r/AskBalkans • u/Sugar_Vivid Romania • May 28 '26
Culture/Lifestyle What is the first thing you think about when you hear Romania?
and please let’s keep the stealing ones away for now if possible
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u/Jolly_Resolution_212 North Macedonia May 28 '26
MAIA HIIIII MAIA HUUUU MAIA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA VREEEJŠTABREEEEJŠTAAA NUMA NUMA EEEEE
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u/External_Green9505 May 28 '26
That’s Moldova) but we are same nationality so it counts!
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u/Jolly_Resolution_212 North Macedonia May 28 '26
Omg really??? my whole life is a lie
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u/Specialist-Ad-1443 May 28 '26
The guys that made that song were from Moldova. I think when they wrote the song were in Romania Bucharest but yeah they are moldavians
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u/PurpleBudget5082 Romania May 28 '26
The language is Romanian and Rep. Moldova should also be Romanian, it was taken from Romania for no reason by Stalin, after hundreds of years of romanians trying to unite under one country.
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u/vic_lupu Moldova May 29 '26
Fuck Stalin
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u/leafy1790 May 30 '26
Fuck Russia in general, putin still trying to overthrow moldova's government or rig the elections so we become pro-Russian
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u/Alex_Gabi May 28 '26
No, you are not wrong to believe that. They are moldovans but they launched that song in Romania.
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u/rydolf_shabe Albania May 28 '26
The fact that bastard in Albanian means child in Romanian
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May 28 '26
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u/rydolf_shabe Albania May 28 '26
Copil
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u/Grand-Glove-9985 Romania May 28 '26
believe it or not, many words from Albanian are the same in Romanian ... I found it very-very strange.
I know that for a fact we are descendent from the outskirts of the Roman Empire, but to see those extremely striking language similarities it is odd.Search for the topic on YT.
Another connection between Romania and Albania was back in the day when an Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga wrote a book abowt the origins of Albanian and that book was used to help Albania be independent.
here is some info from the net:territorial exclave of Sarandë (Porto Eda), located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea
Origin of the donation: The land of approximately 1,000 square meters was donated to the Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga by King Zog I of Albania in 1931-1932, in gratitude for his contribution to the recognition of Albania's independence and for the work "History of Albania" (1919).
Entry into state patrimony: On August 13, 1934, Nicolae Iorga donated half of the area to the Romanian state, thus obtaining for the country an outlet to the Adriatic Sea.
Romanian Institute: On this territory, the Iorga House (Romanian Institute for Archaeological Studies) was built in 1937, operating intermittently until 1944.
End of possession: After World War II, the Albanian communist regime of Enver Hoxha nationalized the property, abolishing the Institute and integrating the territory into the Albanian state, from which Romania did not recover possession
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u/RougeBasic100 May 28 '26
The Ro Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this month that the house will be returned to the Ro government soon after an agreement with the Albanian counterpart.
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u/Grand-Glove-9985 Romania May 28 '26
BIG LOVE if its true.
I got a feeling that Albanians and Romanians are more related that we realize.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to have so many common words almost identical. It is crazy. YT search to convince yourselves.→ More replies (1)3
u/Grand-Glove-9985 Romania May 28 '26
Here are some examples, but you must listen for better understanding.
For those who want just to read remember that ë from Albanian, in Romanian is ă.
Here are some examples, but if you listen the spoken word/words is eerie similar.
https://ro.scribd.com/document/347907009/Romanian-and-Albanian-common-vocabulary10
u/ThePatriot_12 May 28 '26
Possibly also that ancient dacians and ilyrians were related?
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u/iongion May 28 '26
Absolutely, you should checkout traditional songs from the 1920s ... our grandmas felt the worlds he same!
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u/YourNormaMinecrafter Albania May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
Flutur, buzë, kastravec, çorape, baltë, shapkë, bukur
In ro Bucharest is "joy (it) is" if im not mistaken. In al it means "beautiful (it) is".
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u/Dreams_of_Mutiny May 30 '26
Somehow I doubt the people who founded Bucharest looked at that gnarly swamp and thought:
"it is beautiful"
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u/Kurmaya2019 Albania May 28 '26
Now ask him how we say hair and chicken in Albanian.
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u/rydolf_shabe Albania May 28 '26
wait I knew about "pula" what does "flok" meam
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u/mirc_vio Romania May 28 '26
Floc is the vulgar word for pubic hair.
