How to Visit Romanian Villages

is no longer uunder the living quatersWhile driving in search of Romi village, we passed by Rasnov Fortress. The Fortress on A Hilltop was built to defend against the Ottoman invasion. It didn’t hold off the Turks. The Ottomans conquered Romania in 1415.

The fortress is an example of Romania’s force, the strength of the Romanian people, and their desire to fight and defend their homeland against invasion.

Who can Help You Visit Romanian Romi Villages?

Driving To The Village In Romania

We drove through the mountains. The natural beauty of Transylvania, Romania, is something to see. I love to hike in the hills — it is breathtakingly beautiful in this region. It’s a rural country with picturesque landscapes. Romania is perfect for hiking, and it feels safe to me, but don’t be silly, keep safe, so take care. We drove past, then stopped for a quick visit to a village with its own culture, language, and customs. I think that some of the villagers didn’t speak Romanian at all — they speak their own language.

 The Word

‘The word Gypsy’ is a blanket term that covers many ethnicities, including the Romani, Irish Travellers, Black Dutch, Gitanos, and others. Romani people make up the largest group. The language is called Romani, Romanes, Romany, or Romani Chib, and spelled with one or two ‘r.’  There are more dialects of Romani than one can count. Their language recently became written. It’s not yet standardized. Per Wikipedia – I use the term Romani. Romanians are sensitive to this word and the group of people. Do not use it because it can be an ethnic slur.

Romania Village

The day we were there, it was silent. Most days are quiet in Romania village. The community gets busy at night when people come out to visit and barter. It has its economic system.

The village looks picturesque, but upon looking closer, we saw the buildings were worn and in need of repairs.

I was across the road and up a bit from the houses, not intruding into their space. Domestic animals live in homes. The horses are in a field across the street. As I took photos, some of the young men came out to see what we were doing.

Just Talk

Maybe they were coming to talk to us. Nicolae didn’t want to find out. He didn’t mean to hang around and told me to get into the car. We moved on.

Maybe the car had attracted them, something had happened, and made them come towards us.

I will never know what they wanted. My photos are blurred because I didn’t have permission to take their pictures.

I think after taking my pictures of the horses and sheep, they thought I was a ‘gawker.’ I wouldn’t like me if I were them. Later, Nicolae told me he had been kidding; these weren’t Romi, this was just the suburbs. I’m gullible.

Travel tip: Don’t fall for all the stories you hear when you are going. Sometimes your guide may be having fun.

Time to get moving

I was a ‘gawker’ at the people in the suburbs. I didn’t like that. Being a ‘gawker’ doesn’t feel good.  My stomach was turning over. It was time to move on. Further down the road, we saw farmers who still use traditional farming methods. The farmers aren’t allowed to use the roads for their carts and donkeys. But they don’t follow the law. After all, who is going to give a ticket to them out here?

As soon as I said that to myself, we got a speeding ticket from a very polite law-enforcement officer. Nicolae paid the ticket on the spot, and off we went. He paid for the ticket on the spot. Nicolae did this because it saves him time and reduces the penalty. So, correction, there are police even out in the rural areas of Romania!

Driving To The Village In Romania

We saw a woman working. She loved posing! She was jubilant! And happy to have her photo taken.

On our way home, we bought honey and cheese from a ‘bee lady.’ She had made it at her farm.

Next, we sampled a medicinal juice she made from local berries. I asked, “Do we have to buy because we stopped?” Nicolae said that we should.

We drove on, through the mountains, and Nicolae spotted the Metal Cross on the hill (in the picture below).

It was far away. Nicolae explained that it was the largest metal cross, even more massive than Christo in Brazil. The metal cross is the Caraiman Cross – the biggest metal cross on the highest mountain peak in the world!

Here are some more stories and information about my travels in Romania!

You might want to see some other places along once you learn how to visit Romanian  Villages