Romania – Gem of the East

How refreshing it is to visit a country on the move!
Yea, its Europe but an up and coming star in the east.
Romania is a country that despite its communist past and other labels, is showing signs of emerging as a new economic and cultural center for Europe.

When a recent comment was made by an unimpressive politician he unwittingly characterized what Romania is in the East of Europe – the New Europe. Having completed a short but intense visit of Romania and its absolutely gorgeous Carpathian mountain country, I am thrilled to come home and get more people going on our tours. While its true that across Romania you will still see a lot of the remnants of communism in the form of block housing and ugly industrial architecture, it is at the same time possible to see how these housing blocks are being renovated, painted, and it would be hard to miss all the new construction!
Among the many hotels I have visited in the last few days, all have undergone renovation in the last 2-3 years or less. Bucharest 3 star hotels are on par with the best Paris 3 star hotels as well as several excellent 3 star hotels I visited in the countryside which are equal and in some cases superior to many 3 star hotels in other more established western European tourist destinations.

Of note in these hotels is the fact that beds are large – queen and king size commonly available. All other amenities like minibar, safe, hairdryers, cable TV, are commonly found in 3 star and up. More impressive is the average size of the rooms which tend to be much larger than western hotels.
The final kicker though is the price: 70 euros per night for an apartment of approximately 1000 SF overlooking the main place in the medieval village of Sighisoara where in the room you have a super king bed placed under a restored authentic 17th century fresco on the ceiling!
Breakfast included! Price is a huge difference and great investment in travel dollars now.

A person could visit any number of restaurants and dine on typical Romanian dishes or other commonly found dishes with average prices of: $2.50 for an entrée, $5 for a main course, $6 for bottle of good Romanian wine, and $1.50 for desert! You could go all out at the Hunters Lodge restaurant in Predeal where you can enjoy high quality venison and other game with wine, desert, entrees, and more for 700,000 Lei or about $22!

So what is there to see in Romania? As an outdoor company, we find plenty to do in the form of walking and trekking. Romania is blessed with the imposing Carpathian mountains, which are not so high as the alps, but offer sheer cliffs and spectacular views without snow caps. The trail system is well developed, and more importantly the trails are not overrun. In fact, the wildlife of Romania remains fairly wild by comparison to other western countries where natural habitats and fauna have been so squeezed that nothing remains to see except the squirrel and occasional rabbit on main trails and rarely in the high alps it is possible to see varieties of mountain goats. In Romania, it is estimated that 6000-8000 bears still roam in their natural habitat as well as wolves, foxes, lynx, elk and deer. The bear and wolves remain in remote areas, but sightings are possible for strong trekkers. It also happens that Romania has some of the best natural spring waters generously flowing throughout the country. A half liter of mineral water in the bottle purchased in a store is only 11,000 Lei or about
33 cents.

Coming to Romania one can’t help but feel energized about the pace and spirit of the people and their new direction upward. The Romanians have not had much luck in the last 130 years as they have been over run in wars and overlooked when WWII was over and Stalin took control of the east. Now as Romanians throw off the collar of communism its sad to see that some older generations will not adapt but at the same time the young so vibrant, educated, and involved. Romanians are sending their talent around the world to work with best in the high tech sector and because of the wage and labor advantages in Romania, some Western European countries are outsourcing skilled jobs such as programming and software development. There is therefore some of the blight of a once poor nation such as run down housing and a somewhat less organized feel than commonly found in the western economies.
It’s a strange and wonderful juxtaposition and with the right steps Romania could emerge as Ireland did to become a strong economic and tourist force.

Of course it’s the people that give it this energy and spirit. They have a renewed sense of optimism and they are working very hard to bring their country up. In all my hotel stays I found charming and pleasant people willing and eager to help. In most restaurants there was an English language translation (in fact throughout Romania you see English language signs and
expressions.) Most Romanians speak a 2nd and even 3rd language and since the Romanian language is rooted in latin it is considered to be very close to Italian with a lot of similar French words as well.

You may wait and visit in a few years when Romania joins the EU, but the real money and excitement is now. As an example Italian and French and Dutch companies are buying up land and property now to get in on the ground for when 2007 arrives they will be in perfect position to take off in the east.
Prices and wages that are low now, will in that time will rise and so will the cost of travel. Though the Romanian currency, the Lei, isn’t scheduled to join the EU monetary union until about 2017; its purchasing power will rapidly rise after 2007.

In 2005 we will offer 2 walking tours that explore both culture and the countryside. High points include the capital city of Bucharest, Vlad Dracula’s castle and birth towns, and walking among forested paths, bald peaks, and alongside streaming mountain springs.
For those who really like to discover new places and are open to less than totally developed cities and services, then you will find a real gem in Romania.
Hurry though, it won’t be long before the mass tourism companies catch on and run the prices up.