May Day in Romania
The May 1st holiday and the nice weather drew large crowds towards the country's tourist areas.
Eugen Coroianu, 02.05.2023, 14:00
Hundreds of thousands of Romanians took advantage of the short holiday occasioned by the May 1st celebration and, encouraged by the nice weather, spent three days on the Black Sea coast, in the Danube Delta or at the mountain. Those who chose not to travel, attended local food courts to celebrate with barbecues and beer.
The sunny Black Sea coast was, as usual, the most popular destination, a welcome change of atmosphere after a cold and rainy spring. Tourists, most of them young, had to navigate traffic jams to get to their destination and then return home. The motorway connecting the capital Bucharest to the Black Sea resorts and the European road between the capital city and the mountain resorts on Prahova Valley were, as expected, the busiest.
Music festivals like Beach Please and Sunwaves, as well as various gastronomy festivals, drew tens of thousands of people to the beaches in Costinesti, Mamaia, Constanta and Vama Veche. People spent time around barbecues, on the beach or walking around the resorts. Numerous events were staged in clubs and outdoors.
Tourists opting for the mountain area went hiking and even had the unexpected chance to practice winter sports at high altitudes in Sinaia resort. Băile Felix spa resort, in the north-west, was also crowded. Tourists from all over the country enjoyed the sun while hotel and guest house owners welcomed their guests with tempting offers specific of the May Day celebration, such as barbecues, festive dinners and relaxation. A 300-kg spit roast calf, seasoned with plum brandy from Bihor, a well-known local alcoholic beverage, was a well deserved reward. The aqua park in the resort offered foam parties, aqua-zumba and animators.
Not everybody was partying though. Police officers with the anti-drug brigade were busier than usual. Over 2 kg of high-risk drugs and various sums of money were confiscated following checks at the music festivals. One person was arrested. Another two men, a Briton and a Czech, were caught while trying to sell ketamine, cocaine and ecstasy at a festival. Traffic Police was also quite busy, fining over-speeding and drink or drug driving.
Food safety inspectors gave many fines across the country in the three-day holiday. More than 1,300 food units were checked, many of which received fines, had their products confiscated or their activity suspended. (EE)
