Everyday practical information for Romania

Power

• 230 V, 50 Hz, sockets type C and F. The same round two-pin plugs as Germany and most of continental Europe.
• UK, US, Irish and Australian plugs need an adapter.

Language

• Romanian is a Romance language - closer to Italian than to anything Slavic, despite the map. If you read Italian or Spanish you will guess a surprising amount.
• English is widely spoken by younger people and throughout the tourist economy; French among older, educated Romanians.
• "Buna ziua" is hello, "multumesc" is thank you.
• Hungarian is widely spoken in parts of Transylvania, which is a live political subject - as a visitor, stay out of it.

Practicalities

• Shops open late and on Sundays in cities.
• Romanian coffee culture is excellent in Bucharest and Cluj, and the country's internet is genuinely world-class.
• Orthodox churches expect covered shoulders, and in monasteries, covered knees for both sexes.

Manners

• Take your shoes off indoors in someone's home.
• Hospitality is emphatic. Refusing food or drink outright reads as rejection; take a little.
• Do not call the country "Eastern Europe" as a synonym for backward - Romanians are quick to point out that Bucharest has faster internet than most of the west, and they are right.