This medieval region of Romania is one of my favorites. Traditional culture is still thriving, and there is an interesting blend of local music, hand-made wooden structures, and colorful textiles to experience. You’ll find each village has a large wooden church and intricate wooden gates that are hand-carved (woodworking is a tradition here that goes back centuries). They have unique cemeteries as well, stemming from their belief that the afterlife is the beginning of things, not the end. (For example, instead of solemn words on stone tombstones you’ll find blue wooden crosses with funny verses about the deceased.) Visiting here is like stepping back in time.
The Romanian landscape is approximately one-third mountainous and one-third forested, with the remainder made up of hills and plains. The climate is temperate and marked by four distinct seasons. Romania enjoys a considerable wealth of natural resources: fertile land for agriculture; pastures for livestock; forests that provide hard and soft woods; petroleum reserves; metals, including gold and silver in the Apuseni Mountains; numerous rivers that supply hydroelectricity; and a Black Sea coastline that is the site of both ports and resorts.
