Shopping in România for the tourist is a true
delight. Everything is so cheap! And if you shop like a
local does, you can find some embarrassingly wonderful bargains.
Bargains Galore!
Inflation hit this 1.00 Market in the
old quarter of Sibiu rather hard in the 1990s, resulting in
the curious change of price. We wonder if the "Cent
Market Index" might be a good way of monitoring local
purchasing power. Hmm!
As with most iconic European capitals, Bucharest has it's own
downtown shopping precinct which you'll hear about from any tourist
returning from the Land of Dracula. That street is the fabulously
rococo Strada Lipscani, with it's dusty cobblestones, weird and
wonderful little shops stuffed with antiques, vintage clothing, as well
as top of the line designer ware, world-class cafes and sweet shops.
Strada Lipscani and the myriad of alleyways and side-streets, many
closed off to traffic or seeing an infrequent one-way interloper, boasts
over 150 specialty stores catering to all tastes, including the lunch
time crowd which pours in each day from the adjacent business and
university sectors.
Some of the cafes are rather old-world affairs with top-notch
espressos and western magazines. The big old windows make for great
people-watching in the alleyways outside, and keep the cold out on a
cool autumn evening as well, with patrons lasting into the evening hours
in some places.
Do yourself a favour and have a hot covrigi (giant pretzel) from one
of the streetside vendors, and put aside at least a few hours to wonder
through this fun area.
Unirea
A couple of blocks down the hill towards the central Unification
Square (Unirii) is the iconic Unirea shopping centre, a 5 storey
curiously Romanian facsimile of a western style mall which looms over
the square and major intersection there.
Sort of like a multi-level
exhibition hall in some ways, Unirea packs in alot of merchandise, with
everything from fashion to white goods (appliances), jewellery, a few
restaurants and a club on the top floor.
Unirea does benefit from having reasonable parking in the big
parking garage next door, although most Romanians see no reason to pay
for parking around the downtown area, confident they can shoe-horn their
cars into a nearby space.
Other Downtown
The
blocks between Strada Lipscani and Unirea, as well as towards and around
the University area with it's Metro station, State Theatre and the
Intercontinental hotel, are all lined with shops, banks, and a few
surprises, like chocolatiers, cinemas, libraries, and some rather
wonderful old architecture as well.
The Mighty Unirea Mega-Ads
Some six-storey
signs clad the main centre in downtown Bucharest
Oh, yes, you'll
find what you need here, at ridiculously low prices, and the
freshest produce too. Clothing, fish, peaches, shaving
needs, buttons, pumpkins, doughnuts, coffee, t-shirts -- it's
all there!
The local Bacanie is still the first stop
for most Romanians, whether tucked away under an apartment
block, or along a side road, as here in deepest, darkest Rahova.
Much like the department stores which dotted urbanised America, it's
the traditional local square, or piaţă which
serves city dwellers throughout Romania.
You will not find gleaming polished floors, air conditioning
(they're mostly covered from the rain at least) or the latest fashion
labels, but you will find almost everything you need for the kitchen,
bath, bedroom, and everyday living in general.
Rather remarkably, Romanians achieve this one-stop market experience
within easy walking distance of your front door. No hydrocarbon
taxes required for your short walk to your local market!
Smaller "satellite" type market are also distributed between the
major markets, which are usually sited at major intersections. The
smaller satellite markets are more basic, and tend to concentrate on
perishable foodstuffs such as fruits, vegetables and baked goods, as
well as the kiosks with everything from magazines to socks, matches,
shampoo and really all the essentials.
The main roads through most neighbourhoods have the banks, chemists
(pharmacies), white goods shops (appliance and electronics stores),
hardware stores, utilities such as cable television and internet
companies, toy stores, travel agents, book shops and other businesses
who do well enough to afford the rents of the "proper" shops.
Because of the dependence of average Romanians on their local market
squares, the size and number of more Western-style big supermarkets is
limited.
Instead, the urban market is split between the hulking
hypermarket type of store, which curiously enough, propagates the very
same "everything-under-one-roof" bent as found in the local squares.
Interestingly, Bucharest and few other main cities also have sort of
"mega-town-markets" on the periphery, usually on a main road out of
town. Red Dragon and Europa in Bucharest are series of sprawling
stalls in an extended industrial park, with well over 150 different
stalls in open air, and another 100 or so under roof cover.
Parking and Shopping
Parking in Bucharest is truly hilarious to most English-speakers.
Romanians have a curious habit of parking where they want to park.
Even on congested city thoroughfares, cars litter the sidewalks, verges,
centre areas, and into gardens in some cases.
Often, in the more sought-after spots in the cities, there will be
an informal "attendant", who for some reason seems to escape the
attention of local law authorities. This person will merrily
accept a bit of cash in exchange for his assurances that your car will
be there when you get back. What a delightful service!
Frankly, this practice is about as attractive as having to tip your
doctor for timely service, but for the average wallet of an
English-speaker, this downtown parking "fee" is fairly cheap.
If it does not seem cheap to you, then they've figured out
your a tourist, so give them a take-it-or-leave-it offer of around 1RON
per minute. Maybe 20RON for 10 minutes if you're in a
hurry and just need to park.
