ROMANIA FOR CYCLISTS & OTHER TRAVELLERS

Prepared by Julian Ross

Introduction by the writer

I am a British engineer who, after fourteen years working on the London Underground, took a change of direction. I own and manage a tourist company in Transylania, principally offering trips on horseback and by horse-drawn vehicle (80,000 km cycling over 10 years has left me with slightly arthritic knees that can't support 100+ km a day like in the past!). I can arrange accommodation in my village and the surrounding area too, and can guide walking and less than totally strenuous cycling trips in the locality (which is excellent for off-road cycling).

Cyclists planning a trip to Romania should feel free to contact me for advice, preferably by email as this avoids slow postal services, though do bear in mind that I am sometimes away with clients for several days at a time so I might not reply instantly. If you phone, please bear in mind that times in Romania are two hours later than in the UK (i.e. 8pm in the UK is 10pm here), and please don't phone before 8am or after 10pm Romanian time.

Julian Ross Str. Bolovanul nr. 340 4545 Lunca Ilvei Jud. Bistrita-Nasaud Romania

Tel/fax: +40-263-378470 Email: Website: www.riding-holidays.ro

Since writing the 1993 guide, a great deal has changed. On a personal level, I now live and work in Romania, and am married to a Romanian. The country itself has developed, the tourist industry has matured somewhat, and private enterprise has to some degree supplanted the inefficient efforts of the state.

Living in Romania has shown me much more of the country. I live in a village where most transport is still horse-drawn, where most routes are tracks and paths, and where distance is measured in hours walk. It may be the finest "undiscovered" off-road cycling country in Europe, as well as being an interesting place to cycle on the roads. People are kind and hospitable, and the pace of life is relaxing. I can spend hours without hearing a machine. Not all of Romania is so peaceful (the cities are major industrialised centres), however the contrast to the West is substantial.

I have written these notes during summer and autumn 2000, and updated them during Autumn 2001. They are correct to the best of my knowledge. Some statements represent my opinions, which anyone is free to disagree with. Obviously the situation in Romania will change over time, and I cannot be aware of every detail. I cannot accept responsibility for problems resulting from errors and omissions in the notes, however I would appreciate feedback so that future editions can be improved.

I have quoted prices in US$ throughout since the Romanian Lei is subject to a high annual inflation

Romania has a lot to commend itself to travellers seeking somewhere accessible yet distinctly off the beaten track, with much relatively unspoilt scenery, and historical interest. Some particular strong points of Romania are:

Great expanses of beautiful mountain and pastoral scenery;

Many quiet roads;

Some fine historic towns with medieval buildings;

The medieval "painted monasteries" in the north-east of the country;

A pleasant continental climate;

Much organic food; and traditional ways of life almost unchanged in rural areas.

The downsides of the country are predictable, are mostly urban, and need not deter the visitor armed with a guidebook and common sense:

Many major towns and cities ruined in the Ceausescu era;

Some roads in poor condition; and general unpredictability in service provision.

Neither recent publicity about "Romanian Gypsies", nor some of the more bizarre candidates in the November 2000 elections, should be taken as a sign of what the tourist will experience in Romania!

A map of Romania will show a horse-shoe of mountains (the Carpathian range), with an isolated block of mountains to the west. South and east of the Carpathians are respectively Wallachia and Moldavia – beyond the mountains neither has much of interest to most cyclists. Within the horse-shoe is Transylvania, which offers excellent cycling on the roads and off them, as do the mountains. The western mountains (the Apuseni range) are ideal for off-road cycling, as is the eastern (i.e. north-south) stretch of the Carpathians.

When I wrote the 1993 guide, I knew relatively little of off-road Romania. Having seen more of it, the potential for off-road cycling has become clear to me. In the term "off-road", I include touring using tracks and paths as well as more "technical" mountain biking. Romania has far more "country roads", which link the many villages that are not on main roads and give access to the deep forests and high mountains, than metalled roads.

Romanian also has many secondary roads suitable for a touring bicycle, so that a cycling trip through attractive countryside on quiet rural roads is entirely feasible. These roads allow access to many of the historic towns, churches, monasteries, etc, of which Romania still has a great many. In fact, there really is "something for everyone".

In fact there is a lot to be said for simply heading off on a bicycle, with map, food, sleeping bag, tent, etc, and exploring the byways. I've spent weeks of cycling around Romania, just camping where I ended up at sunset. I've done the same on a horse too. Both ways I saw the real countryside, with its medieval churches, buffalo-carts, wooden ploughs, crops being harvested by hand, roads reduced to single track because peasants were drying grain on half the carriageway, a horse-drawn fire engine (being used to water someone's garden!). I've asked to camp in a field, and been told "why, there's a bed in our house" – and stayed days, such was the friendliness of the people and fascination of their ways. I've watched soaring eagles, seen wolves in the forest, and met shepherds who spend six months of each year with their flocks on alpine pastures.

The routes that I described in 1993 are still appropriate for tours, although the main roads are now busier. However, with a guidebook, a map and the list of accommodation at the end of this guide, it will be possible to plan a range of tour routes within Transylvania and the surrounding mountains.

Another route which has proved successful (in part and in total) is this.

Bucuresti – Targoviste – Campulung Muscel – Brasov – Miercurea Ciuc – Bicaz – Vatra Dornei – Iacobeni – Viseu de Sus – Barsana – Sighet – Baia Mare – Jibou – Cluj – Reghin – Sovata – Odorheiul Secuiesc – Baraolt – Brasov – Maneciu – Ploiesti - Bucuresti. (On the stretches near Bucuresti, minor roads should be used in preference to main roads.)

EU, US and many other nationals no longer require visas to enter Romania. If you are not an EU or US national, do check visa requirements well in advance. Visas, when required, cannot be obtained at the border. Regulations still apply regarding duration of stay in Romania, a month being the current limit for a holiday visit without a visa, so if you plan to spend over a month in Romania do check in advance what regulations apply. Time extensions can be bureaucratic to arrange, particularly if one does not have an interpreter to hand, and I can help arrange extensions in my local town of Bistrita (provided that I am available – I would ask some payment for my time as the process may take a whole day).

You may be asked to declare certain valuable items on entry into the country - if so, take care to retain the receipt issued. If you lose declared items then you will need to provide a police report to this effect on leaving the country. Nothing that you are likely to need on a cycling tour is prohibited in Romania.

I was once asked to provide "papers" for my bicycle. So far as I know, there is no legal requirement for this. However it may be a good idea to carry a copy of some paper or other that appears to assert your ownership, such as an insurance document. But beware of showing people papers that give the value of your bicycle. (A piece of advice – if you are asked what your bicycle cost, make a relative statement like "a month's salary". This is easier for Romanians to relate to.)

