Romanticised in literature as Dracula’s homeland and then closeted away behind the iron curtain for most of the 20th century, Romania is a fascinating prospect to visit and has been on our “must-visit” list for a while. So, after booking the 14-day tour of the Balkans we opted to add on an 8-day tour of Romania using the same tour company, Penguin Travel.
The flight from Sofia to Bucharest was just over an hour in a small propeller plane operated by Romania’s national carrier TAROM and surprisingly included complimentary trolley service. Our driver picked us up and we whizzed along wide tree-lined streets past shopping malls filled with big European brands like Carrefour, Leroy Merlin and Decathlon. We turned into a wide boulevard and the Arc d’Triomphe loomed in front of us. Had we been transported back to Paris? Not quite. This is the Romanian Arch of Triumph and is one of the reasons this city is referred to as the Paris of the East. This Arch may not be as large as its western counterpart, but it’s large enough and sits majestically in the middle of a roundabout at the top of a long leafy boulevard, the latter part of which runs through an expansive tree-filled park. We were then driving along Victory Avenue past palatial Belle Epoque buildings from the late 19th century that survived the communist era and have now been brought back to their former glory.
Our accommodation was the Novotel, a modern high-rise hotel built behind the remaining stone façade of a 19th century building bombed in the second world war. The hotel was right in the centre of town and after checking in we walked the short distance to the Centru Vechi, the Old Centre. This small area is a glimpse of pre-1940’s Bucharest. What the war didn’t destroy Communism did with its “out with the old, in with the new” philosophy. There are some beautiful buildings here, like the Odeon Theatre and the majestic CEC Bank, built in 1900 with a huge glass dome roof, and the National Museum, built in the late 19th century with a row of very grandiose Doric columns. The tangle of streets in this old part of town are mostly lined with bars, restaurants and strip joints. There’s a seedy side to Bucharest and its known as a destination for stag weekends.
The next day we ventured back into the old town past some lovely Orthodox churches where wedding parties gathered outside, and down to Dambovita River. Across the river is where the old town most suffered under Nicolae Ceausescu’s communist leadership. In the early 1980s, after an “inspiring” visit to North Korea, Ceausescu ripped out 80 percent of the historical centre — 30,000 houses, schools, and churches — to create the Civic Centre district, with wide boulevards, stone-faced apartment blocks, gurgling fountains, and a Pyongyang aesthetic. Urban planners managed to save a few churches by secretly relocating them inside city blocks, where you can still find them today. At the end of Union Boulevard, we could see the huge Parliamentary Palace’s looming presence. This is the piece de resistance of Ceausescu’s Bucharest. We didn’t venture closer as a tour of this enormous building was planned for the last day of our tour and we didn’t want to spoil the surprise.
The rest of our day was filled wandering back through the old town and doing a bit of shopping, snapping up some bargains in the summer sales.
That night we met our tour group and our guide for dinner at the hotel. There were 10 in the English-speaking group: an extended family of seven from Canada, whose ancestors had migrated from Romania, a Norwegian man who had left his wife back home at work, and us. Then there were two Germans and their German-speaking guide who would ride with us on the bus. Our guide Alex was a 28-year-old from Bucharest who had been leading tours of his country for 10 years. He said the reason he did he job was to change the perception of Romania. He was certain that most people thought of Romania as a breeding ground for criminals and vagrants and that all Romanians were “Gypsies”. Funnily enough we’d heard this prejudice a few times during our travels where people labelled beggars as “Romanians” and talked of gangs of “Romanian” thieves that came through and stole everything in their way. From what we’d seen so far Romania was far from a crime-riddled country and we were more than happy for Alex to dispel this misconception.
On Tour
Day 1: Bucharest – Curtea de Arges – Sibiu – Sibiel
We set off from Bucharest in a zippy 19-seater Mercedes bus; ten English speaking tourists, the two Germans, the 2 guides – Alex for the English and Carmen for the German speakers – and our driver Danny. The landscape was flat with fields of maze and sunflowers that had finished for the summer, their heads drooping sadly.
