Romania Overview

Overview

Despite now being part of the EU, Romania is still struggling to find its feet after the collapse of Communism. The people are undoubtedly happy to see the Russians leave but the economy is still a bit slow. As such the most common thing you'll see will be a horse and cart. Entry into the European Union could not have come at a better time for the country . Inflation was a bit of a problem - when I last went in 2005, the conversion was 32,000 lei to the pound.  However, the Romanians wholeheartedly consider themselves a part of Europe proper, despite their proximity to Russia and their argument with the Ukraine over ownership of Moldova. They emphasise the Roman subjugation of their country in the early 2nd Century in a bizarre celebration of both submission to aggressive conquerors and also inclusion within the Mediterranean group of states. The symbols of the country in fact are the two faces of Trajan (the Roman Emperor who conquered Dacia) and Decebal (the Dacian chieftain to united the tribes against the Romans). And of course the name of the country itself was a bit of a give away of their obsession with the Roman conquest. Of all the European languages, it remains the closest to Latin.

The Roman history of Romania has meant that it has a great deal of museums and sites to see (if youre into that kind of thing). Eastern Romania has ports along the Black Sea which were first controlled by the Greeks as trading stations. After Trajan took the country, it was more of a declaration of Roman supremacy and creation of a buffer to defend the empire from barbarians coming down off the steppes. As such Roman colonies were founded everywhere as were legionary forts, a large number of which survive along the Danube. A massive trophy of victory was set up at Tropaeum Traiani (now called Adamclisi, about mid-distance between Constanta and Bucharest). A modern reconstruction stands on the site of the original, commissioned by Ceacescu when he was trying to distil a strong sense of nationality into the country.

West and Northern Romania are dominated by the Carpathian Mountains. Take a look at Dracula's castle (Bran) which is pretty impressive though until the Germans build the planned 'Dracula themepark' dont expect any ghouls or goblins.