In vino veritas, something about the Romanian wines

The ancient Romans defeated the local Dacians in the II.nd century a.C. and in this way started the history of the Romanian people and language.

A glass of wine is such a nice way expressing the joy of life

Really difficult to find out today what is Roman and what is Dacian in the today Romanian people and no one should waste his/her time with this impossible task. Fact is, that in every Romanian city you will find a Traian street, as a Decebal street. They were the rulers, they clushed one against other and Decebal commited suicide after his defeat.

Did Dracula love wine? We still must research

Thinking about wine, it wasn't totally unknown to the Dacians, but the Romans brought new sorts and started many new plantations. It was decisive for the Romanians, we love wine here. It is very similar with other wine countries who were once provinces of the Roman Empire: France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Even today Romania is among the first 10 producers worldwide, and large wine regions of the country live in Autumn fantastic celebrations. Every one is happy there, due to the wine.

In some parts of the country the wineyard becomes monoculture

Coming back on land and to the present days, a first tip is to let the wine accompanying your Romanian vacation. I would recommend at least a glass of wine at every meal (breakfast is excepted, please). White, red, or rose you must pair it correctly with the main dish. Sometimes the waiter, chef or somelier can recommend you something. Sometimes you can try to taste the house wine (or vinul casei, every good restaurant has something like that). The bottle wine is of course not so cheap, but sometimes you can allow yourself and your company something special. A glass of house wine should cost up to 10 Lei (3 -4 Euros), while a bottle could have many different prices. In fact, a bottle of good local wine should be around 10 Euros.

Even to a wine tasting you must respect some basic rules

Fist of all, watch your glass of wine, it should be clear, cristal clear. After a soft agitation, watch it again, the film should be continuos, uninterrupted. After that you don't need your eyes anymore, may be is advisable to close them. Now smell and taste it, let it walk inside your mouth to discover all the secret notes. It is really wonderful. If you are to a professional taste, don't swallow any drop, spill it, whatever difficult could it be. Despite all this procedure, after 3 or 4 glasses you are drunk due the taste and absorbtion through the tongue!

Our Roman ancestors were not stupid at all, when they said In vino veritas! The simple fact is, that after one glass of wine everybody is more communicative and starts to unveil some possible secrets. I don't remember anymore what happens after the other glasses. The Romanian said something different: everybody is entitled to a glass of wine. Afterwards becomes another man, which is again entitled to a glass of wine!

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How to behave in Romania correctly if you are a stranger tourist

Visiting  Romania must run smoothly and gently, it is a wonderful country with interesting people. Whether you come privately, or over a renowned travel agency, you should remember a few things  while you are in Romania.

Another happy friendly Romanian, as we all are

First of all, the people are really fantastic. If you are going to behave yourself in the right way, most of them will be prepared to give all their clothes, literally. Please don't understand wrong, I mean hereby that you can count of them as on your best friends. Nevertheless, check your bills in the restaurants, following the outside patterns some of them will try to charge you with a thick tip!

We are a happy wine country, see here some of my tourists during a wine taste. They all learned to say "Noroc"(cheers!)

Besides, even in this country when the people have an excellent behavior and none incidents against foreign tourists have been reported, you may not go alone in a few suburbs (e.g. Ferentari in Bucharest is very poor and dangerous). If a policeman will dare to stop you, you are supposed to be polite and pacient, which shall not mean showing him your purse or giving him your credit card number.

It is usually here to kiss the hand of a woman, and if you do that, all the Romanian ladies will be watching you much more interested than if you don't. It is a flavor of our culture. If you will be able to speak a few Romanian words, all of us will love for ever! Besides, the love may not be bought, you don't need to give tips bigger than 10 % (an average Romanian wins monthly between 300 and 400 Euros, no more).

Impressive:90 % of the Romanians are Orthodox, and you should take your time and visit one of the selected churches or monasteries, which are really masterpieces

Speak to the people, they are friendly and will answer gladly to any of your question. They are ready to help you at any moment, as they are proud of their identity and are very glad that you came here. In the restaurants, as in other places, rely on the waiters, asking them what is the best dish to order and how to pair it with the right wine (we are a wine country, but you won't be thirsty if you are a beer addicted). Never forget to say "hello" or "good bye", but is advisable to stay away from any discussion concerning politics.

The horse waggons are still largely in use in the Romanian agriculture, maybe you have the opportunity to take part to a special race!

In many places the best offers are hidden under the incomprehensible notion "meniul zilei". As you pronounciation in Romanian is probably not yet the most accurate possible, take a local (maybe a travel guide) in order to grab this offer.

