Bucharest city tales: Hitting the road to the Romanian seaside

Columnist Eleonore af Schaumburg-Lippe writes in her weekly column about life as an expat in Romania. This week she writes about her holiday at the Romanian seaside.

I am on holiday and I am on the Romanian seaside, and I just love it! Being near the Black Sea, which of course normally I can only dream about being situated in Bucharest, makes me happy. When Romanians talk about the seaside in Romania, they usually talk about going either to Mamaia, Vama Veche or to the resorts of Neptun, Saturn or Olimp. And be sure that there is a lot of gossip about what kinds of people go to the different places at the seaside. The usual line is that the 'Fitze' go to Mamaia, hippies go to Vama Veche and families go to Neptun, Saturn or Olimp. I haven't been to Mamaia yet, so that part of the seaside I can't write about. But presently I am enjoying a week long holiday in Neptun. How I ended up going to Neptun was a little complicated, but I haven't regretted going, and so far my stay has also included a day trip to Vama Veche... and the holiday is not over yet. For anyone who hasn't been to the Romanian seaside yet, this is one of the 'must dos' in Romania. The prices at the restaurants are similar to Bucharest, but it's cheaper to buy at the markets or in the small street shops. The resorts of Neptun, Saturn, Olimp and Vama Veche are all quite close to each other, but I would recommend going by car from town to town. It is possible to go by foot, but it will take some time to get there, especially to Vama Veche. Of course, you can take a taxi – and there will be some adjustments in service for English speakers, or you can use a mini-train- actually very funny- and a bus to get from Neptun to, for example, Vama Veche, the last resort before the Bulgarian border. Neptun This is my first time in Neptun, and I am positively surprised. The place reminds me of previous holidays to Rhodes or Mallorca for a bit of sun and sea. I get the same feeling and atmosphere of a 'summer-town,' it is very green here, lots of trees, lots of restaurants and shops, the little train going from downtown to downtown – because the towns are quite small, it's also possible to take a horse drawn carriage around the town. There are people in the streets in summer clothes, carrying beach toys on their way to the beach or dressed up a bit up to enjoy dining out after a long day at the beach. All in all it also seems very clean here. This is is the perfect town for a family, since it is not so heavily party oriented as I imagine Mamaia is. In the 80s Netun, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, the so called planet towns, were popular with Danish holidaymakers went for their holidays, so for me it is fun to be here, because I have heard about the towns growing up in Denmark. There is one high street running through the town, and here you can shop till you drop, go to the fun park, where kids and childish grownups can try out the Paris wheel, radio cars and eat candy floss until the belly hurts. The streets are quite big and besides the possibility to eat everything from fine dining to Hamsii (little fishes fried), you can also experience all sorts of musical events, like the Bolivian musicians playing on their flutes on the streets next to a shop selling fresh fruits and the traditional music and dancing can be heard from the restaurants until late in the evening. And it’s live! This is the perfect place to go to, if you really want to relax and just enjoy the sun and the sea.