By Octavian Popescu

A year ago, two Romanian backpackers were sitting around a campfire in the Carpathians when they came up with a winning concept.

They’d make an online travel guide to Romania illustrated with rich, personal narratives and lots of alluring photography. And that’s not all. This travel guide would also connect tourists and adventurers interested in the sights and stories with travel agencies able to fulfill their wish of getting to Romania. Today, www.spirit.ro brings fresh perspective to a country that is considered by many to be a path less traveled.

Nestled between Eastern European countries such as Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Republic of Moldova and the Ukraine, Romania is a country that defies the mafia-ridden stereotype. Breaking from the closed, counterfeit information model of former communist marketing, www.spirit.ro encourages the travelers to share their story, to show others what they saw through the lens of their camera, to tell their own personal and intimate truth…about Romania.

If one hasn’t traveled to Romania so far, then www.spirit.ro will offer a free test-drive of what Romania’s got to offer as a travel destination. The travelers will have the opportunity to meet fellow wanderers from all over the world, to express their doubts and ask for advice, to read catchy stories and real travel journals.

They’ll get to know Bucovina, famous for its painted monasteries and quiet nights, they’ll get the answer to questions like - Was Dracula real? Are the Romanian girls indeed the hottest in Europe? What’s it feel like when someone grabs your wallet, takes all your cash and you’re miles away from home?

The good, the bad and ugly, the real, at www.spirit.ro