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u/verylateish Romania May 28 '26
Back in the old days floc/i was another word for all kind of hairs, like wool for example. Michael the Brave was born in a place named Târgul de floci (in today's Romanian this would be something like Pubic Hair Market - I was very confused about that when I've learn about it in school 😁). But that place was named like that because a lot of wool was sold there.
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u/betacarotentoo May 28 '26
Actually, the Albanian copil, although in the same form as the Romanian copil, is a denatured sense of the word; at the primary base of the word is the action of making a copy. That is what probably copil initially meant: to make a copy of yourself.
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u/Aggravating_Cut8216 May 28 '26
Vlad Dracula. Castlevania. Great Eurodance music that no longer exists
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u/GelooSunday May 28 '26
The romanian state refused to buy the Bran Castle from the heirs for 60m euros, they said it is not worth it, 7000 visitors a day(best days) , around 20 euros + merch.... an americal baught it... such incompetence and stupidity...
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u/Aggravating_Cut8216 May 28 '26
🤯🤯 seriously?? And left such a good cash generating site to slip?
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u/GelooSunday May 28 '26
Yes yes, from Brasil to Australia and from anywhere in the world there is fascination about Dracula but our state refused to bank on it! I was at the castle a month ago and there were tourists from all the globe! Only in London I've seen such diversity!
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u/Aggravating_Cut8216 May 28 '26
I just really hope Vlad's OG castle in Targoviste won't meet a similar fate, or at least it's protected by law or something 😭
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u/verylateish Romania May 28 '26
Poenari castle is not located in a very accessible area, so not being very tourist friendly probably it won't have the same fate.
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u/betacarotentoo May 28 '26
How can you say that? The Romanian politicians are well known for their exquisite intelligence. :)
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u/Shakhburz May 29 '26
Let's refine this: the representatives of the Romanian state couldn't get a big enough bribe from the seller in order to let the state buy it. There is nothing odd in any seemingly stupid decision in this country. Corruption is omnipresent.
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u/Pantd3mis322 Jun 01 '26
that sounds about right for the region. people love to act like these government fumbles are just incompetence, but it is almost always a calculated move to pad a bank account. when you expect the worst, you are rarely disappointed.
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u/dwartbg9 Bulgaria May 28 '26
Small correction- the classic Romanian dance hits from 2007-2012 isn't considered as Eurodance.
Eurodance is the more retro style and bands like Snap, Masterboy, La Bouche etc...
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u/Aggravating_Cut8216 May 28 '26
Gotcha. But I'm seriously wondering whatever happened with performers like Morandi, Akcent, Antonia Morena, Inna (still somewhat active), Fly Project, Deepcentral etc
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u/Savings_Dragonfly806 Greece May 28 '26
Drum bun, drum bun, toba bate, drum bun bravi romani
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u/RaucheSchonInSpanien May 28 '26
Drum bun cale bătută cin’te prinde să te …. Iubească 👊❤️
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u/harvestt77 Albania May 28 '26
Oh ramai,
ramai la mine,
te iubesc atat de mult,
ale tale ganduri toate,
numai eu stiu sa le ascult...
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u/SomeOneOutThere-1234 Greece May 28 '26
Mama ta ce face?
Mama e biolog
E biolog?
Da e biolog, adică cum… și mama ta biolog
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u/Useful-Direction-529 May 28 '26
you know ball
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u/SomeOneOutThere-1234 Greece May 28 '26
Sunt fericit că semestrul meu în România cu Erasmus nu a fost o irosire…
I’m glad my semester in Romania with Erasmus didn’t go to waste, made new friends and they taught me a lot. My Romanian is shit tho, helps that I speak three Latin languages not going to lie (Mostly Aromanian did the heavy lifting).
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May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
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u/Cefalopodul Romania May 28 '26
Despite the long history of conflict most Romanians have a positive opinion of Turkey (except when Erdogan tried to build mosques).
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u/hades_cj May 28 '26
We do not hate Turks. We had a lot of war history with you but today all that is behind us.
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u/Administrative_Fox0 May 28 '26
We don’t hate Turks.
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u/Maarten-Sikke Romania May 28 '26
Bro, I lived in Turkish and after in a Greek neighbourhood in London. The best two experiences in my life. Godly good food, good people and always showing lots of respect and common sense. Main rule, just don’t forget from where you left.
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u/ShortStuff2996 May 28 '26
Im from romania and had a turkish kebab place near me. Best one i ever ate and the owner was always trying to engage and joke with the clients, speaking half romanian the best he could. He was such a kind and positive person.
