Recently, B and I spent a few days in Romania....mainly in Transylvania, which was really picturesque in the snow, if a tad nippy at around minus 9°C. Romania only joined the EU in 2007, and has yet to cause a blip on the mass tourism radar. The infrastructure still leaves something to be desired, but the beautiful mountains and forests, fairy-tale castles, and medieval towns and churches of this East European country provide plenty for visitors to see and do.
We travelled as part of a small, organised group - there were 14 of us in total – and we’ve been finding this to be a relatively stress-free way of touring, usually in the company of fairly like-minded and easy going people. After a three and a half hour flight from Heathrow, we were met at Bucharest airport by Christy, our local tour guide and knower of all things remotely Romanian. We immediately drove north for about two hours to the Transylvanian village of Moeciu, which would be our base for the next three days. Our accommodation was a family-run guesthouse...fairly spartan in appearance, a bit like a ski chalet, but VERY warm, and the host was excellent, with a great sense of humour. It was late by the time we arrived and we were grateful for the hot dinner provided...a sour (but tasty) vegetable soup, followed by a pork, beef and sausage stew and apple strudel....washed down with generous quantities of homemade wine and țuică (a clear brandy, about 40% proof and typically made from plums, apples or pears). A shot of țuică is traditionally drunk in Romania before every meal, as it is reputed to increase appetite. Not being a fan of beverages that burn the living daylights out of the back of your throat while quite possibly conferring permanent liver damage, I gave it a fairly wide berth...but there were some members of the group who developed a taste for the fire-water and were happily lugging it down before, during and after meals.
The next day (New Year’s Eve) we drove to nearby Sinaia to visit Peles Castle, which resembles a Bavarian Schloss, richly decorated with stained glass, ebony and mother of pearl, and houses an impressive collection of weapons and coats of armour. Adjacent to Peles is Pelisor Castle, with its Art Deco and Art Nouveau interior.
Peles Castle
The day was rounded off with a countryside ramble in the snow to a ski base that afforded panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. After that bracing walk in subzero temperatures, we were glad to get back to the guest house, where, as a special New Year’s Eve touch, our host had lit an enormous bonfire outside and now invited us to join him by the flames for snacks and mulled tuică (warmed with sugar and pepper, and very drinkable....so drinkable, in fact, that I had two large glasses and was soon very full of festive cheer).
Glowing from the fire (that burnt from within), we staggered inside to get dressed up for the New Year’s festivities. This started with a meal around 9 p.m. that stretched until almost midnight, and comprised several courses of bread, cheeses and spreads, soup, lamb mince in cabbage parcels with sour cream, and assorted cakes. The wine and tuică were flowing freely and everyone was getting along famously, considering we had only known each other 24 hours. Just before midnight, the host asked everyone to get their coats and join him outside, where we toasted 2009 with champagne...teeth chattering as it was now a fresh minus 16°C out there... and watched the fairly spectacular displays of fireworks breaking over the neighbouring villages. Back in the warmth, someone had the bright (and no doubt tuică-fuelled) idea that we should all stay up till 2 a.m. to see in the UK’s New Year too....
After a late breakfast the next morning, we set off to meet a local forestry dude/resident expert in large carnivores who would be taking us on a forest walk...he soon arrived, complete with gun, and clearly looking as though he’d been enjoying a bit of tuică himself the night before. Romania's notorious dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, who ruled for 25 years before the collapse of Communism, outlawed bear-hunting for all but himself and his friends. As a result, when Ceausescu was toppled and executed in 1989, the country's forests were teeming with brown bears, wolves and lynxes.
Glowing from the fire (that burnt from within), we staggered inside to get dressed up for the New Year’s festivities. This started with a meal around 9 p.m. that stretched until almost midnight, and comprised several courses of bread, cheeses and spreads, soup, lamb mince in cabbage parcels with sour cream, and assorted cakes. The wine and tuică were flowing freely and everyone was getting along famously, considering we had only known each other 24 hours. Just before midnight, the host asked everyone to get their coats and join him outside, where we toasted 2009 with champagne...teeth chattering as it was now a fresh minus 16°C out there... and watched the fairly spectacular displays of fireworks breaking over the neighbouring villages. Back in the warmth, someone had the bright (and no doubt tuică-fuelled) idea that we should all stay up till 2 a.m. to see in the UK’s New Year too....
After a late breakfast the next morning, we set off to meet a local forestry dude/resident expert in large carnivores who would be taking us on a forest walk...he soon arrived, complete with gun, and clearly looking as though he’d been enjoying a bit of tuică himself the night before. Romania's notorious dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, who ruled for 25 years before the collapse of Communism, outlawed bear-hunting for all but himself and his friends. As a result, when Ceausescu was toppled and executed in 1989, the country's forests were teeming with brown bears, wolves and lynxes.
