Archive for the ‘Practical hints’ Category

If your Romanian language skills are not yet that good as to allow you to fully understand a theater performance in this language, perhaps you might want to try a pantomime show. The recently renovated  “Teatrul de pe Lipscani” in the Old Town in Bucharest (53 Lipscani St.) offers pantomime theater shows three  times a week with the Passe Partout Dan Puric Theater Company. Tickets can be purchased Tuesday- Sunday, 12-18pm. More details on their website here.

Argentinian flamenco dancer Lucas Molina has opened the first Flamenco school in Bucharest. It is located downtown Bucharest, near the Manuc Inn – 62-64 Franceza St (entry through the Manuc Bar). The first lesson is free of charge. For more information, call 0734.840.189.  The normal rate for an 8-lesson package is of RON 150. Classes are organized on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 18,30 hours. The school also organizes percussion classes on Saturdays. More details on Lucas Mollina’s official webpage here. (it’s in Romania but the class schedule is easy to understand)

Truffle hunting is of the newest, adventurous activities one could try in Romania. Few people know that you can actually find truffles in Romania, in Buzau area, which is located at the same altitude as Piedmont in Italy. Truffles can be found in Buzau forests (Berca – Gura Teghii) usually between June and January. The Association Monteoru Renaissance organizes trips to the area which include a truffle hunting session. More about this activity here and on the association’s website here.

‘Tis the season to be jolly! As you can see in the calendar above, there are plenty of things to do in December if you’ll choose Romania as your holiday destination. Romania Business Insider has created a special section called Winter Specials, which already includes useful information for those who will spend the winter holidays in Romania. Check their website for up to date info on events, places, to see, gifts to buy in Romania. And if you learn about something interesting that the community should know about, share the knowledge: editor@romania-insider.com; corina@citycompass.ro .

Winter lovers and those who seek extreme experiences will be happy to hear that the Ice Hotel near Balea Lac in the Carpathian Mountains is already being built for this year’s winter season. The ice hotel, which will feature 14 rooms this year, will open on December 24. The price of a room is RON 150/person. The hotel compound also includes a restaurant. If you want to reserve a room, go here (website in Romanian only). The hotel is usually fully booked during the holidays but if you don’t find a room during December, you can do so until March, when the hotel will start melting down.

If you’re looking for a place to drink a delicious cup of tea, we’ve just discovered the best place for it: the Bernschutz & Co. teahouses in Bucharest. There are two of them – one on Smardan St. and the other one on Eremia Grigorescu St. You can drink tea there or buy something for home – they have a wide selection of teas and all sorts of teapots. Check out pics from the two teahouses here. You can reach them by phone +40 21 310.47.88 (Smardan) and +40 372.790.723 (Icoanei).

Recommended by many of our readers, a new personalized name labels producer – www.etichetexpress.ro -  prints and delivers name labels you can iron on your kids clothes, as well as waterproof stick-on labels and shoe labels. You can choose what to write on them and add funny designs of your choice.

You can pay cash upon delivery, and delivery is free of charge in Bucharest. Delivery outside Bucharest free for larger orders.

Check them out HERE.

Photographer Eric Matson displays some very interesting photos of Romania and its “revolution” in 1989 and the early 1990′s on his website. Make sure you browse through it, as he has different categories of pictures about Romania!

If you are in for sweets and Moldovan wine, you should try out the Clipe and Bucuria store on  Calea Dorobantilor 107, opposite of La Perla.

It opened 8 months ago and their offers include Moldovan red and white wines, sparkling wine and ice wine. Most of the wines are from the famous Cricova estates, famous for their immense underground wine cellars.They also offer some great pralines and Moldovan Chocolates! E-mail contact:  asoimaru@yahoo.com.

With great help of our friend Claudia we restructured and updated our restaurant list in the Online Survival Guide! We list some restaurants which are our favorites in town – divided by cuisines.
POFTA BUNA!