Ironically, I am from NE Ohio originally as the authors and about the same age.

I have traveled to Romania 4 times. 1993, 2001, winter 2002 and 2004. Romania is a beautiful country especially in Transylvania and near Suceava and Maremures. At times spiritual and meditative.
My last trip I had a driver. I did a big circle around the country starting in Bucharest to Barlad-Iasi in Moldova to Brasov/Fagaras to Sighisoara to Medias to Sibiu to Cluj to Oradea to Baia Mare to Sapanta to Piatra Neamt to Vatra Dornei to Iasi then back to Bucharest. Saw some of the most breathtaking scenary I ever saw in Europe. I backed packed all around Europe in college so I feel I have a good vantage point. My winter 2002 trip in Romania was gorgeous driving through the the countryside with snow on the ground and mist around the mountain tops. Bran Castle was pretty with the snow on the grounds and one could see for miles since the leaves were off the trees. I found Romania at times to be very spiritual and meditative.
Plus no Americans!! We were driving to Bertran the Unesco Heritage site city near Medias and a big fancy tour bus full of Germans was pulling out of town. I was thrilled to see we would not be surrounded by tourists in Bertran. Only tourist bus I saw my whole trip. That is why I liked Romania.
I love the fact in Romania one can see the remnants of communism, the primitive peasant life is still thriving against the backdrop of new Europe. I had a driver so I was relieved of the driving hassle. I took the Intercity trains and they were very nice and cheap.

Romania is for the adventure traveler. March is a dismal time anywhere. Even Amish country in NE Ohio is pretty dismal looking in March. Go in the summer and autumn when the Romania bursts with acres of sunflowers and corn for miles. Peasants sell their fruits and veggies along the road and drive horse drawn carts piled high with hay.

Romania, like many former communist block countries, still struggles with the concept of service. Most educated people speak English. In the university towns and large cities you will find English spoken. Often Romanians say they don't speak English but they do but are not confident. Many never encountered actual Americans in their lives.

Good points about the credit card and being asked for the pin number. A debit card is best. I was more concerned about gypsy kids running around then the dogs. Stray dogs are an issue.

Yes, Sighisoara is quiet at night. I ate at a great cozy pizza/pasta place. But a lot of smaller towns in Ohio are pretty dead too at night. Could you imagine what it was like under communism when there were few if any businesses or restaurants. Reminds me how quiet and deserted the streets were in Prague and Budapest when I visited in the early 1980's. Romania is still evolving from the dark ages of communism.

Romania is not a big thriving hub. Cluj, Timisoara, Iasi and Bucharest are more active. Pack your sense of humor! Noapte Buna!

All - I want to state that my comment about PINs and CC was taken from another trip report (one of the two I credited at the top of this report)

Hoepsin - thanks for the comments.

Scullerygirl - There are a lot of people who are very passionate about Romania. My report wasn't meant to be an attack against them or the country they love

Romania is, at its heart, a beautiful country. And that is why when you see how it is treated it is very hard to take. There is garbage spoiling otherwise excellent views. There are dead dogs on the road. These things, for me, detract from its beauty.

I believe that this is due to its recent bout with communism. Seeing northern Hungary just drove the point home as, to me, that was what I expected Romania to look like.

However, I would not go so far as to say (even without the above) Romania would be among the most beautiful European countries - but that is a matter of taste. To me, Ireland, Italy, and Croatia set a very high bar

I do not think my experience was because of March. I only travel to Europe between November and March, so am used to what it looks like then

And, I want to emphatically state that the Romanian people were among the nicest we've ever met in any of our travels.

Many parts of Romania are quiet, but to me that is not a negative thing. I pointed that out so that people would know. I don't think it is fair to compare Ohio to Romania I certainly wouldn't advise European visitors to America to come to NE Ohio

All of that being said, my report was meant to say that Romania is not for everyone. It is not, for example, for people like us I think it is important that people get many views of a country so that they can make their own decisions about where to go. Because of that, I'm glad that you and others give differing opinions of Romania than me

Kevin, this was a great trip report. I enjoy your writing style. I'm seriously considering Hungary for my 2007 trip, and I'll be saving your report.

Kevin
From one Buckeye to another, thanks for a well written trip report! We will probably visit Prague and Hungary next year and hopefully Berlin. I hope we have as much fun as you did! I want to save the name of your Boat Hotel as it sounds like a good place to stay.

Thank you for an excellent and highly descriptive report. I concur with your opinion on Hungary having visited once, not Budapest however.

That was a very well written report, Kevin! I enjoyed reading it, thank you!

