Romania

We visited Romania in the spring of 2023. We enjoyed Romania the countryside is pretty, the towns we visited with the exception of Bucharest were interesting and easy to get around in. We were disappointed with Bucharest but some of it may have been the weather and famously the communist government destroyed a lot of the historical center for giant buildings of dubious benefit to the average person.

Driving was a bit of a challenge, the roads are generally only two lanes, and development follows the main roads exclusively so frequently you were faced with long stretches of roads with 50kph speed limits because you were in built up areas. The Romanians handle this problem by ignoring the speed limit, we even had large trucks pass us in villages when we were going 50kph. Travel times in Romania were significantly longer than anywhere else we have been in Europe. Also, Bucharest is the most chaotic city we have driven in in Europe. The current ring road is a two lane road with really strange intersections, both times passing thru Bucharest were very slow and very stressful. There is a new ring road under construction that will hopefully help with this problem in the future.

We found the camping infrastructure to be good in Romania. All of the major cities have at least one campground. We did not come across any aires like you find in France, and we did not wild camp, though it looks like it is tolerated with common sense.

Favorite Place

Ron-Maramures. This region in northern Romania was fascinating for me. It is very remote, and during the communist era was considered the Gulag for Romania where political prisoners were sent. It felt like a throwback, with small farms often tended by hand or even occasionally with a horse. We were there during the hay harvest and watching people harvesting using a sickle and constructing haystacks by hand was something I had never seen personally. Even more interestingly a lot of the work was done by the women of the region. The wooden churches which this region is famous for were beautiful and abundant. I really enjoyed this area, and since it was not an area we had originally had in our itinerary it was even more special.

Ton-Maramures. We went to this area on a whim as it was not on our original plans, and I am glad we did. I really loved the wooden churches, they were not as large as a lot of the churches we see in Europe, but they were unique and in their own way very impressive. I really enjoyed the campground we stayed at because of the owner. I called her superwoman, as she did everything there, including help to fix a problem with our RV. I enjoyed talking with her about the area, and the challenges of trying to develop a tourist industry in an area that is quite off the map.

Disappointment

Ron-Bucharest. Bucharest was difficult to get around in, it was some of the most stressful driving for me in all of Europe. The day we went downtown it was raining which detracted from the visit a little. The downtown is interesting but not pretty, and with good weather I might have enjoyed it more for its quirkiness caused by a really horrible government in the 70’s and 80’s, but as it was I just found it weird and a little depressing.

Ton-Nothing. I truly did not know what to expect of Romania, so I wasn’t disappointed by anything.

Favorite Food or Drink

Ron-Polenta. I like polenta and before going to Romania I had no idea it was a big part of their diet. But the first three meals I ordered out had well prepared polenta as the starch and I was very happy.

Ton-Caru Cu Bere. This is more of a place as Romanian food didn’t knock me out, it was good and we didn’t have a bad meal anywhere, but the memories were more of the places and the people we ate with, and that is not bad. Caru Cu Bere is a very old beer hall in downtown Bucharest and has a very beautiful interior with good food and beer.

Surprise

Ron-The German influence in Transylvania. I didn’t know that there was a very large German Saxon population in Transylvania for nearly 600 years. All of the cities we visited in that region had a big German influence that was clear in the buildings and the church. Unfortunately, the population largely left under the communist government for West Germany and now the people of German descent are a very small minority.

Ton-Peoples second thoughts about joining the EU. Romania’s path to full membership in the EU has not been a smooth one, and now that they are close some people are having second thoughts. We were having dinner with a Romanian family, when the husband who is a college professor began questioning whether membership in the EU was a good thing for the country. I was surprised, but also his wife seemed surprised about his position. She on the other hand thinks the ability to move within Europe is very intriguing and told her husband she would be very interesting in moving out of Romania. I hope both the couple and the country work out their feelings about joining the EU, and in the end it turns out to be a positive thing for them.