Firstly, it was in the summer which made it great to travel besides a few hunches of shower here and there. So, it is quite important to keep that in mind while fidgeting about in the this time. The southern parts of the country was quite hot and in fact the weather is more or less chilly only in the hilly areas of Transylvania. When going to Romania, one must remember that it is not as fantastic with transport as the other western Europe, hence, some lag with the train is bound to happen. Keeping that aside, it is quite an adventure to travel through in trains. When travelling long distance ( Suceava-Cluj; Bucharest Iasi, Timisoara- Constanta) , basically anything beyond 7 hours, it is highly recommended to travel in first class as the journey can be most uncomfortable. Unless it is not of importance and the budget is tight. The best thing, however, would be to hire a car if there are drivers with a legitimate and valid license in Europe.
The main thing one ends up spending the most is on the trains. Also, if you want to cut that, look for tickets with no seat for short journeys as you end up paying half the price. Also, booking in advance gets you a discount.
Second, the food is quite nice but a nightmare for vegetarians and alike. You may have to survive on a bunch of french fries and polenta with local cheese and that becomes a tad bit taxing after sometime. Bigger cities have more varieties. Throughout my stay, I visited about twelve cities in Romania and they varied from the cities like Bucharest and Cluj to tinier ones like Predeal and the countryside called Stroiesti. Language is a barrier in smaller cities and try learning some regular words and/or better still, keep translator app or the dictionary or a person. Any tool that would enable you to have a more convenient stay. French, German, Italian or even Spanish helps around. Even Russian for that matter but mainly French and German. You're in luck if you do know either.
Avoid tour guides unless you've checked well and are ready to pay a bomb; about two euros an hour! Especially while visiting bran Castle. Keep a lookout for wild dogs and beggars. The latter is far more terrorising. While visiting any monument, castle, museum and alike, carry your student card. You get great discounts. While touring, food is not much of a problem, one often bumps into a number of pretzel, fornetti and croissant kiosks and shops. There are a lot of convenient stores around that have practically any and everything. Like all of Europe, be wary of what water you want and do specify flat or carbonated. Smoking is socially acceptable and do ask for non smoking or smoking areas at restaurants wherever available.
Safety is an issue in some pockets but nothing scary to be wary of. When in Bucharest, try and walk and use public transport more than cabs as the cab drivers are insanely mean. When there is no option, remember to sit in cabs with the number plate that begins with a "B" rather than an 'IF' . The latter takes you around for a crazy ride and you end up paying a bomb. All shawarma eaters are in for a treat, as there is a shawarma storm in Romania. Cheap and crazy filling. Cluj and Brasov are beautiful places, and lovely to visit. Cluj is really friendly and has so much in store, any amount you stay here wouldn't be enough! Iasi is beautiful and a reminder of Bucharest in many ways.
Romania is a small packet big present sort of a thing. There is so much to do, from painted monasteries in the north to the black church and great places to hang out in the west, the Brasov region full of adventure and history and down south to the capital and its charms! There is the Black Sea towards the East with Constanta and up to the north east to Iasi and the great wines. The varied interests Romania encompasses is beautiful and there is something of everyone! A must visit :)