Romanian laws aren't greatly different to those in the UK. As in most Western nations, possession and use of soft and hard drugs is illegal, and severe penalties apply. If you require any medication not immediately recognisable as legal, you should bring a copy of the prescription document or a note from your doctor stating that the item is required to treat a medical condition. In Romania you are obliged to carry your passport with you at all times.

Bicycles should be lit with battery or dynamo lights at night (even if most local cyclists don't bother). There is no legal obligation to wear a cycle helmet. The blood alcohol limit is 50mg (compared to 80mg in the UK), and is widely ignored in rural areas. Given the poor state of many roads, it is better to stay sober.

Off-road riding represents an interesting legal question since the "rights of way" situation is quite different to that in the UK. The situation may be broadly summed up as follows.

All public roads (national highways, secondary roads, country roads) are public rights of way for vehicles. These are the roads shown on maps.

Forest roads ("Drum Forestiere" – usually marked by signs where they begin) are not shown on large scale road maps, but may be shown on hiking maps, and are prohibited to unauthorised motor traffic. (The sign "Circulatie Public Interzis" refers to motor traffic.) However, as local people use them for walking, horse and cart traffic and even cycling, there should be no problem for visiting cyclists. These roads are often gated, however this is to keep motor vehicles out (generally to prevent theft of timber). In the Barsov / Zarnesti area, some forest roads are periodically closed during the hunting season.

In mountain areas there are many more or less marked hiking trails, and there seems to be no reason why mountain bikers should not use them. The usual common sense rules – shutting gates and respecting property and livestock –apply. There is very little off-road cycling in Romania, and cyclists are, therefore, in a unique position to create a positive image for the activity. This is important since foresters have considerable powers, and could in the future act to restrict off-road cycling.

There exist informal routes between many villages, often just a cart track through the fields, and there is no reason why a cyclist should not take one. These are unlikely to be shown on maps, however local people might point out such a route. (Though they are more likely to indicate a longer way round by a route with a better surface.)

There are also many trackways and paths to provide access to fields, pastures, isolated settlements and so on. These are, strictly speaking, private access routes, and often terminate in someone's farmyard. However there is unlikely to be any objection to anyone cycling on them, though one tends to do so only having lost the correct way! My experience is that one does often get stopped on such tracks, however this is simply to explain that the route is a dead end.

Simply crossing fields is likely to be regarded as odd, to say the least, and a sign that the cyclist is lost! Romanians don't tend to get upset by innocent trespass (my neighbours often cross one-another's land to get somewhere – but then they know one-another), but won't see it as necessary unless there is an obvious objective in sight.

I tell my clients the following, which should not put you off!

Romania is a relatively safe country for travellers, however as anywhere you should take sensible precautions. At all times take care of your belongings. Be aware that the most common form of criminal is the confidence trickster, who seeks ways to "examine" your documents and money, from which he will steal by sleight of hand. Typically they impersonate a railway employee or occasionally even a plain clothes police officer. However the impostor is easily detected, and will move on if he sees that you are not fooled. In general, meet anyone in major towns and cities who claims to wish to "help" you with a firm but polite refusal, even if they persist. (In small towns and villages all offers of help are likely to be genuine.) On Bucuresti railway station, wait on the concourse (where uniformed security guards are present), or in the waiting room (where access is restricted to ticket holders).

Remember:

1) Keep your passport secure, but also accessible without revealing where you keep money and other valuables.

2) All railway staff wear recognisable uniforms. Anyone approaching you on the station offering to "help", who is not wearing a uniform, is an impostor notwithstanding any "identity documents" that they produce. Do not show them tickets or documents. Bona fide station staff have no reason to see your tickets or documents (though you will have to produce a valid ticket at the station entrance and when entering the waiting room).

3) Romania is not a "police state", and no Romanian police officer has the right (or inclination) to examine your money or possessions in public. A bone fide police officer may ask you for identity documents –a quick look at the passport (and visa where appropriate) will satisfy him. A "plainclothes police officer" who asks you to hand over money or valuables for "examination" is a con-man. All Romanian police officers are able to produce a badge and an identity card with their name and photograph. Insist on seeing this documentation before handing over your passport to anyone not in uniform. If there is no name or photo, the person is an impostor, even if they have an impressive "police" badge.

4) Do not associate with, or give money to, vagrants or beggars. Most belong to organised begging rings and do not themselves benefit from the money. If they persist, walk away.

5) In towns and cities at night, stay in well-lit main thoroughfares.

6) Never change money on the street, on railway stations, etc. Only use official kiosks or banks.

7) Always lock your bicycle if you are leaving it, even for a short time. In towns and cities, the best place to leave a bicycle, after your hotel or guesthouse, is likely to be the railway station left luggage office.

8) Be cautious about accepting beverages from strangers, especially when travelling alone, when on the train. There have been cases of people being given drugged coffee, wine, etc and then being robbed.

There is little specific advice to offer cyclists, other than to be attentive on busy roads and to avoid cycling at night. However I would advise special care regarding the following roads, which pass through communities with a majority gypsy population where attacks on travellers are not unknown: Sibiu-Agnita-Sighisoara; Agnita-Voila. (However several cyclists travelled these roads during 2002 and reported no difficulties.) Travellers stopping in certain villages on these roads where law and order have broken down (I have heard Apold, Bradeni and Nochrich mentioned; there will be others) may quickly be surrounded by groups of gypsies, and will have difficulty escaping without being robbed. This is especially frustrating given the fine fortified medieval churches in these villages. I have also been warned of a large camp of gypsies south of Band (immediately north-west of Targu Mures) members of which have raided trains - Wild-West style - on the now-defunct branch line nearby!

If stopped by the police in relation to some technical infringement of the law – which is unlikely to happen to you - a good ploy is to ask for a written report for whatever you are alleged to done. Literacy levels amongst rural policemen are not high, and you may be let off to avoid the bother. Don't be alarmed if you are stopped by the police – they may simply be curious about your bicycles, think that you are lost, or want to point out some arcane regulation such as not cycling two-abreast. As with police in most places, it is best to be diplomatic and friendly.

Written police reports in case of losses or thefts can be obtained. (I recently had to obtain one for a client.) What I learnt was that statements for theft are comparatively easy to obtain, but statements of loss (which was what my client needed – she had dropped an expensive pair of sunglasses) for insurance purposes are trickier, as no standard police report form for insurance reports appears to exist. The police tend to be more helpful when tipped with cigarettes or bottles of spirits. Few policemen understand a foreign language, so an interpreter may be required if you need to explain a problem.

