Exploring Romania: A Personal Journey Through Culture, Hospitality, and Infrastructure

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Before starting with my 'review', I must say that coming from Spain and especially from Zaragoza, where there's an important Romanian community, I did already have contact with Romanian people. In fact, one of my best friends is from Romania, and I still have contact with her, although she’s living abroad now. So I indeed knew a bit about the people before going there, and in general, I had very positive views.

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People and Social Dynamics

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I visited Romania last year in June 2022. The first thing that I noticed was that, as it happens in many other countries, the capital Bucharest is something different from the rest of the country. I visited Bucharest, Brasov, Bran, and Sinaia.

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Although I know this is a small part of the country, and my views may not be representative of the whole country, let's dive into the details.

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About the People

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Well, as I said before, not only had I already contact with Romanians but I also have some very good Romanian friends. My first night in Brasov, I went to have some drinks and food, and the guy from the taxi, who tried to con us a little bit, recommended us a typical place. The place was indeed amazing. It was traditional with modern vibes, and the food was really good. However, what I liked the most was the environment and the atmosphere there. People from all ages gathered there to just spend a good time with their friends and families. The vibes somehow reminded me of Spain, and it was just a pretty easy-going atmosphere. It was so nice and felt so 'healthy' and beautifully simple, and I love simplicity.

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Also, regarding the people, I noticed that they are a very well-educated society, and young people do indeed speak very good English and even a second language. This situation is similar to what I found in Bulgaria.

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Infrastructure and Public Transportation

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What shocked me the most was the infrastructure and public transportation. Not only because of my preconceived ideas, but also because my friend and the locals there warned me about how shabby public transportation was. My experience could not be more different. I took three trains and two buses, and they all arrived on time and in general, were pretty modern. It is true, however, that one of the trains looked a bit old, but it was comfortable, and I actually loved the old vibes. To be honest, I had less problems with public transportation in Romania than in France or Ireland...

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It is also true, nevertheless, that highways are still not as developed as in other countries in Europe, but I think it's just a matter of time! I must confess that I love traveling by train, and one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had is traveling from Bucharest to Brasov by train. Transylvania from a train is just breathtaking!

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Staff and Service Quality

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Ok, I loved the people and the infrastructures were pretty neat, but I don’t know what is the problem with the staff members from the train stations. They were all grumpy and not very friendly. My friend told me that they always look like that, and to be honest, they are usually not very helpful in most of the countries that I have visited, but in this case, it surprised me because they were extremely different from the rest of the population. In Switzerland for instance, they were also grumpy.

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Exploring Romania’s Unique Beauty

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Did I already say that I am in love with Transylvania? Well, just so that you know, I am in love with Transylvania! I just need more. For the best time, I think I am just going to rent a car and get lost in those immense forests and magical mountains. I found Brasov very beautiful, clean, and well organized. Also, it was super safe. I never felt worried there, and I could walk through the streets during the night without the fear of being robbed or assaulted. Dracula's Castle and Peles were also amazing places. It is true, though, that both are more touristy, so they lost a bit of their charm, but other than that, they really worth a visit. Peles and Pelisor Castles are popular places for tourists in Sinaia, but as I went by train and crossed the whole town, I would recommend stopping to explore more places there, such as the Monastery and, of course, the amazing landscapes.

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And now, it's the turn of Bucharest. I arrived in Bucharest via Cyprus. There we once went to a restaurant in Paphos, and the waiter was from Romania. We just started talking to him and told him about our plan. The idea was to also visit Sighisoara, but we did not have enough time. Anyways, he told us, "you will love Brasov, you will like Sighisoara, and you will hate Bucharest. Just beware, there it is full of gypsies conmen and robbers." My friend also warned me about the gypsies there. I don’t want to look like a racist, but I can’t also ignore the facts: Bucharest is indeed plagued with gypsies, and you can see them literally everywhere. The problem is that many of them are just waiting in every corner to ask you for money. As we were warned, someone tried to rob my cousin by cutting her purse. She held it, and when the robber tried to push, she couldn’t because it was grabbed by my cousin.

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Our first experience in Bucharest was not very good. However, as a new day arrived, we had the real chance to explore the city. Most buildings actually reminded me of Madrid mixed with the Communist Era Architecture. For the rest, live music on the pubs, relatively expensive restaurants, long avenues, terrific traffic, and the hustle and bustle, it was in my view not very different from any other big European capital city. You could see the students going to university, people grabbing coffee from the stores, people rushing to arrive to work, tourists... the environment looked very similar to anywhere else in Europe, and then when we finished sightseeing, we just stopped and had some cokes before heading to the airport, and we just received the same Romanian hospitality.

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Conclusion

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To conclude, I found Romania a beautiful country full of in general wonderful people. Many people here in Spain, and in the rest of Europe, see Romania as some sort of insecure, unsafe, undeveloped place, and I think that's not remotely the case. Bucharest has the same problems that many other big European cities have, but with the due diligence, it should not be a great deal. Romania is a European country, and Romanian people have indeed similar lifestyles. Or at least, that's what I felt, and I am not talking about money but about rhythms, culture, and social life.

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I do think there are a lot of misconceptions about Romania and Romanian people. Romania is culturally an Orthodox country, it is also a Latin country, and parts of the country were heavily influenced by Austrians and/or Germans, such as Brasov, where this Germanic influence is pretty obvious. So as such, I found Romanians and Romania a mix of all those cultures. Brasov was a clean and well-organized city, like those in Central Europe. Romanians were open and hospitable, like we Spaniards and Latin-based cultures are, but they also have their own traditions and values. Romania is unfairly disregarded for many other Europeans. If they had the chance to meet Romanians and get to know the country, they will discover that they are as the rest of us Europeans. With their own culture and particularities.

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Some people picture Romania like some sort of third world country, inside of Europe, but they could not be more wrong!