Weekend in Transylvania
Weekend in Transylvania and Dracula's Castles.
Highlights:
The Famous Bran Castle
Poienari - Vlad’s old and faithful citadel..
Sighisoara with the house where Vlad Tepes was born
Saxon Villages of Transylvania
Sibiu - European Capital of Culture in 2007
Brasov city - where Vlad led raids against the German Saxons.
Bran and Sibiel Villageges
Traditional food
Day 1: Bucharest – Pitesti – Arefu – Sibiu
…after breakfast, we shall set off for Arefu to visit the Poenari Citadel,
the "real Castle from the Carpathians", a fortress that is now
inhabited only by the vultures and by the bad luck bringing bats...
Departure
in the morning to Arefu, to visit The Poenari Citadel (this visit is
optional: the citadel is located on the top of the hill and we will have
to climb lots of steps).
Following Olt River’s valley, we will cross the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania and reach Sibiu.
Visit the medieval city of Sibiu, the European Capital of Culture in 2007.
In
the evening, we drive to Sibiel, a picturesque village situated 18 km
away from Sibiu. Visit the Glass Icon Museum and the church.
Dinner and accommodation in a family's house, to experience Romanian hospitality. Drinks included.
Day 2: Sibiu – Sighisoara – Brasov
Today’s highlight: Sighisoara.
There we can have lunch in the "Vlad Dracul" (Vlad the Devil) Home, the
house where Vlad the Impaler was born in November or December 1431. We
will taste the famous Vampire wine. In the afternoon we will visit the
medieval citadel of Sighisoara, an extremely charming and romantic site.
…visit the city of Brasov - where Vlad led raids against the German Saxons.
After breakfast, we will continue our trip to Sighisoara,
which Vlad Tepes called home, one of the most beautiful towns in the
heart of Transylvania. The whole medieval citadel is a part of UNESCO’s World Heritage. German architectural influences are visible throughout the entire city.
Here, we have the possibility to enjoy a nice lunch on the terrace of Vlad Dracul’s House, today a famous restaurant.
In
the afternoon, we will admire the beautiful landscape, dotted with
small villages, medieval citadels and fortified churches, on the way to
Brasov. We will visit the medieval part of the city with: The Black
Church, The Town Hall, The Black Tower, The White Tower, Ecaterina’s
Gate, Schei Gate and the Rope Street – the narrowest street in Europe.
Dinner
and accommodation in a guest house in Bran area. Located right next to
the famous Bran Castle, Bran will please you with its specific beauty.
The breathtaking landscape invites anyone to walks. Bran is famous for
its home made smoked cheese, and the cheese in tree bark. Every meal
here tastes better, because everything is home made and pure biological
food.
Day 3: Brasov – Bran – Sinaia – Bucuresti
...a new day to visit Bran Castle – Dracula’s Castle, where, along the dark corridors and in the inner gardens one can still hear the steps of the "prince of darkness".
Breakfast and fresh air!
Today
we will visit Dracula’s Castle - as in Bram Stoker's legendary vampire
story. Bran Castle is an important national monument and landmark of the
Romanian tourism, due not only to the beauty of the Castle and the
landscape but also to the legend of Count Dracula. The first documentary
attestation of the Bran Castle is the act issued on November 19, 1377.
We
continue to Sinaia, the beautiful mountain resort surnamed "The Pearl
of the Carpathians" where we will visit Peles Castle: one of Romania's
most beautiful palaces once the summer residence of the Romanian kings.
We
have the possibility to visit the wine cellars from Azuga - built in
1892, by the Rhein family, official supplier for the royal court. Here,
we can buy genuine Romanian wines and sparkling wines.
Return to Bucharest in the evening.
The tour includes:
Information:
-transport by car for the entire tour
-English speaking guide (or German, French, Spanish) at your disposal
-accommodation for 2 nights, breakfast included in Sibiel and Bran villages
-Halfboard: traditional dinners at the guesthouse in Sibiel and Bran
Not included:
-other meals except breakfast and dinners.
-Entrance tickets to all the museums and touristic attractions included in the program:
Bran Castle: 25 lei, Peles Castle: 25 lei, Black Church:5 lei
e-mail :office@casiopeea.com
mobil 0040 721316844
The Saxons built massive stone walls and seven bastions around the city
that are still visible today, as well as ornate churches, elaborately
trimmed buildings and one of the finest central squares in the country,
said to be the spot to which the legendary Pied Piper led the children
of Hamlin.
