My (born and raised in Norway) thoughts on Romania after visiting it for four days

[RN97]

I just came back from a trip to Romania and after doing my thoughts on Budapest and Gdansk I thought I would do the same here.

It was a 4 day trip. I was mainly in Bucharest, apart from a day-trip to Peles castle, Bran castle and Brasov (all in the same day).

Both Brasov and Bucharest looked good, but Bucharest was undoubtedly the most beautiful. I was in Brasov for only one hour mainly in the old town. It was cozy and had a different vibe compared to Bucharest. In Bucharest the old buildings and architecture really makes the city beautiful in spite of the worn down communist buildings. The city also was massive, with people everywhere and lots of traffic in comparison to Oslo. For a Norwegian lack of forests and nature would make it really difficult for me to live there, but I guess it is not that different from other large European metropolitan cities. Generally the city seemed well developed and the streets were mostly clean. The nightlife was impressive considering that it was alive during the weekdays. Overall it pretty much looked and felt like any other Eastern European city I have visited; Budapest, Krakow or Riga.

When it comes to the people I noticed that their attitude is similar to other eastern European places I have visited and quite foreign for a Norwegian. People feel no duty to be nice and polite to you, but at the same time the people seem more open and out-going to strangers. I also noticed that Romanians do not seem to be as thorough as Norwegians and this can be a disadvantage. Everything from how you order and get your food to tour guides seem less organized. Our guided tour to bran and peles castle as well as Brasov was poorly organized and the guide seemed to just improvise along the way.

Looks-wise Romanians definitely look more like southern Europeans like Spaniards, Greeks, Italians than eastern Europeans like Ukranians and Poles. Most have darker features and even features-wise look more southern with larger eyes and more salient noses.

Overall it was a nice trip and I noticed that Bucharest has become a much more advanced and richer city compared to what it used to be, probably like the rest of the country. Hopefully Romania will advance even further in the future.

[Cybele]

I just came back from a trip to Romania and after doing my thoughts on Budapest and Gdansk I thought I would do the same here.

It was a 4 day trip. I was mainly in Bucharest, apart from a day-trip to Peles castle, Bran castle and Brasov (all in the same day).

Both Brasov and Bucharest looked good, but Bucharest was undoubtedly the most beautiful. I was in Brasov for only one hour mainly in the old town. It was cozy and had a different vibe compared to Bucharest. In Bucharest the old buildings and architecture really makes the city beautiful in spite of the worn down communist buildings. The city also was massive, with people everywhere and lots of traffic in comparison to Oslo. For a Norwegian lack of forests and nature would make it really difficult for me to live there, but I guess it is not that different from other large European metropolitan cities. Generally the city seemed well developed and the streets were mostly clean. The nightlife was impressive considering that it was alive during the weekdays. Overall it pretty much looked and felt like any other Eastern European city I have visited; Budapest, Krakow or Riga.

When it comes to the people I noticed that their attitude is similar to other eastern European places I have visited and quite foreign for a Norwegian. People feel no duty to be nice and polite to you, but at the same time the people seem more open and out-going to strangers. I also noticed that Romanians do not seem to be as thorough as Norwegians and this can be a disadvantage. Everything from how you order and get your food to tour guides seem less organized. Our guided tour to bran and peles castle as well as Brasov was poorly organized and the guide seemed to just improvise along the way.

Looks-wise Romanians definitely look more like southern Europeans like Spaniards, Greeks, Italians than eastern Europeans like Ukranians and Poles. Most have darker features and even features-wise look more southern with larger eyes and more salient noses.

Overall it was a nice trip and I noticed that Bucharest has become a much more advanced and richer city compared to what it used to be, probably like the rest of the country. Hopefully Romania will advance even further in the future.

Thanks for sharing your impressions! It's interesting that you found Bucharest to be overall looking and feeling pretty much like Budapest and Krakow. Though, I can see there are some similarities, Bucharest imo has a different vibe (I believe both Budapest and Krakow overall feel more Central European).
Also, I agree with the lack of proper organizing skills.

[Blondie]

I believe both Budapest and Krakow overall feel more Central European.

Budapest is similar to New York in cultural sense. We have lot of jews, east asians, many hungarian has mixed background like german, polish, slovak, south slav, romanian, ukrainian. I think Bukarest is more homogeneous and romanian. Budapest is not really hungarian city, i mean the identity.

[RN97]

Thanks for sharing your impressions! It's interesting that you found Bucharest to be overall looking and feeling pretty much like Budapest and Krakow. Though, I can see there are some similarities, Bucharest imo has a different vibe (I believe both Budapest and Krakow overall feel more Central European).
Also, I agree with the lack of proper organizing skills.

Maybe I misspoke. I meant both were equally clean with a similar wealth level, and both had a similar worn down commie buildings with more beautiful older buildings. The architecture was a bit different.

[RN97]

Budapest is similar to New York in cultural sense. We have lot of jews, east asians, many hungarian has mixed background like german, polish, slovak, south slav, romanian, ukrainian. I think Bukarest is more homogeneous and romanian. Budapest is not really hungarian city, i mean the identity.

Idk about that. There were more gypsies and immigrants (mostly east asian and south asian) in Bucharest.

[Cybele]

Budapest is similar to New York in cultural sense. We have lot of jews, east asians, many hungarian has mixed background like german, polish, slovak, south slav, romanian, ukrainian. I think Bukarest is more homogeneous and romanian. Budapest is not really hungarian city, i mean the identity.

I see. Well, in Budapest indeed I've seen people of many ethnic backgrounds on the street. I assumed many were tourists (especially in higher agglomerations and popular spots), the younger ones perhaps foreign students and so on.
Bucharest is melting pot of Romanians from all regions, first and foremost. But I believe the foreign population in Bucharest is on the rise too. 44% of foreign workers who mostly come from outside of EU choose the capital. But this proportion of foreigners, might be indeed smaller than in Budapest. Last time I went in there (around 2021) I've stopped in Unirii park, in the center, and it was full of what seemed to be foreign workers (Pakis maybe) and some women who were maybe from Philippines or that part of the world.

[ioas12]

I see. Well, in Budapest indeed I've seen people of many ethnic backgrounds on the street. I assumed many were tourists (especially in higher agglomerations and popular spots), the younger ones perhaps foreign students and so on.
Bucharest is melting pot of Romanians from all regions, first and foremost. But I believe the foreign population in Bucharest is on the rise too. 44% of foreign workers who mostly come from outside of EU choose the capital. But this proportion of foreigners, might be indeed smaller than in Budapest. Last time I went in there (around 2021) I've stopped in Unirii park, in the center, and it was full of what seemed to be foreign workers.

When I was Bucharest this summer I seen a few Muslims more then last thing I was there

[Cybele]

When I was Bucharest this summer I seen a few Muslims more then last thing I was there

I worked shortly in Bucharest in 2020 (I was commuting) and I've been told by a colleague that she saw Muslims in some areas. I haven't seen so many by that time, but I believe their number is on the rise.

[Regnera]

Enjoy your tour.

[Daco Celtic]

I also noticed that Romanians do not seem to be as thorough as Norwegians and this can be a disadvantage. Everything from how you order and get your food to tour guides seem less organized. Our guided tour to bran and peles castle as well as Brasov was poorly organized and the guide seemed to just improvise along the way.

this part made me laugh