The Romanian currency is called the Lei, and is currently available in denominations of 100, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 (coins), 2,000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000 and 500,000 (notes). The 500,000 note isn't a lot of use as it is so large in relation to most purchases that you will make – try not to receive any when you change money. Exchange rates (which fluctuate – inflation is up to 50% a year) are currently (March 2003) around 55,000 Lei to the pound, 36,000 to the Euro, and 33,000 Lei to the Dollar. You can change back unused currency before you leave Romania. The main European currencies can be changed at Bucuresti airport and at banks, and there is no longer any real need to carry Dollars (except a few smaller denomination notes for tips).

Some important points:

1) DO NOT BRING TRAVELLERS CHEQUES, they cannot be cashed at the airport, only in major city banks.

2) ALWAYS change money at official kiosks or in banks. NEVER change money with black market touts, who offer poor rates and frequently trick their clients.

3) ALWAYS bring foreign currency in good condition, unmarked notes of fairly low denomination (maximum 20 euros), with some small notes (5 euros is the smallest) and coins (1 euro coins are useful) for making minor purchase. Notes marked in ink, torn or otherwise damaged are unlikely to be accepted by banks or moneychangers.

4) If a new design of note has recently appeared, bring notes of the older type if still legal tender, as Romanian banks and moneychangers may not recognise the new type.

5) Do not bring the US dollar bills since these may not be accepted on the assumption that they are not legal tender.

6) Bank autoteller machines are now available in towns and cities, and Romanian Lei can be drawn against some credit cards. Check with your bank before travelling.

The best guidebook at the time of writing is The Rough Guide to Romania. There is also a Lonely Planet guidebook, which is fairly good although less accurate than the Rough Guide. The Blue Guide to Romania is relatively poor, frequently out of date, suffers many omissions, and is not recommended. Once in Romania you may find the In Your Pocket guides to Bucuresti and Southern Transylvania, which are useful for up-to-the-minute information.

You should bring an English-Romanian phrasebook since, in rural areas, you will encounter many people who don't speak English. (Sometimes French is spoken as a foreign language, occasionally German. Your best chance, when seeking an English-speaker, is to look for students and older schoolchildren.)

If you intend exploring the exclusively Hungarian enclaves, then an English-Hungarian phrasebook might be helpful too. It would be best to produce this only after verifying that you are talking to a Hungarian! All Hungarians speak Romanian, and will be happy enough to speak Romanian to help tourists.

For books about Romania, consult the extensive bibliography in the Rough Guide. A good selection of "atmospheric books" includes:

- "Between the Woods and the Water" (Patrick Leigh Fermor, 1930's, very atmospheric);

- "Romanian Journey" (Sacheverell Sitwell, 1930's, interesting descriptions, especially of food and culture); and of course

- "Dracula" (Bram Stoker's classic sets the vampire's castle just 20km from where I live).

My book, "Travels in an Unknown Country", about a long horse ride across Romania in the mid-1990's, will be published during 2003.

I didn't find the various early-1990's books about cycling in Romania particularly representative of the country.

The best map of Transylvania at present is the Hungarian-published "Erdely" ISBN 963 028 262 3, CSUKART GMK, Budapest. The William Stanford map shop in London ought to be able to sell a copy, and provincial map sellers may be able to order a copy. This map also shows the more interesting parts of Bucovina and Moldavia, including the monasteries, and is all that you need for a road tour. On this map the main roads are in red, secondary roads (best for the cyclist) in brown, and village roads (mostly unsurfaced) in white. Other good maps are also coming onto the market.

The sort of general motoring maps printed by various firms don't tend to give sufficient detail or topographical information for careful planning of a tour.

Once in Romania, shops and kiosks sell various road atlases, and some are quite good. The best is probably "Atlas Touristic Rutier", which currently has an orange cover. As it has an ISBN number (973 96135 2 7) it might even be possible to order a copy in the UK.

Detailed hiking maps are hard to come by, even in Romania, which is bad news for adventurous mountain bikers. However I have good maps of the area I live in and may be able to provide photocopies. Doru Munteanu has many detailed maps and may be able to help too, particularly by guiding groups.

There used to be published a hiking guide with text and many maps called the "Invitation". This would be helpful for mountain bikers. The Romanian tourist office may be able to supply a copy, or suggest where copies can be bought.

I wrote in 2001 that there no longer seem to be trains to Romania conveying baggage cars, though it is possible to reach Budapest. However the current timetable shows the Vienna – Bucuresti train conveying a baggage car on the Budapest – Bucuresti part of its journey (almost certainly requiring advanced reservation). International trains into Romania seem most useful to cyclists with collapsible machines such as the Moulton. Presumably a bicycle could be dismantled and bagged for the trip from Budapest to Romania – an especially feasible option if the trip is made in a sleeping car where there is space in the compartment. Hungarian internal trains do allow bicycles to be carried in vans as far as Debrecen in the east – the MAV timetable (which the Hungarian tourist office in London ought to keep – also look at www.elvira.hu which includes a "bicycle" option on its timetable search facility) gives details - and perhaps right up to the border on local trains. From there it would be feasible to cycle to the Romanian border as part of the tour, though do bear in mind that cycling isn't permitted on some main roads in Hungary. The cheapest rail fares are probably Under-26 and Over-26 InterRail tickets.

It is perfectly feasible to drive to Romania. The border is around 1,200 miles from London. A group of cyclists may find a shared minibus worthwhile, with driving shared. The main difficulty is likely to be availability of vehicle insurance cover in Romania – do check with your insurer. I gather that "Green Card" cover can be purchased at road border crossings (but suggest that travellers check in advance with the Romanian tourist office in London). In Romania, it is quite common for UK-registered right hand drive vehicles to be pulled up by rural policemen simply out of curiosity. Foreign vehicles are also disproportionately likely to be stopped when speeding or committing other offences, which is one good reason for staying well within the law.

There are a few routes to Romania by air. The main route is via Bucuresti (the capital, also called Bucharest on Western maps – not to be confused with Budapest in Hungary). The Romanian national airline, Tarom, flies from Heathrow to Bucuresti, as does British Airways. Both operate daily flights, and both ought to convey bicycles. The passenger fare is around £250 return, excluding any extra payment for a bicycle. Shopping around (e.g. Trailfinders or on the Internet) may get you a better price. Malev flies daily from the UK to Timisoara. You can also fly into Cluj-Napoca, the "capital" of Transylvania. Tarom co-operates with Austrian Airlines to offer a service between Vienna and Cluj-Napoca on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This, combined with services from Britain to Vienna, may be the easiest way to reach Transylvania – unfortunately it is probably also the most expensive route. From UK regional airports, KLM offer connections to Bucuresti via Amsterdam.

