Travels in Romania

I just got back from 10 days in Romania, a country I knew little or nothing about, apart from the notorious rule of Nicolae Ceausescu's communist regime from 1965 to 1989.
https://rolandia.eu/en/blog/history-of-romania/romania-under-nicolae-ceausescu-s-communist-regime

That made an impact because of what we discovered after his overthrow. Particularly the abhorrent conditions for thousands of children in state orphanages. Overall, it is estimated that about 500,000 children were raised in orphanages & some still exist today, but the children are much better cared for.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_orphans

I know a lot more now! Romania is a wonderful country to visit, with much to interest tourists. The varied & stunningly beautiful landscapes, the very different regional vernacular architecture, the beautiful churches & monasteries, wildlife, traditional food, costumes, music & dancing....

Romania is right in the middle of major migration routes & is surrounded on all sides, by Ukraine to the north, Hungary & Serbia to the West, Bulgaria to the South & Moldova & the Black Sea to the East. So it has been the centre of skirmishes & wars causing border & name changes over the years. Some places have names in 3 different languages. There are still tensions about who actually has a rightful claim to various parts of Romania today. To be honest the history is so complex you would be bored to tears if I attempted to give you a flavour. If you want to know read the Rough Guide to Romania.

There are Stone Age remains in the Carpathian Mountains dating back 35,000 years. Todays Romanians are descendants of Roman settlers from 106AD & local Dacians from 82BC. They are very proud of their culture & heritage & welcome tourists.

Sadly all that most tourists have heard of is Vlad the Impaler & Count Dracula, who are in fact one & the same person. (Dracul means Devil & Vlad was certainly that!)

 

https://allthatsinteresting.com/vlad-the-impaler

But there is so much more to Romania than Vlad/Dracul.

There are 6 regions & the country is huge. I only visited Wallachia, Transylvania & Moldavia & still covered approximately 2,000 miles in a really exhausting trip. But it was a trip of delights. I really recommend you to go.