On the market, you must handle a lot, pretending the wished goods are not so good or you don't need them at any price. Here is again better to receive help from a skilled local.

Otherwise, be sure to visit a fabulous country with a rich history, which is a very safe travel destination

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How to plan a Romanian holiday

Planning a trip to Romania might be tricky. Anyway, much more difficult than one could think, and one of the main reasons is the lack of infrastructure.

Not very high comparing to the Alps, the Romanian Carpathians are very inviting

The simple fact is that the country has not so many highways, even compared with the neighboring Hungary. If you are a reasonable person, willing to find an explanation for it, I am ready to give it you that satisfaction: building highways is mainly a subject for the political debates and campaigns. Every politician makes promises about hundreds,if not thousands kilometres of highways. Once elected in their high positions and offices and offices, they simple forget all their promises concerning the highways. It really turns to be a collective disease, a wide spread amnesia.

Beyond this reasonable explanation, don't try anymore to understand Romania. The Romanians are really different and very proud of it! You are going probably to love them, as most of the visitor do, or hate them (very few cases reported). The main thing, they are rather sensitive than reasonable.

We have good roads, a few highways, and even controls on the streets

The lack of the highways is nevertheless not the biggest problem of the travel paradise Romania, it could really turn to be a big advantage: the country is authentic and genuine. And the most genuine is Romania in its remote and insulated area, as Maramures, Carpathians or Danube Delta. A serious issue is that the GPS informations are not very reliable: the main roads are very often subject to work and modernizations, leading to difficults in circulation ( e.g. the Road Sighisoara-Medias and others in the area have been repaired for two years).

Don't miss a Danube Delta trip, especially if you are a nature freak

Briefly, for planning a good Romania trip, you must set
1.The budget. Accordingly, you will find the appropriate hotels with three, four and five stars.

2.The time budget. Depends on your vacations, and also on your spouse's vacation, children school program. As Romania is a perfect family destinations, think also on your parents and grandparents, or other beloved relatives.

3.The season. Romania is really a treasure you can discover in any season, but in spring and autumn is the best. The summer could be too hot (but we have air condition everywhere) , respectively the winter too cold (good for survivors, adventurers and fans of winter sports).

4.Your main interests (urban life, rural life unspoiled nature, adventure, bathing, culture, wine and gastronomy).  Everybody will try to work hard here, filling every possible wishes.

5.The way you are going to reach Romania : by plane, by car, by train, by ship etc. Inform prior about the border control. Eu citizen need only an ID card, the other need a visa which they can get to the Romanian embassy.

If you would like to have a travel agency doing all this, I can recommend a  German Veranstalter : Lidl and a well established Romanian company, Karpaten, actually the best in the country!

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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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Best tips for family travel in Romania

Coming in Romania with your family is an excellent idea. In order to turn it in an unforgettable adventure or vacation there are a few important things you should be aware of.

First of all, make the good choice from the start. Book through a well known, well established travel agency. In my opinion, after working and checking in more companies,the best one for incoming is Karpaten with a wide offer and excellent prices, which you can't get on your own. Ask me about it, or contact directly Karpaten.

The Romanian traditions will totally seduce you

Second, if you come in Romania on a budget, is very helpful booking a few weeks in advance in order to get the best deals to the air companies. There are many sites for that, a good local one is www.vola.ro . Will be great avoiding staying the hotels from the big Romanian cities, starting with Bucharest, as many of them are oriented to the luxury and stylish tourists. Nevertheless, you can find *** or ** hotels, or even hostels at decent prices. Much better, stay in a smaller city, off the beaten path, most of them are really charming, peaceful and you can find many bargains while shopping in the central vegetables or flea market.

Climbing mountains in Romania might be just the thing you need

A great option is also staying to the countryside and have a fantastic contact with the nature and local meals. The available pensions are simply exaggerating with their meals, no one can eat so much. Besides, they are for sure among the children friendliest places on Earth, they will simply spoil your children.

Staying by the locals who hire a few rooms might be a good idea only if you inform about the prices. Please take big care about it! Once this detail set, you will dip in a fantastic traditional culture, and I am pretty sure you will be deeply and pleasant surprised about it. Please rediscover some noises and flavors which you can't find anymore at home.

Don't miss the Rural Romania

If you want climbing mountains, don't neglect the prior training for your family, mainly the kids. Don't forget good maps, GPS, mobile phones (112 for emergency call), lights as they can save your life and health. There are cabins and hiking trails in the mountains to your convenience, inform about them and select right according to your skills, training level  and mood.

About the meals, a special tip: many restaurants off the beaten path have fantastic offers called "Oferta Zilei" (The Offer of The Day) where you can eat a good 3 dishes lunch with 3 Euros!

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