Useful daily internal flights are operated between Bucuresti to Cluj-Napoca, Oradea (5 days a week) and Timisoara by Tarom. These generally connect with international flights from London. Travel agents will advise on schedules, or lookat www.tarom.ro. A change of airport is no longer required in Bucuresti for connection to these internal flights.

The other way to reach Transylvania is by train. There are good night trains with sleeping cars serving most towns and cities, including Baia Mare, Bistrita, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Oradea, Satu Mare, Sighet, Suceava, Targu Mures, and Vatra Dornei. The current single fare from Bucuresti to Cluj-Napoca (8 hours, 400km) is around £15-20 including a bed in a two-berth compartment. Fortunately, the process is made easier by agents such as European Travel Services, who will book rail tickets in advance and transfer passengers by car or minibus from the airport to the railway station. A booking can be made with them and paid on arrival. Obviously they will have to be told in advance that bicycles are involved.

Most night trains convey baggage cars, and the agent arranging the transfer could help with registering bicycles as baggage. However I would suggest taking bicycles (still knocked down for air travel) into the sleeping car compartment. This works best for a pair of cyclists. A single cyclist may be able to book a double compartment for sole occupancy for an extra supplement of around £10 provided that this is done in advance. Conductors have a habit of asking for a further supplement on-board for "bulky luggage" – this would legitimately apply to a knocked-down bicycle - though a packet or two of Western brand cigarettes or $5 may persuade them to ignore the bicycle.

A group could consider asking European Travel Services or Pantravel to quote for minibus transfer from Bucuresti to Transylvania. This may not prove unreasonably expensive.

Romania operates a national rail service, and the operator is called SNCFR (or simply CFR). Compared to Britain, the trains are relatively slow and infrequent, however they are safe and reliable. The network is centred on Bucuresti, with main lines radiating to all the provincial centres. Each route has day trains and also useful night trains with sleeping cars. There may only be one day train to more distant provincial locations, and some of the most remote (e.g. Bistrita and the Maramures – Bucuresti to Sighet is a 15-hour trip) are only accessible without changing trains by one night train.

Trains come in a bewildering list of types: Personal, Personal Automotor, Accelerated, Rapid, InterCity, EuroCity, and EuroCity Night. Personal trains are very slow local services calling at all stations and halts, running anything from a few stops to quite a long journey. Some convey baggage cars. Automotors are generally superannuated railcars (some from the 1930's), and you are not likely to encounter them. Accelerated, Rapid and InterCity are long-distance expresses, and again some convey baggage cars. The Euro categories are international trains, and none convey baggage cars within Romania.

Expect to pay around $15 for a 500-km trip one-way by 1st class day carriage, and about $30 by sleeping car. Only single tickets are sold. Travelling by anything except a Personal train (for which there are no supplements or reservations), you are likely to have two or three old-fashioned card tickets – a basic ticket, a supplement for an express train, and a seat reservation. Your supplement and seat reservation will be valid only for the train you booked it for. High cash penalties are levied on board for ticketless travel (unless you board at an unstaffed halt) and travelling with invalid tickets. Tickets are sold in town centre agencies in advance (only open Monday to Friday in office hours) and at the station in the hour before departure. There can be queues, so don't turn up at the last minute. Sometimes, at major stations, different ticket windows sell tickets for specific trains (a notice may give train numbers – every train has a unique number in the timetable) or for only 1st or 2nd class tickets. In Bucuresti station there are separate booking halls for 1st and 2nd class tickets (sleeper and couchette tickets are sold in the 1st class booking hall, even though couchettes are 2nd class).

The CFR timetable shows which trains convey baggage cars (and 1st and 2nd class coaches, couchettes, sleeping cars, and restaurant cars). In theory you are supposed to register baggage, including bicycles, at least two hours before the train is due to leave. Then you present the items at the baggage car, where they will be loaded. Express trains can be long, up to 15 cars, so at major stations look for a poster that shows the composition of trains or ask station staff where the baggage car will stop. All removable items should be taken from bicycles consigned as luggage.

Sleeping car compartments are large enough to take a pair of bicycles in partly dismantled state, and this means of travelling is recommended for small groups. (A two-berth compartment can be booked for single occupancy at double the usual supplement – i.e. about another £10 to pay.) "Voluminous baggage" charges are likely to be levied, and would be appropriate in this case. You will not get a bicycle in a couchette compartment, even dismantled.

Personal trains have larger vestibules than express stock (which is exclusively of the corridor type – the corridor is for smoking in, even in non-smoking cars), and it should be possible to get a bicycle in. Romanians often do, though taking a bicycle more than a couple of stops is rather unusual.

Not all trains shown in the timetable as conveying a baggage car actually do so. A few do even though this is not shown in the timetable! This mainly affects Personal trains, where bicycles could usually be taken in carriage vestibules.

The significance of bribing the conductor with a packet of cigarettes (etc) is not to be underestimated. This approach will enable bicycles to travel where not officially permitted, and will keep bicycles relatively safe in baggage cars. For a longer journey by express train, a bigger "payment" would be appropriate – several packets of cigarettes or perhaps $5 (around 150,000 ROL). Luggage charges may not necessarily be avoided.

Although theoretically possible, I am not convinced that consigning bicycles as luggage in advance (i.e. going on a different train to you) is secure.

The CFR timetable is hard to find outside Romania, and even inside the country as production runs never seem to be sufficient. New timetables come into force around the beginning of June each year. I may be able to help with train information, and so might Discover Transylvania (especially if you are booking flights or accommodation via them). CFR has a website (www.cfr.ro) which includes a timetable facility.

The few main roads are generally in fair condition, but may be moderately busy (although Romania has far lower car ownership than Britain, so traffic levels are nowhere near UK levels except in Bucuresti). Verges can be poor, and if the road has been resurfaced there may be a drop off the edge. As with all Romanian roads, drains can simply be holes – a good reason not to cycle at night. In general I would not recommend cycling at night, and certainly never without good lights including a headlamp that illuminates the road in front.

Some main roads are relatively quiet – the road from Iacobeni (near Vatra Dornei) to the Maramures, for example. Even the main road over the Borgo Pass (Bistrita to Vatra Dornei) isn't excessively busy – I have cycled over it and enjoyed the experience. The roads to avoid are those designated as International Highways (except for the Borgo Pass, above), which carry relatively heavy traffic. Within Transylvania, I would tend to avoid the following roads on account of their simply being busy: E60 Oradea-Cluj-Brasov-Bucuresti; E61 Turda-Sebes; E68 Arad-Brasov; E576 Cluj-Bistrita. In each case there are secondary road alternatives.

