I have just found this daily photo blog for the city of Brașov.

To quote from it: “No fancy , arty looks , as honest and natural as possible …”

Here is a video from the British Pathe archive showing Bucharest in 1961. It is in colour with English commentary:

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=700

Thanks to http://www.bucharestlife.net/2009/10/07/bucharest-old-chap/ for finding this one!

Designed by star-architect Zaha Hadid, Dorobanti Tower was designed to establish an iconic presence in the heart of Bucharest. The new tower is a unique mix of a distinctive form, ingenious structure, and spatial qualities of sky-high living. If approved, it will be the tallest building (656 ft) in the city and will provide a 5-star hotel along with apartments. The meandering exterior columns …

Read More

There’s an interesting story behind the stray dogs in Romania. I’m not sure that it’s the only explanation, but it goes like this:

In the 1980s, Nicolae Ceausescu, a now-executed Communist dictator, demolished a large portion of Bucharest homes. In classic megalomaniacal fashion, he used the newly razed area to build tower blocks, wide boulevards, and grandiose monuments to himself. While homeowners were rehoused in tiny flats, many of them were forced to abandon their pets. Naturally, the animals ran wild and do what animals do best–bump uglies and make more animals.

In 2006, an elderly Japanese businessman bled to death after being bit in the leg by a stray. Since then, the government rounded up hundreds of dogs and lethally injected them, but despite government efforts, stray dogs still take over many-a-dark-alley at night.

Vama Veche (Old Border in Romanian) is a village on the Black Sea coast. Once a quiet fisherman’s village, today it has transformed itself into a large resort, well-known for its nudist beach and rock festival Stufstock.

In previous times, it was known as a counter-cultural oasis and was a popular retreat for artistic/bohemian types. However, in recent years it has become a lot more mainstream, partly due to the Stufstock rock festival (Stuf is Romanian for ‘reed’, stock comes from ‘Woodstock’). This was founded in 2003 as part of the ‘Save Vama Veche Campaign’ in protest against what some people consider bad Romanian music i.e. manele and pop.

1st May is considered the first day of the summer season and is generally when things really get going in Vama Veche.

Ciorba De Burta (Tripe Sour Soup)

Sarmale Cu Varza Dulce (Cabbage Rolls)

Mititei (Grilled Mince Meat Rolls)

Cozonac (Walnut Sweet Bread)

+ More To Come!

(more…)

Hello & Welcome To Romalien!

We are a new resource for expats/tourists that are living/travelling in Romania.

If you have found the site useful, please help us by registering on the forum and posting a question. Also, if you feel there is information missing from some of the articles, please post a comment and we will be happy to amend them.

Additionally if you would like us to post any news or upcoming events, or for any other queries, get in touch: admin@romalien.com

Hopefully, together we can build a great community.

Regards,

Everyone At Romalien.com

It has long been the case that Romanian companies with EU national assignees (i.e. remaining on home payroll, outside Romania) are required to notify the labour authorities of the assignment.

However, in recent months, the Romanian authorities have become increasingly strict regarding this requirement, making on-site labour inspections and levying penalties where companies are found not to have carried out the notification. In addition, the authorities are asking for a higher level of detail for notifications than was previously the case. Emigra would therefore like to take this opportunity to remind their clients that notification is required for all EU nationals and, in fact, even for Romanian nationals, who are assigned to Romania but remain on home payroll outside Romania.

Notifications must be completed within the week prior to the assignment start date – i.e. up to five working days before the assignment begins. Submitting notifications after the assignment has already begun is a contravention of regulations and may result in significant financial penalties.

Notifications are valid for the duration of the assignment. If the assignment is extended, the notification must also be extended – again within the five working days prior to the beginning of the extension period.

Note that notifications are not required for EU nationals who are employed in Romania and move on to Romanian payroll. For these individuals, the employment contract must be registered.

I have just found this site: http://www.wwoof.ro

What is WWOOF?

WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) offers people the chance to volunteer on organic farms.
Volunteers (Wwoofers) provide labor to Host farms in exchange for food, accommodations, and the unique experience of living and working in the countryside.
Wwoofers benefit from the experience through the process of cultural exchange, as well as being able to discuss and learn about organic agriculture and the organic movement.
WWOOF host farms benefit through the help they receive from volunteers.

For more information on WWOOF in general, about it’s values, practices and history, please see the international website at www.wwoofinternational.org and www.wwoof.org.

Here is a comprehensive list of Romanian radio stations with links to listen online. It includes links to the radio stations home pages and keywords showing what they are known for playing.

http://delicast.com/radio/Romania/SRR_Romania_Cultural

Enjoy!