I'm a Romanian and I could easily see your points. The thing is you've been there when you've been and it is definitely livelier in summer.
But you made some points which indeed are true, and also you couldn't see other points because of the time of the year. Sighisoara and Brasov are lively during the summer months.
However, I consider it a pity that you couldn't see the charm of Sibiu, Brasov and Sighisoara. I could say that you were there at the wrong time, even though others have been to Romania during this period and found the charm they were looking for.
But it is your view, what you yourself have encountered.
Others may find or see something else.

Thanks for the report Kevin, my husband and I really appreciate all the details and your insight. The pidgeon in Romania would have freaked me out a bit too, your poor wife!

It's been a long time since I've read anything even half as good as this . . . you really have a talent for writing.

Thank you so much for posting and for the great entertainment.

Sandy (in Denton)

Kevin, thanks for your report, it was great to hear about places that don't get a lot of print here. I especially appreciated your comments about Budapest. We have been to Prague and whilst we enjoyed it, I just know that Budapest is more "me."

We'll find out next year when we visit and we'll definitely look into Eger too. Who can tell why you click with one place and not another--chemistry is too difficult to figure out (unless you're drinking wine from a test tube!).

Thank you so much for sharing this report. That you put so much detail and impressions into it makes it really come alive. I really appreciate it and will hopefully put some of it to use in a future trip (am hoping for Hungary in 2007).

I really enjoyed your trip report, Kevin. It was nice to see such a detailed report on some places that aren't talked about a lot on this forum. The way it was broken up made it easy to read also. Thanks for posting!

I am glad to have the perspective of your trip report, alyssamma, to add to Clifton's and Michael's reports. My brother and I are considering a visit to Romania in Sept/Oct with my father for his 80th birthday. We will be in Bucharest and Transylvania because we have relatives there. Our focus will be a lot different; I love medieval buildings and art. Nightlife is not a very big part of my travel, and our socializing will be with relatives.

scullerygirl, could you share the name of your driver in Romania and/or how you found him/her? We are hoping to hire a driver for Transylvania for many reasons.

This is the most entertaining trip report that I have ever read! I would like to know what your vocation is. My husband & I plan to visit Budapest as part of our tour to Europe in Sept. & Oct. Reading about the joys of driving to a particular hotel helps me know why I am taking the trains! I would be a nervous wreck if we tried to drive over there! Keep up the good work!

Hi Kevin:

I am thanking Marsh right now for topping up your trip report. I can't believe I missed it the first time up.
You seem very outgoing and that must be why so many fun things happen to and around you!

Kevin,

It is almost midnite---I never stay up this late!!! I have tears in my eyes from laughing, and wish you still had another week of vacation time to report about!

I think you should audition for the Comedy Channel!!!

We had great time in Hungary, but you definitely had a more fun!!

To Noe847: I see that Scullerygirl did not answer to you yet, so, I would like to recommend a driver we had and we liked him very much. We travel with him in 2000, and after this, we recommended him three times to some of our friends. We is a very good driver, he can also suggest what to visit or some hotels, and he is a nice person. He has car for 4 persons and a minibus for 8 persons.
You contact him by email: [email protected]

When I went to Romania for two weeks in mid to late October 2002, I had an 8 day tour by myself with Dan Comanescu of NNV travel agency (Nord Nord Vest - as in the direction from Bucharest) based in Baia Mare in Maramures http://www.nnv.ro

I wanted to see Maramures which is difficult to do by public transport and I was afraid to travel on my own (a middle aged woman with no Romanian). I found NNV through a website of a person who had travelled with Dan and sent an email saying that I would like a guide and driver to show me Maramures, Bucovina and Transylvania and told him what I was hoping to see. Dan sent me an itinerary that proved to be really well though out and said he would drive me himself as that time of year it is getting cold and there are not many tourists.

I had a fantastic trip and I thought Romania was just beautiful, particularly Maramures with its countryside where farmers still farm the land using horses and oxen and you rarely see a car on the road or a tractor in the fields.

I flew to Bucharest where Dan arranged airport transfer and the hotel (fine) and an afternoon tour with English speaking guide and driver and then dinner at a touristy but ok restaurant with Romanian dancers and music. The next day I flew to Baia Mare (he arranged the airport transfer and flight for me) where Dan collected me at the Airport (he is the large fellow at the back of the photo with the phone cradled against his shoulder) and after paying for the trip by credit card at his office, we headed off for the countryside.

We spent two days seeing the wooden churches of Maramures with a night at Pension Geta that is featured on his site and the other nights in "best in town" hotels, all of which were fine. We then went to Bucovina with a night to break the trip in a hotel in a mountain ski resort (still not the season) and then saw the main painted monasteries over two days before an overnight before the long drive to Sibiu, with lunch at the Continental Hotel (I think) in Cluj.

