All about hosteling in Romania

Let's Green Travel este un proiect început de mine alături de un foarte bun prieten cu care am în comun ieşirile în aer liber în cautarea unei relaxari din stresul cotidian, prin care încercăm să promovăm turismul ,,verde" în România.
Deşi nu este finalizat în totalitate proiectul, noi considerăm că sunt doar pe la 60% cu site-ul, credem că este o piatră de temelie pentru promovarea turismului românesc, deoarece credem că România are un foarte mare potenţial în sectorul ecologic.
Pe lângă posibilitatea de a opta pentru o vacanţă ecologică, în cel mai scurt timp (consider că în maxim 2 săptămâni) veţi avea oportunitatea de a cumpăra produse ecologice precum: îmbrăcăminte; încălţăminte; accesori, genţi şi poşte 100% ecologice produse cânepă si bumbac de partenerul nostru Ecolution - companie americană ce activează pe piaţa internaţională de 20 de ani.
Vă aşteptăm cu drag atât pe site-ul nostru cât şi pe blogul nostru Let's Green Travel pentru mai multe informaţii !!!

Letter of motivation for contest TH!NK ABOUT IT

Bucharest
Legend says that the Romanian capital was founded by a shepherd called Bucur, whose name is recognizable in the Romanian version of the name Bucharesti. Located midway between the Carpathian Mountains and the Black Sea, in southeastern Romania, Bucharest has not earned the nickname ‘Paris of the Balkans’ by accident. Its astonishing range of architecture – from Wallachian wooden and bell-towered mansions to Byzantine-style chapels, neo-classical buildings, striking 1930s modernism and even the post-Stalinist absurdities of Ceaucescu’s megalomaniac regime – cannot help but leave the visitor in awe at the varieties of vision that have taken place in this city over the centuries. But Bucharest has also been the epicenter of the country’s many upheavals, with the stages of the country’s history like vivid tattoos etched across the city’s surface, each telling a different chapter of the story. There are a number of buildings which are of constant interest to visitors: The 19th-century Roman Atheneum, the Palace of the CEC, the University, the Palace of Justice, the Town Hall and the Old Parliament Building, built in 1907. Churches of interest include the 18th-century Stravropoleos and the 17th-century Partriarchal Cathedral. Bucharest is also home to the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon. The Parliament Palace, built in the 1989, was initially called the People’s Palace and it admired for both its colossal size and its exceptional facilities.

Specialist purchases include embroideries, pottery, porcelain, silverware, carpets, ceramics, crystal, glassware, fabrics, wool jumpers, woodcarvings, metal, leather goods, rugs, glass paintings and silk dresses.

Shopping hours
Mon-Sat 09.00-18.00, although this may vary according to season and area.

Currency Information:
Currency
New Leu (RON; symbol (plural) Lei) = 100 bani. Notes are in denominations of Lei500, 100, 50, 10, 5 and 1. Coins are in denominations of Bani50, 10, 5 and 1. (Old notes were in denominations of Lei1,000,000, 500,000, 100,000, 50,000 and 10,000 and coins in denominations of Lei5,000, 1,000, 500 and 100.)
Note: As of December 2006, the old Leu is no longer legal tender. Previously coded as ROL, it has been redenominated so that Lei10,000 are exchanged for 1 new Leu (RON).

Currency Exchange
It is recommended that visitors bring Euros, as these can be easily exchanged by shops, restaurants and hotels. Pounds Sterling can be easily exchanged in most resorts. All hard foreign currencies can be exchanged at banks, larger hotels and airports and at authorized exchange offices (Birou de Schimb Valutar). Rates can vary from one place to another, so visitors are advised to shop around for the best rate of exchange. Exchanges on the black market are made frequently, but visitors are advised to exchange money through proper exchange channels and to receive a currency exchange receipt, as certain services require visitors to show the receipt as proof of having made at least one financial transaction.

Credit/Debit Cards and ATMs
The use of credit cards is growing. American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are accepted by large hotels, car hire firms and some restaurants and shops. ATMs (bancomat) accepting MasterCard and Visa can be found in main banks, airports and shopping centers but should not be relied upon as a sole source of cash.

Traveller’s Cheques
Like credit and debit cards, these are usually only useful in hotels and for obtaining cash at the bank or selected exchange offices. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travelers are advised to take traveller’s cheques in US Dollars or Euros.

Currency Restrictions
Restrictions apply.

Banking Hours
Mon-Fri 09.00-13.00

Exchange Rate Indicators

Date	Jan 2010
£1.00=	Lei 4.63
$1.00=	Lei 2.84
€1.00=	Lei 4.12

Romania is the largest of the Balkan states, sitting at the crossroads of Europe, whose nationals are proud of being ‘an island of Latinos’ in a ‘sea of slavs’. The country has seen several empires come and go – Roman, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian, all leaving their legacy.

Romania has a rich cultural and natural diversity. Its dramatic mountain scenery includes the densely forested Carpathian Mountains, the Danube Delta (the largest wetland in Europe) and 70km (43 miles) of fine white sandy beaches on the Black Sea Coast.

In picturesque valleys and on mountain slopes are many health and winter resorts. Romania’s cultural heritage can be experienced in the Saxon towns of Transylvania, also home to Bran Castle, of Dracula fame, the painted monasteries of Bucovina and the rural village idyll of Maramures.

The capital, Bucharest, earned the nickname ‘Paris of the Balkans’, but it is the stunning medieval city of Sibiu in Transylvania that was crowned European Capital of Culture 2007.

Since the overthrow of Nicolae Ceausescu’s communist dictatorship in 1989, Romania has been working towards the twin goals of gaining admission to NATO, which it joined in 2004, and the European Union, which it achieved in January 2007, behind some of its neighbors.

Geography
Romania is bordered to the north and east by Moldova and Ukraine, the southeast by the Black Sea, the south by Bulgaria, the southwest by Serbia and in the west by Hungary. The country is divided into four geographical areas. Transylvania (a belt of Alpine massifs and forests) and Moldavia compose the northern half of the country, which is divided down the middle by the north-south strip of the Carpathian Mountains. South of the east-west line of the Carpathians lies the flat Danube plain of Wallachia with the capital Bucharest, its border with Bulgaria being defined by the course of the Danube. Romania’s coastline is along the Black Sea, incorporating the port of Constanta and the Danube Delta.