Secondary roads can be a pleasure for cycling, quiet and with a fairly good surface. Some do have a lot of pot-holes through. Almost all have a tarmac surface, though unsurfaced and cobbled stretches remain.

Minor roads are generally gravel surfaced, passable on a touring bicycle but better suited to a mountain bike. These roads can be very quiet and pass through fine scenery and bucolic villages.

Town and city roads can be in very poor condition, with many hazards such as pot-holes and unguarded drains. City drivers are also more hurried and less careful, though the only city really hazardous for cyclists is Bucuresti (where, fortunately, there is no reason to be cycling on holiday). Small towns are quite laid-back, with relatively little traffic. At junctions, do note the priorities, shown on a road sign. On roundabouts one gives way to traffic entering from the right unless signs show otherwise (although this law is proposed for change). Many cities have trams, and the tracks are often badly maintained and hazardous for cyclists (especially when associated with cobbled streets).

Standards of driving in Romania are probably best described as adequate for getting from A to B. The cultural attitude to cyclists does need to be explained. Romanian drivers tend to hoot simply as a warning that they are coming, and then expect cyclists, carts, pedestrians, etc to keep to the side of the road. They often hoot even if one is already at the side of the road, not as intimidation but rather as a warning or even just habit. Romanian cyclists do tend to be erratic, and not all are sober, so there is some point in all the hooting.

Another disturbing facet of Romanian driving is that drivers tend only to give minimal clearance to pedestrians, cyclists, animals, etc. It disturbs me at times when being given a lift by a Romanian, let alone when cycling! The moral is not to pull out even a tiny bit when about to be overtaken.

A lower blood alcohol limit applies than in the UK, and drink driving does seem to be taken reasonably seriously in urban areas and on main roads. In rural areas there is a risk of drunk drivers in the evenings. It is possible for a cyclist under the influence of alcohol to suffer legal penalties (indeed a policeman might find this a good opportunity to levy an on-the-spot fine), though I have never heard of this happening.

Hazards on roads warranting particular attention are:

Sunken or missing drain covers; Drops from the edge of the tarmac or concrete onto the verge; Broken glass and bottles (Romanians are not good at disposing of litter); Priorities that are not clear at junctions; Railway level crossings in very poor condition (it is best to wheel bicycles across); Tram tracks, which can be very badly maintained; and Animal manure making roads slippery in wet conditions.

On this basis I recommend avoiding cycling at night, even in towns and cities since street lighting is usually poor.

Finally, on the subject of roads, I have been stopped before now by a policeman on a road junction when I took the minor turning because he was concerned that I was heading off the main road "where all the tourists go" and must therefore be lost.

Bus and coach services have dwindled in recent years, and don't offer much to the cyclist. Perhaps some international coach services carry bicycles as baggage, but otherwise the few Romanian buses and coaches are likely to be too crowded to carry bicycles (and won't have much luggage space anyway).

Internal air services operated by Tarom operate approximately between Bucuresti and major provincial cities including Baia Mare, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Suceava, Targu Mures, and Timisoara. Information regarding carriage of bicycles should be obtained from the Tarom office in London.

There are a few opportunities to hire good bicycles in Romania. Doru Munteanu (see address list) may be able to hire mountain bikes for participants in tours that he organises. Colin Shaw of Roving Romania can also arrange mountain bike hire.

There are no food shortages in Romania, even if the range available in rural areas is limited. Locally produced fresh food is frequently of better quality than in the UK (often organic, generally more flavoursome). In summer, excellent meat, fruit and vegetables can be bought from markets (the best and cheapest place – there will be a daily market in major towns and weekly markets elsewhere), shops and kiosks. Shops tend to be open six days a week, perhaps closing early on Saturday. Many food shops sell bread, and even villages often have small bakeries.

If you become short of food in the country, people will probably sell you bread and basic produce if you ask – or direct you to an unmarked shop known only to local people (there are several of these in my village). In a village you can often buy milk from peasants (bear in mind that cows are milked early in the morning and in the evening, and that milk is taken away to the dairy quite early each morning – so get up early or buy in the evening). Milk bought in this way will not be pasteurised, making it much richer and more pleasant than the adulterated version sold in the West. If they have any surplus, peasants will often sell eggs, potatoes, fruit and vegetables too. Should you come across someone slaughtering a pig (or more rarely a calf) in their yard, as is usual practice in villages, they might sell you meat.

Contrary to popular opinion, vegetarians will not find Romania a difficult place to eat, certainly not in the summer. The main problem is that the cheaper restaurants serve pork with almost everything. However the shops and markets sell excellent fruit and vegetables in summer, and most guesthouse proprietors will be able to prepare vegetarian food (they will know how – most Romanians don't eat meat during the religious fasts before Christmas and Easter). In restaurants, don't assume that a dish with a name like "bean soup" is vegetarian – there may be fragments of meat too, so check when you order. When booking homestay and pension accommodation, do specify vegetarian food in advance so that the proprietor can shop appropriately.

Romania produces good mineral water, beer and wine. Locally made brandies (from plum, apple or pear) are characteristic, and are often very strong (50-60% alcohol - take care!). To buy the local varieties, ask in a village. Factory made plum brandy can be quite nasty.

Water is generally fit to drink, including from village wells. A good range of bottled mineral waters is available too. It is inadvisable to drink from rivers and streams. In mountain areas there are many mineral springs – if someone has left a drinking vessel by the spring it ought to be safe to drink (as the local people evidently use it).

There are no major health problems in Romania. However the following precautions and comments should be noted (they are based on information that I issue to my clients).

Recommended inoculations are Tetanus and Hepatitis A. Romania has no epidemic diseases and only a very small risk of rabies (the disease is nearly eradicated). There are no major health risks.

You should bring sufficient quantities of any prescription medications that you require.

There is a reciprocal agreement between the UK and Romania, so that in theory British citizens qualify for free emergency treatment in Romania.

For emergencies there is a basic pharmacy in most communities, with a hospital in almost every town and city. Do bring a form E111 suitably completed. Medical staff tend to expect small gifts (cigarettes or coffee).

Most towns and all cities have hospitals. Unfortunately bribery is endemic in order to receive medical treatment (the greed of Romanian hospital doctors never ceases to amaze me), though production of a Western passport is likely to ensure that bribes are minimal or not required at all. Bucuresti also has several western-style private hospitals and clinics, which offer better standards of care at appropriate prices, should not take bribes, and can issue receipts for your medical insurance.

