Magazine - 15/06/05

Three days - 800 km/ 497mile round trip from Bucharest.

© E. Tresmontant / ViaMichelin

Like Croatia 6 years ago, Romania is really beginning to open up to tourism. For a Western European, the fabulous landscapes of Transylvania bristling with medieval castles, Orthodox monasteries and authentic peasant villages make for a real journey back in time... As you drive along, you come across herds of sheep and buffalo, horse-drawn carts, ancient oaks adorned with painted crosses symbolising the link between the earthly world and heaven... Today, 40% of the Romanian population still make their living from farming, and city dwellers maintain strong links with the countryside.

We were welcomed at Bucharest airport by Liviu Popescu. Like many Romanians, this fifty-something-year-old, who lived through the 1989 revolution and the collapse of the Ceauşescu regime, now has two jobs: labour inspector one week, tourist guide the next. Almost deserted that day because of the Orthodox Easter holiday, Bucharest is immense (605 km²/ 234 sq miles for 2 million inhabitants), diverse, lacking in architectural harmony, and disconcerting...
 
As we make our way along the Stalinist roads from the Ceauşescu era, looking in vain for a centre, café terraces and shopping streets, we suddenly - to our surprise - find ourselves in a little alleyway where people are playing cards! "Ceauşescu wanted to make a clean sweep in old Bucharest," explains Liviu, "but he couldn't destroy all the old Catholic and Orthodox churches classed as historical monuments; he did his best to hide them by putting buildings up around them." To get an idea of the man's megalomania, just take a look at the colossal Parliament Palace, said to be the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon: standing 86 m (282 ft) tall, it has 12 floors, 6,000 rooms covered in marble, nuclear shelters and secret passageways! The National Assembly occupies part of the building but the government is still wondering what to do with the remaining 265,000 m² (316,940 yd²)! At the end of the avenue that leads to the building, the dictator had a fountain built, modelled on the fountains at Versailles, as well as a canal nicknamed "La Seine". The façades of buildings standing opposite are now covered with billboards featuring David Beckham...

It has to be said that Bucharest is not an exciting place to visit; its charm is in the green areas that bring a touch of country freshness to the city - much appreciated in the continental heat. Take, for example, the Village Museum set in the vast Heràstràu Park. This very popular eco-museum, spread over 15 ha (37 acres), opened in 1936 and has 75 houses, farms, windmills and traditional country churches dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Here, you will discover an authentic wood-based civilisation which only a few traces remain of today, notably in the region of Maramures (northwest Romania). The houses are decorated with rugs, tablecloths, embroideries and hangings, illustrating one of Romania's strong points, its craft industry, which is still very much alive.

With a little shiver running down our spines, we set off in the early hours for the legendary Transylvania of Dracula...we are not sad to leave the concrete suburbs of Bucharest behind! The Romanian countryside soon unfolds its charms before us, with hills, peasant villages and herds of sheep. Liviu, our guide, is stopped by the police after an hour on the road. "I should have brought my radar detector along!" he says furiously. The speed limit in Romania is 80 kph (50 mph) on roads and 120 kph (75 mph) on motorways. Delighted to be driving a brand new Logan, Liviu had let himself get a little carried away...
 
Perched at an altitude of 800 m (2,625 ft) amid fir trees and waterfalls, Sinaïa is one of the country's most famous ski resorts. The air here is deliciously sharp and the Romanians enjoy coming here to climb the Bucegi Massif, which rises to over 2,500 m (8,202 ft). Sinaia is home to one of the most impressive royal residences in Europe, Peles Castle, which was built between 1875 and 1883 for Carol I, a German prince who became king of Romania. With its asymmetrical Saxon towers, abundance of woodcarvings and Italianate terraces, this castle's architecture symbolises modern Romania's opening up to the West. The incredibly luxurious interior features armouries, precious furniture, a music room, Moorish room, Turkish room and French theatre! Peles was the first castle in Europe to be equipped with a lift and ventilation system. Ceauşescu made it one of his second homes and, throughout his "reign", invited his Head-of-State cronies (notably Fidel Castro) here to enjoy the rococo surroundings and a spot of bear hunting.

