Serving the tunnelling industry since 1969 All four TBMs have entered the mountains near Racoș excavating tunnels towards Ormenis and Homorod for the Brașov-Simeria railway line rehabilitation part of the construction company AKTOR Group has started the construction of two pairs of tunnels on the subsection 2 Apața-Cața of the Brasov – Sighisoara railway line using four Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) All four TBMs have entered the mountains near Racos The latest development comes after AKTOR Romania deployed its fourth TBM last month for the railway project Two of the tunnels are heading towards Ormenis commune and the other two towards Homorod Subsection 2 Apața-Cața is part of the Brașov-Simeria railway line rehabilitation which is part of the Rhine-Danube Corridor has bored 123m and installed 87 concrete lining rings has bored 201m and installed 104 concrete lining rings The two TBMs will create a 5.1km pair of tunnels towards Homorod marking the northern section of tunnels AKTOR is building on the Brasov-Sighisoara railway line This continues the work on the southern pair of tunnels towards Ormenis they have made significant progress into the mountain towards Apața Over 200 Romanian subcontractors and suppliers are contributing to the construction of subsection 2 Apața-Cața on the Brasov-Sighisoara railway line they offer specialised services such as geotechnical studies These subcontractors will support the project’s success with AKTOR experts overseeing the quality of all deliverables The railway line project aims to enable traffic at a maximum speed of 160km/h on the Brașov-Sighișoara section It has a budget of €573m and is co-financed by the European Union The contract was signed between the National Railway Company (CFR SA) and the consortium of AKTOR AKTOR Romania is also overseeing the restoration of two other sub-sections on the same railway line The combined budget for these projects exceeds €186m Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the Progressive Media network © Business Trade Media International Limited This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The World Heritage Centre is at the forefront of the international community’s efforts to protect and preserve World Heritage partnerships for conservation Ensuring that World Heritage sites sustain their outstanding universal value is an increasingly challenging mission in today’s complex world where sites are vulnerable to the effects of uncontrolled urban development Our Partners Donate Take advantage of the search to browse through the World Heritage Centre information Founded by German craftsmen and merchants known as the Saxons of Transylvania fortified medieval town which played an important strategic and commercial role on the fringes of central Europe for several centuries Fondé par des artisans et des marchands allemands le centre historique de Sighisoara a gardé de manière exemplaire les caractéristiques d’une petite ville médiévale fortifiée qui a eu pendant plusieurs siècles un rôle stratégique et commercial notable aux confins de l’Europe centrale تأسس هذا الوسط التاريخي على يد حرفيين وتجار ألمان يعرفون باسم ساكسون ترانسلفانيا، وقد حافظ بصورة نموذجية على خصائص مدن القرون الوسطى الصغيرة المحصنة التي اضطلعت على مر العصور بدور استراتيجي وتجاري مرموق على حدود اوروبا الوسطى 锡吉什瓦拉历史中心由德国工匠和商人所建，以特兰西瓦尼亚撒克逊闻名于世。锡吉什瓦拉历史中心保留了中世纪防卫小城的原貌，几个世纪以来，它在中部欧洲的政治、贸易方面，发挥着极其重要的作用。 Основанная немецкими ремесленниками и торговцами известными как «трансильванские саксонцы» Сигишоара является прекрасным примером укрепленного средневекового города который играл важную стратегическую и торговую роль на окраине Центральной Европы в течение нескольких столетий Fundada por los llamados sajones transilvanos –artesanos y mercaderes alemanes– esta ciudad ha conservado admirablemente su centro histórico característico de las pequeñas ciudades medievales fortificadas Sighişoara desempeñó un importante papel estratégico y comercial en los confines de la Europa Central Criterion (iii): Sighisoara is an outstanding testimony to the culture of the Transylvanian Saxons a culture that is coming to a close after 850 years and will continue to exist only through its architectural and urban monuments Criterion (v): Sighisoara is an outstanding example of a small fortified city in the border region between the Latin-oriented culture of central Europe and the Byzantine-Orthodox culture of south-eastern Europe The apparently unstoppable process of emigration by the Saxons the social stratum which had formed and upheld the cultural traditions of the region threatens the survival of their architectural heritage as well The construction company AKTOR is now boring all four tunnels on the thread of the future Brasov-Simeria railway line subsection 2: Apața-Cața after starting the 4th TBM one of the few projects in Europe where four TBMs are boring four tunnels at the same time proof of AKTOR’s ability to deliver state-of-the-art infrastructure projects that enhance connectivity across Romania and the wider European region The entire team is proud to be part of this historical enterprise which will contribute to strengthening the Rhine-Danube Corridor contributing to the region’s sustainable growth and mobility for generations to come I thank the workers involved for their effort and dedication and the authorities for the support” Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Aktor Group the TBMs mount around them pre-cast concrete segments 1.5 meters wide each to create the circular shape of the tunnel The tunnels will be connected by galleries: 13 connecting galleries, with a total length of 601 linear meters for the Ormeniș tunnel, respectively 10 connecting galleries, with a total length of 417 linear meters for the Homorod tunnel. The Ormeniș/Homorod underpasses will each consist of two railway tunnels with one railway line each The distance between the two bored tunnels will be variable and is planned to be between 30m near the entrance areas and 70m near the high overburden area The four tunnels will have an inner diameter of 8.6 meters (an outer diameter of 9.4 meters The four TBMs used by Aktor have been built by the HERREKNECHT company A TBM can drill large-scale tunnels with an average of 10-15 meters per day The tunnels are on the thread of the future Brasov-Simeria railway line The project is co-financed by the European Union and the contract was signed by the National Railway Company (CFR SA) with the consortium of AKTOR SA – Alstom Transport SA – Arcada Company We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used The project upgrades the Apața–Cața railway section 100m tunnel boring machine joining three others for tunnel construction has deployed its fourth tunnel boring machine (TBM) for the Brasov-Sighisoara railway project The project is one of the few in Europe to use four TBMs simultaneously marking a major milestone in modernising Romania’s railway network  It is part of the vital Rhine-Danube European Corridor This project upgrades the Apața – Cața section of the railway line The newly activated TBM weighs 1,500 tonnes and is 100m long The TBM has started boring through a hillside near Racoș which has been tunnelling deep into the mountain for three months The two newly activated TBMs will create two 5.1km tunnels heading toward Homorod which consists of twin 6.9km tunnels toward Apața working six days a week with one day set aside for maintenance Brasov-Sighisoara railway project director Sotirios Koropoulis said: “The installation of a TBM and the start of boring are intricate tasks that require careful planning and environmental responsibility in tunnel construction compared to traditional methods “This approach not only opens up new infrastructure possibilities but also reduces the impact on surrounding areas.” The Restoration of the Brasov – Simeria Railway Line project The Brasov – Sighisoara section, including the Apata – Cata LOT 2 sub-section, has a budget of €573m and is co-financed by the European Union This development is said to be AKTOR’s largest ongoing project in Romania AKTOR Romania is also managing the restoration of two other sub-sections on the same railway line Aktor is building two pairs of tunnels on the subsection 2 Apața-Cața of the Brasov – Sighisoara railway line using four Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) which have all entered the mountains around Racos bore 123 meters and installed 87 concrete lining rings TBM 4 – Konstantina followed mid-December and bore 201 meters of tunnel and installed 104 concrete lining rings The two TBMs will realize a pair of tunnels long of 5.1 km in the direction of Homorod This is the northern pair of tunnels AKTOR builds on this future railway segment and is continuing the southern pair of tunnels (Ormenis) where TBMs 1 – Varvara and 2- Eleni started work in the spring Despite various unforeseen challenges in the terrain TBM Eleni began boring at the beginning of March 2024 and is now over 1.15 km deep into the mountain TBM Varvara started at the end of May last year and topped 0.76 km deep More than 200 Romanian subcontractors and suppliers of parts and services for the constructions on the subsection 2 Apața-Cața of the Brasov – Sighisoara railway line providing anything from essential construction materials such as precast concrete elements to specialized services including geotechnical studies as well as design and environmental monitoring They play a key role in the project implementation with the AKTOR experts ensuring the quality of their deliverables Subsection 2 Apața-Cața is part of the Brașov-Simeria railway line rehabilitation project for traffic with a maximum speed of 160 km/h Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Editor’s note: This is the first in a series exploring Webster City and Webster City Rotary’s connection to Ukraine is working from an intensely personal perspective WEBSTER CITY –Within days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb a group of Webster City Rotarians began an informal discussion on how the club might be able to help the Ukrainian people have been missionaries in Romania for 12 years was already working with a group of local ministers church members and other missionaries in Sighisoara generators and other supplies into Ukraine and bring civilian Ukrainians escaping the areas of fighting Romania has the longest border with Ukraine of all the Eastern European countries The match was made quickly with Tim’s group and over the next few months the Webster City Rotary Club was able to raise more than $60,000 from club members other Rotary Clubs in Iowa and individuals from within Iowa and out of state Those funds were used to aid the group in Sighisoara with their efforts in Ukraine and with the refugees who had come to live in Sighisoara after the original funds had been exhausted the Rotary Club agreed to fund $1,200 a month for a year for refugee food To this point in time the club has been able to meet that pledge with contributions from individual club members and donations from the public we spent this March in Sighisoara with Tim and his family What follows is an update on the refugee relief efforts in Sighisoara and the continued supply missions to Ukraine which the Webster City Rotary Club and their donors have supported Our first refugee meeting was with the project manager and communications specialist of the Light of the World — a non-governmental relief organization — Tatyana Brunevich and Olia Manuik After brief parking lot introductions utilizing English we boarded a van loaded with full grocery bags of Rotary-purchased food and goods to begin a delivery route to Ukrainian refugees in Sighisoara Sighisoara has a population of around 26,000 This currently includes 73 Ukrainian refugee families comprising a little over 200 individuals; this number is down from a high of around 500 individuals a year ago Enroute to our first delivery we learned that Light of the World had taken over the food pantry duties of the refugee committee about a year ago when it was formed Both women have extensive background in social services Refugee families can place an online order every two weeks using a phone app While the food staples — along with certain paper and baby products — are free each family has a set monetary budget based on the number of family members that they use to place their order for a family of two that budget is the equivalent of $35 United States dollars While the food and other products are either donated or purchased with donations this system of assigning a monetary value and allowing the families to order what they need seems to instill a sense of responsibility and dignity in the families The delivery of the food also allows for checking in on the family and their housing Our first delivery was to an apartment in the newer part of town where an elderly man met us at the door with our three grocery bags a daughter and her husband who were at work and three children who were at school and preschool They were all from Zaporizhzhya where fighting destroyed their homes and active fighting has continued The Zaporizhzhya region is also the location of one of the largest nuclear power plants in Europe The family we visited has been in Sighisoara for a year and a half The grandfather was a retired truck