Romanian dentists (called "stomatologists") practice privately, and should be able to quote a fee for any service that you require. Rural dentistry tends to be primitive, so if you have problems it is best to head for a town. There is a tendency to spread treatment (e.g. drilling and filling) over two days, for no reason that I can fathom, but try to argue around this if you can.

Feminine hygiene items are not always available outside towns and cities, so bring enough for your stay in Romania. If you need contraceptives, bring sufficient for your stay.

If you are prone to hay fever or other allergy, bring effective medication. (A note on the subject of allergy. I have come across several cases of allergic reactions similar to asthma in guesthouses amongst people who are not normally prone to allergies. The usual cause is bedding filled with untreated feathers, usually chicken feathers, so if this happens to you get whatever bedding has feathers in it out of the room.)

You do NOT need to bring means of purifying water (unless you consider that you have an unusually sensitive stomach) or sterile needles.

Sunstroke and dehydration are risks during hot summer weather, so take a hat and drink enough water.

If you need a medical certificate for your insurer (e.g. if you need to make a claim for change of travel arrangements) then be aware that Romanian GPs have a standard medical certificate form that they can fill in, stamp and sign after examining you.

There are post offices in every town and village, open at least 10am to 3pm Monday to Friday. Postal services are slow, and availability of envelopes, postcards, etc is poor outside the towns.

There are card phones in every town and a few villages. You will need to buy phone card from a telephone company office ("Romtelecom"), shop or kiosk (in the town) or post office or even town hall (in those villages with card phones). In most villages there is a telephone exchange, from where phone calls can be made during the day and early evening.

All towns now seem to have internet cafes. So do a few youth hostels (e.g. Villa Elvis in Bucuresti, Brasov and Sighisoara).

Much of Romania is covered by mobile phone signals nowadays. Check in advance whether your UK mobile will work, and bear in mind that the calls will be expensive.

Cycling – along with walking and riding – is an excellent form of green tourism. There is almost no pollution (though one does need to consider the effects of the means of access, e.g. by plane), the activity brings one into contact with individual people, and so on. It also goes hand in hand with eco-tourism.

Rural tourism – in Romania often called agrotourism – should directly benefit rural dwellers. They have the opportunity to earn extra cash – something for which there are few other opportunities in villages - whilst tourists experience bucolic village life. In Romania this can mean staying with subsistence farmers, sleeping in a two-room cottage, and crossing a yard full of chickens to use the toilet. In due course, the theory goes, the proprietor will have money for more guestrooms and a toilet inside.

In reality the people who offer rural accommodation tend to be the better-off village dwellers, as they have spare rooms and better facilities (and sometimes simply decently inhabitable houses). That does not mean that they don't deserve the tourist income – it could well be their initiative and hard work that got them the bigger house in the first place. One issue is that most tourists are alleged not to be happy with outside toilets, which conspires against the poorer families. If you want to be as ethical as possible, choose a less well off family with a long-drop at the end of the garden!

Still, at least the guesthouse proprietors should receive income straight into their hands. (They probably won't want to give a receipt, so as not to pay tax, and if they haven't a firm registered then they can't issue a receipt.) That, to some, is better than paying a hotel or, worse still, a hotel chain a much higher price for accommodation that is probably no better than in a guesthouse. It has been remarked upon too that up to 70% of privatised Romanian firms (such as all the old state hotels) are now owned by former Securitate (secret police) officers and members of the ruling elite.

Problems start when the guesthouses get tied to marketing chains. It is difficult for the individual proprietor to sell his or her accommodation to people booking from abroad, and there usually isn't much passing trade, so chains have grown up. Some begun charitably, such as OVR (in French, Operation Villages Romain), and represent their members well. Others – the case in point being Antrec – are more controversial. This organisation is owned and run by members of the ruling elite, and has an over-cosy relationship with the Romanian Ministry of Tourism, which unfairly favours Antrec in its marketing. (When you read Romanian National Tourist Office brochures about rural tourism, you will only read about Antrec.

References in the draft documents to OVR and others were mysteriously edited out.) Not only must the affiliated guesthouses pay hefty annual subscriptions and accept swingeing deductions of up to 60% for "commission" for bookings made through the chain, there are complaints of proprietors being paid six months or more late. (With high annual inflation, this causes payments to be worth rather less too.) To help ordinary people the most, book via ethical operators such as Discover Transylvania and Pantravel, or book directly with the proprietor.

Another way of touring ethically is to buy food directly from local people. They sell from stalls at town and village markets, and sometimes from family-run rural shops. Any shop with "A.F." in its name is family-run, the letters meaning (in translation) "Family Association". ("SRL" means an ordinary company, which may be owned by a family or individuals.)

Romania is a very bureaucratic country, and a slow place to get any sort of paper-based transaction carried out. Small gifts (a packet of coffee or cigarettes) often help, and are virtually part of the culture.

Romania is bribe-driven compared to Western Europe. Bureaucracy does frequently need greasing with coffee or cigarettes. "Unavailable" reservations can also appear from railway booking offices, and so on, with a little "help" of this kind. The preferred cigarettes seem to be Marlboro (bought in the West – not the inferior version sold in Romania).

You should not need to bribe anyone at Bucuresti airport, nor any of the contacts given on the list of addresses in these notes. Nor should you need to bribe anyone on the road or rail border crossing points with hard currency (a packet of cigarettes may help to get bicycles in without paperwork, but try not to encourage the customs officials in their greed for baksheesh).

It is normal practice to give coffee, cigarettes, etc to doctors and suchlike persons. You might also give a small gift to hotel staff in return for locking up bicycles somewhere secure at night, though this should not be necessary in pensions or guesthouses.

If you consign a bicycle by railway luggage van, don't fail to ensure its security with a gift of cigarettes or cash (perhaps Lei worth about £2?) to the conductor.

Romanians tell me that, for hospital treatment (e.g. setting of a broken bone), the "going rate" for bribery is about $50 in a provincial hospital and $150 in a city hospital. This aspect of bribery particularly disgusts me. Production of a Western passport ought to get you around this, but spare a thought for the Romanian who earns perhaps $50 a month.

Tipping for good service in restaurants and the like is different, and depends upon service. Pensions and guesthouses should not need tips, however small gifts such as biros or colouring pens for children, or illustrated tea-towels, are always welcome.

