Royal News Prince Charles Visits Romania
Britain's Prince Charles has made a private trip to a small Romanian town. Prince Charles turned up in Romania on Monday, 9th of May 2005, on a three-day private visit which was not part of any official royal engagement.
An Austrian television channel showed footage of the prince as he arrived in Horezu, a small town in southern Romania famous for its pottery crafts.
The prince visited a monastery in the south of the country before travelling on to the town of Horezu, where he made a surprise visit to a local pottery workshop. The visit, which has been kept secret and caught locals by surprise, does not include any official meetings and was described as a purely private affair.
It is the fifth visit the Prince has made to Romania where he has been an enthusiastic supporter of conservation projects, including campaigning against the building of a motorway across the country and also against a Disney-style Dracula theme park alongside the medieval town Sighisoara.
(Source:http://www.royalarchive.com)
Romania is a safe country, ideal for tourism, that offers unique experiences through its exclusive attractions, matchless beauty destinations in Central-Eastern Europe: medieval towns in Transylvania, world-famous painted monasteries in Bucovina, traditional villages in Maramures, the exquisite Danube Delta, fairy-tale castles, the Black Sea resorts, the magnificent Carpathian Mountains, health spas and much more.
Romania owns a special position in natural care, thanks to its natural cure factors: mineral and thermal waters (around the country there are over 3,000 springs), mofettes (carbon dioxide emanations), therapeutic mud and lakes, which can be used both for prevention of diseases, and for the treatment.
Romania can be considered a founder of the spa tourism (Romania ranks among the first countries worldwide in this respect). There are about 70 health spas spread in the mountain, hill and plain areas, some founded by the ancient Romans. These spas are a true pharmacy of nature with their waters rich in mineral salts used in curing bothering and difficult diseases, with sometimes spectacular results. Patients come from all over the world to receive therapeutic care from specialists in well-equipped clinics of the leading spas, while enjoying their outstanding holiday locations.
On the other side, Romania got the fame of an 'youth without old age' country, in the second half of the last century, due to the therapy and medicines conceived by the scientist Dr. Ana Aslan, acknowledged worldwide. Many international VIPs from Charles deGaule and J.F. Kennedy to Frank Sinatra or Claudia Cardinale benefited by the Romanian school of geronthology.
While there are great Romanian fine artists, the sculptur Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) is probably the most famous. The Tate Modern in London hosted an exhibition to the Romanian sculptor 'The Essence of Things' in 2004. Brancusi is considered by art historians to be the father of modern sculpture. He was a pioneer of abstraction. 'I am not sculpting birds, but flight' he insisted. In Targu Jiu you can view his famous Endless Column, Silence Table, Kiss Gate.
The producers of the Hollywood blockbuster "Cold Mountain" starring Nicole Kidman and Jude Law, chose Romania as their filming location because of the stunning, uninterrupted skylines found in much of Romania and lower production costs.
Romanian people are truly friendly, they have a passion for life and fun that is characteristic for those of Latin bloodline (French, Italian, Spanish and Portughese). Romanians are known by their traditional and warm hospitality. When you are invited into their homes, no matter how poor the family, you will be treated like a king or queen. They spill their hearts on the table without expecting any return. Almost the majority of the population is Christian Orthodox and the family continues to be a very important institution. His Sanctity Pope John Paul II visited Romania in 1999, the first visit a Supreme Pontiff ever paid to an Orthodox country.
The geo-political position of the country, at the crossroad of the Balkans, Russia, Central Europe and the natural resources are factors that ensure a rapid growth of the touristic industry. Nowadays you can buy hotels, villas, campings, even a whole spa!
Romania is a country of many secrets, expect to be surprised!