We arrived at our first stop at midday: Curtea de Arges, the former capital of Wallachia. It was here that we had our first glimpse of the religious lavishness that weaves through this mostly rural country. Curtea de Arges Monastery is where the kings and queens of Romania are buried and in the centre of the complex, glowing bright white, is the pavlova-like Cathedral of Curtea de Arges, built over 500 years ago by Prince Neagoe Basarab. Although Byzantine in style it is heavily influenced by the Ottomans and has a very middle-eastern look. We didn’t expect such opulence in Romania. The interior is dark and lined with incredible frescoes in those rich blues, reds, greens and golds that Orthodox churches are known for. After visiting the church, we wandered the monastery grounds past the tombs of Romanian kings and queens including the last King of Romania, King Michael, who was forced to abdicate in 1947 and then exiled by the newly instilled Communist regime. His exile marked the end of the monarchy. Years later, well after communism had fallen, when King Michael died in Switzerland his body was brought home to rest.
It was time for lunch. All the meals apart from one dinner were included in the tour price and as this was the first after the hotel buffet breakfast we were interested to see what we’d get. It was the start of a week of what seemed like non-stop eating – three course meals for both lunch and dinner and all traditionally Romanian.
We continued on along the picturesque Olt Valley and through to Sibiu, one of the oldest cities in Transylvania. This lovely historic town is known for its Germanic architecture, the legacy of 12th-century Saxon settlers. Alex took us for a brief tour through the town, past pastel coloured buildings to the Evangelical Church with its geometric patterned tile roof, then over Liar’s Bridge and back to the Main Square, watched over by the impressive 13th century Council Tower of Sibiu. Quite aptly a mediaeval fair was underway, and the main square was bustling with people in costume. The group had dispersed by this stage and we wandered through the market stalls and watched knights bounce off each other in some sort of medieval wrestling match. The buildings in Sibiu have eyes. The vents in the rooves are shaped like eyes and they disconcertingly follow you when you walk by giving the town a fantastical feel.
We met back at the bus and drove the short distance to Sibel, a small rural village. It was pouring with rain by at this stage and we made a mad dash into the Museum of Icons, housed in a rustic country building with white-washed plaster walls and timber beams. Inside was an incredible collection of religious paintings on glass, not done by any artists of note, but rather by everyday people. This is an age-old Romanian tradition and each region uses different colour combinations and artistic styles. Some are very childish, others more sophisticated, but all fascinating. The collection was extensive and stretched over multiple floors.
Our accommodation for the night was a very short drive from the museum. It was a guest house in a traditional Romanian farm house where a high gate opens onto a central courtyard encircled by the farm buildings and house. We were treated to a delicious home-cooked Romanian meal, but not before downing a good-sized dram of the local Rakia, a strong grape-base spirit. If this was how the tour was going to continue we were on to a good thing.
Day 2: Sibiel – Sighisoara – Targu Mures – Bistrita
Breakfast was a hearty traditional spread of local yogurt and honey, lots of sour dough bread, white cheese, cold meats, boiled eggs, and the loveliest smoked pepper relish which is a staple in this part of the world.
While we waited for the bus an elderly couple walked by leading their large grey cow with a huge bell hanging around its neck. They could have been straight out of the 18th century.
Our first stop on Day 2 was at the fortified Church at Biertan. The road to Biertan was narrow and lined with small rustic farms. Our bus driver had his work cut out for him dodging many horse-drawn carts, still a popular mode of transport in rural Romania. The 15th century fortified church at Biertan is more of a castle perched on a hill in the middle of a village surrounded by quaint streets and vineyards. Three tiers of 35-foot-high defensive walls, connected by towers and gates, encircle the complex, making the church impossible to conquer during medieval times. It is not hard to see why this is a UNESCO listed heritage site. Unfortunately, the church was closed on Monday. No one had told our guide. He was understandably upset with this glitch in his itinerary, but we were more than happy to walk around and admire this beautiful building from the outside. Built by the descendants of the Saxons there is a very Germanic look to the church and village. We were starting to think Romania looks like the setting for a Grimm’s fairy-tale.
