| Romania. An amazing country. People don't | | | | brands, if not tastier. So don't choose a |
| know too much about it. Some know it is an | | | | hotel. They are far too expensive, the |
| Eastern European country, others heard of the | | | | service is poor (there is still a lot of work |
| appalling dictator Ceausescu. Some know | | | | to be done in Romania when it comes to |
| Romania from television: they've seen reports | | | | customer care and tourism) and the food is |
| describing the poverty of the land or | | | | not so great. If you want to taste |
| counting how many homeless children live in | | | | tradition, choose to spend your holiday in a |
| the streets, begging, starving. Others will | | | | village or in a country house outside a |
| describe Romania in other words: the land of | | | | village, where the hostess will welcome you |
| beautiful women, a mixture of Latin and | | | | (on your first visit) with special, customary |
| Slavic culture, mysterious and fascinating. | | | | appetizers bread and salt and a shot of |
| Bucharest, the capital of the country, used | | | | palinca - a Romanian traditional alcoholic |
| to be called the "Little Paris" and Romania | | | | drink, very popular in Transylvania. The |
| has many other wonders waiting for you. | | | | bread and salt have a symbolic meaning: they |
| | | | comprise the Romanian way of saying, "welcome |
| A wonder is Transylvania - the country | | | | in my house". You'll probably not find the |
| between forests - a real Romanian territory, | | | | same custom everywhere you go, some |
| full of history and imposing in its splendor. | | | | traditions are lost, but don't be surprised |
| The land has it all: bucolic scenery, | | | | if you do encounter it. |
| heights that take your breath away (the | | | | |
| Western Carpathians, also called the Apuseni | | | | So where should you go to be pampered as you |
| Mountains, cross the county from North to | | | | deserve and have a real, genuine |
| South), medieval towns (Sighisoara being the | | | | Transylvanian experience? Not far from |
| most famous of all and the place were prince | | | | Brasov, in Miclosoara (a little village in |
| Dracula was born) and rustic villages, places | | | | the foothills of the Carpathians) you find |
| were many ancestral traditions were piously | | | | "The Count's" guesthouses. Here you have |
| kept and the people are friendly and | | | | plenty of winter activities including skiing |
| welcoming. | | | | at Poiana Resort, bear and wolf tracking (oh, |
| | | | yes, the land is wild: a large bear |
| When traveling to Transylvania there is no | | | | population - you'll not find it in other |
| better way to enjoy your journey than to stay | | | | European countries), bird watching (there are |
| at a small, privately owned bed and breakfast | | | | plenty of rare birds in the region including |
| villa. Remember: you are in a wine country. | | | | eagles, ural owls, wall-creepers, |
| Romanians make delicious wines, some of which | | | | black-storks), hiking cross and cultural |
| you will never find in stores, for these are | | | | activities (many of the places you could |
| homemade wines as tasty as the most expensive | | | | visit are listed as UNESCO World Heritage). |