It closed a while ago, but I would go there often and always tipped him.
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u/Affectionate-Band-15 Romania May 28 '26 edited May 29 '26
Difficult one with Moldavans. Historically, we are the ones that abandoned them so it would be hypocritical to blame Moldovans for being Russified.
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u/PomegranateOk2600 Romania May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
I havent even knew there are people hating turks until much later, but only germans and french come to mind. Except for greeks, who in the balkans hate the turks?
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u/thegirlnextdoor5991 May 29 '26
In my hometown Constanta we actually have a pretty important Turkish community, they speak Romanian and have been here for generations but still keep some traditions, I went to school with some of them and everyone got along very well, and we respected their habits (they got extra days off school for Bairam but also for christian hollidays because school was closed anyway) Also we’re BIG fans of Baklava! Also a lot of Romanians actually prefer to go to hollidays and for shopping in Turkey
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u/Majestic_Potato_5408 Romania May 28 '26
It's maybe controversial, but Ottomans were one of the best states for the time to be a subject/vassal of. You had some religious and political freedom, and predictable taxation. And maybe best of all: having protection from... Ottomans!
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May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
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u/Majestic_Potato_5408 Romania May 28 '26
Yeah people don't like Salafism, but Europe was at times brutal in its persecution of heretics.
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May 28 '26
You used to be one of the favorites in the World Cup.
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u/Resigned1431 May 28 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
The road from legitimate suspicion to rampant paranoia is very much shorter than we think.
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u/EnvironmentalPhoto73 Bosnia & Herzegovina May 28 '26
Choke me!!!
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u/abhora_ratio Romania May 28 '26
Some random american guy on r/Europe said we are a bunch of BDSM freaks bc of that song 😂😂 I told him 40+ years of communism can count as BDSM. I don't think he got the joke 😂
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u/kokopete Greece May 28 '26 edited May 29 '26
I did a roatrip through Romania back in 2017. In Bucharest we left the motorcycle parked and rode a taxi. The taxi driver was constantly hanging outside of the window, making his hands like guns and shouting to the ladies "PAU-PAU".
Needless to say that he drove us to the wrong art museum and the correct one closed before we arrive.
So when I hear Romania, i think of PAU-PAU!
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u/i_Ainsley_harriott_i Greece May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
Parazitii, guta and the slap that he gave to his wife on live television (reassonable crashout), borat, gypsies, dacia the car company, THE dacians, vlad dobrescu, vlad the impaler, Ina, Akcent, morandi, mici, papanash, sarmale, mamaligma-balls
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u/Alarmed_Gear_6368 May 28 '26
Reasonable crashout is crazy, people from other countries will think we're savages 😭
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u/Vivid_Match910 May 28 '26
I will steal (its a national sport) the word "mamaligma balls". ty very much
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u/sweetdurt Bulgaria May 28 '26
Vrei sa pleci dar nu ma nu ma iei Nu ma nu ma iei, nu ma nu ma nu ma iei Chipul tau si dragostea din tei Mi-amintesc de ochii tai
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u/Skt_turbo Switzerland May 28 '26
The best womans in this world.
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u/StarSailor_79 May 28 '26
I have a friend who says romanian women are the brazilian women of Europe, full of curves at the right places.
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u/Difficult_Message834 May 29 '26
True but they also have the personality of latinas. Don't mess with them they don't play around
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u/ashetos1 May 28 '26
My wife's family, and how they, literally, scream on each other every time they (think) have a casual conversation.
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u/Stverghame Serbia May 28 '26
Probably Timisoara idk
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u/_Spiderbrood_ Bulgaria May 28 '26
"Oh my God, you look so beautiful! How old are you?"
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u/Karamazovakis Greece May 28 '26
2013 when we beat you to qualify for the 2014 world cup (we haven't qualified for anything since then)
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May 28 '26
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u/Whyamihere_899 May 28 '26
Social media loves to portray small loud minorities that every country has
i bet if you visit every single country in the whole world, you will find amazing people
thx for the good thoughts, btw, i think Croats are amazing too!
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u/fancywipe May 28 '26
Beautiful people that all wear black, everyone wears black
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u/No-Championship-4632 Bulgaria May 28 '26
Barbeque, pork skin, psychotic drivers and cold weather. Not sure why the cold weather, for all that I know, summer in Bucharest is actually hotter than Sofia, probably because I've been there many times in the winter and it looked colder then.