This didn’t change when we arrived at our next destination. Sighisoara, birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, the real-life man behind the character of Dracula. The bus wasn’t able to drive up to the historic town of Sighisoara and we were dropped at the bottom of a hill. We walked up and through the city gates to discover an adorable, picture-perfect medieval Citadel complete with a prominent clock tower. It is easy to see why this town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and considered one of most beautiful and best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. We climbed the wooden covered medieval stairway to the creatively named Church on the Hill, a Gothic church with a simple exterior and cavernous interior where ancient frescoes squint through the whitewash that had intended to hide them forever. We walked back down to the narrow-cobbled lanes to the “House of Dracula” restaurant for lunch. This is the actual house where Vlad Dracula, later known as Vlad the Impaler and the man behind the fictional character of Count Dracula, was born. Of course, the restaurant was cashing in on this connection and after lunch we were ushered upstairs to Dracula’s Lair where an actor lying in a coffin sprang to life on cue in dramatic fashion. A bit of a repetitive job but someone’s got to do it.
After lunch we had free time to explore the town further before hitting the road again towards Targu Mures. On the way we passed through a Roma community. Alex told us that the Roma people or “Gypsies” are not well-liked in Romania as their criminal activity gives the country a bad name. They are not considered Romanians as they originate from Northern India and from what Alex says it sounds like there is a lot of prejudice against them and they are a marginalised minority.
Targu Mures is literally “Market on the River Mures” and people have lived there for thousands of years. Roman ruins have been excavated nearby and the symbol of Roma, the statue of the Capitoline Wolf suckling the twins Romulus and Remus, stands proudly in front of the Town Hall. The Romanians are quick to remind you of their Latin heritage. Targu Mures is unique for its combination of Romanian and Hungarian influences and after being dropped near the City Hall we took a walking tour through this elegant city. Opposite the Town Hall is the impressive Palace of Culture, ostentatiously decorated in colourful mosaic tiles. Further down the street in the centre of town is the grand Orthodox Cathedral, relatively new by comparison, having been built in the 1920’s and early 30’s, but very ornate with a richly painted interior. We continue to be amazed by the architectural opulence in Romania, and the stark contrast between the simple rural life and these beautiful religious buildings.
Our busy day of sightseeing continued, and we drove on to Bistrita, one of the 7 medieval cities in Transylvania. Saxon colonists, who settled here in 1206, helped develop the town into a flourishing medieval trading post and like the other towns in Transylvania it is very Germanic. When we arrived, a stage was set up in the central pedestrian area and a sound check for a rock concert was underway. Our hotel was in the nearby square and after checking in, it was time for dinner, another 3-course meal. With three meals a day, two of which are 3-course, we’re going to come away from Romania 5kg heavier.
Day 3: Bistrita – Campulung Moldovenesc – Gura Himurului
The next morning, we left Transylvania behind and drove through to Bucovina, the “upper land”. We drove through more lush green countryside made up of small farms and dotted with quaint traditional haystacks. Our first stop was at the garish Dracula Hotel built during the communist era in a bid to attract tourism. Getting off the bus we were greeted by an adorable dog who immediately befriended me. Like the other countries we’d visited in South East Europe there are plenty of stray dogs in Romania. In the parking area around the hotel were stalls selling all types of Romanian cultural objects and local products. We bought a souvenir and a gift before getting on our way.
The drive continued through dark forested hills. This is the land of Dracula that Bram Stocker described so vividly in his novel despite having never visited Romania.
Campulung Moldovenesc is a non-descript, run-down communist era town that you wouldn’t normally visit if it wasn’t for the Wooden Art Museum, that looks like nothing special from the outside but inside is veritable treasure trove of wooden artefacts from centuries of Romanian peasant life. All types of farm equipment, honey extractors, musical instruments, weapons, household appliances – what they didn’t make from wood didn’t matter. It was fascinating.
Lunch followed at a lovely rural restaurant and consisted of delicious soup that was heavy on garlic followed by meat and potatoes, both strongly seasoned with dill. They eat a lot of soup and potatoes in Romania and use a lot of garlic and dill for flavouring. There was no chance Dracula was coming near us.
