Sat 22nd Nov 2008
- Ialomita Travel Guide & City Information
Romania (Capital city: Bucharest) 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 northsouth strip of the Carpathian Mountains. South of the eastwest line of the Carpathians lies the flat Danube plain of Walachia with the capital Bucharest, its border with Bulgaria being defined by the course of the Danube. Romanias coastline is along the Black Sea, incorporating the port of Constanta and the Danube Delta. The region between the Black Sea and the Danube (after it veers North), is also known as Dobrudja (Dobrogea).
Language
Romanian is the official language. Some Hungarian is spoken in the Northwest, while mainly French and some English are spoken by those connected with the tourist industry.
Religion
83 per cent Romanian Orthodox, with Roman Catholic, Reformed/Lutheran, Unitarian, Muslim and Jewish minorities.
Time Zone
GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in September).
Electricity
220 volts AC, 50Hz. Plugs are of the two-pin type.
Communications
Telephone: IDD is available. Country code: 40. Outgoing international code: 00. Public telephones are widely available and can be used for direct international calls. Hotels often impose a high service charge for long-distance calls, but usually do not charge for local calls.
Mobile telephones
GSM 900/1800 networks. Network operators include Cosmorom (website: www.cosmorom.com), Orange (website: www.orange.ro) and Connex (website: www.connex.ro).
Internet
Kappa and PC-Net are two of the largest of the 250 ISPs. The former has open-air terminals at Strada Paulescu Nicolae 9, Bucharest, while the latter is at Strada Calderon Jean Louis 1-5, Bucharest. Sweet Internet Cafe, Strada Maria Rosetti 7-9, Bucharest (tel: (21) 212 4111) has 24-hour access, as do a couple others of Bucharest's dozen or so Internet cafes.
Post
Airmail to Western Europe takes 1 week. Post offices are open daily, including Saturday mornings.