Hospitality given by ordinary people must be taken seriously. Many people, particularly in the countryside, will be genuinely keen to entertain you for the pleasure of it. Try to return hospitality with small gifts (e.g. coffee, biros – tea towels with pictures of the UK go down very well too, and are light to carry). If a family puts you up for the night, try to pay them as if they were running a guesthouse (around $12-15 a night with dinner and breakfast), though they will doubtless try to refuse the money. Failing that, buy some drinks to go with dinner or adopt some other suitable ploy. I have found that an instant camera works wonders with families as one can leave a souvenir photo, or several, with them there and then. Taking such a camera with you may be your best investment with regard to paying for hospitality. Don't offer to take ordinary photos and post them back to Romanians unless you really intend to do so.

Romania is, for the most part, a very child-friendly country. Every day a stream of pretty, nicely dressed children passes my house. Unlike the UK, where too often children are sexualised by fashion at an early age, these Romanian children are all genuinely attractive in a folkloric, innocent, Russian doll sort of way. Any adult will look after neighbours' and friends' children. The orphanage scandal of the 1990's was a tragedy (and still isn't fully resolved owing to the poverty of the Romanian economy), but does not typify Romanian attitudes to children. In any case, most "orphans" are Gypsy children abandoned by their families. There is almost no documented child abuse in Romania (except in orphanages by bogus Western aid workers). If you brought your children on a cycle tour, they would be made very welcome, and you would be made even more welcome than on your own.

Some 1.6 million Hungarians live in Romania, mainly in the three Judet (counties) of Covasna, Harghita and Mures. For historical reasons relations have been strained. (When Transylvania was part of Hungary, pre-1920, the aristocratic Hungarian rulers considerably oppressed the Romanian minority – they often treated Hungarian peasants quite badly too.) The current situation is stable, and people of the two nationalities get on well at local level, however partisans on both sides will have deeply conflicting opinions. It is best to stay out of these sorts of irreconcilable arguments!

This is a vexed issue. Romania has, depending on whose figures one believes, between 400,000 and 2 million gypsies (of whom some 40,000 allegedly remain nomadic). Within such a large group there will be many different attitudes and behaviours. I employ a gypsy (strictly, a part-gypsy), and he shoes my horses and does metalwork with considerable skill. There are others one trades with in the markets, and it pays to be canny so as not to be cheated. There are villages with a part-gypsy population where people generally get along very well. There are others where people do not. There are gypsies who live by crime. There are those who run businesses. And so on. The point is not to generalise. The "gypsies at Dover" are not typical (and many were not even Romanian).

For an introduction to gypsy culture, the Rough Guide contains useful notes. There are books with more comprehensive information. They are a distinct ethnic group with a culture that sets them apart from all other groups in the country. You could also look at the website www.roma.ro.

Romania is a relatively safe country for women travellers, especially if they are foreign. The countryside is particularly welcoming. The biggest problems (or annoyances) are likely to be genuine surprise that a woman is travelling alone and that a substantial amount of deference is offered that could be mistaken for people being patronising. Actually Romania is surprisingly matriarchal (when I buy goods from a peasant, he frequently has to consult his wife or mother to "verify" the deal). In the countryside it is still frowned upon for women to enter some bars (that sort really aren't worth entering), and so on, but don't let this be a deterrent.

It is worth pointing out that Romanians are more tactile than the British, so bodily contact (e.g. someone taking your arm during a conversation) isn't excessively intimate according to the local culture. The risk of sexual harassment is negligible.

Romania is a country of churches and monasteries. It is a cultural necessity that visitors wear modest clothing (no skin-tight garments, no shorts, keep the shoulders covered). The monk or nun on the gate of a monastery may have garments to lend to visitors, however this can be embarrassing to the visitor – as two male British cyclists I saw at Suceava monastery discovered when offered ankle-length floral skirts to cover their lycra shorts!

The climate is typically continental, with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Temperature averages are: April 11-13°C; May 16-19°C; June 19-24°C; July 21-26°C; August 21-26°C; September 18-22°C; October 13-17°C (higher figures are for the lower-lying areas, lower ones for the mountains). It may be about 5 degrees hotter at midday and 5 degrees colder at nightfall. I have known mid-summer heat-wave conditions with 30-35°C or even higher in lower-lying areas. Showers are possible at any time, and will probably be short and sharp.

Spring is a short, attractive season with many wild flowers. Summer is long and hot (warm rather than hot in the mountains). Autumn is warm, and beautiful too in the mountains with their extensive woodlands changing colour – late September and early October are the best times. Winter is not a suitable season for cycling.

There is a wide range of accommodation. Best value is usually provided by rural and small town homestays and pensions, which is good for the touring cyclist. Rural prices range from $12-18US per person per night full-board (dinner, breakfast, packed lunch), less if you take fewer meals. (Accommodation is usually prices in $US.) Distances between accommodation can be long, so a bit of advanced route planning is sensible.

Hotels tend to be urban, and more expensive, hence are less useful to cyclists. However they can be useful, as in Cluj where the airport is nearby, and in usefully-placed small towns such as Sighisoara.

A limited network of campsites exists across Romania. Conditions tend to be poor, though there are good ones – the Rough Guide should be consulted.

Wild camping is usually possible in remote areas with little risk of attack by wild animals or people. Don't leave food lying around in remote forest areas – hang it up a tree a little way from your tent. The main thing is to be discrete – don't advertise your presence to people, and you should not have problems with pilferage. Lighting fires is often prohibited in forests. Campers should bear in mind that Western stove fuels are not available, hence a petrol stove is recommended. You should not camp in nature reserves and national parks except in designated places.

In very wild areas, such as more adventurous off road cyclists (and hikers) may reach, it may be a good idea to camp at an occupied sheepfold if you see one. There you will be safe against attacks by wild animals. Shepherds are usually friendly, especially if offered cigarettes or alcohol.

Youth hostels are also available in the following locations as of spring 2000 – Aiud, Baisoara (southwest of Cluj-Napoca), Belis (southwest of Cluj-Napoca), Bucuresti, Cluj-Napoca, Izvorul Muresului (east of Targu Mures), Lunca Ariesului (south of Cluj-Napoca), Lunca Ilvei (northeast of Bistrita), Piatra Neamt, Suceava. Conditions vary, and the network is still embryonic.

In Bucuresti, the Villa Helga private youth hostel provides cheap, reliable accommodation. The Villa Elvis chain, in Bucuresti, Brasov and Sighisaora, also provide cheap, reliable accommodation. All may be busy, so book in advance.

There are few organised trips to Romania. However Doru Munteanu of the Tourist Information Centre in Bistrita can organise and guide cycle and mountain bike trips in the north of the country.

Colin Shaw of Roving Romania can arrange mountain bike hire within Romania, and can support groups of cyclists on tour with his Land Rover. He has lived and worked in Romania for ten years, and is fluent in the Romanian language.

