5 Things You Should Know Before Starting your Journey in Romania
So exciting that you chose Romania as your home for the next few weeks or months! I am sure you will have a great time here, so I have prepared a few tips to make your stay even more enjoyable.
Bet you didn’t know…
Romania is located in Eastern Europe, the 9th largest country in Europe.
No, we are not vampires, but we had a former bloody ruler, called Vlad the Impaler.
The biggest city in Romania is Bucharest, followed by Cluj, Timisoara, Iasi and Constanta.
Romania has the best-preserved and most diverse delta in Europe, Delta Dunãrii.
Romania is the 7th nation with the fastest internet in the world, beating the USA.
Talking about The States, the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon is in Bucharest. The Palace of the Parliament is 240 meters long, 270 meters wide and 86 meters high. According to Guinness World Records, it is also the heaviest building on the planet.
I assume you drink coffee to keep you awake. Did you know that the automatic steam espresso coffee machine inventor, Francesco Illy, was born in Romania?
The largest population of brown bears is in the Romanian mountains. This means that if you choose to go to Brasov or Sinaia for a weekend getaway, expect to maybe make a furry friend (be careful and try to not go hiking alone).
Let’s learn some basics in Romanian!
Hello! – Bună!
Good morning! – Bună dimineaţa!
Good afternoon! – Bună ziua!
Good night! – Noapte bună!
How are you? – Ce faci?
Fine, thank you. – Bine, mulţumesc.
Goodbye! – La revedere!
Where is the metro station? - Unde este metroul?
How much is this? - Cat costã?
What is your name? – Cum vă numiţi?
My name is … – Numele meu este…
Nice to meet you – Îmi pare bine
Where are you from?- De unde ești?
Trying Romanian food
Romanian cuisine has some of the tastiest food you will ever try. From polenta to cabbage rolls, from lots of meat to some delicious vegetarian alternatives, there is something for everyone!
I will give you a full insight into Romanian cuisine by starting with breakfast. While some people skip breakfast and grab a pretzel on their way to work, others put a lot of effort into cooking the tastiest dishes: we usually have eggs, bread, cheese, ham, tomatoes, cucumbers and some coffee or tea.
For lunch, Romanian people love their soups. Depending on the region you are in, you will have ciorba de burta (beef tripe soup), ciorba de perisoare (meatballs soup), supa de galuste (dumplings soup), ciorba rãdãuteanã or ciorba de potroace (there is no translation for these last two, but they are delicious).
Romanian have dinner around 7-8 PM and the most common foods, especially on holidays such as Christmas or Easter, are cabbage rolls or stuffed vine leaves (sarmale) with polenta and sour cream, barbecue and grilled minced meat rolls (mici), boeuf salad, lamb drob.
For dessert you have to try papanasi (some dough with sour cream and berries) sweet cake (cozonac), plum dumplings or Romanian dessert salami. They’re all so delicious!
Must see around Romania
It is not difficult to get around and discover the most beautiful cities in Romania. You can either rent a car or take the train. Here are six places around Romania that I think you will love:
Transylvania, where you probably want to visit Bran’s Castle and learn more about the legend of Dracula.
Peleș Castle, which will remind you of royalty, in comparison with Bran Castle which is medieval. You have to do the guided tour and find out how in the span of 100 years Romania went from being 3 distinct principalities under foreign domination into a democratic monarchy and then communist dictatorship.
The Transfăgărășan Road
Sighișoara Citadel - one of the best-preserved medieval citadels in Europe
Take the Mocanita Steam Train in Maramures
Danube Delta, a UNESCO natural reserve
Did you like the things you learnt in this article? Which one surprised you the most? Feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment in the Living Abroad Forum.
The OLS community and I wish you a great time in Romania!