The Bucovina region of Romania is famous for its painted monasteries and they are touted as a highlight of the trip, so we were looking forward to seeing them. A thunderstorm burst just as we arrived at Moldovita Monastery and we had to shelter against a wall while Alex did a superb job describing the frescoes in front of us. Unlike most churches where the frescoes line the interior, both the exterior and interior of Moldovita is covered in exquisitely intricate and richly coloured images. The exterior was completed in 1537 and the vivid and violent Siege of Constantinople is the highlight. Another stunning representation depicts the Tree of Jesse, representing Christ’s genealogy, a wide-spread iconographical theme in Europe during the Middle Ages. Entwined in the religious iconology are images of everyday peasant life along with the birds and animals of Romania. You could look at these for hours and still not see all the details. It is a truly exquisite building.
From the monastery we drove to the small village of Vatra Moldovitei, dodging two runaway horses who must have took fright during the thunder. In an unassuming house in the village is a museum of painted eggs and the workshop of master egg-painter Lucia Condrea. The ground floor is devoted entirely to her work – thousands and thousands of hen, goose, swan and duck eggs that have been intricately painted with painstaking detail. They are amazingly beautiful, and I wanted them all. But, they are not for sale. Strangely enough, and much to Mr Love’s confusion, Lucia Condrea doesn’t sell her work, she exhibits it. Photography is also banned so you have to take our word on just how incredible her art is. We asked her son-in-law, who guided us through the museum, how she made money, but he couldn’t give us a straight answer. Perhaps it’s some type of artists grant? We have never known of an artist who doesn’t sell their work.
Our hotel for the night was in the town of Gura Himururlui. There wasn’t much here apart from our huge hotel in the centre and a rather lovely church. Mr Love commented that this must be at least the 2,000th church he’s visited since we arrived in Europe.
Day 4: Gura Himurului – Voronet – Lacu Rosu – Miercurea Ciuc
Our monastery visits continued the next day starting with Voronet Monastery. Another exquisitely painted monastery, this one is famous worldwide for the blue colouring used in its exterior frescoes – a colour known as “Voronet Blue”. It is incredible these intense colours have survived its 500-year history. The scenes in the frescoes depict, like a movie storyboard, the history of Christianity, presented in an original manner and very much influenced by folk beliefs and Eastern culture. Our guide Alex talked us through the most famous of the frescoes, the painting of The Last Judgement. It is this mural that gave the monastery the name of “The Sistine Chapel of the East”, following Michelangelo’s masterpiece in the Vatican. The flamboyant mural tells a dramatic and intense story, and like all the frescoes on the monastery The Last Judgement entwines religion with folklore and pagan symbols; even the signs of the Zodiac are present.
We continued on our way, driving through quaint Moldavian villages and passing numerous horses pulling carts laden with corn, hay and wood. The next stop was the village of Tarpesti, home of the delightful “Neculai Popa” Museum. This is a museum of folk costumes and the walls are lined with colourful masks used in traditional festivals. Alex donned the goat costume and had us in fits of giggles as he very seriously did the “Goat Dance”, lurching around and swaying from side to side in no particular sequence and with no rhythm. He emerged covered in sweat to a well-deserved round of applause.
We had two more monasteries to visit so bundled back onto the bus. Varatec and Agapia monasteries don’t have painted exteriors, but instead both have a white-washed chapel in the centre of perfectly manicured rose gardens surrounded by buildings housing hundreds of nuns. There are over 400 monasteries in Romania staffed by 5,000 nuns and 3,500 monks. At Agapia a nun showed us the carpets they were weaving by hand. They are beautifully crafted out of the finest Romanian wool and come with a hefty price tag. She took us through to another room where they were knitting fine wool hats and scarves and I couldn’t resist a lovely chocolate brown wrap.
We’d had our fix of monasteries and it was time to see some more of Romania’s dramatic landscape. The bus dropped us in the steep Bicaz Gorge and we walked a few hundred metres along the river trying not to photo-bomb the wedding party getting their photos taken with the cliffs as a backdrop. Further into the Carpathians mountains is Lacu Rosu (the Red Lake), named for its reddish tint caused by the colour of the silt on the bottom. Surrounded by forest the lake could have been beautiful except that it was overcrowded with people in rowing boats, mostly brides and grooms with drones buzzing overhead taking their wedding photos. Food stalls and ice-cream vendors crowded onto the lake shore and there was litter piled about. It wasn’t the picturesque mountain lake we were expecting.
