Romania Autumn Photography Tour

Itinerary

Monday, October 7

Fly from the U.S. to Romania.

Tuesday, October 8

Welcome to Eastern Europe! Today we arrive in Bucharest and check into the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel. Private transfers from the airport to the hotel provided.

Depending on arrival time, there is a lot to do and see in Romania’s capital. You may want to take a Hop On/Hop Off sightseeing bus tour to check out the wide, tree-lined boulevards, glorious Belle Époque buildings, and other highlights of the city known as “Little Paris” in the 1900s. You’ll get familiar with the city’s central neighborhoods and places of interest.

Bucharest is packed with museums such as the National Art Museum, Bucharest History & Arts Museum, Natural History Museum, Cotroceni Palace and Museum, and Museum of the Romanian Peasant, featuring the richest folk art collection in the country.

Stroll through Cismigiu Park, Bucharest’s oldest park, or Herastrau Park, spread over 400 acres from the Arc de Triumph to the Baneasa Bridge.

Wednesday, October 9 (B, L, D)

We’ll spend a day exploring fascinating Bucharest with our guide and shooting photos of some of its most interesting architecture and landmarks. We’ll drop by the Palace of Parliament (the second largest administrative building in the world, after the Pentagon, built by Communist Party leader Nicolae Ceausescu), Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse (a fork-shaped, yellow, glass-covered arcaded street), the Arc de Triumph, and historic buildings and churches in the old part of town.

Lunch and dinner in the city give us an opportunity to sample some of Romania’s Balkan cuisine. Tonight we fly to the Bucovina region. Overnight at Bucovina Lodge for three nights

Thursday, October 10 (B, L, D)

Exploring the Bucovina region is on the agenda for today. We’ll take in the picturesque painted monasteries: Sucevița, Moldovița, and Voroneț. Their painted exterior walls are decorated with elaborate 15th and 16th century frescoes featuring portraits of saints and prophets, scenes from the life of Jesus, images of angels and demons, and heaven and hell. We’ll also see painting in progress when we check in with local women elaborately painting eggs.

Overnight Bucovina Lodge

Friday, October 11 (B, L, D)

On this day, we’ll focus more on the countryside and nature, capturing fall colors and the locals at work, either in their homes or in the field. We’ll also visit the Lucina Horse Farm, one of Romania’s twelve national stud farms.

The Bucovina region is one of the most appreciated for its food among Romanians, so we’ll spend a couple of hours with the local ladies as they teach us how to cook the region’s traditional dishes.

Overnight Bucovina Lodge

Saturday, October 12 (B, L, D)

We say goodbye to Bucovina today and take a picturesque drive to Sighișoara. One of the most spectacular drives in the country, the road runs through the Bicaz Gorge with steep cliffs on one side of the road and deep drops on the other. The colors should be spectacular through this region! We’ll keep an eye out for the chamois, a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, on this five to six hour trip.

There will be time to look around the medieval town of Sighișoara in the historic region of Transylvania. The city played an important strategic and commercial role at the edges of Central Europe for several centuries. Sighișoara became one of the most important cities of Transylvania, with artisans from throughout the Holy Roman Empire visiting the settlement. We’ll spend the next two nights at Casa Georgius Krauss.

Sunday, October 13 (B, L, D)

It’s an early morning as we rise in time to shoot the sunrise at the fortified church in Biertan. We’ll snap away as the sun illuminates the Gothic-style building sitting on a low hill. This Saxon village has one of the most important fortified churches in Transylvania, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. It was the seat of the Lutheran Evangelical Bishop in Transylvania between 1572 and 1867. One of our favorite stops is a local organic farm for breakfast.

With the sun high in the sky, we’ll move on to visit a coppersmith gypsy family. As we learn about these age-old crafts, we’ll have an opportunity to take interesting cultural photos.

We’ll return to Sighișoara so you have some more time to explore the town. We’ll dine under the arches of stone and brick in the fine restaurant of our hotel, Casa Georgius Krauss, and taste some of the best Romanian wines certified by the Sommeliers Association of Romania.

Monday, October 14 (B, L, D)

From Sighișoara we’ll head to Bran, but first we will stop by the wonderfully preserved, centuries-old village of Viscri. Here we will visit the quaint 13th century white fortified church which gives the town its German name. In the village we will meet the local blacksmith, who usually makes horseshoes but can do almost anything from metal, to scissors, to gutters, and get to see him at work. The second stop before Bran will be Brașov, one of the seven fortified towns of Transylvania established by the German Saxon settlers. We’ll spend three nights in Bran at the Inn on Balaban where we’ll discover Transylvania’s dramatic and calming colorful mountainous beauty.

Tuesday, October 15 and Wednesday, October 16 (B, L, D)

Two full days of photography is on tap in a landscape dominated by mountains, forests, quaint villages, and flocks of sheep. This region is stunning!

This will include a trip to the famous Bran castle, imposingly situated on a rock in a valley. This charming 14th century castle is associated with Dracula and vampire stories, but it’s really a cozy fairytale castle decorated by Queen Marie more than 90 years ago.

We’ll enjoy our final Romanian dinner (and Romanian cooking class and wine tasting!) while appreciating the locals in traditional clothing and indigenous music. Overnight at Inn on Balaban

Thursday, October 17 (B)

We’ll take a morning drive from Bran to Bucharest, stopping along the way to photograph the sights. The drive takes about three hours not including any stops. Then it’s time to head home; our flights leave in the evening (please book your flight for 4:00pm or later).

Friday, October 18

Arrive home.