For all those that don’t fancy the trip to Predeal:

Update: I have found the full version in which the police show up: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cf6_1264800338

Valentines Day is celebrated all over the world on the 14th February. Although in recent years Romanians have begun to adopt this date, instead they traditionally celebrate Dragobete on the 24th February. Dragobete is a character from Romanian folklore, the son of Baba Dochia.

The day is known as “the day when the birds are betrothed”. It is around this time that the birds begin to build their nests and mate. On this day, considered locally the first day of spring, boys and girls gather vernal flowers and sing together. Maidens used to collect the snow that still lies on the ground in many villages and then melt it, using the water in magic potions throughout the rest of the year. Those who take part in Dragobete customs are supposed to be protected from illness, especially fevers, for the rest of the year. If the weather allows, girls and boys pick snowdrops or other early spring plants (e.g. Lăcrămioară or Lily Of The Valley) for the person they are courting. In Romania, Dragobete is known as a day for lovers, rather like Valentine’s Day.

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We are currently collecting information for those wanting to buy property in Romania.

The following is a statement from one of our members describing his experiences:

Mikey says,

“I bought an apartment here back in ‘06, just before we joined the EU, and I’m currently looking for a house in the country, so I can fill in the details from an EUian’s point of view.

Basically, anyone can own an apartment, you don’t need to be a resident. However, with each apartment there is a small patch of land, normally a square metre or so underneath the block, which you cannot own as a non-resident.

A lot of estate agents/websites will tell you that ‘foreigners can’t buy land in Romania unless they do so through a company’. This was true until 2007 but now it isn’t. A lot of the agents don’t seem to know this, or perhaps they prefer to ignore the changes in the law because they can charge the purchaser an extra 1-2000 Euro for setting up said company. Even many notary publics aren’t aware of the new rules, so you have to shop around to find one who does and who’ll process your land purchase.

Basically, the Romanian legislation states that non-Romanians who are not resident in Romania, but who are EU citizens, may not buy land until 2012. What this essentially means is that an EU citizen who is a legal resident of Romania CAN buy land at the moment. It then goes on to define a legal resident as “a foreigner who has the right of residence on Romanian territory”, in other words, an EU citizen holding a certificate of residence.

Thus, if you hold a passport from an EU country, and apply for the certificate mentioned in the above article, then the notary public is obligated to accept any land transactions completed in your name.

Obviously, buying land as a ‘persoana fizica’ is far more convenient than doing so as a company, which involves many more costs, taxes and adminstrative headaches (regardless of what the estate agents tell you). As the purchaser YOU have the right to choose the notary public, so it’s simple enough to ask around till you find one who is more familar with the most recent property laws.

Anyone not from an EU country, or not able to prove that they live in Romania, would still have to purchase the land through a company.”

Little in their history has given Romanians cause for celebration. They frequently suffered at the hands of a succession of invaders (invadatori) and have lived for long periods under foreign rule (stăpânire). About the year 1000 Transylvania was conquered by the King of Hungary and, except for a brief period (perioadă) in the sixteenth century, remained under Hungarian control (autoritate) until 1918. Moldovia and Wallachia were created in the 1400țs and both were ruled by Romanian princes (domnitori). The best known of these are remembered by the Romanians for their attempts to defend their domains against invaders from the north (nord) and south (sud) such as the Poles (polonezi) and Turks (turci). Stephen The Great (Ștefan Cel Mare), prince of Moldovia, defeated the Turks on several occasions and managed to keep Moldovia independent until his death (moarte) in 1504. In recognition of his exploits Stephen was called The Athlete of Christ by the Pope (papă).

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Residence in Romania of the citizens of the EU / EEA and family members

Anyone got a better one?

The end (sfârşit) of the First World War (primul război mondial) saw the union of all the regions inhabited by Romanians. The provinces of Transylvania, Banat and Bessarabia were added to the country to create what Romanians called România Mare. During the reigns of Ferdiand (1914-27), Carol II (1930-40) and Michael (1940-7), efforts were made to develop Romania. Modern highways (şosele) were built, a public bus, rail (calea ferată) and air system were introduced, and electricty (electricitate), gas (gaze) and water (apă) were brought to towns. More schools (şcoli) and hospitals (spitale) were also constructed. However, despite these advances the life of the peasants in the villages remained largely unchanged. Before the outbreak of the Second World War (al doilea război mondial) 80% of Romania’s 18 million people lived on the land (pământ).

In June 1940 the Soviet Union seized Besserabia and two months later Romania lost more territory, this time to Hungary, when, under pressure from Germany, she was forced to give away the northern part of Transylvania. At the end of the Second World War in 1945 Soviet troops occupied Romania and the first steps were taken to communize the country. This involved the abolition of all institutions and the creation of new ones, and the imprisonment of all those who opposed this process. The complete subjugation (subjugare) of Romania to the Soviet Union was marked by King Michael’s forced abdication (abdicare) in December 1947 and the proclomation (proclamare) of the Romanian People’s Republic.

The Main Candidates

Traian Basescu

Traian Băsescu (Romanian pronunciation: [traˈjan bəˈsesku]; born November 4, 1951) is a Romanian politician and former Merchant Navy officer. He is the current President of Romania, after winning the office in the 2004 presidential election, and being inaugurated on December 20, 2004. Prior to becoming President, he was the Mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004.

On April 19, 2007 the Romanian Parliament suspended Băsescu. As the Constitutional Court of Romania acknowledged the Parliament’s vote on April 20, 2007, Băsescu remained suspended as president until a referendum which took place on May 19, 2007 confirmed that the impeachment should not stand: 24.75% voted to impeach Băsescu, and 74.48% to maintain him. Băsescu is the first president in the history of Romania who has been officially suspended.

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Here are some pictures of stray dogs / puppies in Navodări next to the RomPetrol factory. We found them on the ‘dig‘ (Romanian for dam, or pier). Au murit de foame (they were starving, dying of hunger).

Very short video: Stray Puppies Eating

I have recently discovered a new website called ‘Pictures of Romania‘. It gives an insight into family life and culture in Romania, with a nice personal touch.

A notable feature is the ‘request a picture’ page.