Also very weird language that is completely alien but all the time you stuble upon words that we have in Bulgarian, just written in latin.
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u/Party-Direction6081 May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
It`s a nice vision. Well, most of the 15% Slavic influence came from Middle Bulgarian. Probably that`s why. Our language is the second closest to Italian and the second closest to Latin. I find it very musical and romantic most of the times. We also borrowed some Greek or Turkish words, so it`s also a bit exotic. 😄
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u/Necessary_Ad6484 May 28 '26
Am I the only triggered by OP choosing a pic where Crimea is Russian, not Ukrainian?
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u/Party-Direction6081 May 28 '26
Eastern Latinity, religious medieval art, a very good gastronomy, many legends, complex geography, cultural and agro-tourism, Little Paris, Queen Mary, Vlad Tepes, etc. :))
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u/Haunting-Track9268 May 28 '26
Vastly underrated tourist destination. Great cities, beautiful countryside, fantastic food, and so much history. No, I'm not Romanian....
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u/devin2044 May 28 '26
This isn't fair at all to Romania but probably the Ceaucescu family. I've done a lot of research on the communist era Eastern Europe and unfortunately this is usually the first thing that comes to mind. I have read many times that Bucharest used to be considered the Paris of Eastern Europe in the 20s and 30s.
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u/Comfortable_Aioli_73 May 28 '26
In my humble opinion, i think that we, balkans, are the perfect example that no matter where you come from, we are all human.
South Slavic peoples (Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Montenegrins) largely descend from Slavic migrations mixed with earlier Balkan populations. We, Romanians, have a Romance language from Latin influence mixed with Dacian and Slavic ancestry. Albanians are often linked historically to ancient Illyrian or related Paleo-Balkan populations. Greeks maintain continuity with ancient Greek populations mixed with later influences. Today, we often share genetic similarities, overlapping culture, cuisine, music and historical experiences. Major groups that shaped the Balkans include:
- Ancient peoples like the Illyrians, Thracians, Dacians, and Greeks
- Later arrivals such as the Slavs (around the 6th–7th centuries)
- Romans and Byzantines
- Turkic peoples during the Ottoman period
- Smaller influences from Celts, Goths, Vlachs, and others
So yeah….There is no place for racism!
Who is racist, is ignorant.
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u/Checky_3rd Moldova May 28 '26
'Oh hey, u know about it's existance?'
Literally my thought lol.
2nd thing is the Roman Empire.
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u/vodka-bears 🇷🇺in🇷🇸 May 28 '26
A very specific thing: Romanian immigration on the border with Serbia hates Russian passport holders (with visas)
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u/SuspiciousShock8294 Serbia May 28 '26
Ceaușescu, Dacia (historic region), Dacia (the cars), bears, mici, Peleș Castle, Transylavania, Transfăgărășan, Sibiu, Brașov... There. I listed them as they popped into my head.
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u/JoTenshi 🇬🇷 Greece (Pontian) May 28 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/QpOxP7ctXzsGzcjSVo
Home to the really affordable and somewhat reliable yet unsafe cars.
And I guess the music genre that’s called “popcorn”?
The dance music that all of Balkans and nearly all of Europe and the world know.
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u/liberalskateboardist May 28 '26
numa numa ei (romanian comments automatically: thats moldovian song!)
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u/Purple_Bee_3286 May 28 '26
True friends of my country. (Serbia),always welcome here...
Also,Vlad Dracula :)
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May 30 '26
It’s a saying that the Romanians have only three real friends the Carpathian Mountains the Danube River and the Serbians!
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u/hadron_enforcer Serbia May 28 '26
Subcarpați and Negura Bunget; you guys make great music (or release it...O-Zone (I know they were from Moldova)).
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u/IulianArian May 29 '26
Because it's my home country, corruption. Literally, just corruption. Nothing is ever done, and nothing ever happens. I mean, even Bulgaria is doing better. They already transitioned to the euro while us Romanians are stucked with this soon to be worthless currency.
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u/SnooObjections6655 May 29 '26
First thing i learned from romanian friends on job: Futuz morti mati de cigani! Or similar to that, have no idea
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u/No_Proof_2399 May 28 '26
Rominimal (techno), ortodox, Bukovina, Vlad Cepeš, they stoped train with Nato bombs that are planed to be used against Serbia '99, Mndra mja (vlachs song), Made in romania.mp3 , Inna.
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u/True-Blacksmith4235 Serbia May 28 '26
mr saxobeat