The major cities (Bucuresti, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, etc) do have cycle shops. These can be found by looking in the local Yellow Pages (available in Post Offices) or by asking local cyclists. The Rough Guide mentions some shops. The quality of shops varies, and not all will have a mechanic or a workshop. Spare parts availability is often limited, and parts tend to be for Romanian and Russian bicycles and some cheaper imported mountain bikes.

As with all "services" in Romania, it is sensible to agree the price in advance. The common Romanian answer of "we will agree the price afterwards" can lead to excessive prices. Better bicycle shops ought to have a scale of charges, and a price list for parts. Of course, if the scale of the repair is hard to gauge then it may not be easy to put a price on it. Romanians have a right to make a living, like anyone else. On the other hand, Western visitors do represent a chance to make a bit more than usual. Try to find a balance.

Tyres for mountain bikes do seem to be available, but touring tyres are not (except perhaps in Bucuresti). It is worth putting new tyres on your bicycle and bringing a spare (perhaps a folding tyre with kevlar beading). It is sensible to bring a few spare spokes too, and the tools to fit them.

In rural areas the best bet for repairs is likely to be the village blacksmith, who probably repairs all the local bicycles, perhaps cars too. Most villages still have blacksmiths. The repair may not be beautiful, but it will probably work. The price of a small repair may be a packet or two of quality cigarettes, for a bigger repair perhaps $5-10US equivalent in Lei. (For comparison, it costs around $10US to have a horse shod!)

The following list should provide all that you need for arranging a trip to Romania.

Romanian Tourist Office (the London office of the state tourist service – this is the new address) 83A Marylebone High Street London W1M 3DE Phone & fax: 0207 224 3692

Discover Transylvania (UK travel agent) ENZIAN travel service limited (trading as "Discover Transylvania") 24a Middle Street South, Driffield, East Yorkshire, England, YO25 6PS E-mail: Website: www.enzia.com

Pantravel (Romanian travel agent - Manager Mr Andrei Mahalnischi – English and French spoken) Str. Tr. Grozavescu 13 Cluj-Napoca 3400 Romania Tel/Fax: + (40) (0) 64 420 516 E-mail:

Tourist Information Centre (Romanian travel agent - and mountain biker - Manager Mr Doru Munteanu – English spoken) Str. Florilor, nr 1, ap 86 Bistrita, 4400 Jud. Bistrita-Nasaud Romania tel/fax: 0040-63-231.780 or 0040-63-219.919 mobile: 0040-94-600.148 e-mail:

European Travel Services srl (Romanian travel agent – arranges airport transfers and rail tickets - Managing Director Mr Karim Dobre – English spoken) Str Orzari nr. 5 Bl46 bis, Et.1, Ap1 Sector 2, Bucuresti Tel/fax: (+401) 323.61 87 / 321.15.38 Email: www.europeantravelservices.com

Roving Romania (Manager Mr Colin Shaw – English spoken) Str. Toamnei nr.13 Bloc 4, Sc D, Et 2, Apt 13 2200 Brasov Romania. Tel: (home/office) +40 (0)68 326271 Tel: (mobile) +40 (0)94 212065 Website: www.roving-romania.co.uk Email:

Romanian Youth Hostels Association (I am told that English is spoken at the office) Str. Clabucet nr. 2/69 3400 Cluj-Napoca Tel/fax: 0040-64-186616 Email:

Here is a list of websites relating to cycling in Romania that was supplied to me in November 2002. Most will be in the Romanian language, and the majority relate to mountain biking. Some may now be defunct.

www.mybike.ro www.bike-world.online.ro www.rhabon.ro www.surmont.ro www.bikeromania.de www.1000bikelinks.de www.enduromania.net/mtb www.hai-hui.ro www.xsportsnet.org www.alpinet.org http://go.datagroup.ro/gerzson/ www.ccn.ro

Population: 22.8 million. Birth rate in 1993: 11.9% (but variable – substantially higher amongst gypsies and certain religious groups); mortality rate in 1993: 10.9%. Population has increased from 15.8m in 1948.

National and ethnic groups: Major groups are Romanians (the majority group), Hungarians (1.6 million), and Gypsies (no accurate estimates but variously reported at 0.4 million [the official figure in 1993] to 2.0 million of which it is claimed that 10% are nomadic). Minority groups include Ukrainians (0.07 million), Russians (0.05 million), Slovaks (0.02 million), Turks and Tatars (0.02 million), Germans (0.02 million), Jews (0.01 million).

Religions: Orthodox (79%), Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic (2%), Reformed (1%), others (18%). "Others" includes Christian sects (Baptists, Pentecostals, etc), assorted cults (Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarians), non-Christian religions (Islam, Judaism), Gypsy beliefs, and (presumably) those professing no belief. The proportions however vary substantially from region to region, being traditionally linked to national/ethnic group.

Economic status: national economy in a poor condition, GDP/capita has been diminishing but now stable, high unemployment. Average per capita income currently reported at around $1,500-2,000US/year but this is presumably before income tax (which is high). Outside of Bucuresti, typical professional and semi-skilled salaries after tax lie in the range $500-1,000US/year. The average salary after tax for an agricultural worker is around $600-900US/year. Tax avoidance is common. Broadening of the tax system seems set to increase the tax burden on peasant farmers.

Percentage urban population: 54%. Has increased from around 20% in 1948, partly through enforced relocation from villages to newly constructed urban areas. Hence a proportion of the "urban" population is involved in agriculture, both through continued employment on the land and through return of collectivised land to former owners. . A reference dated 1993 stated that "approximately three-quarters of the 35% of the economically active population was employed in agriculture", equivalent to 6.0 million adults (excluding dependent adults, children under 18, and pensioners over 60).

Political structure: Post-communist, a democratic parliamentary republic (with a constitution dated 8 December 1991) but with a weak and volatile political leadership. Corruption at both high and low level is common. Dissatisfaction with the previously relatively liberal (and ineffective) government and president resulted in re-election of the immediate post-communist president, Ion Iliescu (a former associate of Ceausescu) in 2000.

Major industries: include agriculture (especially small peasant farms), forestry, woodworking, mining, steel, manufacturing (including textiles, automotive, railway equipment, etc), oil, gas. Traditional heavy industries, mining, oil, etc are declining sharply.

Other issues: for historical reasons tension exists between Romanian and Hungarian national groups, and widespread prejudice exists against Gypsies. Also corruption, urban unemployment, urban pollution, poor rural public transport, and other issues typical of post-Communist Middle and Eastern Europe.