You gotta love Romania

Romania…Romanians…Do these words sound familiar to you? Yes? No? Kinda? I’ll help you understand everything about the incredibly beautiful country-ROMANIA.

Romania is a southeastern European country known for the forested region of Transylvania, ringed by the Carpathian Mountains. Its preserved medieval towns include Sighişoara, and there are many fortified churches and castles, notably clifftop Bran Castle...WAIT.Let’s make it clear:

ROMANIA-southeastern European country

Capital: Bucharest (also known as The Little Paris)

Population: 19.96 million amazing people

Currency: Romanian leu

Points of interest: where do I even start?

  

See this place? No,it’s not Heaven.It’s Bâlea Lake,a glacier lake situated at 2,034 m of altitude in the Făgăraș Mountains, in central Romania,in Cârțișoara,Sibiu County.You can stare at this view for hours and you won’t get bored.You can also find restaurants and hotels if you want to spend a longer time there.

BUT...If you want to arrive at Bâlea Lake,take this road,called Transfăgărăș.The road climbs to an altitude of 2,042 metres (6,699 ft) and it’s winding,dotted with steep hairpin turns, long S-curves, and sharp descents.This road is definitely a challenge,not only for drivers,but also for hikers, cyclists, motorcycle fans and...it’s worth it!

  

Romania doesn't have vampires (from what I know,anyway),but it has Bran Castle,also well known as Dracula’s Castle (name origin:Vlad the Impaler,also known as Vlad Dracul ("Vlad the Dragon") .It’s now a museum open to tourists,so if you want to have a magical experience and travel in the past,just enter and admire the art and furniture collected by Queen Mary.

Were you wondering why Bucharest is also called ”The Little Paris”? Look at this picture.This is the Triumph Arch,situated on the Kiseleff Road,in Bucharest.

The Palace of the Parliament-the second-largest administrative building in the world,situated in the central part of Bucharest (in Sector 5)

Cotroceni Palace-is the official residence of the President of Romania

The interior of the Cotroceni Palace.Aren’t you speechless already?

Calling all the bookworms...and not only them! This is the impressive bookstore Carturesti Carusel,also situated in Bucharest.

How about a visit to the Scărișoara Cave? It’s one of the biggest ice caves in the Apuseni Mountains of Romania, in a part of Carpathian chain.

Do not forget about Danube River, Europe's second-longest river...

...and the Danube Delta (situated in Tulcea),included on Unesco's World Heritage list.

Now,let me introduce you to Sibiu, the European Capital of Culture in 2007, together with Luxemburg.

This picture makes you believe in infinity,doesn’t it? The Endless Column of Constantin Brancusi - Targu Jiu

But what about the Romanians?

Henri Coanda- builder of an experimental aircraft

Traian Vuia-designer and builder of the tractor configuration monoplane

Petrache Poenaru- world's first fountain pen

Ana Aslan: inventor of Gerovital, an anti-aging product widely used by famous personalities, such as Charles de Gaulle, John F. Kennedy, Indira Gandhi, Charlie Chaplin or Salvador Dalí.

Nadia Elena Comăneci- the first gymnast in Olympic history to be awarded the perfect score of 10.0 at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal

Mihai Eminescu-poet,novelist and journalist ; his poems have been translated in over 60 languages

Lucian Blaga- philosopher and writer, nominated to the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1956

Constantin Brâncuși- sculptor, painter and photographer

Sebastian Stan-actor

These are only a few of the remarkable persons from Romania who followed their dreams and amazed others with their passion and talent.

I'd also like to mention that there are even more amazing places to visit and more extraordinary experiences that you can have in this country.

I don’t know if this post makes you want to visit Romania immediately or not,but I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Don’t forget to share the beauty of Romania,because...let’s be honest,it’s really worth it.

-Anne Maria