Forest WalkWe trekked through a thick, dark forest in dense snow, stopping frequently for the forester to point out signs of animal activity and regale us with tales of tourists being attacked by bears....there was no need to panic, though, as apparently it was almost always their own dumb ass fault [Here Mr Bear! Smile for the camera.... oh, look at the cute littl’ baby bears with their mommy bear....can I stroke one? Shall we give them some sandwiches... no you can't have THAT one!] It was also reassuring to hear that it was highly unlikely that we would ever get mauled by wolves....I probably heard too many fairy stories as a child, but I have always been nervous of ‘big bad wolves’....and I was convinced that I’d been hearing them howling demonically in the woods near the guesthouse the previous two nights (well, to be fair, not so much the second, but that was perhaps thanks to a deeper sleep induced by the mulled tuică-wine-champagne-more wine combo).
We learnt that, today, there are an estimated 5,500 brown bears in Romania, and that population is growing by 10%, or about 500 bears, every year. Consequently, Romania is one of the very few countries in Europe that permits limited bear-hunting during seasons that span half the year. In exchange for this rare hunting privilege, hunters pay a licence fee of between $15,000 and $25,000 per bear, depending on its size, which has been good for the tourist industry, and has brought badly needed revenues to this poor country's coffers. But the hunting policy hasn't produced adequate results. Romania allows just over 300 bear licences each year, which isn't enough to keep the population in control, and the bears are increasingly descending from the Carpathian Mountains and raiding local towns in an effort to find food. This has led to a series of unfortunate encounters between humans and bears....
Luckily, however, the only bears we encountered that day were the stuffed and mounted ones on the walls of the game restaurant where we later had lunch...and, of course, the medallions of bear on B’s plate. Sensitive vegetarians look away now...he is gradually working his way down the edibles on Noah’s list, and has so far munched crocodile, frog (legs), escargot, kangaroo, goat, horse, wild boar, springbok, kudu, ostrich, pigeon, pheasant, guinea fowl.... and now bear. Apparently the taste of the meat that day was ‘bearable’.
We learnt that, today, there are an estimated 5,500 brown bears in Romania, and that population is growing by 10%, or about 500 bears, every year. Consequently, Romania is one of the very few countries in Europe that permits limited bear-hunting during seasons that span half the year. In exchange for this rare hunting privilege, hunters pay a licence fee of between $15,000 and $25,000 per bear, depending on its size, which has been good for the tourist industry, and has brought badly needed revenues to this poor country's coffers. But the hunting policy hasn't produced adequate results. Romania allows just over 300 bear licences each year, which isn't enough to keep the population in control, and the bears are increasingly descending from the Carpathian Mountains and raiding local towns in an effort to find food. This has led to a series of unfortunate encounters between humans and bears....
Luckily, however, the only bears we encountered that day were the stuffed and mounted ones on the walls of the game restaurant where we later had lunch...and, of course, the medallions of bear on B’s plate. Sensitive vegetarians look away now...he is gradually working his way down the edibles on Noah’s list, and has so far munched crocodile, frog (legs), escargot, kangaroo, goat, horse, wild boar, springbok, kudu, ostrich, pigeon, pheasant, guinea fowl.... and now bear. Apparently the taste of the meat that day was ‘bearable’.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the medieval city of Brasov...most attractions were closed for the holiday, but we ogled the outside of the magnificent gothic Black Church and the orthodox St Nicolas Church, explored the icy cobbled streets and watched locals skating on outdoor rinks.
The Black Church, BrasovThe next day it was time to say good bye to our wonderful guesthouse host and head back to Bucharest, via Bran castle. It was a gloomy day...snow was starting to fall, and the castle, perched atop a rocky peak, was looking every bit the ‘Dracula’s Lair’ described in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel.
Bran Castle
In truth, Bram Stoker never came near Transylvania...and the real ‘Dracula’, the 15th century Wallachian prince, Vlad Tepes, better known as Vlad the Impaler, did not reside at Bran. Although never accused of vampirism, his methods of execution....spread-eagled victims were bound and a stake hammered up their rectum, then raised aloft and left to die in agony....quickly earned him a certain notoriety. Romantic myths dispelled, it is still a fascinating castle to visit and contains some unusual artefacts, including a menu inscribed with Winston Churchill’s handwriting, drafting the divvying up of Eastern Europe with Stalin post World War 2...in the process, 90% of Romania fell under Soviet control.
'Vlad The Impaler'
The drive back to Bucharest took far longer than expected. Thanks to a horrendous traffic jam that highlighted the current inadequacies of the Romanian roads, we only got into the city by nightfall. However, our ‘ever-cool and collected’ guide did his best to still show us the main sights, notably Ceausescu’s excessive palace (now the Palace of Parliament) and Revolution Square, which is dominated by a monument known locally as 'The Potato On A Stick' and pays homage to the impaling of Communism during the most dramatic and bloodiest of all the revolutions that took place during the dismantling of the ‘Iron Curtain’.
Ceausescu’s Palace
"Potato On A Stick" Monument
"Potato On A Stick" MonumentThere was not much time to relish the luxury of our boutique hotel - a lengthy group dinner and the walking tour of Bucharest afterwards meant we only got to bed in the early hours of the morning. We had to be up before sunrise to catch our early flight back to the UK.
All in all, it was a great way to spend New Year, in a fascinating and much underrated country.
All in all, it was a great way to spend New Year, in a fascinating and much underrated country.
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