DAY 1
D included
Meeting at Bucharest’s Otopeni airport in the afternoon, we drive (2.5 hrs) north into Transylvania, heading for Brasov where we spend a night in a recently restored hotel in the mediaeval city centre. Dinner may feature traditional dishes, such as ciorba, a thick meat and vegetable soup with sour cream.
DAY 2
B, L, D included
We explore the well restored mediaeval centre of Brasov on foot and visit the Biserica Neagra (Black Church). Surprisingly, it is adorned with a superb collection of Persian carpets, brought back from the east over the centuries by wealthy merchants. After seeing the fortified Saxon church at Prejmer (Tartlau) and the perfectly preserved mediaeval Saxon Citadel of Sighisoara, we continue towards the UNESCO listed Saxon village of Viscri. Our base for 2 nights is a new country inn noted for its excellent regional cooking.
DAY 3
B, L, D included
Our visit to Viscri starts at a traditional smithy and as we walk through the village towards the 13th century hilltop fortified church, we pass the village house owned by Prince Charles, one of the patrons of a local preservation organisation. After a cart ride to the upland pastures, we have a lunch of freshly made cheese, shared by the shepherds. As we walk back to our hotel (3.5 hrs), we learn about trees and forestry and look for orchids and butterflies in the wildflower meadows.
DAY 4
B, L, D included
Moving on to the Moldavia region of Romania, we walk (3.5 hrs) and picnic in the meadows above the dramatic Bicaz Gorge, where the 300 m high granite cliffs conceal wallcreepers and Eagle owls. We spend the night in the area in a small country inn with good home cooking, perhaps accompanied by palinka and afinato (home-distilled plum and blueberry brandy).
DAY 5
B, L, D included
After driving to Bucovina in the northeast corner of Romania, our first stop is Voronet monastery, built by Stefan Cel Mare in gratitude for successfully forcing the Turks back across the Danube. The predominant colour used here is ‘Voronet blue’, obtained from lapis lazuli, and the Last Judgement fresco which covers the entire western wall is an acknowledged masterpiece of Byzantine art. We next visit the UNESCO listed painted monastery in Moldovita. Constructed at a time when Moldavia and Bucovina were under constant threat of Turkish invasion, the frescoes depict a particularly exuberant Liberation of Constantinople. Our 4-star hotel for the next 2 nights is comfortably furnished and its popular restaurant is well-known for Moldavian specialities such as wild mushroom dishes.
DAY 6
B, L, D included
Today’s walk (4 hrs) follows an undulating path through mixed beech and pine forest and links two of the great mediaeval monasteries. We begin with a visit to Sucevita, a classic example of a heavily fortified monastery, where illiterate soldiers and peasants were educated by the biblical scenes depicted on the external frescoes. We picnic in a forest glade en route to Putna monastery, founded, according to legend, by King Stefan Cel Mare who fired 3 arrows in the air to mark the respective positions of the holy well, the altar and the bell tower.
DAY 7
B, L, D included
A cross country walk this morning takes us up through flower-filled meadows and forests, where small children gather baskets of ‘fraises de bois’, then over a low col to follow a ridge and drop down to the village of Humor. The monastery is surrounded with wooden, rather than stone, ramparts and has most impressive interior frescoes. Heading south (2½ hrs), we stay the night in a small modern hotel with an outdoor pool.
DAY 8
B, L, D included
This morning we head for the delta (3¼ hrs), the most important wetland in Europe, first crossing the Danube by ferry at Galati. In the port of Tulcea, we board our superior grade ponton, a hotel boat of 9 cabins all with en-suite facilities, an upper deck housing an air-conditioned dining room and bar and a spacious open viewing deck. As we sail along the main navigable channel, typical delta bird species will immediately put in an appearance: whiskered terns, squacco herons, glossy ibis, white pelicans and pygmy cormorants.
DAY 9
B, L, D included
We take to a small boat for the morning, meandering through narrow channels between the reeds and seeing purple and night herons, spoonbills, hobbies and red-footed falcons chasing dragonflies, ferruginous ducks, Caspian gulls and numerous terns. We return to the ponton for a lunch of freshwater fish and, in the afternoon, take a stroll ashore through a village inhabited by Russian Old Believers, who fled into the delta for safety centuries ago.
DAY 10
B, L, D included
After a final morning sailing through the delta and relaxing in deckchairs on the top deck, we disembark, regain our vehicle and drive to the capital, Bucharest (4.5 hrs). We settle for 2 nights into our 4-star boutique hotel, air-conditioned and centrally located, before strolling to one of the liveliest and oldest areas of the city, rich in monuments, where the merchants’ caravanserais were clustered.
DAY 11
B, L, D included
On our orientation city tour by bus and on foot, we start by taking in the extent of Ceausescu’s monstrous former People’s House, now the seat of the Parliament. The National Art Museum, housed in the former royal palace, has an extensive collection of Romanian mediaeval art and jewellery, as well as a noted European collection, including works by El Greco and Rembrandt. The afternoon is free to pursue individual interests. Our farewell dinner is in a fine old restaurant specialising in traditional Romanian game dishes, including bear and venison.
DAY 12
B included
A morning private transfer to the airport completes our journey.