If you don't want to get taken for a premium spot, try one of the
new downtown parking garages. They haven't really caught on with
average Romanians as yet, but can offer secure parking for a reasonable
price, and near your shopping as well.
Otherwise, check the back alleyways and little streets a block or
two from your target area. Walking rarely kills you in Romania,
and the streets are safe around the clock with an extremely low serious
crime rate compared with any of the English speaking country cities.
The "Official Policy" here at Rest Romania is to encourage you, the
English-speaking traveller, to integrate as much as possible into the
local Romanian scene.
As far as food goes, it's way cheaper, far fresher
and will provide you with alot more cultural fun if you take the dive
and head for the local piaţa for your food requirements.
Never head into a Romanian restaurant, supermarket or local market
square with an idea in mind of what you want to eat. Because
regional and local specialties will win over your ideas. If
you go looking for broccoli at the market, you'll end up with some
fabulous tomatoes (mostly varieties called "heirloom" in the West which
are unsuitable for modern transport).
Whether it's a roadside stand, a little kiosk in the street, or a
little shop on a busy corner or near a bus stop, Romanians enjoy the
convenience of a quick bite.
If you go looking for a steak at a good restaurant, you would
be wise to stray from your choice with a nicely done veal cordon bleu
(oddly often touted as "Gordon Blue" on menus, but nonetheless usually
competently done).
And if you are thinking Brie when you head to the supermarket, you'll
be smiling with a great big slice of some creamy delicious
brânza cheese on your way out.
Whatever the case, remember you really are on the edge of the
European Union, where the sun rises on
the Black Sea, and
your breakfast, lunch and
dinner is going to be delicious and delightfully Romanian!
Computer stores and internet companies have thrived in
Romania, thanks to a happy convergence of a young population with cheap
internet access, and the ability to read the mostly English web pages.
Romanians have adopted the internet age with gusto, and
this has meant the installation of a crazy web of wires in and out of
the hallmark concrete apartment blocks which blight the country.
Once one person gets a good cable internet connection in the block, it
seems suddenly so do another dozen or so people.
Although not strictly in accordance with the user agreements, it is
nonetheless very widespread, and frankly, it's doubtful the internet
companies would get the business in the first place without this
community effort.
Pester Power
Indeed the generation which grew up under the depravity
and deprivations of Communism are often ill-equipped to fathom the
insistent pleadings for new or better computers and internet from their
youth (most of whom now have few pre-Revolution memories).
But, with household incomes on the steady rise, yield the do, and almost
every other apartment in Bucharest is now outfitted with at least one
computer.
Delivery in Bucharest of computers, peripherals or
other tech-related merchandise is a pretty smooth operation, thanks to a
crew of couriers and the custom of Romanians to pay on delivery.
Whilst some major online computer and internet companies do indeed
accept credit cards, the use of credit cards by Romania's fledgling
middle class (estimated at only around 25%) is meagre compared with
English-speaking countries.
If you'd like to order online in English with a credit
card, check out
Flamingo, one of the biggest players in the market.
While not offering an English version of the website,
e-Mag also offers Visa and
MasterCard in Romanian, as do Altex,
Best Computers
and UltraPro,
but Computer Depot
and others are more aimed at the Romanian local cash economy.
Really, you'd have to be living under a haystack to
miss the mobile craze in Romania. Like everywhere, the mobile is taking
over, but in Romania it really took off early with plans competitive
with the then landline monopoly,
RomTelecom.
All you really need to do if you're
spending much time in Romania is to buy a local SIM card from any of the
thousands of mobile phone shops which are easy to find in malls,
shopping centres, street corners and seemingly everywhere. Major
players Vodafone,
Orange and
Cosmote
divide up the Romanian market, all offering services and websites in
English.
Simply copy over your address book to your phone, put the new local SIM
card in, and copy back your info to the new card. Or better yet, most
of the standard chain stores in the malls will do this for you!
Really gives you
that sometimes-comforting could-be-anywhere feel. Plenty
of shops, plenty of recognisable chains like KFC, McDonald's,
Pizza Hut and more if you MUST stray from proper food!
There are one or two places in each major city where, if it were not
for the discreet direction signs, you could be in any Western shopping
centre in any country. But look at the parking lot. All
Mercedes, BMWs and Lexus. Your average mall is not for average
Romanians, far from it.
Yes, you might well be relieved to realise that Bucharest does
indeed have a few malls throughout the city -- the most notable and
accessible being The Bucharest City Mall in the Heroes of the Revolution
area, Plaza Romania in the Drumul Taberei area, Vitan Mall in the
south-west, and the Big Barn in the southern Berceni area.
The Romanian Mall
All Romanian malls offer most of the western mall touchstones of a
food court and (for Australians and English at least) grocery stores
(not seen as often in American malls), and sometimes a bowling alley and
other fun rides.
Some even have a little specialty children's mall area not far from
bumper car rides or other kiddie playtime activities.
Many of the major anchor stores like Carrefour, Selgros, Practiker,
Metro, Bricostore and others can be parts of small mini-mall type
complexes such as the Carrefour hypermarket at Orchideea, which anchors
a smaller 50-store mall.
