16 Romanian Goods To Bring Home from Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania (B)

Nicknamed "Little Paris", today's Bucharest is the capital of a vibrant European nation, known as Romania, with lots of history and great cultural heritage - spanning from centuries-old rural traditions to New Wave cinema. Keen on rustic stuff, Romanians carefully preserve their traditional craftsmanship. Listed here are some of the things, distinctly Romanian, fit to make an ideal and rather unique present from Bucharest

Romanian women have a long-standing tradition of highlighting their natural beauty. They don’t do this in a showy manner, but rather in a discrete and seductive way. Silence, sometimes, speaks volumes and so does traditional Romanian jewelry. Although not made from expensive and hard-to-find materials, the traditional bead necklaces (“zgardan” in Romanian) of peasant women are striking in their simplicity, elegance and fine taste. Women used to make zgardan's to adorn themselves for special occasions, such as weddings, christenings or anniversaries. The beads are usually sown on a thin stripe of cloth; the elaborate patterns oftentimes demand a great deal of time and patience to make, but the end result is always rewarding. The typically Romanian bead necklaces is a fine jewelry piece suitable for both, formal and informal social events. Its stark colorful patterns create a very contemporary feel to a traditional part of a woman’s ritual of beautification. Prices range between $5 and 25. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).