Romania Up Close and Personal–Our Private Tour Experience

On our last night, we attended a concert at the Black Church in Brasov, performed by the Brasov Philharmonic, thanks to CW. I was in awe of the incredible acoustics, but even more of the talented musicians who played that evocative music. It was hard to believe that such a small city has such a wonderful philharmonic orchestra. And at dinner, I had my first experience eating Papanași (pronounced Papa-nash), which is a traditional Romanian dessert made of donuts, cream, and fruit—in this case sour cherries. It was so good.

Teo’s Tour: I admit that I was a little nervous about this before I started. As mentioned, I've never been on a tour before, and I didn’t really know what to expect. But everything was wonderful. Teo picked us up in Brasov and soon we were on the road. We started off in a large 5-passenger mini-van that was very comfortable. The first thing Teo did was to take us to the top of Brasov in the hills and treat us to a view of the city below. It was just breathtaking and such a nice thing for him to do.

Fortified Churches: I love churches of any size, shape, and history, so these were really a treat for me to see. We stopped in Prejmer and Viscri to see their beautiful churches, which were fortified against Ottoman forces and other invaders. I love hearing about the history of these places, and Teo made it come alive. I also loved seeing flowers everywhere, especially roses. The Romanians really know how to make even the most dismal setting become alive and beautiful with flowers, and we saw beautiful gardens all over the country.

Sigisoara: This town's reputation for charm and beauty preceded it, so I was really looking forward to staying here, and it met my expectations. We stayed in a lovely little B&B that was very comfortable. Mostly we just walked around visiting some of the sites, sometimes separating to go our own way. Teo joined us for a while and explained to us about the tower, the clock, and some other places. But after that we were on our own, so we just sat in the square and enjoyed the atmosphere while having a cocktail. Later, I had dinner at the hotel and ordered a Caesar salad that was much healthier than Caesar salads in the States. This one also had tomatoes and some other vegetables in it, and it was delicious. I opted once again to have some Papanași, and I think this one, which had blueberries, was even better than the previous.

Korund: CW talked a bit about this place and how Teo took us there, which was not originally scheduled. There were so many handmade goods there, mostly pottery, but also wooden items, dolls, and all handmade by the Székely Hungarians who live there (there is a long history of this place being under both Hungarian and Romanian rule). But the people were so friendly and lovely and had so many beautiful items to sell. We each went a little crazy with our purchases. One woman showed us how she paints the pottery and it was a joy to watch her dexterity.

Bucovina and the Painted Monasteries: I think this was when I first realized how flexible Teo was and how many places he knew. The first place we stopped on the way here was the Agapia Monastery, which is a huge monasterial complex mostly populated by over 400 nuns. It was beautiful with huge gardens of flowers and roses. The nuns we saw were all working hard; either outside or weaving, knitting and sewing inside. They had huge machines set up, most of which are not electric, but all of them seemed to be extremely happy, especially when showing us their handiwork. We bought a few things from them, because how could we not?

I will try to refrain from too much detail here, although I do tend to ramble on a bit. But I was amazed at how many fascinating places we stopped at. The painted monasteries were beautiful, and Teo knew the history of them all, giving such detailed information about each of the places we stopped. We stopped at the VAMA Egg Museum, which had an impressive display of exquisite hand-painted eggs of all shapes and colors and designs. I had to be torn away and spent way too much money in the gift shop.

But it was amazing how Teo would just stop if he saw something interesting to share with us. For example when he saw a woman pulling a horse and cart up to a house by the road, he immediately pulled over. He told us she was picking up milk to be delivered to market and that she sells it for the locals. He talked to her like he’d known her forever, plus we got to see the milk and even taste it if we wanted. It was moments like this that made the trip memorable.

Maramures: This place was the main reason I joined Teo's tour. I really wanted to visit this area partly because of the wooden churches, which are very iconic and beautiful, but also because of the people here who still work without electricity and modern conveniences. And that's what Maramures was like; stepping back in time fifty years or more. And Teo allowed us to see that by taking us into the homes of some of these beautiful Romanians.