Our hotel was a lodge nestled in the forest near the lake and that night the temperature dropped. Autumn was in the air.
Day 5: Lacu Rosu – Bran – Brasov
The scenery on our drive through the Eastern Carpathians the next morning was beautiful with steep forested slopes as far as you could see.
The terrain eventually flattened out and we were soon driving across what our guide described as a “fake plane” – a plane at a very high altitude and where temperatures drop to minus 30 plus in winter. This is also Székely Land, a historic and ethnographic area in Romania, inhabited mainly by the Székelys, a subgroup of Hungarian people. I noticed light blue coloured flags flying outside most houses. Alex told us this was their “national flag” and that they don’t identify as Romanians and many don’t speak Romanian. He was scathing that they wouldn’t converse with him in Romanian and highly against their wish for independence.
Our first stop for the day was at Prejmer to visit to a UNESCO listed fortified church. This is the largest fortified church in south-eastern Europe and was built by Teutonic knights in 1212. It’s a closed circular, white-washed plaster and timber building surrounding a grassed area with a church in the middle. It reminded me of the Globe Theatre. The circular building is divided into apartment-like houses, schools and workshops, and in a cavity running against the exterior wall is an area for soldiers to keep watch and defend the church from as required. Oddly this fortified church is built on a plane, rather than a hill as most forts are. A modern village now surrounds the fort and tourism is an important contributor to the local economy. Across from the fort a stork’s nest balanced on top of a chimney and the resident stork had not yet departed south for winter.
We drove on towards the town of Bran, famous for the medieval castle that has been adopted as Dracula’s castle. During the communist era the government focussed on the story of Dracula to encourage tourists and as Dracula’s fictional castle was a figment of Bram Stoker’s imagination they decided on another unrelated castle to be called “Dracula’s Castle”. The castle in Bran was built as a fortress for the citizens of Brasov in 1377, as a defence for the city. The only tentative link to Dracula is that Prince Vlad may have used the Castle as a base during his incursions in Transylvania, but this is hard to prove. In 1922, Queen Mary of Romania changed the castle into a Royal residence and it became the best-known castle in Romania. After the royal family were exiled the castle was taken over by the communist government. However, in the early 2000’s the descendants of the royal family put a claim on it and it was finally returned to their ownership in 2009 and opened to the public as a museum. It is very much a fairy-tale castle from the outside but inside it is a bit sparse and although there are some lovely pieces of furniture on display it is not one the better castles we have visited.
From Bran Castle we drove the short distance to Brasov, another lovely Saxon town. Alex lead us on a walking tour through the charming old town centre starting at the multi-spired Ekaterina Gate of the Old Citadel, then across to the Black Church. An enormous Gothic church, the Black Church is the biggest church between Istanbul and Vienna and was built by the German community in the late 14th century. The Lutheran church was originally named Saint Mary’s Church, but in 1689 a great fire destroyed the interior and damaged the walls and the roof, and it was named the Black Church because the exterior was blackened from the fire. A traditional music festival was being held in Brasov and the town square was closed off for the event, cutting our walking tour short. It’s a very popular festival and is a sell out every year.
After we’d finished the walking tour our bus took us a couple of kilometres down the road to our hotel. It was the only night where our meal wasn’t included so we needed to find somewhere for dinner. There wasn’t much around the hotel and the centre of town was too vibrant to pass up so one of the Canadian women walked back with us to the town centre. It was humming. The pedestrian streets were filled with people and bars and restaurants spilled out over the cobbles. Google produced a well-rated restaurant and we were treated to a beautiful Hungarian influenced vegetarian meal accompanied by superb Romanian wine. After being served so much meat it was nice to have a break. The owner was a hip young woman who knew her stuff and brought three different bottles of wine to the table for tastings before we decide which one we wanted a glass of. We have never really given much thought to wine from this region, but both Romanian and Hungarian wine is good quality and sophisticated.
