ROMANIA

Official name          : Republic of Romania

Capital                     : Bucharest

Currency                  : Romanian Leu (RON)

Language                : Romanian

Inhabitants              : 20.000.000

Visa required          : NO

In 1989 the world was startled by the public worldwide execution of old communist dictator Ceasescu and his wife. Before that, the country was sealed off by the Iron Curtain after WWII and we nobody had any idea what was happening behind it.

Romania slowly but surely scrambles out of the valley but still has a long way ahead - some people even want to go back to the old Communism - not at all strange, because the poor people of the countryside, in particular, crave steadfastness. The country is almost entirely surrounded by Slavic countries and is therefore completely isolated - it has a language derived from Latin and almost the entire population is Orthodox Christian. Minorities are the gypsies and the Hungarians; in addition, there are still a few Germans present. 

If you want to get to know Romania in its turn to the West (and prosperity) it is important to go NOW. In 10 years time it has already changed a lot, although local people will deny it here.

There is still a lot of waste, corruption, problems with minorities (Hungarians and gypsies) and street (stray) dogs, but there has been a lot of refurbishment in cities, infrastructure, education (more people speak English for example), accommodation options, WIFI and so on. Take it with you and plan a trip to this fascinating Eastern European country.