driver and now volunteers driving the Ukraine church van He was very welcoming and happy to see us and made it very clear It was explained that Nancy and I were from the Rotary Club We asked about his wife and he didn’t think she would want to talk with us but he went to the bedroom and came back with her While hesitant and very apprehensive with us being there when asked what she had done in Ukraine she was beaming and announced that she was a dumpling maker and still is She opened the refrigerator and pulled bowls of dumplings in process and showed us freezer bags full of her creations It was explained to us that these dumplings are a popular staple in Eastern Europe and contain a large variety of stuffings assorted meats and fruits for the dessert dumplings friends and neighbors and sold them to others for extra income at home in Ukraine She told us she would like to be able to make a little dumpling business in Sighisoara It was time for us to move on to the next delivery As we moved to the door she stopped us and said our neighbors and now we need help.” Then Olia explained that each household that receives food is monitored as to the number of individuals in the household Some refugee families are able to get by on their own Language and single adults with young children stop many adult refugees from being able to be employed Efforts to find child care are underway and Tim is searching for a Youth With A Mission missionary who would be able to teach English to adult refugees Since Sigishora’s local economy is tourist-driven English is more valuable than Romanian for job seekers Soon we pulled up in front of an older apartment building dating from the time that Romania was communist and under Russian control A middle-aged woman came to the door with a 2-year-old in her arms and invited us in that the apartment belonged to a good friend and that she and her three children lived there with her friend’s family Her other two children were at school — a 16-year-old and a 6-year-old Her husband was a heavy truck driver in the Ukrainian Army but was able to talk to him often — when he had a cell signal They had been in Sighisoara for six months Their home had been damaged multiple times by a variety of Russian munitions There are no building materials available to make repairs She and her husband decided it would be best to move her and the kids to safety She would very much like to find an apartment for her and the children but she is unable to work without child care — so there isn’t the money to move The housing subsidy which the Romanian government had been providing to refugees ended nearly a year ago and there is not any assistance from other entities to replace it at the present time Her 16-year-old has been doing very well in school and will be able to start online university classes in the summer That made her smile and that is clearly what she is hanging on to We continued on with the food deliveries and the stories kept coming While the individual situations of the refugees were often very different there was one very raw common thread — the Russian invasion had turned their lives upside down and nothing was ever going to be the same Next in the series: The Baptist Minister and the Light of the World village preschool Joy Center and teenagers’ thoughts on the war Anyone hoping to board a flight at Fort Dodge Regional Airport — or any other airport — on Wednesday better .. and greases shouldn’t be put down sinks or toilets in homes or businesses The Webster County Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss two detour agreements with the Iowa Department of .. LLC | https://www.messengernews.net | 713 Central Ave. .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Susan Glaser, cleveland.com2nd_TEEN.jpg won second place in the Teen Division with this photo taken last year in Sighisoara Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices If I worked as a newspaper writer in Transylvania instead of Seattle I might be writing this from inside a stone tower built hundreds of years ago as a defense lookout .. ROMANIA — If I worked as a newspaper writer in Transylvania instead of Seattle I might be writing this from inside a stone tower built hundreds of years ago as a defense lookout to keep out invading Ottoman Turks The Sighisoara Reporter and the local radio station have their offices inside the Shoemakers’ Tower one of nine towers that surround the medieval walled city here each named for groups of German tradesmen — shoemakers locksmiths and rope makers — recruited to settle in Transylvania by the King of Hungary in the 12th century Famous as the birthplace of the 15th century prince Sighisoara is as much a living town as it is a museum piece We’re staying with Marius and Lia Adam, owners of the five-room Pensiunea Lia (www.casalia.lx.ro) in the walled upper town a jumble of narrow streets lined with leaning buildings some with fresh coats of bright yellow and blue paint was born here in a house on the town square After the revolution that toppled Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989 began thinking about opening a guesthouse in her parents’ house next to the Shoemakers’ Tower south and west by the Carpathian mountains • History: Settlers from Saxony in central Germany were recruited by the Hungarians in the 12th century to protect the borders from Byzantine invaders They built seven walled towns (called Siebenburgen) visited today of their baroque architecture Transylvania remained under Hungarian rule until after World War I when it became part of Romania Germans and Jews and destroyed architectural treasurers in many of the towns • The Dracula connection: Mostly tourist hype Irish novelist Bram Stoker never visited Romania He initially set his 1897 novel in Austria researching his descriptions of the region at the British Library There’s no real-life connection between main character and the Romanian 15th — century prince Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler) also known as Vlad Dracula (son of the dragon or sometimes also interpreted as son of the devil) but Romanians remember Tepes as a hero who fought off invading Turks and punished his enemies by impaling them but in the neighboring region of Wallachia touted to tourists as “Dracula’s Castle” and featured in film adaptations of the book It was a dream they realized four years ago when they completed a five-room addition Marcus wanted to wait until he could speak more English and they had enough money to put private baths in each room (the other four rooms share two bathrooms) but Lea said “do it now,” and it turned out to be good advice Sighisoara’s upper town (a more modern town lies below) is small enough to walk around in a few hours but it attracts busloads of European tourists Rooms in several of the small hotels around the main square go for $65 a night. I originally booked rooms in two, then cancelled both reservations when I found a posting at Virtualtourist.com from another traveler who raved about Pensiunea Lia bright room with private bath — but my real goal was to find a way to connect with a Romanian family Lea and their two sons made sure that happened on our second night when they invited us share grilled sausages and homemade wine Fabiola who paints decorative plates in a factory that exports to Holland In a country where the average annual income is $400 but there’s a hint of prosperity in this part of Romania that I hadn’t expected to find there is much that is new — good roads new little concrete houses painted in neon orange and green; a young local crowd on the deck of Concordia Pizza where we had two pizzas wine and dessert the other night for about $16 Sighisoara is one of the best-preserved of seven medieval fortified towns in Transylvania that were settled by the German Saxon craftsmen and merchants in the 12th century The walled old town is a UNESCO heritage site and the last citadel in Eastern Europe to be still inhabited • Population: 36,1000 (Estimates are that fewer than 500 are German) • What's new: Like other historical sites connected to Vlad Tepes Sighisoara became a tourist draw for Western Europeans after the fall of Communism German investors have poured money into the town and many of the buildings have been fixed up and painted offering to meet them at the train station and providing breakfast on request on the days that he and Lea aren’t working Their business plan calls for adding more rooms as soon as they can afford to Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser The theme of this year’s edition of the festival is “Minstrels and Troubadours – Five Centuries of Medieval Music and Theatre,” and will pay tribute to the memory of film director and actor Sergiu Nicolaescu This year, the organizers will attempt to break a word record daily under a series of events titled the “tournament of doings worthy of World Records”: there will be over 30 hours of live transmission on www.sighisoaramedievala.ro and a movie night at the Tourist Information Center Sighisoara (Casa Zander) In memoriam honorary director of the 2015 edition is Sergiu Nicolaescu Natalia Martian begins the drilling of the northern pair of tunnels by starting the third tunnel boring machine (TBM) in place Alexandra started the works for piercing this second pair of tunnels in the mountains around Racoș “We are proud to mark this significant milestone in this critical part of the Brasov-Sighisoara railway project This progress underscores our commitment to delivering state-of-the-art infrastructure projects that enhance connectivity across Romania and the wider European region By utilizing advanced technologies such as Tunnel Boring Machines we are increasing the efficiency and safety and minimize the external impact These tunnels will play a crucial role in strengthening the Rhine-Danube Corridor contributing to the region’s sustainable growth and mobility for generations to come” The first two TBMs which are currently drilling the southern tunnel from Racoș on the opposite direction to create the first pair of tunnels with a length of 6.9 km They already overpassed 1.2 tunnel kilometers: Eleni In the tradition created with the first two TBMs the third TBM to begin drilling towards Homorod has been baptized Alexandra “The process of installing a TBM and starting the drilling operation is complex and requires detailed planning we can construct tunnels with greater precision and environmental consideration than traditional methods allow This innovative approach to tunnel construction opens new possibilities for developing infrastructure while minimizing the impact on the surrounding area” the Project Director for the Apața-Cața section The tunnels will be connected by galleries: 13 connecting galleries with a total length of 601 linear meters for the Ormeniș tunnel with a total length of 417 linear meters for the Homorod tunnel The four tunnels will have an inner diameter of 8.6 meters (an outer diameter of 9.4 meters, due to the concrete lining). The four TBMs used by Aktor have been built by the HERREKNECHT company If you climb the massive medieval clock tower in the walled citadel you see woodland in all directions coming right to the very edge of town Out of it come wolves at night; when I first visited in 1990 a man told me how one had dragged off a sheep from his back garden in the centre On paths leading into the forest there are signs that read Near them a Gypsy was scything grass for his horse What a calming sound the slow and rhythmic swish of the tool on fresh grass is – scything is not something you can rush His mare grazed in the shade of a weeping willow rummaged through rubbish bins and found a black evening dress did a twirl and then walked with her head held high It brought to mind what Alan Whicker once said about the Duchess of Alba who danced flamenco: ‘A duchess imitating a Gypsy imitating a duchess.’ My first visit was two weeks after the execution of President Ceausescu and his wife in a hail of bullets in the yard of a military base in Târgoviste. In December 1989, Romania had a proper bloody revolution of the sort that was rather expected of Eastern Europe and as I travelled through the country that year I saw a softer side The villagers seemed to be from a tougher yet gentler era I was able to witness a life as near to the Middle Ages as you could imagine in Europe In the summer of 1990 I took a long stroll through Sighisoara’s encircling forests I came out of trees into bright sunlight and rolling hills all around an exuberance of green out of which rose a castle’s turret which from medieval times until 1948 had been a stronghold of the Bethlen family who died in 1946 after being detained by the Romanian secret police as a class enemy and two years later Communist thugs ransacked the building and made a bonfire of its famous library of Transylvanian books I had been searching for ruined castles to pander to my romantic image of the Dracula legend. Here I was not disappointed. This was as romantic a castle as you could hope to find with glimpses of mullioned windows behind trailing ivy; stones carved with the Bethlen arms scattered on the ground; plaster figures of soldiers on the wall of the old round tower; and an extraordinary wooden winding staircase – its entrance hidden by greenery and steps made from solid carved chunks of oak – leading through cobwebs to rooms with traces of medieval frescoes This summer I set out to retrace my route of 30 years before though this time not with footsteps but with hooves and rolling wheels After the revolution there had been years of stagnation in Romania with millions leaving for jobs in the West driven by a clear-eyed and idealistic new generation that is working tirelessly to save the country’s endangered heritage The first leg of my journey is on horseback from the village of Apos Here I watch the volunteers of Ambulanta pentru Monument as they clamber over the roof of the local church they repair lathes and pass tiles hand to hand to replace those broken or missing with their tools and scaffolding strapped aboard seeking out historic buildings to patch up one day hammering shingles to the tops of wooden Orthodox churches the next shoring up the walls of centuries-old fortifications with lime mortar led by Eugen Vaida of the Asociatia Monumentum could no longer bear to watch the nation’s structural heritage crumble into oblivion so are taking the situation into their own hands with much encouragement from The Prince of Wales they have been riding to the rescue of properties in all corners of the country which produces tens of thousands of the terracotta tiles needed to mend the roofs and at the same time teach people the classic art of tile-making It is this craft that helps to give Transylvania its unforgettable appearance The roofscapes of its towns are reason alone for visiting Local on a country road near the Saxon villages area which were fiercely fortified in the Middle Ages against raids from Turks and Tatars The Ambulance for Monuments is needed now more than ever On one of the horses of my friends Mihai and Bianca Barbu I ride up into the hills above the village cantering through meadows of wildflowers speckled with purple orchids and the vibrant pink of carnations the view expands and reveals a powerful beauty The sheer grandeur of it all knocks you sideways: deep forests and beyond them the dramatic line of the Carpathian Mountains fringing the southern sky over which lies the more Turkish-influenced world of Wallachia From Copsa Mare, after a night in a B&B owned by Giovanna and Paolo Bassetti, who settled here from Italy and have worked wonders to preserve this small but perfectly formed village of lime-washed and stuccoed houses, I set off on the second stage of my trip to Cris. I am now on wheels – an electric bicycle – accompanied by the excellent Sergiu Paca he spots the first bear paw prints in the mud and starts to whistle loudly to announce our silent approach to avoid surprise encounters through a pastoral scene of sheepfolds and herds of cattle tended by sun-browned cowherds The trees tower above us like columns in a cathedral Descending into Nou Sasesc we pass beehives and at the bottom of the slope taste acacia honey retrieved from them had been struggling to keep his honey organic as many of his swarms were dying with the abundance of blossom on the acacia the honey is being gathered by the barrel load As I pedal along the valley beyond, storks strut in the fields looking for frogs while crested hoopoes fly to a safer distance. There is the flash of yellow of a golden oriole among the willows. Recently, a British ornithologist showed me a list of the 85 different bird species he had seen in a single day in one random area of the region. He would, he said, barely see that number in England in a lifetime We lunch at the sheepfold of Florin Cosorean we drink elderflower cordial with the water from his well and feast on sheep’s and goat’s cheeses and chicken soup a gruff billy – with great horns like the adornments of a knight’s helmet – asserting himself amid a throng of his ladies The goatherd is from Piatra Neamt in Moldavia and with him is his Gypsy wife I am told she carries the baby with her at all times and in all weathers: rain nor is his older brother – not like the other children in the village,’ said Florin’s wife Liliana ‘We work in this way – “bio” – because we love these hills and know that their diversity is a treasure,’ says Florin ‘Agri-business is approaching on all sides and as it does this area becomes ever more important Where else is there such richness of nature in Europe?’ Nearby is Malâncrav with its frescoed church and Biertan’s many-towered and fabled castle-church with a splendid gilded But what is perhaps even more impressive is the entirely unfenced countryside between the villages Romania is like a repository of all that has been steadily lost in the rest of Europe over the past 50 or 100 years – although with the blundering approach of industrial agriculture That evening I emerge from the forest and descend the Bethlen family received some of their properties back from the Romanian state thus keeping their historic connection with the village alive the indomitable Countess Gladys Bethlen and her son Nikolaus have cut back the undergrowth and rebuilt the houses which they are gradually turning into evocatively comfortable places to bed down I stayed in hay barns or tents – there was nowhere else – but that night after a steaming bath to soothe my aching limbs I sleep swaddled in the softest Hungarian goose down and linen cream-coloured terracotta stove in the corner of my room so after breakfast I return for a look around The ivy has been stripped since my first trip and the trees growing up through the floors are gone but although it is not quite the romantic ruin it once was in most respects it is unchanged – the wonderful creaking oak staircase is still there The pair were also given back the imposing baroque-roofed manor house which dates from the 1650s On the walls of its vaulted rooms hang 19th-century hunting trophies and a photograph from the 1890s of Nikolaus’s great-grandfather on a nearby hill Standing beside him is a familiar-looking figure and anyone with a grasp of the language will know that this means ‘The Prince of Wales’ – an earlier holder of the title trees in the pasture for shade and villages every four miles but these days it is traversed more by wild animals than humans Mihai and Bianca Barbu’s riding centre is at Villa Abbatis in Apoș, where they offer lessons and lead trails on horseback. villaabbatis.com For more on The Ambulance for Monuments, visit asociatiamonumentum.ro Keep scrolling for more images of Romania's time-capsule wilderness SearchHistorical Dracula was a 'committed Christian' who terrorized Islamic invaders: authorLog InSubscribeThe Christian Post To enjoy our website, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. 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Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience 2023A bust of Vlad Dracula "The Impaler" Tepes sits May 10 Sighisoara was the birthplace of the Romanian military hero | David Greedy/Getty ImagesExactly how was an Orthodox Christian aristocrat transformed into the most infamous bloodsucking vampire of all time And is anti-Christian historical revisionism to blame TV shows and book series based on that work of fiction But the historical inspiration for Dracula also known as Vlad Tepes or Vlad III Dracula whose own Christian faith led him to defend Christendom from invading hordes of Islamic jihadists author and expert in Islamic history and doctrine Stoker sought to lend an "aura of historic legitimacy by connecting it to real people and events," Ibrahim told The Christian Post While none of the historical records Stoker used as inspiration for the character referenced any of the familiar Dracula iconography of crucifixes as a weakness Ibrahim said some sources did portray him as a sadist who tortured and impaled his victims Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam doesn't deny that Vlad was both vicious and an impaler of his enemies But he contends most of those stories fail to acknowledge an "all-important" historical context Vlad III was taken hostage by the Ottoman Turks and was mentally and physically abused was "slowly transformed into Sultan Muhammad II's personal catamite," a boy who submits to a sexual relationship with a man It was during this time that Vlad also saw the Turks impaling their enemies — a practice which upon returning to his homeland of Wallachia "Because he was vastly outnumbered by his Muslim enemies, at least 10 to one, he fought fire with fire and engaged in terror tactics, including by impaling the invading Turks and creating the legendary 'Forest of the Impaled' surrounding his castle which was calculated to instill terror," Ibrahim explained And though this might sound downright inhumane by contemporary standards "Often left unmentioned is that virtually everyone then was cruel and impalement was a standard form of punishment as well as several other European powers," he said just as Americans today are regularly hammered about their ancestors' role in slavery — without ever being told that everyone engaged in slavery and often on a much worse scale than Americans — virtually everyone of Dracula's era was by today's standards cruel and impalement was a standard form of execution." was also vehemently opposed to those who broke the Ten Commandments According to one near contemporaneous chronicle Vlad "hated stealing so violently in his country that anyone who caused any evil or robbery stemmed not from evil but rather from a fervent passion for both God and country a sentiment Ibrahim said was especially evident in a letter he sent to Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus Vlad explained the reason he had declared war on the Turks was "for the preservation of Christianity": [K]now that we have done all that we could to harm those who kept urging us to leave the Christians and to take their side; … but for the honor of … the Holy Crown of Your Majesty Because by no means do we want to leave unfinished what we began Because we will not flee before their savagery and if he will kindly lend his ear to the prayers of his poor subjects and grants us victory over the Infidels and spiritual help for Your Majesty … and for all true Christians Your Majesty will not benefit from this either because it will be a loss for all Christianity lend support to the notion that Dracula was a "committed Christian" who saw his "Just War" against the invading Turks as "being first and foremost about defending Christendom from Islam." Ibrahim pointed to one historian who said Vlad saw "himself as a Christian crusader against the infidel," someone who was often seen in the company of Romanian monks and fond of visiting and meditating at monasteries in the Tismana and Snagov, where Vlad's remains were long rumored to be located In addition to personally founding the monastery of Comana remains a "stronghold of Orthodoxy" through the present day he insisted upon Christian burials for any Christian deemed guilty," he added these are all proof-positive examples that he was a committed Christian in keeping with his times and locale." So how did Vlad's historical and cultural legacy go from "committed Christian" to a bloodsucking vampire the same "narrative-shapers" in Hollywood who "eliminated or whitewashed Islam's negative role in shaping Vlad" have also "eliminated or demonized his Christian background as fueling his cruelty." and its goal was always the same: to demonize Western elements by exaggerating and stripping them of context and expunging or demonizing their Christian aspects aggressive Islam out of the equation," he said Vlad remains a hero in his native Romania to this very day whenever there is talk of corruption or immorality it is common for Romanians to resignedly end the conversation by quoting the following lines of an old poem: 'Where art thou Ibrahim pointed to other historical figures who were once lauded as defenders of Christendom such as Richard Lionheart have "been systematically taken down in academia "The overtly propagandistic tracts demonizing him were and continue to be taken at face value while the source documents I reconstructed his biography from are completely ignored," he said the novel and subsequent movies transformed him into a cross-hating vampire." Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of BACKWARDS DAD: a children's book for grownups. He can be reached at: ian.giatti@christianpost.com Help keep The Christian Post free for everyone By making a recurring donation or a one-time donation of any amount you're helping to keep CP's articles free and accessible for everyone Hope you’ll give us another try and check out some other articles. Return to homepage. Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism Romania may not be at the top of your list when you plan your trip to Europe the country was a pleasant surprise when I visited it There are lots of cultural and historic attractions Romania became a partial member of the Schengen zone in 2024 which means that if you have a visa from one of its members Some of the basic requirements for a visa application include: There are no direct flights to Romania’s capital Bucharest from the Philippines You’ll have to cross the border by land from Hungary You can also find flights to the capital from various cities in Europe I frequently check Skyscanner for affordable flights and alternative routes The latter will go only as far as the Gara de Nord Station You can also go directly to another city from the airport You can find buses a few minutes away from the terminal that go to Brasov It’s easy and convenient to get around Romania You can take the bus or the train to your chosen destination It’s possible to book on the same day or at least the day before your trip this is the conversion rate: 1 RON = P12.69 This itinerary assumes you start with one full day you’ll be visiting the capital and some places in Transylvania The capital of Romania has quite a few places you’d want to visit before moving on to another city One of the most prominent buildings you’ll find is the Palace of Parliament The latter is a relic from the country’s former dictator The huge building is an attention-grabbing piece of architecture the former ruler had parts of the old town destroyed He also employed (and overworked) thousands of workers and took on massive debts to complete the building in his image at a tremendous cost to Romanians It’s now a tourist attraction that you can visit You’ll have to make a phone reservation the day before your planned trip The numbers are +40 733 558 102 or +40 733 558 103 You’ll also need to bring your passport with you when you enter Another piece of architecture not to miss in the city is the Romanian Athenaeum The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra calls it home and it’s the venue for many of the city’s concerts Check out Revolution Square on your way to the old town This is where the revolution that marked the end of Ceauşescu’s dictatorship took place You can hang out here and grab something to eat and/or drink you can also visit the Stavropoleos Church which dates back to the 18th century drop by Bucharest’s own version of the Arc de Triomphe I recommend buying your train ticket bound for Sighisoara before leaving Bucharest on the second day Check out of your accommodation and eat lunch at one of your favorite restaurants in the city Take the afternoon train bound for Sighisoara You’ll most likely arrive just before 9 pm at the station I would recommend bringing some food with you because there are few restaurants open at this time Check in at your accommodation and get some rest before sightseeing the next day explore the UNESCO-listed old town and get a glimpse of Romania’s history It’s a popular day trip from either Sibiu or Brasov Sighisoara is the birthplace of Vlad Tepes more famously known as Vlad the Impaler or Dracula The centuries-old Clock Tower is the most prominent building in the citadel You can go up to the top to get overlooking views of the town and check out a few museums Some of the places you can also visit during your stay are Casa Dracula The old town is atmospheric and is like a time warp into a different epoch There’s no need to rush because you’ll have plenty of time to eat and drink at one of the restaurants or cafés and still go sightseeing You can take the train or the bus bound for Sibiu in the afternoon you can have lunch at one of the restaurants Sighisoara is small enough to explore in one full day Many visitors go on a day trip from nearby cities and towns make your way to your accommodation to check in You can rest during the remainder of the day before sightseeing What I liked about the cities in Romania (especially in the Transylvania region) is how compact they are You can see the main attractions in one full day and spend the rest of your time soaking up the ambiance or simply hanging out in a café or a square You can spend hours walking around the Small and Large Square and the Lower and Upper Town checking out the traditional buildings (some look like they have eyes!) and centuries-old landmarks Sibiu has old churches oozing with charm and towers with overlooking views Churches of note include the Saint Mary Evangelical Cathedral and the Holy Trinity Cathedral Check out of your accommodation and get a ticket from either the bus or train station bound for Brasov I would recommend spending more hours just relaxing and hanging out in your favorite part of the city I often have at least one day where I don’t do much of anything Sibiu is the kind of place where you can relax and soak up its old world charm in a café or restaurant while trying local food I suggest taking the bus or train that leaves around 5 pm so that you’ll arrive in Brasov not too late at night get an early start for a visit to Bran Castle Make your way to bus terminal 2 and board a bus bound for the castle Most people will stop there so you won’t have a problem finding it The castle became a popular destination because of its association with Bram Stoker’s fictional character Dracula Vlad the Impaler was the historical figure that inspired Dracula you’ll find exhibits discussing the castle’s history and the Romanian royal family that lived there The entrance fee costs around 55 to 60 RON Grab something to eat while walking along Strada Republicii This street has a number of shops and restaurants where you’ll find the prominent Council Hall You can also visit the 15th-century Black Church Make your way to the bus or train station and head on over to Sinaia you can either walk to Peles Castle or board another bus close to the castle Peles Castle is one of the prettiest castles I’ve seen in Europe You’ll immediately notice the castle’s fairy tale-like exterior Entrance fee to Peles Castle: 50 RON for the ground floor You can add attractions such as Rope Street chill somewhere in Council Square or your favorite spot in the city You can buy souvenirs here and eat more local food Take the late afternoon bus or train back to Bucharest you can go up Mount Tampa for overlooking views Youcan hike up and down or take the cable car There are other museums and memorial houses you might want to visit to learn more about Romanian history and culture you have some time to do last-minute souvenir shopping Romania is an affordable country compared to countries in western and northern Europe A budget of roughly 240 RON (approximately P3,000) a day covers a bed in a dorm room and budget meals and dessert in a restaurant you can occasionally spend a bit more on food and drinks You can spend less but you’ll only be getting the basics and the cheapest possible options taxis or other forms of private transportation Writer Guillem Clua spotted the tombstone in a cemetery in Romania Two soldiers who died during War World I have gone viral on Twitter after a writer wrote a gay love story imagining the reason they are buried together The names of Emil Mueller and Xaver Sumer are painted next to one another on a single tombstone in the cemetery of Sighisoara, a city of just over 26,000 people located in Romania’s historic region of Transylvania The town is already a tourist hotspot for being the birthplace of the 15th century Romanian military commander Vlad Dracula ‘The Impaler’ Tepes the real-life basis of the fictional character Dracula the vampire But the viral Twitter thread by a Madrid-based author may soon turn the medieval town into a romantic destination for gay couples spotted Emil and Xaver’s grave while visiting the country in November and took a few pictures he began writing a fictional story about Emil and Xaver imagining the reason for their shared tombstone was the result of a forbidden gay love story and a complicated friendship The first post in the viral thread, written in Spanish, is dated November 22 contributing to the realistic feel and pace of the narration Clua’s story stops on cliffhangers before starting again the following day—Clua finally reached the tale’s conclusion on December 3 The gay love story may bring a new kind of tourism for the Romanian city of Sighisoara “I could have never imagined that it would have such resonance,” Clua tells PinkNews “I think people have a great need to believe in love and and to fill with stories the LGBT romances that have been taken from us over the centuries.” Clua wrote a message on his personal website to clarify that the story Clua confirmed to PinkNews that only the photos of the tombstones with the two names are real The author did not specify the origin of the pictures accompanying the story although some of them appear on Google Images search about Sighisoara and its cemetery Clua explained in his statement that even if the events described are fictional the emotions people felt reading the story—and he writing it—were real nothing is more real than that feeling,” he wrote His statement continued: “Emil and Xaver have existed But only in the story that we have all shared did they love each other with the intensity that we would all like to experience “With their story I only wanted to shed a light on all the LGBT+ love stories that can never be told and that are condemned to oblivion.” Sighisoara was the birthplace of Vlad Dracula “The Impaler” Tepes Clua said he understood if some people felt cheated but he launched a call to action to turn the story into something larger than just a Twitter thread He wrote: “My intention has never been to take advantage of people’s credulity it would be nice if we all made the story of Emil and Xaver come true turning this grave into a symbol for those who were not allowed to love each other and who deserved a better ending “And if some of you visit Sighisoara leave some flowers in memory of the love stories that will never be told.” The story of Emil and Xaver may also live on in other forms as Clua confirmed to PinkNews he is working on “future adaptations” of the gay love story About us Contact us Advertise Work for us Terms and conditions Privacy policy New Year’s Eve is celebrated all around Romania It is a time to celebrate the end of the year gone by and welcome what is in store in the New Year there are some people that prefer less common places to celebrate this special evening Sighisoara, a city-monument protected by UNESCO since 1999, included in the list of world patrimony, hosts the inhabited medieval citadel even in the present. The citadel was raised in 1280. In the 14th century handcrafters immigrated under the citadel and organized themselves in strong guilds, that built around the citadel a defence wall, with a length of 930 meters and a height of 4 meters. Placed within the medieval Citadel Sighisoara the touristic resort “House Georgius Krauss” is in the UNESCO patrimony and still keeps its image from the second half of 20th century who wrote the Sighisoara’ chronicles and Transylvania’s history and who lived in this house   Sighisora Citadel Nowadays the Castle also hosts New Year’s Eve parties. This year party’s theme is Italian style, with special Italian and French food and one of the most popular covers bands:  Special Guest Orchestra. There will be cocktails and fireworks. Sturdza Castle in Miclauseni, also known as the Sturdza Palace, is a neo- goth castle built between 1880-1904 by Gheorghe Sturdza, a descendent of the Moldovan lords of Romania, and his wife, Maria, in Miclauseni village, at distance of 20 km from roman and 65 km from Iasi municipality. Currently, the palace is in the Moldova and Bucovina Cathedral’s property and it is included in the list of historical monuments from Iasi since 2015. The New Year’s Eve celebration here starts with a Castle tour, followed by a gourmet menu with 7 special dishes, a dance contest with prizes, live music session, a DJ, New Year’s Eve customs with the traditional customs assembly from Timisesti, and entertained by firework and champaigne. In this ancient locality, there is a complex with resorts rehabilitated in the style of the local architecture, the Medieval Complex Unglerus. Their placement near the walls of the fortified citadel of Biertan offers a special New Year’s Eve atmosphere. The resorts Thomas and Michael were rehabilitated within two old German traditional houses. They also comprise a Medieval restaurant. Romania is known for the count Dracula legend, so that some tourists are choosing to spend the New Year’s Eve at Dracula hotel castle. The hotel, opened in 1983 in a medieval house style, is placed at the border between Bistrita-Nasaud and Suceava, near the national road DN17. Situated at 1,116 m altitude at Piatra Fantanele, Dracula hotel castle offers a landscape of Bargau mountains and it is in the approximate site of the fictional Count’s castle. Viscri area, in the heart of Transylvania, is known as the Romanian village that charmed Prince Charles with its beauty. At less than 10 km is the village Crit, or Dutsch-Kreuz on its old German name. It is an old village, surrounded by forested hills and meadows. The main road is on the list of historical monuments. In this village you can find the Home with Morning Glory Flowers, that offers a 3-4 night accommodation and a special party for the New Year’s eve. During this mini-holiday guests can enjoy traditional Romanian food and beverages. The offer also includes a drive by caravan. Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta and owns the richest ornithic fauna in Europe. Danube Delta entered the world patrimony UNESCO in 1991, classified as biosfera reservation at national level in Romania. It is a winter shelter for many birds species that nestle beyond Polar Circle: winter swan, Polar goose, as well as the goose with red neck. Visitors that choose to spend the New Year’s Eve here can enjoy all these. Green Village resort offers a special New Year’s Eve package. The access to Green Village Resort is done exclusively by boat. At a surcharge, boats can be rented at the resort. Guests arriving by car can park in the town of Murighiol, 47 km away. The package includes three nights accommodation for an adult in a double room, with all meals and beverages package, as well as a festive dinner in the New Year’s Eve with a prizes, surprise guests and a piscatorial brunch on January 1st, combined with a disco night on January 1st. The package also comprises the access to entertainment center and Lotus SPA with dry sauna and a trip/transfer by boat Murighiol – Sfantu Gheorghe – Murighiol. We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used. the city boasts some fine locations where you can enjoy delicious wines and tasty cocktails don’t worry as you can have fun ’til the morning with the friendly locals A place mixing vintage furniture with funky wall drawings, Voynich Cafe and Pub is the perfect spot to go out for a morning coffee or an evening with friends, drinking tasty cocktails and wines after you visited the Sighisoara Citadel sign up for a quiz or join a fancy dress competition and meet the friendly locals the lovely owners always offer a warm welcome to every client Boasting an elegant location inside the Central Park Hotel, the Joseph T Restaurant and Wine Bar offers a broad variety of great international and local wines, plus dishes to delight your taste buds The pleasant ambiance is completed by live concerts making it a great place to for a business meeting or a night out with your loved one for a romantic dinner Villa Vinea Vinothek serves fantastic wines made in the Dealu Mare region of Romania From Sauvignon Blanc to Gewurztraminer to Pinot Noir every wine is made from carefully selected grapes then order a glass of Feteasca Regala or Feteasca Neagra and enjoy it together with the bistro’s aperitives Vintage Wine Lounge is one of the best bars in town and features a lovely terrace with amazing views of Sighisoara Clock Tower A great option for a laid-back afternoon or a lively evening out tasting some of the best local and international wines Aristocrat Society Club features a fancy and elegant location You can choose among a great variety of local wines themed parties are organised and great DJs create a unique ambiance that last until the early hours The ideal place to have fun all night long Sign up to our newsletter to save up to $800 on our unique trips See privacy policy All recommendations have been independently sourced by Culture Trip Read Next See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Spring Guides & Tips The Best Places to Travel in August Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in December See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in July See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Autumn See & Do Lesser-Known Summer Destinations to Visit in Europe See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in September Guides & Tips This Is Europe's Ultimate Road Trip See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Summer See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in October Guides & Tips Beat the Crowds with these Alternative Summer Destinations Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in November US: +1 (678) 967 4965 | UK: +44 (0)1630 35000 tripssupport@theculturetrip.com © Copyright 2025 The Culture Trip Ltd and in the days before ubiquitous WiFi those awful 737 flights were a good chance to catch up on stuff and talk through business challenges and whatever else Nowadays we still make a point of seeing each other but it’s more practical to just go and spend a few days at the other’s house and our opportunities to actually travel together are generally limited to once every year or two So we’ve been trying to put something together for about 18 months now We finally pulled the trigger this week and booked a trip to Romania for this autumn which we’re both really excited about (and hope is fun for y’all to follow along with) Ben picked the flights for this trip, and I have to say he showed admirable restraint. Normally our trips together require a ton of debate about what to fly (which usually leads to settling for crummy planes), or the itineraries have an outrageous number of flights And while he flirted with a “We could do MEX-IST-CLJ that’s really a triangle route with a 6AM pitstop in Cancun!!!” as though Mexico City is a convenient starting point for either of us we eventually settled on something more reasonable For the outbound, we’ll be flying Turkish Airlines’ new 787 business class from Atlanta (with a connection in Istanbul that is probably too short) We’ll be returning from Bucharest, where we’ll get to fly Romania-based TAROM to London, leaving just Aerolineas Argentinas and it’s non-stop faxing service as the only SkyTeam carrier Ben hasn’t flown Then we’ll fly to New York from London on Virgin Atlantic’s new A350. Unless you consider that neither of us live in either Atlanta or New York, so there will be an entire truckload of domestic flights in there too. Mine will likely be better than Ben’s I’m actually shocked that Ben agreed to this Obviously I’m not going to suggest a trip that I think we’ll hate but spending a week driving through the countryside is more than a bit different than the kind of travel we’d normally do together Would you go on a road trip with me?” Like in a station wagon to the Grand Canyon?” “Maybe…I was thinking Europe though We had a really nice time driving through Greece last week and the whole time I was thinking about how much you would have enjoyed it.” we can listen to trashy pop music that our husbands hate…” “You want me to drive? That will end well.” so that’s really the only option.” It’ll make for great internet.” Given life and schedules the best timing for this trip is October which sounds like it will be a beautiful time to drive through Transylvania (though I’m less thrilled about the potential for “oooooh It’s close to Halloween and so we have to kick our Dracula Tourism into overdrive” nonsense and then leaving from Bucharest six days later it would take ~7 hours to get between the two cities which seems like it will give us a good amount of time to explore each day and take detours without feeling too rushed While I love the concept of just seeing where the drive takes us that’s not wholly practical for this trip We will both still be working (and are planning on WiFi being iffy but I’m very open to making changes: even if means doing all the driving in one day We’re definitely at the point in trip planning where we have more questions than answers so would love to hear what you guys recommend or even what you would eventually like to see reviews of I would love to get OMAAT reader feedback, since the hive mind here is incredible at this stuff: And then of course there are the (somewhat) practical considerations Regardless of how the details end up working out (or even if they don’t) there’s something about the natural unexpectedness that goes along with a driving adventure that really appeals to me (Romania pics courtesy of Ricky W.) Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Looks like a fun voyage (after a fabulous Safari to South Africa); your blog is both fun and informayive to follow The coming TAROM flight should be interesting: happy and safe travels Will you have a separate article each day or will you tell us about it after you return home Found a place in Odessa to hire a car/driver for a road trip Odessa/Kamrat (gagauzia another Moldavian breakaway) then to Chisnau I read a lot to comments about how unsafe driving.. I read a lot to comments about how unsafe driving is in Ukraine Using an Excursionist Perk to continue from Longyearbyen to Chisnau then thinking I will rent a car and roadtrip to Tiraspol Hopefully bribe money in dollars and euros is fine I'm not sure whether you're all done with your planning but a lovely place to stay is Zabola Estate It's simply awesome and the autumn colors would give the place an especially lovely feel All weekends are likely booked already but weeknights might still be available Your itinerary looks pretty good otherwise Transfagarasan would be a nice optional extra I'd say your best bet is to take a cable car up from Sinaia or Busteni and then hike the Bucegi mountains main ridgeline in either direction - for example all the way to Vf Omu (2507m) if the weather is nice Been researching for the last month regarding an identical trip I'll be taking in late Sep.. Even starting out in same city.I appreciate that I have been able to pick up some tips CF Frost wrote that he hired a car and driver.. anyone have any suggestions to set me in right direction Enjoying reading the comments as we will be in Romania for two weeks this October Spending two days visiting painted monasteries You can take a cable car up to the lake (the road won’t likely be open) and have a cup of tea with fantastic views It was terrible weather at the bottom but nice and clear at the top nothing like a bit of racism to spice up a comment on a travel blog Presumably you’d also recommend avoiding African-Americans in Chicago good to know “they’re a bigger problem” in other countries I know Lucky believes in light moderation (thank God but is casual racism considered acceptable now We did this trip about ten years ago via BUD on Malev before they cratered Picked up a Ford Mondeo diesel at the very commie-era OTP and had a nice road trip through Brasov This was towards the end of the idiotic vampire craze and my partner went through a serious Twilight phase so this whole trip was his idea I ended up doing all the driving because he refused.. Picked up a Ford Mondeo diesel at the very commie-era OTP and had a nice road trip through Brasov I ended up doing all the driving because he refused to drive stick and we ended up paying almost $8US per gallon for the lower-grade diesel Oh and watch out for livestock and mule-carts I did a trip to Romania a few years ago (via public transport) Given your current itinerary and timeframe (~6 days) here are my suggestions: - The Transfagarasan Highway is open during summer months (July to end of October) While I am sure it is a breathtaking journey to drive through so if you do this route you probably have to skip Sighisoara and Brasov I was a tour guide there long time ago and continued overseas as a side job I return to Romania as often as I can afford or underline previous remarks is: - rent an automatic car (you might need an IDL) But one request: If you are flying out of ATL then how about a meet & greet for your uber fans Transgafarasan highway is incredible and not far from your current route I would recommend you to go to the Apuseni Mountains and visit the towns of Abrud and Campeni and take a trip on the narrow gauge train (mocanita) My recommendations are to see as many castles as possible but smaller towns more interesting to us In Bran we rented an Airbnb to see Draculas castle and made day trips out Both Booking.com and Airbnb have good coverage The main roads are generally OK but be alert for random potholes and other surprises Back roads vary from some potholes to all potholes it will take longer than you think to get places I would take a GPS with Europe maps instaĺled However your itinerary is pretty basic so michelin map.. I would highly recommend Hunter Prince Castle & Dracula Hotel in Turda https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g1074312-d1539383-Reviews-Hunter_Prince_Castle_Dracula_Hotel-Turda_Cluj_County_Northwest_Romania_Transylvania.html Monasteries wonderfull but a two day detour Haha - I am leaving in about two hours to the airport And then doing a road trip for 8 days and flying back from Bucharest We have already a high level plan on what to do but will definitely read through all the comments here Holidayautos) which lets you search for just automatic transmission rentals and the main driver anyway has a propensity to get sick as a dog it’s just common sense to rent a car that both of you could drive even if the plan is for only that person to drive For tiny European backroads I’d rent something.. For tiny European backroads I’d rent something of modest size (if you’re adventurous many roads will be single lane + passing places) and with a bit of dirt track capability — Skoda Karoq or similar We just got back from a driving holiday in Romania a week ago beautiful villages and countryside like how Europe would have been maybe 100 years ago In fact I would suggest some of the worst roads we saw were.. you will need an international driver's licence in order to be able to rent a car in Romania You can have this done on the spot for about $30.00 at CAA/ Triple A I go to Bulgaria every summer now and plan to take a week to go to Romania so I'll be building my plans based on your experience Also are you going to publish a report about driving through Greece I am planning a road trip at the moment from Bucharest to Sarajevo leaving at the end of this month Will definitely add the Transfagarasan highway Comments have been great as I am thinking of similar route in reverse - but need to travel through to Belgrade and then on to Bosnia-Herzegovina I have a blog and will be posting along the way so you