in after a chat with a russian border board, £5 for his
"foreign money collection" and a couple of pacs of marlboros - they dont even stamp your passport ( not ours anyway ) - you ( did ) need a Visa for Moldova, but this may have changed of late
Dont take the train to Tirasapol - it takes about 4 hours for the 30 km and is a bit of a waste of everyones time
Tirasapol is a clean Soviet provincial city with banners of Lenin ,T34 tanks on plinths and possibley the biggest , most modern football staduim I have ever seen - and its hardly ever used - a plaything of the sheriff
frogwoman
Let them eat newts
Omg
Fuckin hell
Yeah I had heard about that, has the situation got any better now that its got into the EU? oh god ... dunno what to say
Yeah I've heard about that, but ive also heard most of it get's exproted to RUssia?
Yeah I want to go, i fancy a bit of an adventure
frogwoman
Let them eat newts
Love it there, stayed in Alba Iulia, visited monasteries, and log cabins in the mountains. Food is amazing (but mine was cooked by Romanians at home mainly), the mountains are gorgeous.
Have been about 4 or 5 times, and each time i'm sad to leave.
I think the difference is that I stayed with Romanians each time I went, so got a better view of the authentic place.
Have been about 4 or 5 times, and each time i'm sad to leave.
I think the difference is that I stayed with Romanians each time I went, so got a better view of the authentic place.
Probably. But not half as much better as it should be - it is, after all, two decades now since the collapse of communism.
chico enrico
No hair shows you care.
huh, if it was that bad sounds to me like you should have just taken them up on their offer.
chico enrico
No hair shows you care.
I dunno, it's you that's been there so you'd have a better idea than me. 
I've never been to Bucharest, but I spent some time in Tansylvania - Oradea, Sighisoara, Brasov and Sibiu - in 2000 and loved it.
It's a really beautiful place. I've seen the railway from Oradea to Cluj Napoca listed as one of the most scenic routes in Europe, and I can well believe it. The scenery is stunning. Elsewhere, though, the damage done in the Caecescu years was very apparent. Take Sighisoara for example: a lovely, well-preserved town on a hilltop, surrounded by a hideous Stalinist-era concrete city.
I remember noticing, too, how much of the railway was disused - two of six tracks working, the rest occupied by rusting rolling stock, sidings serving long-closed factories still standing derelict, and some very dangerous judging from the news reports we saw of kids being horrifically injured whilst playing in them. It was a very visible symbol of how badly Romania's economy had fared in the 1990s, as was the fact that our 1999 guidebook stated that the exchange rate was 14,000 lei to the pound. By the time we arrived it was 33,000 and rising fast.
I'd imagine a lot has changed since then, probably for the better. I've certainly read a few things about the political system being cleaned up quite a lot and the economy doing better. Now that it's on the tourist trail and easier to get into (we needed a visa, but you no longer do) that will have made a difference too. I'd love to go back and see.
I have to say, though, that the way the Roma were treated is one of the most depressing things I've ever seen. Oh, and avoid Arad. It's probably the nastiest and most threatening place I've ever been to.
It's a really beautiful place. I've seen the railway from Oradea to Cluj Napoca listed as one of the most scenic routes in Europe, and I can well believe it. The scenery is stunning. Elsewhere, though, the damage done in the Caecescu years was very apparent. Take Sighisoara for example: a lovely, well-preserved town on a hilltop, surrounded by a hideous Stalinist-era concrete city.
I remember noticing, too, how much of the railway was disused - two of six tracks working, the rest occupied by rusting rolling stock, sidings serving long-closed factories still standing derelict, and some very dangerous judging from the news reports we saw of kids being horrifically injured whilst playing in them. It was a very visible symbol of how badly Romania's economy had fared in the 1990s, as was the fact that our 1999 guidebook stated that the exchange rate was 14,000 lei to the pound. By the time we arrived it was 33,000 and rising fast.
I'd imagine a lot has changed since then, probably for the better. I've certainly read a few things about the political system being cleaned up quite a lot and the economy doing better. Now that it's on the tourist trail and easier to get into (we needed a visa, but you no longer do) that will have made a difference too. I'd love to go back and see.
I have to say, though, that the way the Roma were treated is one of the most depressing things I've ever seen. Oh, and avoid Arad. It's probably the nastiest and most threatening place I've ever been to.
Wolveryeti
Detty Pig
I would say it's a good country to travel around in with a group of mates. It was definitely the favourite of all the countries I saw in the Balkans in 2001 (over Croatia, Bosnia Hungary and Serbia). Mainly because people there don't get so many western tourists so they don't all see you as a walking cash machine as is the case in most poxy Croatian seaside resorts. The Buceregi mountains near Brasov are breathtaking and would make for some damn fine (and cheap) skiing in winter.
Most people we came into contact with were lovely, but a solo girl traveller said she had narrowly avoided being gang-raped and my friend nearly got totally jacked when he got separated from us for a few hours. I would think twice before going alone, as a man or woman, and certainly my main priority if I touched down there alone would be to find a travel buddy.
Most people we came into contact with were lovely, but a solo girl traveller said she had narrowly avoided being gang-raped and my friend nearly got totally jacked when he got separated from us for a few hours. I would think twice before going alone, as a man or woman, and certainly my main priority if I touched down there alone would be to find a travel buddy.
Yeah it sounds like a really interesting place to be honest - but like you said, with loads of problems
I was only there for a few hours, thankfully, whilst waiting for a train to Oradea. The street hassle was far mroe intrusive and far more menacing than anything we had anywhere else, and a couple of blokes started following us as soon as we left the railway station, so we didn't venture very far. We ended up staying in the square in front of the station most of the time, which was at least busy and well lit. But it was still the one time I was glad to see the soldier with a machine gun who was a feature of major Romanian stations at the time. Even he looked on edge, whereas everywhere else they just looked bored.
No, not a nice place and not somewhere I'm in a hurry to go back to, unlike the other places in Romania we visited, which were pretty safe and most people were very welcoming and friendly.
Wolveryeti
Detty Pig
There is something very interesting about a country in which geographical weath differentials are basically determined by the order in which the various towns took up the nationwide pyramid schemes decades ago. The towns at the bottom are as poor as anything, the richer ones (Oradea is one I think) have high streets that would not disgrace any major western city.
