Your rendez-vous with Europe's past: time-travel to Maramures, Transylvania

We meet at your hotel in Bucharest or at the airport and start our tour by car, through the scenic Olt River’s Valley. Our first stop is Cozia Monastery founded in 1388 by Mircea the Elder – a brave middle ages Wallachian Prince, and grandfather of the most notorious Vlad the Impaler.

After a quick lunch and a short rest, we have a guided tour of the old city of Sibiu. A great sight over Sibiu rewards our effort of climbing the medieval stairs of the Council Tower. We stroll the old streets of Sibiu and it’s most important plazas: the Grand Square, the Small Square, and the Albert Huet Square (the oldest square, dating from 12-th century). We also pay a visit to the Orthodox Cathedral (discovering the similarities with the Saint Sofia’s Basilica of Constantinople) and to the impressive Evangelical Church.

The second day of our tour takes us on the footsteps of a great medieval hero John Hunyadi (Corvin), regent of Hungary, and of his son, King Matthias Corvinus. A Hungarian brilliant military commander of Romanian ancestry, John Hunyadi stopped in Belgrade, in 1456, the offensive of the Ottomans emboldened by their takeover of Constantinople three years earlier. We visit the Alba Iulia fortress (Alba Carolina) where John Hunyadi was laid to rest in the impressive, ancient Saint Michael Cathedral (the construction started in 1004). We also pay a visit to the Orthodox Coronation Cathedral and to the ruins of the Roman castrum of the elite 13th Gemina Roman Legion.

Our next stop is Cluj-Napoca. A short tour of the city always ends at one of the restaurants or bars near the house where one of the greatest kings of Hungary was born - Matthias Rex, the son of John Hunyadi.

From Cluj-Napoca we are heading north towards Maramures, on of the last remaining bastions of traditional peasant culture in Europe. Surdesti. Wooden church. We stop in the village of Surdesti, amazed by the local wooden church (UNESCO World Heritage monument). Built in 1766, the Greek-Catholic church of Surdesti has been until recently the tallest wooden church in the world.

Right after noon we check-in at a traditional cottage in the village of Breb which will host us for the following couple of days. We take our time to enjoy a pleasant afternoon and traditional food of our hosts.

Built in early '90s, the large Orthodox monastic complex at Barsana is a great example of modern ecclesiastical architecture deeply rooted in the local tradition.

In 1935, a local popular artist has started to carve and paint in vivid colors the wooden crosses of his defunct neighbors from the village of Sapânta. Then, the artist added an ironic epitaph resuming the life of the deceased or the conditions of his death. It has resulted in a joyful collection of naive drawings and funny, short stories -- the Merry Cemetery of Sapânta. The funniest epitaph reads as follows: “My poor mother-in-law Under this heavy cross you lie, And yet, if you had three days more, You’d be here too see me die. So, passer-by, do not disturb her, For if she were to come again, We’d never stop her tongue for wagging Her words and curses fell like rain. I will keep quiet, please do so too, And she’ll not wake to curse all you.”

The dreaded Communist prison of Sighet has been converted in a Memorial to the victims and the resistance against dictatorship. At this prison located on Romania’s northern border with the USSR, the Communist regime tried to exterminate the political, religious, academic and cultural elite of the country. From 1950 to 1955, 211 of the most important Romanian statesmen, former prime-ministers and political leaders, respected intellectuals, 22 members of the Romanian Academy, all the bishops and many priests of the Greek-Catholic and Roman Catholic Churches, high ranking army generals, most of them old or already sick, were imprisoned at Sighet in dreadful conditions.

The wooden church of Desesti - UNESCO World Heritage monument - is famous for its naive, well preserved old picture.

From the core of the Romanian rural Maramures we head South, to the Saxon heartland of Transylvania. It is a long drive. We have a short stop at Ieud village, in the heart of Maramures. There are two traditional wooden churches in the village of Ieud. The ”church on the hill” (Orthodox, XVII century) is an UNESCO World Heritage monument. As for the ”church in the valley” (Greek-Catholic), its slenderness and well-balanced proportions earned it the fame of the "The Wooden Cathedral". Ieud Valley Church was erected in 1718, after the last invasion of Tartars in Maramures and their stunning defeat in 1717 at the hands of a local army of Romanian peasants led by a priest. The church was never painted, yet it hosts a rich collection of glass icons.

After a long drive we arrive in the village of Biertan. The village's fortified church is a UNESCO World Heritage monument. Built from 1486 to 1524, Biertan church has impressive defense walls, a beautiful nave ceiling, and a collection of tombstones of former bishops and notabilities.

We end our day in the medieval citadel of Sighisoara – UNESCO site. We enjoy the late afternoon and evening visiting the citadel, the birthplace of the famous Wallachian ruler, Vlad the Impaler.

This day is mostly dedicated to discovering the rural Saxon Transylvania and seeing another two UNESCO Wold Heritage monuments – the fortified churches of Saschiz and Viscri. In our way from Sighisoara to Brasov we enjoy our lunch time in Viscri, the remote village Prince Charles fell in love with. This Transylvanian region of fortified churches became a famous tourism attraction after he bought an old Saxon household in Viscri -- no. 163, a blue house built in 1753. Prince Charles use to come here every few years, to ride horses, and to travel.

In our way from Sighisoara to Brasov we gaze at Saschiz fortified church - UNESCO World Heritage monument - built at the end of XVth century with a tower reminding us the Clock Tower of Sighisoara.

In our way from Sighisoara to Brasov, after Saschiz fortified church, we also catch sight of the Rupea fortress, one of the oldest fortifications in Romania (built over preexisting Roman and Dacian fortresses).

With a strong industry during the past century, Brasov was a magnet for people from all around the country and has become one of the most vibrant Romanian cities. This booming city has been developed around the initial fortress established in 1211 by the Teutonic Knights and later on, after a quarrel between the knights and the king, by German settlers. Once in Brasov, after the check-in, we visit the impressive Black Church – a 14-th century Gothic monument, the fortifications, bastions and towers of the medieval fortress, the curious Rope Street (one of the narrowest in Europe).

We leave Brasov for the Bran Castle, identified with Count Dracula legend and enjoy the breathtaking scenery at Bran Pass over Piatra Craiului and Bucegi mountains.

Early afternoon we arrive at Sinaia, just in time to visit the Peles Castle, built at the end of 19-th century. This flamboyant castle is in such a stark contrast with the austere character of its founder: the first King of Romania, the sober Carol I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1839-1914), of German origins.

In late afternoon we arrive in Bucharest. After check-in, you can take your time to allow your Transylvanian impressions to settle down. We would not miss yo visit in Bucharest the elegant Stavropoleos Church (built in 1724), a monastery in the heart of the city.