can follow I am planning a road trip at the moment from Bucharest to Sarajevo leaving at the end of this month Will definitely add the Transfagarasan highway Comments have been great as I am thinking of similar route in reverse - but need to travel through to Belgrade and then on to Bosnia-Herzegovina (The Site is currently being updated and will complete that before this trip.) Thanks for timely post when the Iron Curtain was still up and few Americans visited Romania I asked some Romanian students I met in Bucharest what I should see during a short stay in Romania "The painted monasteries of Moldavia!" All I had I hired a driver (don't ask how or with what) who took me to the monasteries.. "The painted monasteries of Moldavia!" All I had I hired a driver (don't ask how or with what) who took me to the monasteries of Humor Another version of this trip was written up -- with a map of the route -- some years ago in the New York Times by Erik Sandberg-Diment "Artistic Route Through Romania: A circle tour of Moldavia's spectacular 15th- and 16th-century painted monasteries and a side strip to Dracula's castle," N.Y I've never seen anything like these beautiful before or since and remember them to this day I would be happy to send you a copy of the NYT article Trains in Romania are comfortable and easy to book online The second trip was shorter and going to Sinaia by train Then we flew to Belgrade and took the train from Belgrade to Budapest hitting a few of the difficult places to see: the amazing Maramures (including the Merry Cemetery) not to forget driving the Transfăgărășan round-trip And finally Timisoara for one night on the way to Budapest-Slovakia-Vienna to send our car home This will not not be your last trip to Romania @ Frog : I would not recommend the Transfăgărășan on a first trip to Romania round-trip from Curtea de Argeș to Sibiu and back a few years ago - it was border line weather.. except for one other car we saw; we couldn't stop at a couple of places we wanted to Please report back I am going back this year after 26 years You and Ben are going to have a wonderful time in Romania We were fortunate enough to spend 6 weeks in Romania If you can fit it into your itinerary (and the road isn't seasonally closed) we highly recommend adding the Transfargarasan Highway We originally heard of it on the BBC's Top Gear which touted it as one of the world's best road trips We're happy to say that in our humble experience it didn't disappoint Balea Lake (at the top of the mountain) is beautiful you can take the train from Sibiu to Sighisoara and what you'll see on the Transfagarasan road trip here's our write up: https://screwtheaverage.com/blog/transfagarasan-highway-road-trip-romania I just rented a car in Bucharest three weeks ago The agency charged 10 euros as a road tax but they no longer require a sticker They explained that cameras now utilize the plate number I rented from Payless; they were fine but I have no idea about one way rentals If you like hot springs Baile Felix near the Hungarian border was best so some of it may have been mentioned already I spent a lot of time in Romania while I was the Military Liaison Officer to Eastern Europe I love the country and especially the people The hands down best trip I ever made was along the northern part I spent a lot of time in Romania while I was the Military Liaison Officer to Eastern Europe I’m a Unitarian Universalist and Unitarians have a long history in Transylvania You’ll see the little white steepled churches in many towns there about 8 of us from the church I was at trekked from Bucharest to Budapest stopping in many towns to see the Unitarian history Had my purse stolen off a bed side table while I slept Three years later I got a package in butcher paper all taped to hell; it was my passport which was found in a ditch turned into police and passed to the consulate I've only been to Bucharest so that's the extent of my advice -Traffic in Bucharest is truly like nothing I've seen before - "ridiculously congested" doesn't even begin to describe it Ubers are super cheap and reliable - for your stay in the city I'd definitely recommend this over taxis or trying to drive yourself around -I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Old Town and I really liked both the hotel and the location - nothing fancy compared to what you're used to but certainly nice and clean with a great location but during the day there's a lot to look at and do We wandered around Old Town and just randomly stumbled across places to eat and drink - all delicious and all inexpensive but another recommendation is Hana Berarilor Casa Soare and it's the first place I ever tried papanasi -You must go visit the Carturesti Carusel in Old Town - it's a stunning bookstore -We didn't tour the Palace of the Parliament (Ceausescu's palace) due to time constraints don't miss Peles Castle - one of the best in the world I'd also recommend Brasov and might as well see Vlad the impaler (Dracula) castle in Bran Don't skimp on Bucharest - there are things to see there too Would be nice to see a detailed review later We always rent with Europcar when in Europe Why not rent an automatic so either of you can drive All I can add is that Cluj is a nice town; hopefully they still have that steampunk-themed bar from a few years ago you could say that about most of the world) and you do right to only pull three hours a day on the road: sometimes it takes longer than that to get places You should spend a night in the Castelnor hotel in Paltinis (30 mins by car from Sibiu) high up in the Carpathian mountains Castelnor is brand-new with gorgeous rooms Go see Salina Turda (biggest salt mine in europe or something like that) Pit stop by the Transfagarasan (Top Gear once called it the world's Most beautiful road) on your way to Brasov (slight detour) Try to stick with Major taxi companies in bucharest.. around 1.5 lei per Km should say on the door avoid people who are offering flat fee rides or who are offering rides it's better to hail a cab / you can find them parked together in large crowds You will love Romania and your itinerary is not bad at all Oradea is also worth a visit but it means going west of Cluj and then back but never take a taxi there - always use Uber (cheaper and much safer than taxis); I don't really recommend driving there but ride sharing.. but never take a taxi there - always use Uber (cheaper and much safer than taxis); I don't really recommend driving there but ride sharing apps are very cheap and efficient Enjoy and looking forward for the trip report I rent a lot of cars and do lots of long road trips to remote places in Europe each year and sometimes navigation can be an issue Last year I rented a car in Bordeaux France with embedded GPS and having routinely done this many times in the past until I tried to load an address in the device and I couldn’t.. Last year I rented a car in Bordeaux France with embedded GPS and having routinely done this many times in the past until I tried to load an address in the device and I couldn’t figure it out I looked for a manual but there were no manuals in the glove box I even pulled into a gas station and asked if the attendant knew how to load an address thankfully I had my phone with my newly acquired T-Mobile International plan and I was able to navigate with the phone but it wasn’t optimal I asked the rental car attendant to show me how to load an address and he couldn’t figure it out either make sure you’re checked out on the GPS device before you leave the rental car place or alternatively make sure you have good phone coverage where you are headed It seems crazy to worry about these things in this day and age have poor phone coverage and some foreign GPS navigation devices are counterintuitive It was cheap enough for me to hire a car WITH a driver to take us around That was much more relaxing than driving myself It's easy and cheap to do this in Romania I was at Bran once and it was really overrun with other tourists I think the other two castles will have the same problem as well If you look for some hidden gems: I highly recommend to visit some fortress churches (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_church) there are over 100 in the region (find them all.. October is a very good month: Not too warm I've been to Cluj a couple of times - and it's a very livable city though the downtown tourism attractions aren't that impressive - The best points hotel in town is the DoubleTree which is also very centrally-located - There's a very good vegetarian restaurant in town with some creative re-interpretations of local cuisine (along with more cosmopolitan fare) : https://samsara.ro/ - I'll second the suggestion for Turda Salina This probably isnt helpful since I haven't tried in Romania but I've rented cars in ~15 countries and never once been asked for an IDL (I just show my NY license) learning stickshift was one of the best travel decisions I've ever made 3 days of stalling out a lot in Chile led to me having the confidence to drive all over the world they have a DoubleTree that is decent with good parking Hire a guide from the official tourist information Villa Hermani in Măgura might be a cool base to use for the last part of the trip They also can take you out to see bears and maybe some cubs In Bucharest stay only at the JW Marriott - a notch better than any other 5 star hotel in the city As soon as you arrive in Bucharest return your rental car and move around in Taxis This will save you from looking for parking Look for cabs that say "1.39 Lei/Km) on the side or just use an App like StarTaxi I'm a Romanian so here are some tips based on my extensive traveling in the area: 1) For driving - I wouldn't miss the Transfagarasan Especially the section from Sibiu to Balea the views and/or the hiking from Balea are truly outstanding especially if you've visited castles in Western Europe I've always been there for short visits (half a day) This is a truly outstanding outdoor museum with authentic traditional rural houses moved here from all over the country d) Sibiu - I wouldn't spend more than half a day Prince Charles owns some property they're (traditional houses) and comes to visit the area once in a while 3) Hiking - absolutely wonderful and there's something for every type of hiker You can take nice walks in the woods or over the hills or you can hike the Fagaras mountains (from Balea or the Piatra Craiului mountains (close to Brasov) or Bucegi (next to Peles Castle) which are very rocky and have spectacular 4) Food - pretty wide selection so I wouldn't worry about the dietary restrictions 5) Internet - the mobile internet is dirt cheap and the coverage is usually excellent See here for details: https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/Romania 6) Lodging - when outside the cities look for "pensiune" (small hotels/villas) 7) Weather - usually October is pretty good My wife and I went to Romania a few years ago right around Halloween - Weather was actually just about perfect - 55-60 degrees during the day with sunshine it doesn't rain much in Romania in October Hope this helps; feel free to reach out directly if you have more questions I would start at Oradea (which is a couple hours drive west of Cluj) and spend a night or two there Very nice historic downtown and very good restaurants This is more of an authentic Romanian city as opposed to.. This is more of an authentic Romanian city as opposed to Cluj with tens of thousands of students from all over the world Roads in Romania are tough and nothing like what you are used to in the USA If you are thinking the road from Cluj to Bucharest is a highway Only the part from Ploiesti to Bucharest resembles a highway I once did the trip from Cluj to Bucharest in a car in one day took me more than 8 hours and was a nightmare if you only plan to no more than 3 hours a day Hilton in Sibiu is nice with decent lounge and nice Spa but located far out from center of City (but if you have car no problem) I'd recommend stopping in the town of Brasov as well as doing tours of the Peles Castle and Bran castle (Dracula) Would also recommend spending at least a night in Bucharest Lots to see and the old town is nice with lots of history Lots of good boutique hotels and some decent chain options Let me help you a bit with the rest of your questions 1) I think your itinerary is close to optimal given your wishes what you want to see and maximum driving time There are a few suggestions I would like to add although feel free to ignore them as you might pack the trip to full One time it took 90 minutes to get a driver one time it was over 90 minutes to get our bags and the last time we say on the tarmac for 2 hours because it was raining a little I think that whole airport looks like a shopping.. I think that whole airport looks like a shopping mall in Las Vegas There are about a dozen books or movies that Ben is going to need to consume before this trip in order to not be annoyed at my jokes I am a big automotive junkie so road trips are as much about driving as sight-seeing Therefore the Transfăgărășan Highway is a must a group of us took exotic cars on an organized time-trial event and oh boy was it fun to wrestle the car through that road Check out Season 2 of Travels with my Father for more inspiration in Romania ;) VERY excited you'll give a wonderful country some much needed press The "Prahova Valley" - where Peles Castle is located is some of the most stunning terrain Do check as I think renovations are happening & it might be closed modern enough w/ some decent tourist infrastructure Bran Castle - "Dracula" is overrated - as is the whole Dracula narrative... The "Prahova Valley" - where Peles Castle is located is some of the most stunning terrain Do check as I think renovations are happening & it might be closed Bran Castle - "Dracula" is overrated - as is the whole Dracula narrative but do check out the sites & drink beer in old town YES YES YES to Alba Iulia & the fortress there If you want to get off your tourist track - try to get up to Maramures & the Happy Cemetary or into the Apuseni Mtns consider the "Transfagarasan Highway" - It's a great race road Sighisoara is a beautiful city as was Brasov but definitely not to the same level as a Linderhof or Neuschwanstein in terms of architecture definitely get a tour of Ceaușescu's palace if they offer tours still The communist era and his (and his wife's) history are very interesting I'm from Romania and have driven through Transylvania multiple times Don't have much time now for a detailed response Be especially aware of people passing others where they shouldn't (you may have to pull to the shoulder to avoid a head-on collision) you must stay a couple days at the restored mansion and village houses partially restored by Prince Charles Not expensive and a fantastic way to see the countryside of Transylvania though also like it probably doesn't have wifi but I've always thought driving the Transfăgărășan highway would be fun See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transf%C4%83g%C4%83r%C4%83%C8%99an @ Andrew L -- I think that would be super fun but maybe not in autumn with Ben driving ;) Will save that for a trip with the husband My husband and I just booked a European road trip over our Thanksgiving holiday this year We are flying into Zurich and then driving to Vaduz Salzburg and Milan over the course of 9 days I just hope the roads and weather remain clear enough since it's late November and the first week of December you should make a trip out to the Black Sea Not sure how long of a detour/drive that would be though Your feedback is important in helping us keep our community safe The comments on this page have not been provided approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered You have successfully joined our subscriber list Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. See more about our ethics policies here Between July 26-28, the twenty-first edition of the Medieval Sighisoara Festival will present “Vlad meaning three days of celebration with Middle Ages theme the central character of the festival is Vlad the Impaler a figure that is related also with the birth of Sighisoara Citadel The artistic director of the 21st edition of the Medieval Sighisoara Festival underlined that the festival is not intended to serve as a historical reconstruction but rather as a ‘floating” of the soul elements felt by Vlad son of a father belonging to the Order of the Dragon to wish justice and prosperity for his nation we’ve prepared a list of the best restaurants in town A classy location inside the walls of Sighișoara’s citadel Casa Georgius Krauss is both a guesthouse and a restaurant Its fully-flavoured traditional and international dishes tender beef fillet served on a bed of spinach leaves and sweet cipollini accompanied by a Romanian wine from the restaurant’s cellar What makes this venue extra special is that it is a historic building that belonged to Sighișoara’s notary and don’t forget to order a glass of one of their fabulous wines Gasthaus Alte Post Restaurant invites its guests to enjoy traditional food inside the restaurant on a lovely patio terrace or in a wine cellar sarmale (cabbage rolls with rice and meat) mushroom spätzle and homemade desserts are served in generous portions Gasthaus Alte Post is an ideal place to try the local cuisine Right in the centre of the medieval citadel Casa cu Cerb is a unique place to get some grub a deer sculpted on the wall makes the location stand out from its colourful peers The restaurant is great if you are in the mood for traditional dishes but don’t want to wander too far from the main attractions Some of the restaurant’s specialties are sarmale pork stew with polenta and meatballs with sauce Next to the old walls of the city with a view over the main square La Perla Restaurant boasts a friendly staff great service and pleasant interior design At La Perla you can try traditional beef or tripe soup chicken goulash with polenta or pork knuckle with bean stew don’t hesitate to admire the array of photos of the citadel hung around the restaurant Hotel Sighișoara awaits its guests in an old-fashioned building with a charming garden this garden is the perfect place to enjoy a picnic inside the citadel the food and the wines alike are authentic and of a good quality From rosemary and raisin wild rice to luscious grilled vegetables to onion soup those who avoid meat will be satisfied here the restaurants offers duck with cabbage and wild boar steak among other tasty options If you like your authentic food served in heaping savoury portions you can enjoy the cuisine of Transylvania in a pleasant ambiance with a medieval touch order a traditional Romanian plate to share so you can fully enjoy several local specialties vegetarians will also find a menu to their liking At Medieval Cafe Restaurant you can enjoy your meal in a medieval wine cellar or outside This venue is great if you want to take a quiet break from the touristy part of town It serves marvellous papanași and pancakes For something a little different like a smoked beer or to satisfy a sweet tooth For a romantic dinner with an amazing view it offers beautiful panoramas over Sighișoara and serves delicious dishes like mushroom stew You can enjoy an indoor or outdoor experience on the magnificent outdoor terrace you are welcome to take an after-dinner walk through Vila Franka’s lovely garden Inside the house where Vlad the Impaler was born Restaurant Casa Vlad Dracul is indeed a destination tourists yearn to check off their bucket lists While you might expect a tourist trap from all this fame the restaurant serves a wide variety of satisfying dishes beef goulash and cabbage rolls with minced meat See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Spring The state-owned railway operator CFR has started operations on the railway segment Sighisoara – Coslariu and Arc Bridge The two railway tunnels and the bridge developed on this route are the first newly built in Romania since the fall of the communism in 1989 The railway bridge that has an opening of 125 meters was built by FCC and Azvi construction firms The two tunnels have lengths of 401 meters (Sighisoara) and 969 meters (Danes) The Danes tunnel is the longest one build in Romania after 1989 Trains can reach speeds up to 160 km/h on the Sighisoara – Atel segment It is part of the railway line Brasov-Simeria The contract awarded by CFR in this segment was worth over EUR 207 million. a ceremony to mark the official start of drilling at the first tunnel (Ormeniș) on the Apața-Cața section of the Brașov – Sighișoara railway the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Ionuț Săvoiu Deputy General Director of the National Railway Company “CFR SA” Technical Director International Projects Aktor SA representatives of the consortium companies and of the manufacturer of TBMs (tunnel boring machines) The ceremony marks the start of the drilling of the tunnels that will pierce two massive hills in the area as part of the rehabilitation project of the Brasov-Simeria railway line and the contract was signed by the National Railway Company (CFR SA) with the consortium of Aktor SA – Alstom Transport SA – Arcada Company “We are building an engineering masterpiece for the railway between Brasov and Sighisoara We drill the longest railway tunnels to exist in Romania through the mountain between Apața and Racoș The singularity of the technical challenges due to the soil variable structure makes this project a premiere for Romania It also highlights Aktor’s capability to implement complex and challenging construction projects as well as our strong support on the country’s growth” commented on this significant milestone Alexandros Exarchou Vice President of the Board of Directors and CEO of the Intrakat Group are named “Eleni” and “Varvara” respectively Eleni is a symbolic name meaning “Sunbeam” and St Eleni is the first TBM machine started today and it will drill one of the Ormeniș twin tunnels in the mountain the southern segment of the railway section that will pierce the hills in the area They will be drilled with the help of four TBMs While Bram Stoker’s 1897 vampire novel “Dracula” may have painted Romania The Eastern European country is brimming with picturesque small towns Here are just 10 to fuel your Romanian daydream Mark our words: Sighisoara will be on the lips of every influencer within the next few years The main three cobblestone streets of the citadel boast Crayola-colored houses that are chock-full of photogenic cafes and boutiques If you can tear yourself away from street level the Clock Tower (easy to find—it’s visible from almost anywhere in town) or the Church on the Hill all offer beautiful views of Sighișoara If you’re around during the final week of July plan to attend the annual Medieval Festival you can always visit one of the many medieval Guild Towers or the birthplace of Vlad Tepes (also known as Count Dracula) Most travelers use Brasov as a base to explore the nearby Bran Castle (also known as Dracula’s Castle as Vlad the Impaler was once imprisoned there) but we’d be surprised if you didn’t at least consider extending your stay in the charming Visit the narrowest street in Europe (Strada Sforii sip coffee near the 13th-century clock tower or in brick basement cafes climb to the White or Black Towers to watch the sun set on the city or venture into the Carpathian Mountains to hike between villages nestled between vast forests and towering peaks When you hear that the houses in Sibiu have windows that look like eyes and a bridge that purportedly creeks when you tell a lie on it you may assume the Transylvanian town has an air of spookiness to it it’s the cultural capital of the region with multiple squares that act as the center of city life The town is separated into Lower Town and Upper Town The former is where most of the historic sights are whereas the latter is home to more cozy cafes and families The town of just 11,600 in the shadows of the Bucegi Mountains Peles Castle–the brainchild of a myriad of artists’ and woodsmiths’ work over the course of 40 years–is reason enough to visit The 150 rooms are a buffet of different decorating styles ranging from Art Nouveau to Gothic Revival what you’ll remember of your tour of the residence is the armor room (for both men and horses) Unlike the riotously colorful Sighisoara and Sibiu most of the buildings in Viscri are a more muted blue topped with uniformly red roofs It was lesser-known until Prince Charles expressed his love for the quiet getaway the tiny village (with a population of 400) is where you can see what life is really like in rural Romania Many workers participate in traditional craftsmanship like the blacksmiths who forge horseshoes and the artists who make tiles in earthen kilns Breeze down the cycling trails that cruise by pastures or explore the area on horseback Suceava has changed hands numerous times over the years it belonged to Moldova before being controlled by various groups associated with Austria-Hungary until 1968 It makes sense that the buildings are wildly diverse But the main attraction in Suceava is the 14th century Royal Citadel Where else is it encouraged to climb on the rocks and poke around various chambers unguided With a name that literally translates to “tree-logs” it makes sense that Busteni works in tandem with nature it’s a popular ski and climbing town with a bevy of romantic resorts and cottages Spend the day hiking amongst the waterfalls or take the cable car to the top of the mountain for a panoramic view of the valley This little village is practically synonymous with explosively colorful frescos The painted monastery here is arguably the most popular of Bucovina’s (and inarguably the one with the most paintings) all of which are known for the quality of the artwork and the fact that despite hundreds of years of being exposed to the elements the external paintings are still largely intact Both the Old and New Testament find homes on the densely-packed outer walls (both the cheery ones and those that are decidedly not) with the exception of the western one; the story goes that after the original painter fell from the rafters other artists weren’t keen on finishing the gig the largest secular Gothic building in all of Transylvania is the number one reason to visit Hunedoara Built on a rock looming over the city below this imposing fortress has multiple circular and rectangular towers (some of which were used as prisons once upon a time) the newly-discovered Tunnel of Love (not to be mistaken for the similar one near Klevan