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[travellingscot]

Oops--mistake caused by not paying attention due to two year old shouting "daddy, daddy"--on a busier forum somebody would have corrected me by now so one advantage perhaps.
70% is of course a percentage, I wanted to say three quarters [75%]or something but like I said, children can be very distracting which I found when trying to teach them !

[scot47]

Black Sea ? Yes !

http://www.operavarna.bg/monthly_progall_a.php?page=program_listnogenre&date=200810

[Bebsi]

I can tell you something about the Romanian Black Sea coast.

First of all, there is not that much of it, and what there is, is very flat with beaches that are pretty much featureless. They are also overcrowded, with far too much ugly high-rise development for the place to even be remotely called attractive. Much of that 'development' dates back to communist times, and the standards of the hotels located in those buildings are largely a remnant of communist times also!

Service is pretty abysmal and the food is great only if you like greasy, bland pork-based dishes with extremely starchy polenta (known as Mamaliga in Romania) and frozen, diced vegetables, which are known locally by the rather grandiose name of 'Mexican Vegetables'. There is, needless to say, fast-food in abundance and the idea of exotic in this region is oily pizza which is a bit short on real tomato sauce, greasy spaghetti bolognaise and just maybe a (yes, you've guessed it, greasy) 'Chinese'. I would apply the adjective 'Chinese' very loosely indeed!

Generally, prices are high even by western European standards, and are particularly exorbitant in light of the appalling service and food.

Frankly, even many Romanians avoid the place, especially the growing middle class which has favoured Bulgaria [where standards are higher and prices lower] for a number of years anyway and is now starting to venture further afield to places such as Greece, Italy, Croatia, Cyprus and Turkey. Most of them, if asked to compare, will say that there is no comparison whatsoever.

Climatically, the Black Sea is more limited than the Mediterranean, with the former having essentially a four-month season while the latter varies from five to nine months depending on location. Because of cold winter currents, the Black Sea is not really comfortable for swimming until June, and while in October the water is still warm, the air has started to cool rapidly.

An area in Romania that I would definitely recommend for a holiday, however, is Transylvania. The summers are delightful, and there is a good deal of snow in winter with white Christmasses quite common. There are many beautiful old cities and towns, and hundreds of quaint old-world villages. If you want nature, there is lots of it, with extensive forest and mountain full of bear, wolves and wild boar. It is certainly not lacking in culture, unlike the Black Sea coast where the only culture you are likely to find is at the bottom of an unemptied rubbish bin!!

Nowadays, the majority of tourists to the Romanian Black Sea coast are working-class Romanians and Moldovans, whose expectations are somewhat lower, it would appear.

[scot47]

And Romania, like its Southern neighbour Bulgaria, is certainly not a place to go teaching English.

[Mike_2007]

Don't forget that a large number of the Black Sea hotels in Romania pump their untreated waste directly into the sea. So once you've finished eating the cr@p in the restaurants, you can go and swim in it.

[Bebsi]