Lavinia Ciupala, aged 17, tells us about her country 

          Romania is situated in the south-east of Europe, and its neighbours are Hungary, Ukraine, R.Moldova , Bulgaria , Serbia and Black Sea.Also the longest part of the Danube is crossing our country:1066 km. Even if Romania is a small country, it has a varied relief:plains, hills amd mountains.It has two goups of mountains: Dobrogei and The Carpathians.Dobrogei Mountains are some of the oldest mountains in  Europe. They are quite small (they seem to be hills), but their steep inclines are very difficult to pass. 

          The Carpathians are guarding the country like a medieval fortress.Their beauty and wilderness are known all over the world.There are lots of places untouched by humans, where the animals are free to live their wild life.On the top of the mountains, in natural reservations live lots of rare animals like:aurochses, black 
goats, lynx.Also, lots of rare plants are growing in the middle of the forests or on 
the top of the mountains: edelweiss, wild pinks, zada ( a kind of pine tree,the only 
coniferous which changes its leaves in the winter ).The caves from the Apuseni 
(the part of Carpathians situated in the West of the country ) are very interesting places to visit. Their beauty and their mystery attract lots of tourists and adventurers every year.The rocky mountains are real monuments of the nature. In Bucegi there are a group of rocks which seem to be some old women talking "Babele", and an other interesting monument resulted from nature's creation is "The Sfinx". 

          But the beautiful nature isn't everything in these mountains. The peasants who lives here are still retaining the traditions of their ancients. Their clothes are a visual  proof. Men wear itari ( a pair of trousers made by linen ), a white shirt, ilic ( a vest),  and a pair of opinci (a kind of shoes made by skin ).Women wear a long, white skirt, ilic and catrinta ( a kind of apron , sewed with traditional models), and of course, the same pair of opinci.They exploit the wealth of these mountains, mining gold, and other minerals.There is a museum at Brad which has very beautiful exhibits.Some of these exhibits are placed near the most beautiful exhibits of this 
kind from the entire Earth. 

          In Transilvania, in the middle of the mountains, in a beautiful valley there lies a famous castle named Bran Castle, where the legend sais there lived a great and 
well-known vampire, Dracula, but of course it's only a story. This story inspired 
Francis-Ford Coppola in his film "Dracula". But the mountains are not the only 
interesting and beautiful places to see in Romania.The seaside and the Danube 
Delta are even more beautiful. The Danube Delta is the paradise of the 
birds.Millions of birds are coming here every year to live until the winter drives 
them away.A wild wonder surrounds this area.Very few villages are lying on this 
land. 
 
          The seaside is the most visited part of Romania. Every summer, millions of tourists (romanian and foriegn ones ) come to the seaside.They enjoy the summer, the water and the treatment. 

           The beauty of Romania's nature was sung by all its poets and musicians. Thousand of years this wonder was untouched by humans, but now it is opened to the tourists.So, if you want to see Romania, come !