Transfagarasan Highway

It is ”the best road in the world” exclaimed Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson after experiencing this mountain road. We meet at your hotel in Bucharest and start our tour by car, through the scenic Transfagarasan Road. In fact, Transfagarasan was the fruit of the twisted mind of Romania's last Communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu. In 1968, he refused to join USSR and other Warsaw Pact states in invading Czechoslovakia. Fearing reprisals from his Soviet comrades, Ceausescu planned a new, fast access of the military from Bucharest to Transylvania, therefore nowadays we discover and enjoy this costly 90 km (56 miles) road over the highest Romanian mountains (2,544 m at Moldoveanu Peak).

Carta Monastery

Transfagarasan ends near Cârta Abbey – a former catholic monastery – today an evangelical church – built around 1200 by Burgundian Cistercian monks.

Sibiu

While in Sibiu (Hermannstadt), after a short rest, we have a guided tour of this famous Medieval city. It is said that Hermann, the XII century German settler who gave the name of the city, Hermannstadt, was a skilled furrier from Nürnberg.

Le Lac Balea

We enjoy the sights at the glacier Bâlea Lake (2,034 m) - the highest point of Transfagarasan mountain road.

Biertan Fortified Church

Our first stop is at Biertan fortified Church – 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.

Fortified Lutheran Church of Malancrav

Our next destination is Malâncrav village. Only 25 kilometers away from Sighisoara fortress, this small village hosts the largest Gothic church fresco in Transylvania. It was discovered during the 1914 restoration works, under the coat of chalk paint applied over the old Catholic paintings after the Lutheran reform. Miraculously surviving the Reformation, the medieval frescoes of Malancrav church (built around 1305) are nowadays a feast for our eyes.

Centrul Istoric Sighisoara

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.

Viscri Fortified Church

In the the third day of our tour, we discover the life of the remote villages of rural Transylvania and visit another two UNESCO Wold Heritage monuments – the fortified churches of Saschiz and Viscri. This Transylvanian region of fortified churches became a famous tourism attraction after Prince Charles of Wales bought an old Saxon household in Viscri -- no. 163, a blue house built in 1753. Prince Charles use to come here every one year or two to live, to ride horses, and to travel.

Brasov Historical Center

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. The impressive Gothic Black Church, the fortress and its towers, many narrow medieval streets, remain, nevertheless, witnesses of venerable, long history of Brasov.

Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle)

It is the last day of our Transylvanian tour. We visit the Bran Castle, built in the 14th century to guard the strategic commercial route between Wallachia and Transylvania. ”Built on the corner of a great rock, so that on three sides it was quite impregnable, on the very edge of a terrific precipice”, the Bran Castle was quickly identified as the place of the nefarious actions of Count Dracula.

Peles Castle

Early afternoon we arrive at Sinaia, just in time to visit the Peles Castle, built at the end of 19-th century. The flamboyant Peles castle of Sinaia 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. Fully committed to the modernization of Romania, Carol I ruled for 48 years, ”wearing the crown even while he was sleeping”, as his Queen, Elisabeth, said.