but finding it adds to the magic of the place Their trees intertwine to create a botanic tunnel that surrounds an old section of the railroad where you can walk for miles under the greenery go east along Road 68 and look for the original railroad station near the Obreja commune The Sunday TimesThere can be moments in Transylvania when you’ll think you’ve fallen into the pages of a gothic novel Sinister castles loom over villages of wooden cottages where sheepskin-clad locals gossip around ancient wells They appear to be debating whether this year’s garlic crop is enough to keep the Count at bay Romania’s countryside now looks like a model of sustainable rural life Prince Charles fell for the place two decades ago That timelessness is increasingly under threat The traditional ways of life are under pressure from 21st-century progress and from the coaches and selfie sticks of mass tourism All fresco: a painted monastery in BucovinaGETTYYou could try exploring independently but local guides with superb knowledge guarantee a more enriching experience You should see the main sights — the 12th-century Saxon city of Sibiu; Bran Castle factual birthplace of Vlad the Impaler; and the gorgeous painted monasteries of Bucovina — but then you must get off the beaten track to the places where the coaches don’t go The furthest you can go back in time is Maramures county squeezed between Transylvania in the south and Ukraine in the north leaving the populace to maintain a rural existence unchanged for centuries They live in wooden houses like Red Riding Hood’s and get around on carts straight out of Bruegel creeping darkly up the slopes of the snowcapped Carpathians you’ll wade through meadows waist deep in wild flowers The best way to experience Maramures life is to get embedded checking in at a homestay and spending a few days ambling between villages fields that have never seen tractors and — if you’re really lucky — a wedding Best time to go is spring for the wild flowers or autumn for the harvest Fly to Cluj-Napoca from Luton with Wizz Air. Ffestiniog Travel has a 12-day guided tour of Transylvania and Maramures from £2,295pp, including flights (ffestiniogtravel.com) four-square turrets with toothpick arrow slits safely inside these formidable fortifications why does a church need to be inside the kind of walls normally reserved for protecting medieval castles We go in through the thick-walled gatehouse she greets us in German - 'Gruss Gott'- and proceeds to tell us the history of the church and its village She pauses for effect: 'There just aren't enough of us any more From the top of one of the church's towers looking out over the red-tiled roofs of the village to the wooded hills beyond I ponder the meaning of this sense of a people under threat from outsiders - and realise that and scores like it across southern Transylvania were once the target for marauding Ottoman Turks and Wallachians such as the infamous 15th-century Prince of Wallachia Which is why the 'Saxons' - who came to this part of Romania from Flanders Luxembourg and the Moselle Valley in the 12th century under the invitation of the Hungarian king and built stereotypically ordered Teutonic villages - ended up erecting monumental protective walls around their churches as they did with ferocious intensity right up until the end of the 18th century the villagers barricaded themselves inside their churches villages such as Viscri were razed to the ground so the houses we see as we stroll around the quiet unpaved streets date mostly from the 18th century geese and turkeys peck among the cobbles; children play on a large pile of logs in the middle of the road; in an outlandish Quangle Wangle-type nest on top of the schoolhouse a stork feeds her chicks; a couple of horse-drawn carts pass by laden with fresh-cut hay on which young men are languorously reclining; and that rarest of sights It's also a scene that seems at first glance entirely tourist-free Despite Viscri's church being a Unesco World Heritage Site there are no 'hotel' signs in the village; no trinket shops selling the sort of Dracula-inspired tat that so bedevils the medieval centre of nearby Sighisoara; no muddy-faced children pulling on your sleeve pleading for sweets Is this because the modern villagers - like their medieval counterparts - are intent on repelling outsiders There seems something fiercely defensive not only about the church with their lime-washed facades and high gates are built in two long lines either side of the four main streets There is no denying that it makes for an exquisite here and there with a rather daring frill of baroque' as described by Patrick Leigh Fermor when he passed through in the 1930s but - with the gates all closed and few people on the street - it also gives an impression of a determined and you'll find places to stay offering the kind of experience it is hard to find anywhere in western Europe: guestrooms blankets and curtains homespun from hemp and wool The floors are wooden and the heat comes from large The guestroom we're staying in is owned by Viscri's mayor and as we sit down to supper with her and her husband Walter something more of the endangered nature of this place begins to emerge is as proudly 'Saxon' as he is and details the devastation that the 20th century wreaked upon her people and the Saxons of Transylvania were only too happy to offer their services to the German army with King Michael of Romania's successful coup against Marshall Ion Antonescu following Romania's 'liberation' by the Red Army the majority of the adult Saxon population was sentenced to six years' hard labour in the Soviet Union Under the communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu Saxons - along with all other Romanians - were forbidden from travelling abroad and a period of moderate after Ceausescu's execution in December 1989 thousands of Saxons fled en masse back to the fatherland witnessing the flight of so many friends and neighbours her beloved Saxon villages would have no future whatsoever 'It was a very sad time,' remembers Walter 'People had no trust that Romania would really change and all the time Saxons were closing their windows and shutting up their houses.' Caroline had a revelation: 'I could see that what we had in Viscri was special and that it was something you have lost in the West I also thought: this is our only opportunity to make money and stop the houses falling into disrepair.' So she turned her spare room into a guestroom aided in 2002 by the first of two visits by the Prince of Wales with the charity which Caroline had persuaded to back her cause the trust has undertaken a wide variety of heritage conservation and community work: repairing churches and village houses restoring old drinking wells and cobbled streets training villagers in the use of traditional building materials and encouraging them to open their houses to paying guests the prince is paying for a £300,000 ecologically-friendly reed-bed sewage system The trust is currently involved in 15 villages and with 10 families now running guesthouses in Viscri alone The natural beauty of the area is outstanding wolves and bears - which no longer exist in virtually any other part of Europe there are no houses - a testament to the Saxon belief in safety in numbers - and so you get a sense of unspoilt wilderness seldom experienced in the UK with a view clear over three or four valleys beech and hornbeam have just come into leaf We stop to eat our picnic - a tart cheese from Caroline's own sheep sandwiches spread with her home-made rosehip jam - and enjoy the hush of the wind in the treetops A lesser-spotted woodpecker is drilling determinedly somewhere above us and a pair of cuckoos answer each other If these woods offer the jaded westerner a preternatural kind of quiet they are a very real and necessary resource for the local villagers creating a huge bonfire of logs; and tending another vast earth-and-straw-covered mound climbing back down through the meadow to Viscri Their arms are caked in dried clay as they run a hand-driven production line which Gheorghe assures me with a gap-toothed grin are not all in the natural world and the area offers a historical richness that is all the more startling for being so underexploited almost seems to hover above the village when you turn to look at it climbing out of town - is empty bar a couple of other tourists full of exquisite medieval stone carvings of bishops some of which still have their original colouring This wonderful sense of being one of the privileged few can reach slightly bizarre extremes an eight-year-old boy hops into the path in front of us He stops at a house nearby and is given a key as big as his forearm He unlocks the church and beckons us to follow He flips up the lid of the organ and mimes a furious piece of hymn-playing on the broken keys up level after level of rickety stepladders until we reach the top of the tower with no regard for either health or safety he hoists himself on to the rail and sings out across the village what sounds like a hymn and a hearty discharge of phlegm which he idly watches fall to see where it will land we notice the wonderful geometric layout of the houses shared by all the Saxon villages: the gated fronts each household has the same essentials of self-sufficiency: a yard for chickens; vegetable patches already dusted with tiny green spikes of this season's vegetables; and In Malancrav there are treasures of international significance - here as elsewhere under the protection not of an army of uniformed museum attendants who will give you the key if you knock on her door and ask nicely It is hard not to be startled by the beauty of the altarpiece in the church here in colours as vibrant as when they were painted almost 500 years ago The frescos are a century older still and boast centuries-old graffiti by bored visiting clergymen: 'Michael-Steÿrer Nayendorffig which causes the remaining German-speaking population most concern and it seems indeed that their approach to visitors is quite different Warned about the possibility of ferocious dogs but nothing prepares me for what comes next shouting at me in Romanian then raises his whip and lets forth a high-pitched whistle His dogs - all 10 of them - come running towards us as we climb finally out of earshot of their barking in the eyes of this shepherd we are simply the latest invaders of this ancient landscape This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media The fall season is a great time to travel in Romania and the summer crowds tend to make way for a more relaxed atmosphere in some of the most popular destinations Below is a list of five wonderful places you could visit before winter sets in Sighisoara is one of the most beautiful and well-preserved medieval citadels in Europe and one of the few fortified towns that are still inhabited today Important landmarks to see in Sighisoara include: the Citadel Square The Danube Delta Locals of the Danube Delta say the fall is the best season to visit the area. Temperatures are still mild and pleasant, accommodation prices are lower than they are in the summer, and you will be amazed by the delta’s fall colours. If you go at the right moment, you can see the migratory birds preparing to take off to warmer lands for the winter, which is a spectacular display. Sibiu can be a great city break destination in any season but the fall colours will make it even more charming than usual Its historical center features buildings that were built by German settlers and Merchants during the Middle Ages cafes and restaurants where you can try out the best Romanian dishes Sibiu’s location also provides you with the opportunity of visiting the nearby natural sights: two natural reservations seven natural parks as well as the Paltinis resort Villages in Sibiu County are also known for their well-preserved architecture and traditions Sacaramb is a village about 20 km away from the city of Deva in Transylvania that not many Romanians know about but locals say it attracts a surprisingly high number of tourists from all over the world The tiny village has a rich history: it’s said that the first mining university in Eastern Europe was founded here by the Austro-Hungarian king Hanz de Hunwalt but it was demolished due to the political conflicts of the time and the only proof it ever existed was an official letter sent to Alexandru Ioan Cuza Sacaramb also became famous among scientists worldwide thanks to the complexity of its natural resources and the rare minerals it was hiding – six of those minerals were actually first discovered here as well as a new element on the periodic table – tellurium made up of beautiful mountains and forests has a lot of attractions you can visit within a 30-50 km radius Hunedoara or Hateg as well as dozens of natural wonders – the most effective way to find out its secrets is by asking a local to guide you to the best spots This area would make a great day trip from Bucharest The river Doftana creates a spectacular scenery There are plenty of beautiful guesthouses in case you need accommodation but the most popular way of spending the night is by camping near the lake This is truly a place to escape the stress of the city and find some peace in nature providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used.