Not for the Average Iosif
But if you look out into the parking lot, you might notice a rather
odd thing. Almost all of the cars are Mercedes, BMWs, VWs, Audis, and
other slightly-more-pricey cars. In other words, malls in Romania, with
their gleaming floors and good service, are for the upper class, and to
some extent, the little middle class below them. However, you just won't
see that many from the surrounding quarters, most came by car, not by
the tram.
What's Missing?
Whilst
rife with specialty shops, Romania really is not of sufficient size to
warrant many "anchor" tenants at the malls, with the largest stores
tending to be of the hypermarket type, rather than the Western style
department store like a Bloomingdales, David Jones, Dillards or Myers.
Otherwise, if you can think of it, it's there. Even the food
courts will provide a surprising array of foods, much of which is still
considered a novelty in Romania, in contrast with our familiarity with
what a
Pizza Hut is (tables are set with linen and fork and knives in
Romania, it's considered a bit expensive).
But who can complain when you get a beer at either
KFC or
McDonalds.
We're not sure if they include a McBeer in the McMeniu in the McDrive
(what Romanians call the drive-through at McDonalds)!
Above: The shimmering blue dome of Romania's
new economy at the Bucharest Mall
A Familiar Cuppa!
A franchised coffee shop,
Gloria Jean's,
familiar
for travellers from Australia!
As an English-speaking you'll be amazed at the fun and fabulous use
of your native tongue. Whilst possibly not as famous as China for it's
fractured take on English, Romania does nonetheless through up some
howlers.
As with any language, Romanian also takes on a few English words and
uses them for their own particular purposes. A "non-stop" for example
usually refers to an all-night restaurant, serving up grilled items
mostly, with an agreeably low price in most circumstances.
If you're in
Bucharest, try the "24 Non-Stop Restaurant Terasa" next to Plaza Romania
(photo on right), it's just great, the ceafa de porc is excellent with a
bit of mujdei and a salata asortă!
(Translated: thin pork neck steaks sizzled over a smoky wood fire
with a beautiful ground garlic sauce and a salad of tomato, lettuce,
cucumber and onion on the side). See more in
our Food section.
Bottles of Cat's perfume
Presumably the yellow
liquids are not actually the product of feline persuasion
Viral Marketing
Advertising in Romania can be an
inexact science when combining English words
Your eyebrows will rise high when you realise the price
of the fine linens, lace and other handiwork you're holding.
Well done, great colours and fun designs mean you'll have the perfect
gifts in your suitcase going home -- easy to fold, lightweight, and
truly great to give!
With each region featuring it's own distinctive and
lively pattern, your choice of famous Romanian tapestry and embroidery,
whether tablecloths, decorative towels, wall decorations or even quilts
is only a matter of taste. In some districts you can also
find fine woolen rugs (not at expensive to ship as you might think!)
with a great variety of patterns and colours traditionally extracted
from local plants through to the 1800s and replaced by commercial dyes
since.
Moldovan
patterns are generally geometrical motifs and favour a blue background.
The Maramureş region is known for its rugs
featuring anthropomorphic elements on a subtly colored brown-yellow
background.
Oltenia
boasts its floral motifs on rugs. In the Hungarian or German homes of
Transylvania the
textiles are somewhat more sober. Hungarian rugs are dominated by brown
and blue while the decorative towels are white-red-blue. The ethnic
Germans show a marked preference for embroideries and lace.
Some of the best deals and best quality local crafts
are easily accessible along the roadside. Whether you pull over
near Buşteni or Bicaz, you'll find some super
bargains from local stall-holders in these ad-hoc little strips of
goodies.
In addition to some rather sumptuous smoked cheeses and
meats, you'll find little specialty "stores" run by local families
specialising in woven items, tapestries, ceramics, and all manner of
locally produced crafts.
Never be afraid to walk away or suggest a combination
sort of deal with these stallholders, most are fairly open to a bit of
friendly negotiation, as long as you indeed intend to buy something with
them.
Getting Value
On of the top tips for tourists when shopping alongside
the road in Romania is to make sure you're buying something which is
uniquely and identifiably Romanian.
Too many of us have returned home with something
bearing a little "Made in China" sticker on the bottom. The
prices and the quality of the Romanian-made items, most with a unique
Romanian look and feel, make this maxim a must for all shoppers.
And, as always, keep in mind how something is going to
fit into your luggage for the return trip. If you plan on
shipping, note that the national postal service (Romanian
Post) has a single package rate for anything up to about 1kg, so
don't think you'll save on buying particularly lightweight items if
you're shipping either. Unlike Australia Post and the USPS,
there are no weight levels less than a kilogram (about 2.21 lbs).
Real Linens, Look Great
These linens are found in country homes, draping over
photographs and doorways, the bracelets widely worn, and the same
lace adorning tables and sofas country-wide, here at
Sibiu's Astra Park
store.
The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
Photo: 
As an English-speaking you'll be amazed at the fun and fabulous use
of your native tongue. Whilst possibly not as famous as China for it's
fractured take on English, Romania does nonetheless through up some
howlers. 
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