Day 6: Brasov – Sinaia – Bucharest
The next day was our last on the road and in the morning, we crossed the majestic Carpathian Mountains toward Sinaia. Sinaia is the home of the fabulous Peles Castle, an exquisite piece of architecture and one of the most spectacular castles in Europe. This Neo-Renaissance castle was built between 1873 and 1914 and was influenced by the romantic castles of Germany. It served as the summer residence of the Romanian Royal family and sitting on a hill surrounded by forest and with a backdrop of mountains it is very much a story-book castle. The interior is beautifully decorated with dark sculpted wood and the stained-glass windows give it an elegant and truly royal feel. Luckily the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu left this castle untouched because he was a germ-freak who thought the dark wooden interior hid germs and dirt. It is stunning inside and rooms that are all richly decorated and diverse, with exquisite beauty and sophistication. The opulent gold and cream movie theatre is sublime and it was here where the first movie was screened in Romania. Perhaps the most famous room is the Great Armory Room, hosting some of the finest collections of arms and armour, with over 4,000 pieces of weaponry that were collected or received as a gift, mainly from Western and Eastern Europe, but also from other regions of the world. The mirrors, the carpets, the curtains, the furniture, the artworks – all sumptuous and entirely exquisite. We were blown away and both agreed this was the most impressive castle or palace we have visited in Europe.
After Peles Castle we headed straight back to Bucharest and Alex took us for a tour of his city. It is certainly a city of contrasts between old and new, with large boulevards and magnificent buildings. He showed us where Nicolae Ceausescu made his last speech before being overthrown in the revolution in 1989, a significant turning point for Romania.
We stopped for lunch before visiting one last place. After Peles Castle we thought we’d seen the best, but we were wrong. Our tour of the Palace of Parliament blew our minds.
The Palace of Parliament is the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon. The total number of rooms is unknown but there are around 1,100. We walked around the building for an hour and saw 4% of it. It is so massive that it is visible from the moon. Currently, this imposing building houses the Romanian Senate and the Romanian Chamber of Deputies. Also known as the “People’s House”, it was Nicolae Ceausescu’s attempt to redesign Bucharest by constructing a series of impressive buildings meant to prove to the world how wealthy and powerful the Socialist Republic of Romania was. Construction started during the communist regime in 1983 and involved 400 architects lead by a 28-year-old woman named Anca Petrescu. By the time of the Romanian Revolution in 1989 the building wasn’t yet finished. After the Revolution, no one had the desire to complete this gigantic building and many Romanians demanded the destruction of the building which was seen as a symbol of Ceausescu’s megalomania and of the extravagant lives lead by the former communist elites.
The Palace of the Parliament is excessive in every way. One million square metres of marble was used, 3,500 tonnes of crystal in the chandeliers, 220,000 square metres of pure wool carpets, 3,500 square metres of calf skin to cover the chairs, the list goes on and on and is mindboggling. Plus, all the materials used were of Romanian origin, with the only exceptions being the doors of Nicolae Balcescu Hall. These were received by Ceausescu as a gift from his friend, the African dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of the Republic of Zaire.
We stood on the balcony looking down the wide boulevard filled with fountains, created to be grander than the Champs-Élysées, and reflected on what sort of ego you’d need to think it was appropriate to build such an atrociously enormous building while your countrymen struggled in the fields with barely enough food to survive. This country is still trying to shake off the legacy of the oppressive policies Ceausescu inflicted on Romania. Despite that, the buildings are now used by multiple government departments and can be hired by the public for conferences and events. I find it hard to justify its existence. He may never have seen the building completed but in its very existence Ceausescu has made sure he is never forgotten. Something he surely doesn’t deserve.
It was the end of our tour. We’d been to the heart of rural Romania and seen how life in the countryside and small villages is mostly unchanged – farms still using horses, hay stacked by hand – and still steeped in folklore, with traditional values and religion firmly at the core. Bucharest may be a thriving modern city but outside of it, Romania is rustic and rural. Communism may have ended nearly 30 years ago, but it cast a long shadow and Romania is still trying to catch up to the rest of Europe. And it’s catching up fast with growth nearing double digits. But, I hope it doesn’t try too hard and lose its identity on the way. This warm, charming country is just lovely as it is.
I used the itinerary that was supplied by Penguin Travel as the foundation for this blog and built on it with our own experiences and insights.
