ncbluesdude

Hello everyone, I am planning a trip to Bucharest, Romania. Just wondering if anyone could provide me with some travel tips. The do's and don'ts while traveling there. I have never been on an overseas trip, so this will be all new to me. Thanks for any and all info.

David Johnstone

just out of interest if this is your first overseas trip,
why Bucharest (envy)?
I mean you could start with Calais for example...
David

"ncbluesdude" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hello everyone, I am planning a trip to Bucharest, Romania. Just
    > wondering if anyone could provide me with some travel tips. The do's and
    > don'ts while traveling there. I have never been on an overseas trip, so
    > this will be all new to me. Thanks for any and all info.
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

ncbluesdude

Going to meet with a special young lady.

Deep Freud Moors

On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 16:33:51 +0000, ncbluesdude
<member@british_expats.com> wrote:

    >Hello everyone, I am planning a trip to Bucharest, Romania. Just
    >wondering if anyone could provide me with some travel tips. The do's and
    >don'ts while traveling there. I have never been on an overseas trip, so
    >this will be all new to me. Thanks for any and all info.

Well, Bucharest is pretty rough. Most people want to leave as soon as
they arrive! Having said that, it is quite and interesting city, in a
tragic way, very much like Paris gone horribly wrong.

You are going to meet a girl, yeah? I hope you have your scam detector
switched on! Why on earth would you want to meet her in Bucharest? It
is not pretty, and far from a romantic destination.

The area around Gara du Nord is very rough, with numerous rip-off
artists looking for clueless tourists, packs of mangey stray dogs
wander the city (but usually wont bother you), and of course there are
the Roma children, with whom you may quickly lose any sympathy for
once they have latched onto you.

English is spoken there to an extent, and many folk speak good French
too.

As a first overseas destination, it could be a bit of a shock! Lower
your expectations greatly, and they are more likely to be met.
---
DFM

ncbluesdude

That is where she is from. We have been talking for over a year now. I have heard good things about Bucharest and some bad things. I was just wondering about peoples personal experiences, and if anyone could share any information.

Luca Logi

ncbluesdude <member@british_expats.com> wrote:

    > That is where she is from. We have been talking for over a year now. I
    > have heard good things about Bucharest and some bad things. I was just
    > wondering about peoples personal experiences, and if anyone could share
    > any information.

I spent three days there for business in September. The good news: there
are plenty of cheap restaurants, and even elegant restaurants are good
and cheap. My favourite was "Menuet".

The bad news: there are few things to see, and almost nothing to buy. I
spent the last morning looking for some gifts for a special lady at
home; there was practically nothing worth the time spent looking (the
only nice thing turned out to be a Murano glass necklace).

The place isn't particularly nice and you should be careful at night.
Ladies look very nice, anyway.

--
Luca Logi - Firenze - Italy e-mail: [email protected]

Markku GröNroos

"Luca Logi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:1g4gfzc.1ktd7pv1b8w8l2N%[email protected]...
    > ncbluesdude <member@british_expats.com> wrote:
    > > That is where she is from. We have been talking for over a year now. I
    > > have heard good things about Bucharest and some bad things. I was just
    > > wondering about peoples personal experiences, and if anyone could share
    > > any information.
    > I spent three days there for business in September. The good news: there
    > are plenty of cheap restaurants, and even elegant restaurants are good
    > and cheap. My favourite was "Menuet".
I recall restaurant "Plovdiv" in Leipzig in August 1989 in eve of the
Communist collapse. I had a three course meal by 35 monopoly markkas which
was roughly equal to 2 bucks (in rate 1:9 between the two German
currencies).

Luca Logi

Markku Grönroos <[email protected]> wrote:

    > I recall restaurant "Plovdiv" in Leipzig in August 1989 in eve of the
    > Communist collapse. I had a three course meal by 35 monopoly markkas which
    > was roughly equal to 2 bucks (in rate 1:9 between the two German
    > currencies).

Well, two weeks ago I had a three course meal in St.Petersburg's
Philarmonic Orchestra workers' canteen for 40 rubles (=eur 1.15).

I survived the St.Petersburg meal. But I remember getting a mild
alimentary intoxication from one of the top restaurants in East Berlin,
March 1989.

--
Luca Logi - Firenze - Italy e-mail: [email protected]

Deep Freud Moors

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 02:46:25 +0000, ncbluesdude
<member@british_expats.com> wrote:

    >That is where she is from. We have been talking for over a year now. I
    >have heard good things about Bucharest and some bad things. I was just
    >wondering about peoples personal experiences, and if anyone could share
    >any information.

