Iași

Iaşi (pronounced "yash") is the second largest city in Romania , after Bucharest . It has a population of just under half a million people; swelling greatly when the town's several universities are in session.

Understand

It is said that, like Rome, Iasi lies on seven hills. Some of these hills have conspicuous churches perched on top, each of which warrants a different view of the city. Iasi looks green from above in spite of the ubiquitous brick and concrete due to its boulevards and gardens. Ancient churches, old European style houses and communist apartment buildings compete for space in this crowded city, which is constantly expanding into the surrounding villages; The urban rush of communism replaced houses, pigs,chickens and cherry trees with apartment buildings. The land was confiscated from the peasants and they received apartments as compensation in the newly created common living spots. Factories sprung around the intensive urban effort, organized together in the industrial zone, only to be abandoned two generations later with the fall of the regime which gave them and the nation purpose. Like all communities in the former soviet block, Iasi had to reinvent itself in 1989. The children of those who left the countryside to move to the city now strive to build houses on the outskirting villages, although they drive hondas and not horses. They are not peasants. They wear jeans and french perfume, but they plant grapes and onions and have begun to enjoy the freedoms of having a house like their grandparents had but their parents moved away from. In Iasi you will find both simplicity and sophistication, and interminable ironies as the reinvention process progress on its own. There are still peasants selling fresh produce in the markets, but their kids may have cell phones which cost 100$. In Iasi, the landscape changes fast, motivated by psychological and economical turmoil.

Getting there

By plane

Iaşi has a small international airport (code IAS). It is served by several airlines:

• Carpatair, flying from Timisoara
• Tarom, flying from Bucharest
• Austrian Airlines flying from Vienna

The airport is about 8km from the city center. The only transportation to the city is by taxi. A metered taxi to the center of Iaşi should cost no more than about RON 15–20; it's not unheard of for them to try and get away with charging upwards of €10. Most city taxis have meters; insist that they use it. The metered rate is 2 RON per kilometre outside city limits and 1.8 RON per kilometre inside them.
If arriving from another country, bear in mind that there are no currency exchange outlets at Iaşi airport. There is an ATM outside the building. Since taxi drivers accept RON, not euro or other currencies, you will need to be able to withdraw money from this ATM or arrive in Iaşi with RON.