Every person that you would encounter on your waking life is sure to have entered a movie house once.
Movie watching had given us various information on things in general that we somehow use these accumulated knowledge for stereotyping.
Movies like Interview with the Vampire, the Twilight Series and Dracula Untold had surely left a mark on your heads regarding vampires being directly proportional to good looking.
And for sure, you always associate vampires or Dracula and all species alike to their ‘hometown’ known as Romania.
But is Romania a real vampire haven or there’s more to this country that we’re not aware of?
ROMANIA
Romania came from the ancient Roman province of Dacia and was then formed through the emergence of principalities of Moldovia and Old Wallachia in 1859.
A country descending from well-known empires, Romania is now a budding country with great architecture and opulent culture to boot.
After gaining independence from the famous Ottoman Empire in 1877, this country had been an unstoppable melting pot for tourists and historians alike.
Following rapid economic growth in the 2000s, Romania has an economy predominantly based on services, and is a producer and net exporter of machines and electric energy, featuring companies like Automobile Dacia and OMV Petrom.
Living standards have improved, and currently, Romania is an upper-middle income country with a high Human Development Index. It has been a member of NATO since 2004, and part of the European Union since 2007.
Around 90% of the population identify themselves as Eastern Orthodox Christians, and are native speakers of Romanian, a Romance language.
With a rich cultural history, Romania has been the home of influential artists, musicians, and inventors, and features a variety of tourist attractions.
LOCATION
Commonly misspelled as Rumania or Roumania, the self-effacing country of Romania is situated in Southeastern Central Europe, north of the Balkan Peninsula and on the western shore of Black Sea.
The country borders other countries such as Hungary, Serbia, Moldova, Ukraine and Bulgaria. As the seventh most populous member of the European Union, Romania is currently at the 20.1 million mark of inhabitants.
CLIMATE
Romania has a temperate-continental climate with moderate features which is characteristic for Central Europe with hot summers, long, cold winters and very distinct seasons.
Abundant snowfalls may occur throughout the country from December to mid-March, especially if you are in the mountainous areas of Romania.
TRANSPORTATION
As a densely populated country in a central location in Central-Southeastern Europe and with a developed economy, Romania has a dense and modern transportation infrastructure.
Transportation infrastructure in Romania is the property of the state, and is administered by the Ministry of Transports, Constructions and Tourism, except when operated as a concession, in which case the concessions are made by the Ministry of Administration and Interior.
The country’s most important waterway is the river Danube. The largest port is that of Constanta. Bucharest Airport is a major international airport and European transportation hub.
Air travel is used for greater distances within Romania but faces competition from the state-owned CFR’s rail network. Public transport is available in most areas.
A fast-growing number of Romania’s major cities have modern tram or light rail networks, including Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca Oradea. Recently the tram has seen a very big revival with many experiments such as ground level power supply in Oradea.
The air traffic in Romania reached 15.9 million passengers in 2013, 7.1% more than the previous year.
The national carrier of Romania is TAROM, a full service airline which flies to 9 domestic destinations and 30 international destinations in 23 countries.
WHAT TO SEE
HOTEL CASTLE DRACULA
Positioned roughly on the promontory where the Count’s castle would have stood, Hotel Castle Dracula is lazily Gothic from the outside, but more interesting within (particularly in reception, where a stuffed hawk, wolf, raven and ferret watch you signing in).
Corridors are lined with cranberry-colored carpets and dragon motifs, while rooms are rustically stylish with bureaus for writing fraught diaries, and old-fashioned furniture.
The apartments are vampier with wine-dark walls, candelabra and dinner tables for impromptu séances.
Meanwhile, the hotel’s Fear Room is a creaky-stepped, ghost house-style crypt, with murals retelling the story of Dracula.
We won’t tell you the denouement but in the ’90s someone had a heart attack. The restaurant is earthy with dishes such as pork suckling and mutton on the bone, and an outside terrace perfect for summer breakfasts.
On a stormy night when the Pass is whipped by rain, wind rattles the casements and the odd wolf howls across the valley, the hotel can be genuinely creepy.
Outside in the car park there’s a faded map detailing four color-coded walks in the area as well as a sculpture of author Bram Stoker in a glass coffin.
Immediately after is a gathering of stalls hawking snow globes, vampire mugs, masks, hats and garden gnomes! There’s also tennis and a small ski lift next door.
A couple of daily buses between Bistriţa and Vatra Dornei pass by here.
PRINCELY COURT
Curtea de Argeş was an early capital of Wallachia, and these ruins from the 14th century mark the spot where the court once stood.
The main sight is St Nicholas Church, which dates from the time of Basarab I (1310–52). Many of the frescoes are originals.
The tomb of early ruler Vladislav I Vlaicu (d 1377) stands in the main room. Vlaicu’s tomb was first discovered and exhumed in the 1920s. He was found buried wearing an enormous gold buckle (not on display).
The wall paintings, painstakingly restored in the early 20th century, merit closer inspection.
In the main room to the right, just below the upper window, look for a rare painting of a pregnant Mary dating from 1370.
CHEVALET
Head chef Nelu Păucă trained around the world before opening this romantic terrace restaurant on Lake Siutghiol, near the southern end of Mamaia.
Specialities include steak tartare, frog legs and a mouthwatering array of beef, pork and seafood. Book in advance to secure a table on the lake. Time your booking for sunset.
ROMANIAN ANTHENAEUM
The Romanian Athenaeum is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania and a landmark of the Romanian capital city.
Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city’s main concert hall and home of the “George Enescu” Philharmonic and of the George Enescu annual international music festival.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário