why Romania during civil unrest?
I took this trip with my cousin's ballet troupe.  They had won an international competition and had been invited to perform at several venues in Eastern Europe in 1990.  We were to spend a week in Romania (based out of Bucharest, the capital), a week in Bulgaria and 5 days in Georgia (former Soviet Union state).  The plans for this huge undertaking (the ballet troupe numbered 44 girls between the ages of 5 and 17, plus ballet school staff, and chaperones) started in early 1989 with all the monies being due by the end of the year (1989).  In Dec 1989, the people of Romania rose up against the government, eventually executing their president, Nicholas Ceausescu and other officials.  Martial law was instated over most of the country through the beginning of 1990 as the UN and other nations tried to help a new government get established.  The worst insurgency and unrest was centralized in the large cities, mainly Bucharest. 

Then, in April 1990, a large earthquake struck the area, undermining progress being made with the government and economy.  We monitored the political situation very closely and were planning to back out of the entire tour, even though it meant the loss of the majority of our money.  The tour operators (based in Bulgaria) as well as our the US government, assured the school director that it was safe to travel there, but to avoid a long stay in Bucharest.  You have to remember, 1990 pre-dated the internet and Romania was a communist country so much of the information coming from there was censored and/or positive propaganda.  The tour company re-worked the schedule so that our time in Romania was shortened by 2 days (which we spent in Bulgaria instead) and that we were only in Bucharest on the day we arrived and the night before we flew home.

Happiness is not a destination.  It is a method of life.  ~Burton Hills