It's poor, and dodgy. What else is there to say?
---
DFM

David Johnstone

It is a big big city with a lot of crime and high-rise...
And Caocescus palace, isn't that the biggest building in
the world or something?
Alternative: what about a romantic holiday together in
Vienna or Constanta? Or maybe even Clacton-on-Sea?
David

"Deep Freud Moors" <deepfloydmar@yIaWON'ThBITEoYA!o.co.uk> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 02:46:25 +0000, ncbluesdude
    > <member@british_expats.com> wrote:
    > >
    > >That is where she is from. We have been talking for over a year now. I
    > >have heard good things about Bucharest and some bad things. I was just
    > >wondering about peoples personal experiences, and if anyone could share
    > >any information.
    > It's poor, and dodgy. What else is there to say?
    > ---
    > DFM

ncbluesdude

We have talked about Vienna, but I think that I would like to give her city/country a chance. I watch Romanian International television and the news topics do look that different from here in the U.S. Also the shows about the country depict a very pretty country. (I realize that they would not show the "run down" side of it) But even on the news, Bucharest does not look as bad as I have heard. About The Palace of the People, I have heard that it is the second largest building in the world......after the Pentagon.

Also how big of a deal is it getting in and out of there through customs? Thanks again for everyones input.

Deep Freud Moors

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 21:01:45 +0000, ncbluesdude
<member@british_expats.com> wrote:

    >We have talked about Vienna, but I think that I would like to give her
    >city/country a chance. I watch Romanian International television and the
    >news topics do look that different from here in the U.S. Also the shows
    >about the country depict a very pretty country. (I realize that they
    >would not show the "run down" side of it) But even on the news,
    >Bucharest does not look as bad as I have heard.

Parts of Bucharest are quite pretty, only if you are facing in the
right direction. There are still numerous half finished buildings, and
decaying Parisian architecture everywhere. There are also some quite
pretty little courtyards for you to hang around in.

If I were you, I'd jump on a train and head up to Transylvania. Sinaia
is easy to get to, and is towered over by the superb Bucegi mountains.
Brasov is also there, but feels about as touristy as it gets, with a
standard pompous town square with the usual expensive restaurants
littered around the edge of it.

But really, you should have a look at Sighisoara, birthplace of Vlad.
It's the most atmospheric place I have ever been to!!! A lot of people
consider it the most beautiful town in Romania. It is dramatically
located in a hill, and is well preserved. There are plenty of
surrounding hills to wander around too with views of the town. You
wont regret going there.

Catching trains in Romania is fairly easy. Every town has a station,
and the trains are (curiously) quite reliable too! Tickets are dirt
cheap, although the locals often don't bother, preferring to pay a
bribe instead.

    >About The Palace of the
    >People, I have heard that it is the second largest building in the
    >world......after the Pentagon.

Yeah, it's big, but it's just a building at the end of the day. The
tale behind it is one of tragedy too. Ceaucescu obssesively insisted
on its completion while his people starved. Had they shot him and his
wife decades earlier, maybe Romania wouldn't be the basket case that
it is today.

    >Also how big of a deal is it getting in and out of there through
    >customs?

It's not too bad in that regard. Assuming you are a US citizen, you
can just turn up there and get your passport stamped with 30 days to
stay there. I can't imagine they would care if you over-stayed a bit
either.

    >Thanks again for everyones input.

You are welcome. Romania is one of my favourite countries on earth!
---
DFM

Radu Cernea

"David Johnstone" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > It is a big big city with a lot of crime and high-rise...
    > And Caocescus palace, isn't that the biggest building in
    > the world or something?
The "People's House", built by Ceausescu is the second uilding inthe
world, as someone alredy mentioned here.

    > > >
    > > >That is where she is from. We have been talking for over a year now. I
    > > >have heard good things about Bucharest and some bad things. I was just
    > > >wondering about peoples personal experiences, and if anyone could share
    > > >any information.
Dfm is right , there are some places to avoid in Bucharest,like gara
de nord,m but Bucharest have it's own nice places, there is some
sightseeing, but I'd suggest go a few days thru Romania. It's not very
expensive, the mountains are great...try the Bran - Moeciu Area, or
the Prahova Valley.
I can't agree with the "What else is there to say?" ....there is a lot
else to say even about Buicharest.
However I'll better spend my time with a lady outside Bucharest.

Regards,
Radu / outdoorholiday.com

HIGHQ

Hi ncbluesdude,

How long do you intend on staying in Bucharest and do you intend to do any traveling in Romania outside Bucharest? I am a US citizen who has been living in Romania for some time now. Based on your length of stay I can give you some insights from an American's perspective on Bucharest and the rest of Romania. I have also traveled over most of Europe.

If you would like to discuss anything via email also feel free to email me at: [email protected]

As to your question about customs, I have never had a problem at the airports or the border's. At the airport I have been waived through customs every time. At the airport they just stamped my passport without asking any questions.

HIGHQ

HIGHQ

One correction: US citizens are allowed to stay visa free for 90 days, not 30. Some of the websites have not been updated since they changed the rules.

The frontier police do not pay much attention to you if you have a US passport. They scrutinize their own people (Romanian citizens) much more. For a Romanian to cross the border into Hungary they have to show that they have 250 Euros for each day in the country. That is a lot if you consider that the typical Romanian salary is somewhere around 100 Euro per month! If they cannot show the money they are turned back or sometimes they can get through by paying a bribe to the frontier police (something I have witnessed a few times). They are enforcing this requirement much more vigorously in the last 6 months I have noticed.


HIGHQ