Romania is a country of extremes, of really unbelievable beauty and diversity. That's not cool, right? Diversity, beauty and nice people, that sounds like bragging and probably is. Seriously, don't visit Romania! You'll regret it!
Here are top 5 reasons you should think again about visiting this amazing country. I mean, wait, I mean...this nasty country! yeah..
1. The drive on the Transfagarasan sucks!
One of the most - if not the most - spectacular drive in Europe. Top Gear visited and even they were impressed but who could trust those guys really?
It's about 92km of pure beauty. It goes through the Fagaras mountains and it reaches an altitude of about 2042 metres. Because of the dangerous serpentines, the top speed is at 40km/hour and really, is driving that slow really worth the trip?!
The greatest drive you could ever dream of, amazing photos waiting to be shot and the experience is worth...not much, yeah.
INSIDER FACT: The road was built in 4 years starting in 1970. The human lives prices was enormous, although the official communist statistics said 40, the people working there said that a couple of hundreds is close to the real number.
2. DRACULA castle is a scam, DRACULA wasn't real!
The famous Bran Castle is a pearl on its own, but got very famous after people got the idea that Dracula supposedly lived here. HE DID NOT!. The myth is based on the legacy of Vlad Tepes, a real ruler of Transylvania that was known to be very bloodthirsty and cruel( truth be said, mostly with bad people but still..).
The fact that the castle is beautiful and is worth visiting should not sway you! There's no Dracula waiting in a coffin at the end of the trip!
Built in 1377 the castle changed a lot of owners and was Royal Residence until eventually sold to a private owner. It can still be visited and attracts millions of visitors every year.
INSIDER FACT: Forbes name it the second most expensive propriety in the world, at 140 millions.
3. It's just an Ex-communism country.
That's the House of the People, the second largest building in THE WORLD, a communist building of course. Also: it's ugly! But that's just the beginning.
Walking around Bucharest you can see the communism influence everywhere, then find yourself in an Old Bucharest neighborhood, untouched and breathtaking, but pretty bleah if you think that most were influenced by Paris, after all..that's what Bucharest used to be called: Little Paris. You'd be better served visiting the real Paris.
You can go in Cluj, Sibiu, Brasov and see the Germanic influence survived the communism influence but then, what's the point to see that? Better go to Germany directly.
You can eat like a "boier" [ that's like "boss" in the Romanian Middle Ages ] because people in Romania love HUGE portions of food but it's just fatty food, mostly influenced by Hungarian and Turkish cousine. It's tasty yes but.....OK I HAVE NOTHING :D
4. It's NOT expensive enough!
As of now, 1sbd = 3.5 ron.
Here are some prices to give you an idea:
Taxi cab = max fair about 15ron ( We also have uber that is almost the same price )
One night in a good hotel = about 60$ ( AirBNB cheaper )
A train ride of about 7 hours = about 30$.
Food = A good meal in a good restaurant about 30$ for two. A beer is about 3$, cheaper in supermarkets.
With 500$ you can visit and do everything. You'll never brag to friends about how much money you burned in Romania.
Seriously, that's a steal! Can't a man really spend some hard earned cash? Why make it so hard ROMANIA!!??
PS: Visit Scotland, and feel better.
5. Everyone speaks too good English, the people are too friendly and the women are too beautiful!
After communism everyone was obsessed with learning English because that's the language that represented everything that communism wasn't. So our parents paid for English lessons, the movies were in English and everyone spoke some sort of English version. That's why, you'll have no charming language barrier in Romania. You're missing out RIGHT THERE.
Add insult to injury with the fact that we have a great sense of humor( you need it if you want to survive communism) and that the women are maybe the most beautiful in Bucharest and really, do you need the envy?
Noup.
I hope all these reasons have convinced you to steer clear of Romania.
PRO TIP: Bulgaria is just around the corner ;)