Romania, recommended by Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales, urges Romanians to spend their holidays in the country and to rediscover its “incredible riches.
Eugen Coroianu, 05.08.2020, 14:00
Prince Charles encourages Romanians to spend their holidays in their home country and to rediscover its “incredible riches. In a roughly 5-minute long video presented on Tuesday at his residence in Valea Zălanului (central Romania), he describes the country as ‘admirable’ and ‘astonishingly diverse’. The clip by the British journalist Charlie Ottley, producer of the documentary series Wild Carpathia, is designed to support the Romanian tourism industry.
Prince Charles mentions that he first came here 20 years ago, and that the country has held a special place in his heart ever since. Speaking about the diversity of the country, he lists the Danube Delta, the largest and most pristine wetland in Europe, the forests, springs and monasteries of Bucovina, Moldova and Maramureş, the hills of the Apuseni Mountains and the wilds of Harghita, the precious collections in Bucharests museums and the wild beauty of the Iron Gates Gorge on the Danube, the castles, mountains and Saxon villages of Transylvania and the remote valleys of Banat and Crişana.
Such a huge wealth of natural and cultural diversity under a single flag is quite remarkable, the Prince of Wales adds, and is one of the features that make Romania a unique and special corner of Europe.
His Highness urges Romanians to rediscover their country and to take pride in their nature, wildlife, cuisine, traditions, and culture. He explains that, amid the first major pandemic in contemporary history, people are experiencing moments of profound change, uncertainty and anxiety, and many countries have closed their borders.
While deploring the devastating effect this situation has had on the travel industry, on hotels and restaurants that employed millions of people, Prince Charles argues that staying at home offers many wonderful opportunities to explore and discover. “Now is the ideal time to rediscover one’s roots and reconnect with one’s heritage. I have every confidence that Romanians who do so will find much to delight them and to give them the greatest pride in their country, the heir apparent to the British throne says.
The Prince voices his regret that the coronavirus pandemic has prevented him from traveling to Romania this year, as he does regularly, and mentions in the video that the 15th Century Wallachian ruler Vlad Țepeș is among his forbearers, which explains why part of him feels at home in Romania.
Producer Charlie Ottley, who in turn says he loves Romania more than any country in the world, has reinforced this message, calling on Romanians to spend their holidays in their home country and their money in Romania rather than abroad, so as to support domestic tourism.
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
