Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, north of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south.
Romania emerged as principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia united under prince Alexander John Cuza in 1859 and as the Kingdom of Romania under the Hohenzollern monarchy, it gained recognition of independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. In 1918, at the end of the World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania. At the end of World War II, parts of its territories (roughly the present day Republic of Moldova and the southern half of Odessa oblast (today in Ukraine) were occupied by the Soviet Union and Romania became a socialist republic, member of the Warsaw Pact. (from Wiki)
Unique things to do in Romania:
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Exploring the Berca mud volcanoes near Buzau – a stark lunar landscape of erupting mud in Buzău County
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Scărişoara Cave – one of the worlds largest, highest and oldest ice caves
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Merry Cemetery, in Săpânţa, Maramureş County – a cemetery where death isn’t seen as a sombre state
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Palace of the Parliament, Bucharest – The world’s largest civilian administrative building, most expensive administrative building, and heaviest building
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Transfăgărăşan road – the highest and most drammatic paved road in Romania
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Castrum Sex – A transilvanian saxon citadel, now known as Sighişoara Citadel. Not sure where the castrated sex comes from…
Route:
Further links:
Useful Numbers:
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Taxi Dan : 0744 967 241
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Taxi Dan (Danut Hergheligiu) is easily one of the friendliest taxi drivers on the planet! He operates around Fagaras, between 6:30 and 18:30. If you ask kindly, he pushes the hours (but will get a call from his wife telling him off). We had a 2 hour drive in his cab, during which, without a word of English, we spoke about his nephew in Oregon, the communist era fruit plantations, the Monastery near there and generally the insanity of life. Strongly recomended! (oh, and make sure you ask him to sing for you! He’s a little shy about it, but apparently used to sing in his younger days!)