In Sibiu we stayed for two nights at the fantastic old Roman Emperor Hotel. We went to some of the old Saxon towns including Biertan and stayed at the Hotel Sighisoara (nice hotel) in the Citidel and after seeing Bran Castle and a couple of the other places on the way, Dan left me at my hotel in Brasov.

I was collected the next day to see the Szekelyland staying at Count Kalnoky's estate which also provided guided tours of the area for the three days I was there before they drove me to Bucharest airport. That took us through Wallacia and the area on the road to Bucharest after we left the mountains soon after seeing Peles Castle was probably the ugliest I have ever seen due to the effects of over-industrialisation. Everywhere else I went was beautiful.

Dan speaks perfect English, is well read and is a really nice person (a vegetarian except for the odd fish he had a hard time finding food and at the local semolina dish with mushrooms almost the whole trip). We have kept in touch with the occasional email and e-card.

I understand that he arranges tours by minibus and these would probably be available in September. Mine was not a "budget" trip as I wanted ok hotels but it was incredibly low cost compared to my other trips in Europe even paying Dan for his time and the car and his hotel room and meals along the way. I highly recommend NNV travel.

I don't know how I missed this when it was first posted but I'm glad to have seen it now. Very well written, informative and entertaining. Thanks for posting.

All,

I'm glad you enjoyed the report. I get a lot from Fodor's, so it makes me feel good to give some back.

Marsh, I am currently a computer consultant (self employed). I was a teacher before that and did medical research before that.

Kevin

When my husband was given a 2 month assignment in Bucharest, I began searching for information about Romania and found your trip report. Very entertaining and interesting! I must admit your report caused me to be a little nervous about spending 2 months in Romania, but it has been a wonderful experience. We lived in Moscow, Russia for the past year though, so we are familiar with the lingerings of Communist dictatorship. Romania is progressing and when they become part of the EU in 2007, it will continue to explode with growth. Real estate is expected to increase 400% in value in 2007-2008!

We spent the first 10 days at Hotel Intercontinental in Bucharest; typical large hotel with 'not so great' service; they advertise several restaurants when in fact they only had one operating restaurant and one lobby bar, both expensive. We then moved to K+K Hotel Elisabeta. K+K is a new, beautiful boutique hotel with fantastic service and wonderful people, not to mention the best breakfast buffet in the city. It is conveniently located in the city centre and I highly recommend it. They also gave us an outstanding corporate rate. K+K Hotels are owned by a family from Austria and they have 9 hotels in Europe.

The people in Bucharest are so friendly and helpful. And the majority speak some English and/or French so communication is not as difficult as you might imagine.

If you are looking for great restaurants, you must try Byblos - wonderful intercontinental menu, wonderful prices. For Romanian cuisine, Burebista on Batistel Str. is the best. We were not disappointed in anything we tried there. The interior decor is worth seeing and they have live Romanian music most evenings. Their summer terrace was one of our favorites. Another favorite with a great terrace is Rodon. Rodon is located at the El Greco Hotel and serves many Greek selections in addition to Romanian cuisine. They also have live music most evenings.

We made weekend trips into the mountains. Our favorite places:
1. Sinaia. Peles Castle is a must.
2. Brasov. The views are incredible. Bran Castle is not as impressive and although nothing is mentioned about Count Dracula at the castle, you must go through a tourist trap market of Dracula souvenirs to get to the castle entrance. The Fortress is impressive and worth visiting.
3. Crama Halewood. This is a winery located east of Ploiesti. Absolutely beautiful countryside and good Romanian wine. Romania has a hybrid grape that is not grown anywhere else: feteasca. The Feteasca Neagra and Feteasca Regal wines are of good quality and definitely worth trying. Pinot noir is also grown in this region.

Many people were going to the Black Sea coast during the summer months that we were in Romania, however we were more interested in getting to the mountains!

In Bucharest, we toured the National Musuem of Art (impressive Rembrandt exhibit) and National Museum of Romanian History. We attended the Mozart Festival, several outdoor opera and symphony concerts, and even a Billy Idol concert!

There are many many bookstores. New books, old books, used books, antique books. And many art galleries, particularly in the city centre.

If you are considering a trip to Romania, I recommend it. Be prepared to see beautiful architecture in run-down condition (the country is very poor), meet friendly people, and see some of the most gorgeous landscapes in the world.

For reference, we are from east Texas. Following the Romanian assignment we are now based in Dubai, UAE for a few years.