Brasov's famous landmark and Romania's leading gothic church, the Black
Church towers over the Council Square and the old town. Built between
1385 and 1477 on the site of an earlier church (destroyed by Mongol
invasions in 1242), the construction of the Marienkirche, as it was
known in German, was hampered by extensive damage caused by Turkish
raids in 1421. The church was given its new name after disaster struck
again in 1689, when the Great Fire leveled most of the town, blackening
the walls of the church. Restoration took almost 100 years. Of two
towers planned, only one was finished.
Ever since Saxon settlers arrived in the early 12th century, invading
Mongols, Turks and others gave them a tough time, repeatedly destroying
the old settlements of Bartholoma and Corona. Thereafter, the Saxons set
themselves to building fortifications around their town.
Catherine's Gate, erected in 1559 by the Tailors' Guild, is the only
original gate to have survived from medieval times. The fairy-tale tower
we see today was part of a bigger structure, which unfortunately, was
demolished in 1827. Above the entrance, the tower bears the city's coat
of arms: a crown on a tree trunk. 
Built during 1421-1436 and rebuilt in 1570-1573, this is the largest
medieval bastion in Brasov and the best-preserved among the seven
original watchtowers constructed around the city walls. Today, the
Weavers' Bastion houses an interesting museum that can be visited on the
way up Tampa Mountain. 
Brasov is often referred to as the city at the foot of Mount Tampa.
Above the Weavers' Bastion, along the southeastern side of the fortress
walls, is a very romantic alley (Aleea Tiberiu Brediceanu), shaded by
old trees and dotted with many benches. From here, you can hike to the
top of Tampa Mountain, where the original defensive fortress was built.
When Vlad Tepes attacked Brasov in 1458-60, the citadel was destroyed
and 40 merchants were impaled on top of the mountain. Walking to the top
takes about an hour; follow the red triangles from the cable car
station or the yellow triangles from Brediceanu Alley. You also could
elect to take the Tampa cable car to the peak (3,000 feet) for the best
views of the old town. 
First built in wood in 1392, replaced with a stone structure in 1495 and
considerably expanded in the 18th century, the church is a true
architectural masterpiece.
With a mix of Byzantine, baroque and gothic styles, it features a
slender tower and four corner towers. Like other medieval churches, it
is surrounded by protective walls with large wooden gates. The enclosure
shelters a small old cemetery where several *prominent people of
Romania are buried. The First Romanian School, now a museum, the Library
and the Archives of Saint Nicholas Church also are found on nearby
grounds. 
A 15-minute drive or 30-minute bus ride from Brasov leads to Poiana
Brasov (3,300 feet), a mountaintop ski and summer resort. In the summer,
it is a great place for hikers to launch treks into the Southern
Carpathian Mountains. For a panoramic view of Brasov and the more
distant Bucegi Mountains, take the cable car to the summit of Postavarul
Mountain (5,756 feet).
Interesting fact: Hollywood celebrities Jude Law, Renee Zellweger and
Nicole Kidman relaxed in Poiana Brasov after shooting the film Cold
Mountain on location in nearby fields and farms.
Surrounded by an aura of mystery and legend and perched high atop a
200-foot-high rock, Bran Castle owes its fame to its imposing towers and
turrets as well as to the myth created around Bram Stocker’s Dracula.
Narrow winding stairways lead through some 60 timbered rooms, many
connected by underground passages, which house collections of furniture,
weapons and armor dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries. The
castle overlooks the picturesque village of Bran, which offers an
open-air Ethnographic Museum consisting of old local-style village
houses complete with furniture, household objects and costumes.
Nestled at the foot of the Bucegi Mountains in the picturesque town of
Sinaia, Peles Castle is a masterpiece of German new-Renaissance
architecture, considered by many one of the most stunning castles in
Europe.
Peles Castle was the first European castle entirely lit by electrical
current. The electricity was produced by the castle’s own plant. The
castle draws its name from neighboring Peles Creek, which passes right
through the courtyard.
Commissioned by King Carol I in 1873 and completed in 1883, the castle
served as the summer residence of the royal family until 1947. Its 160
rooms are adorned with the finest examples of European art, Murano
crystal chandeliers, German stained-glass windows and Cordoba
leather-covered walls. 
The largest fortified church in southeastern Europe, Prejmer(Tartlau in
German) was built by Teutonic knights in 1212-1213. The powerful
surrounding walls are 40 feet high and 10-15 feet thick.
Endowed with bastions, drawbridges and a secret, subterranean passage
through which food supplies could be transported, the church’s most
famed war device was the “death machine,” made of several weapons that
could shoot simultaneously, causing the enemy severe losses.
Access to the building was through a 100-foot-long arched passage
fortified with two rows of gates. Each village family had a designated
room for shelter in case of attack. The red-roofed wall accommodated 272
rooms, stacked over four stories and linked by wooden staircases.