THE ROAD TO ROMANIA

Written by MOTORBIKE EUROPE Road Writers - Thursday, 24 March 2011 10:29

Romania lies between the Balkans and Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Ukraine and Moldova in the north, Hungary and Serbia to the west, Bulgaria to the south, and in the east, with the Black Sea.

In 2002, the oldest remains of modern humans (Homo sapiens) in Europe were found in the "Cave With Bones" (Peştera cu Oase), near Anina, in present Romania. One of the finds, (a lower jaw), is about 42,000 years old, and has been called "John of Anina". As Europe's oldest remains of Homo sapiens, they may represent the first humans who inhabited the continent. The remains are especially interesting, since they exhibit a mixture of archaic, early modern human, and Neanderthal traits.

Romania joined the EU on the 1st of January 2007. Between 1994 and 1996, the countries of Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Bulgaria, filed their applications to join the EU. Among the requirements, were a number of environmental requirements that Romania did not meet.

Romania is a relatively large country, and due to it’s mountains, has a variable climate, both temperate and continental. There are big temperature differences between day and night, and between summer and winter, due to the fact that there is almost no temperature-equalising effect, coming from the sea.

THE CARPATHIANS

The Carpathian Mountains stretch in an arc, from the Czech Republic in the northwest, through Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Ukraine, to Romania in the east. It is actually the second longest mountain range in Europe, at a length of 1,500 km.

The mountains are also home to the largest population of brown bears, wolves, chamois and lynx in Europe. The highest peaks in the Carpathians are the Tatras, on the border between Poland and Slovakia, where the highest peaks are over 2,600 m. The second highest mountain is located in Romania, where the highest peaks are over 2,500 m.

The Carpathian Mountains are usually divided into three parts. The Western Carpathians located in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia. The Eastern Carpathians are located in southeastern Poland, eastern Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania. The Southern Carpathians, in Romania and Serbia.