While we were in Maramures, we stayed on a small farm called Casa Grai Morosanes, owned by a Romanian couple, and it was a delight. She treated us like family and served us more food than we could ever hope to eat, but it was all delicious and all homemade, and most of it came from their animals, crops, or even their bees. One morning we got to see them making Afinata, which is a liqueur similar to Vishinata, but made with blueberries instead of sour cherries. She served it to us at every single meal, and we partook of it at every single meal (even breakfast!).

The area was filled with people in horses and carts traveling along. The women mostly dressed in colorful skirts and scarves and wool or cotton embroidered vests that they made. On our first day there, Teo drove us down an old dirt road where there was a very tiny house with some chickens in the yard. Here we met a woman who lives here on her own in a two-room house. She cared for her parents until they died, and now cares for herself. She is 76 years old and her only income comes from the items she sells.

She was the sweetest and happiest person I've seen in a while. All she did was smile and talk and showed us around her house. It was very small and obviously very old, but it was decorated with beautiful colors and rugs and wall hangings. She spoke no English, so we had to rely on Teo for translation and the few words that the three of us knew. I really enjoyed meeting her and having the opportunity to see how some of the older people in Maramures live. I could go on and on about the people here and the beauty of this area, but it would make for a very very long trip report.

We saw many other craftspeople, like the woman who spins sheep’s wool on a spindle by hand (she doesn’t even use a spinning wheel). And we watched men craft beautiful fences and wooden trim for houses without using any electric tools. Everything was done with hammers and chisels and other manual tools. In another workshop, we watched a man cutting wooden shingles for roofs by hand.

The Merry Cemetery: This was a feast for the eyes. It is an actual cemetery but also an open-air museum where an artist began creating beautiful painted crosses for the deceased. They are lovely colorful designs; usually an illustration of either the cause of death or something that showed what the person was like, and then a poem below that can be sad or humorous. The crosses are so lovely and had a wonderful time wandering around and seeing the different crosses.

After Maramures: We spent the night in Cluj-Napoca, which was an interesting and attractive city. After that we headed for the Turde Salt Mines. Unfortunately, I can't tell you how it was because I could not make myself go down. I found out that there was a glass elevator that you had to travel in and there was no way I could force myself to do that. But CW and TTM went with Teo and seemed to enjoy it. In the meantime, I had a nice cappuccino at a local hotel while they headed down into the depths of the earth.

Timisoara: This is one of the larger cities in Romania and has quite a few ethnic groups in its population, including Germans, Jews, and Hungarians. But its real claim to fame is its status as the starting point of the Romanian Revolution in December 1989. It started with a few protesters and ended with the whole city and surrounding countryside standing up to the Communists led by the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, and overturning the government in about a 3-5 day period. It is a really beautiful city with gorgeous architecture that is reminiscent of Budapest, according to Teo. I loved walking around and looking at all the buildings, including the golden Orthodox church and beautiful cathedral. We finally headed for the Timișoara Revolution Memorial, which was created to document the 1989 revolution. It was very moving, and since most of it had English translations, I was able to read the whole story and see the moving exhibits. So many people died to bring freedom to their country.

Sibiu: While I loved Maramures, Sibiu was a place I could easily have spent lots more time in, just relaxing in the square. We spent two nights here and after the first night, I decided that I needed to take a day off from the tour. It was so nice to just stroll along and explore streets, shops, and cafes and just hang out in general. That's the thing I missed the most about solo travel. Not that I didn't have an incredible time, but it was good to have a little break for myself, and I think the others felt that as well sometimes.

Horezu and the Transfagarasan Road: We were traveling to Horezu and the plan was to go to the Transfagarasan Road, which is a very high and very winding mountainous road that goes through much of Transylvania. Unfortunately, I hadn't done a whole lot of research on this road. I knew it was an interesting road and I wanted to see it, but I didn't realize how high it went. I also didn't know that it was going to snow up in the mountains. So when we left in the morning and made our way up and up and up, I was freaking out, although I did my best to stay calm and quiet (mindful meditation really helped!). I knew Teo was a safe driver and has driven this road many times. He was very careful. But my phobia has no logic to it. 😊

Honestly, the road and the route are gorgeous as long as you don't mind switchback curves on a mountain that goes up to 7,000 feet and snow coming down fast and furious. We finally made it to the top, and I was so happy. Not because I wanted to be at the top, but because it meant that from that point on, we were going down. And that's what happened. The snow started disappearing, and we started seeing trees again.

