5 Reasons To Spend Easter In Romania

You know already, Romania is really unique, and the Romanians are special for real. Blessed by God with fantastic landscapes and wonderful people, we celebrate life in every moment and never forget to thank God for  these gifts.

Easter is an excellent opportunity to taste the Romanian gastronomy

And that is the main reason for my wish that you travel in Romania on the holly opportunity of Easter. 90 % of the Romanians are Orthodox and attend the church, specially on this special day. Oppressed  by the communist regime, the church and the faith saw an extraordinary revival after the Revolution of 1989. It is really a show of its own, nowadays when less and less people attend the church worldwide. Observe all these people during and after the service, when they are supposed to carry the fire at home. They are unbelievable happy, having forgotten all the little daily troubles!

The nature in Romania on Easter is absolutely fab

No matter the circumstances, the Romanians are excellent hosts, you will see whenever you visit Romania. But on Easter it is really beyond any imagination. Your Romanian friends will do much more than usually for you, while unknown people will kiss and invite whether  to dinner or to the lunch the very next day. Really unbelievable, you will see, you must only be very careful, these feasts are  rich for real, and it is going to be a big stress for your liver and stomach. No problem, we have some antidotes!

On Easter most of the Romanians attend their churches, please find them over there

For the beloved wine addicted, or wine afficionados, Easter is an excellent opportunity to taste one or more sorts from the best Romanian wines. White, red or rose it may never lacks from the ritual Easter feast, together with the boiled eggs. Also important to remember: the church uses currently the wine during the service, e.g to communion, marriage or even christening. The wine plays actually a very important role during our daily life, it is one of the overwhelming gifts of Christi. We have had vineyards here since a few thousands years and the wine culture is a thing we are very fond for.

Easter is a perfect opportunity to taste on the ritual dinner the Romanian wines

If you are a friend of nature and free air, bear in mind another fact: the Easter to the Orthodox falls on the first night with full moon after the spring equinox. To be more precisely and exactly, for this year is on the 20.th of April. Divine wonder or not, usually is a very nice weather and all the nature has started a new cycle of life. The trees are green, many of them in blossom, the bees have a lot of work. The spring works on the fields are mostly concluded, and the upcoming harvest can already be estimated. It is a fantastic joy of life keeping everything together. And you can also be a part of it!

Another reason, actually the fifth and the last: Easter is still outside the full season, there is no mass tourism and the prices are really a bargain. Lots of promotions are waiting, and everybody from the travel branch will be happy to salute you as a guest and as a friend.

The Romanians are usually friendly and hospitable, but on Easter these qualities go beyond any imagination

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Most impressive Romanian Churches, As Seen by a Group of Lebanese Tourists

Most impressive Romanian Churches, As Seen by a Group of Lebanese Tourists

One of the most important things to know about Romania is quite simple: despite the pregnant existence and influence of the minorities (specially, the Hungarian one), the people is very unit and homogene: 90 % of the population are Romanian, speak Romanian as Mother's language and are members of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Here started the all story: Arrival of Lebanese tourists on Bucharest airport

Every small village has a church, and the tour leader Ziad Khairallah from Vladimir Travel/Beirut made a special selection of the most impressive and spectacular Romanian churches, with the help and on the competent suggestion of Euforia Travel/Nicoleta Balasa (I had the pleasure and honor to be the tour guide, and I was totally fascinated by their joy of life! Another story, though.)

The fantastic church of Voronet Monastery, probably the most impressive and spectacular church from Romania

Visiting the Romanian Churches is maybe the best way to learn and understand something about the Romanian history. We saw together a lot of churches, ones of them very renowned, like the Black Church from Brasov, but also one almost unknown, totally off the beaten path, the Monastery of Rasca/Suceava.

I learned on this tour (thank you, Zyad & Co from Lebanon) that nowadays the biggest orthodox church of Romania lies in Targu Mures. There the people were preparing the Easter, the most important feast of the Christianity. Everything on the way reminded us those preparations, and it was really an event celebrating Easter with this fantastic group of Lebanese tourists.

A wood church in the Village museum from Bucharest, another hit

We also saw and visited one of the oldest Romanian Churches: the church from the Old Courtyard from Bucharest, which has hosted from centuries the intronization of the happy Romanian princes! It was overcrowded, because is in the middle of Bucharest, a city with 2 Millions inhabitants. Another old church, build by the Cantacuzino family, is in Sinaia,( also known like the pearl of Carpathians, a romantic and royal getaway not far from Bucharest). The old church is little, but more interesting than the new big one.

The St Nicholas Church from Brasov

A special mention for the painted churches from Bucovina. We choose the most beautiful one, namely Voronet. It is really amazing, and totally overwhelming. The colors are based on a secret recipe (probably lapis lazuli powder, with other vegetable ingredients) and have lasted for 500 years without restoration!

As the Columbian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez used to say: the most important thing in life is to tell the story of it! I must not forget the Cathedrals from Sighisoara, Sibiu(on the model of St Sophia Cathedral from Istanbul) or the Monastery of Bistrita.

Seeing this long list of churches or monasteries ( add the Evangelic Churches from Sighisoara, Targu Mures) could lead to the idea of a religious pilgrimage. Totally wrong, it was much more than that, and the churches are just a small part of of the Romania Introduction Course! We still remember museums, restaurants, songs and dances!

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Lebanese Tourists in Romania

Guiding Lebanese Tourists in Romania

When I first knew that is highly probably guiding a big group of Lebanese tourists coming to Romania, I felt it could be an interesting provocation. Despite the huge differences of language and culture, I did not say now, when the local organizer Euforia Travel from Bucharest proposed me to run this tour, with the clients from Vladimir Travel/Beyrouth.

My group of Lebanese tourists in Castle Peles, Sinaia

And it really was a wonderful experience, a pleasure and an honor to me. We drove 1600 km all over Romania, and I have struggled to introduce and present Romania in the most realistic way, without hiding the unpleasant details (Romania might be nice and fabulous as travel destination, but it is not perfect. No matter, even the sun has a lot of stains!).

The Lebanese Tour Leader, Zyad Khairallah (in the middle, by the monk) with  Mr Asuccar, ar left

I hope that the tourists, perfectly organized by the tour leader Zyad Khairallah (thank you, Zyad!) have been happy about the new discoveries. But I also started to discover a fantastic and fabulous culture. We sung and danced Romanian and Lebanese, and this  cultural mix and mutual acceptance is by far the most important asset of this tour. I loved from the first minute the Lebanese for their joy of life and deep beliefs, I loved their relaxed way to overcome some troubles and problems. I was a little disappointed that most of them never drink alcohol, even the Cabernet Sauvignon from Romania, but those who tasted, really enjoyed!

The group of Lebanese tourists in the huge impressive Romanian Parliament house, with special mention for the little guide Fouad

The cultural difference was not so big. We were very pleasant to discover some unbelievable identhical superstition (e.g. a women's bag lying on the floor brings poverty!). They were very familiar with the Byzantine ritual from the Romanian churches, excepting the language. They understood almost all the Romanian jokes, myths and legends and laughed, and I also understood theirs. It was a grace of God meeting these friendly temperamental people I was afraid to the beginning of our adventure.

To be more specific, this unique tour took place between 1st and 7th of May, 2013 with starting and living from Bucharest Airport. I will be back with details, but these facts of life are much more important to know. I hope to have in the future other occasions to cooperate with Lebanese Tourists, I won't hesitate any minute to accept! Mes meilleurs voeux pour les tourists de Liban.

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