We finally made it to Horatsu and spent the night in a very cute hotel that was right in the middle of town. The next morning, we checked out after breakfast, and then Teo took us to an area in Horezu where they throw the pots on the wheel, paint and glaze them and then fire them in kilns. The pieces were just beautiful. They had plates hanging in front of their houses so that passers-by knew pottery was sold there. There were so many beautiful pieces, mugs, plates, little boxes, and bowls that I went a little crazy again.

We finally made it back to Bucharest where TTM and CW got dropped off at the airport, and I was dropped off near my apartment. I had several days more there before I went on to Budapest, but honestly I didn't really do a lot, except visit the "Dimitrie Gusti" National Village Museum, which I loved. The same woman was selling her wooden eggs there, so I used up the rest of my Romanian cash at her table. I went back to dinner at Noua B.A.R. because I loved the food there so much. If you ever go, order the corn ribs, which is probably one of the best things I have ever eaten. I also highly recommend a wonderful, fresh, and crisp tasting sour cherry drink called Ileana Cosanziana, which the three of us got on our first visit there.

Three days later I was on my way to Budapest. This time instead of the 100 bus, I opted for a ride share as I was tired and just wanted to get to my airport hotel without any fuss. I used the Bolt app and it came very quickly. The driver was very nice, although he told me his life story about moving to the UK, finding a girl, moving back to Romania, and losing the girl. We then had a very long political discussion about the US (he thinks the US needs to be more “central” in its politics). 😊 The cost to get to the airport (about a 45 minute drive) was 57 lei ($13).

By the way, are you sensing a pattern here? Prices in Romania, especially in the north, but really all over were so much cheaper than any place I have been recently.

End Notes: I really liked the hotels that Teo booked us in while we were on the tour. Most of them were charming hotels in the middle of town that were clean and comfortable, and included breakfast. One of my favorites, the farmhouse in Maramuris, was especially nice because we had the option of getting dinner there for an extra 60 Lei per night ($13.57), and that was a real treat. The only place we stayed that was a tiny bit far from the city center was in Timișoara. But since we were with Teo most of the day, it was not a problem. And I loved the area. It was residential, with restaurants and cafes a short walk away, and the most delicious pastry shop!

As the others have noted, Teo was quick to listen to what we liked, and tried to implement them whenever possible. He really was interested in everyone he met; whether he knew them or not. And they all seemed to love him. His knowledge of Romania was vast as well; I don’t think there was much that he did not know. And if he didn’t know, he was quick to look it up.

It really was a wonderful tour and an even more wonderful country. The beauty and pride of these people really came to life for us, and for that I will always be grateful.

You can read TTM and CW's trip reports here as well (if you haven't already):
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/3-1-2-weeks-in-romania
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/romania-trip-report-bucharest-brasov-and-customized-grand-tour-romania-with-teo

Wow! Great report!

Hats off!

Happy travels.

Thanks for an interesting report. As CW and TTR know, we visited Romania a few years ago. We didn’t do everything you three did but we also visited places you did not. It’s interesting to read others’s impressions of those places. It seems you all had a great time!

Super report! Loved reading this.

Holy cow, what a fun read!!! Just those Painted Churches (looked them up) and the Merry Cemetery could fill my Canon's memory card!

David, thanks!

Carol, which places did you go to? I met up with kmkwoo, who is from the forum and there were some places she and her husband went to that we did not (and vice versa). Just curious what we missed. :-)

jennya, thank you! I read your trip report months before I left and loved it! You used Teo as your guide, too, didn't you? For part of the trip?

Kate, the Painted Monasteries were phenomenal! Once I am finished with Budapest (I'm writing a mini TR about that), I'll get my blog going, which will have lots of photos. I think I took more photos on this trip than I ever have before!

Great TR, Mardee. You saw so many beautiful and interesting things. I googled that egg museum and wow - that detail! I can't say I've ever wanted or cared about anything egg related, but I'd probably drop a small fortune at that shop too.

Great report, Mardee! Im looking forward to seeing your photos.

I loved this report, Mardee! There is so much information that I can use if and when I get to Romania. All I can say is that it’s on my list. Thanks so much for all the details.