Southeast Transylvania (known as Bârsa country) is a huge plateau surrounded by mountains. Many underground water sources here give rise to rivers whose pure and icy waters are good for trout. First colonised by the Saxons in the 13th century (hence the large number of Lutheran churches in Bunesti, Cata, Cincu, Feldioara, etc.), this region was subsequently invaded by the Tatars and the Turks. The impressive fortified "peasant citadels", perched on rocky peaks that you can see from the road, served as places of refuge. The most famous of Transylvania's feudal castles is undoubtedly Bran Castle (nicknamed "Dracula's Castle", even though there is nothing to prove that "Vlad the Impaler" - as he was called - really stayed here!). If you want to visit it, you have to leave the Braşov road and head west. Built on a promontory in the late 14th century, this fortress with its towers and carved doors is quite spectacular, and it was here that Francis Ford Coppola filmed Dracula in 1991.

Your first chance to admire the beautiful medieval city of Braşov is from the road above; its Romanesque and Gothic architecture is somewhat reminiscent of Prague. Founded in 1211 by Teutonic knights, it initially went by the name of Kronstadt, "city of the crown". Nestling at the bottom of a green valley at the foot of Mount Tâmpa (865 m/2,840 ft), Braşov occupied a strategic position in the Middle Ages, blocking the trade route between Transylvania and Walachia. Today, it is still one of Romania's major cities (340,000 inhabitants). The huge Council Square at its centre is where you will find the city's most beautiful medieval buildings. Concerts are performed here in summer, and it's an ideal place to enjoy a beer! Nearby, the old Romanian district of Schei, with its narrow, flower-filled alleyways climbing gently up towards the mountainous foothills, is like a big village. This district boasts the splendid church of Saint Nicholas, which was built in wood in the 15th century and rebuilt in stone in the early 16th century. We drive on to Poiana Brasov, an attractive winter sports resort at an altitude of 1,000 m (3,281 ft), 13 km (8 miles) south of the city, where we have dinner and spend the night.

Perched on a hill 425 m (1,394 ft) high above the Târnava river, Sighisoara is Romania's most magnificent medieval city and has a well-deserved place on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. As the birthplace of bloodthirsty ruler Vlad Tepes - nicknamed "Vlad the Impaler" - who provided the inspiration for Irish writer Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, it attracts a million tourists every year, and fortunately had a narrow escape from a sinister "Dracula Land" theme park project! The famous 13th century Clock Tower that can be seen from miles around houses an interesting Medieval Museum, but above all offers a magnificent view of the town, revealing its architectural wealth (a marvellous combination of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles). The House of Dracula, which stands on the corner of Cositorarilor Street, is now a restaurant with a pleasant terrace that overlooks the rooftops. An amazing covered stairway with 175 steps, dating back to 1642, leads to the top of the hill.
 
About thirty kilometres (19 miles) from Sighisoara, the fortified church of Biertan is worth a look. Set in magnificent countryside, the village of Biertan with its blue and yellow façades and old pink tiles is one of the most beautiful in Transylvania. The Gothic basilica dating from 1468 - also on the list of World Heritage Sites - contains a beautiful organ, Anatolian rugs, amazing tombs with upright statues and the largest altarpiece in Transylvania.

Sibiu is, without a doubt, the most German town in Romania. This old Saxon city was founded by German colonists in the 12th century (originally called Hermannstadt), and was subsequently fortified against Mongolian invasions. A centre of the Lutheran Reformation, Sibiu has several Evangelist churches. Even today, more than one in 10 inhabitants is German speaking and the local speciality is... salami! With its broad paved streets lined by Baroque palaces and mansions, Sibiu has more of a western-style atmosphere, but is still very much in need of renovation. Prince Charles, who often stays in Transylvania, made a large donation to the city last summer for the restoration of the superb Piaţa Mare (work was already well underway when we passed through!). This large square is surrounded by beautiful 14th century houses such as the "Blue House", which sports the city's coat of arms. Also on the square is the Viennese-style Brukenthal Palace, which houses the oldest museum in Romania (paintings by Frans Hals, Rubens, Veronese, and by Romanian landscape painters such as Grigorescu and Andreescu, who studied at the Barbizon School with Millet and Courbet).

To get to Curtea de Arges in Walachia, you have to cross the green and picturesque valley of the Olt, one of the biggest rivers in Romania (787 km/489 miles). The winding road runs alongside the river, allowing you to admire the peaks of the Carpathians despite the endless stream of heavy goods vehicles. Along the way, we visit the Orthodox monastery of Cozia, built in 1388 and famous for its restored Byzantine frescoes. This magnificent and peaceful place conceals many hot springs first discovered in ancient times.

During the Middle Ages, Curtea de Arges was the capital of the feudal state of Walachia. On our arrival in the evening we collapse, exhausted, into armchairs at the hotel - whose decor obviously dated from the communist era - and sample one of the pure mineral waters from the Carpathians. As we are the only guests at the hotel, we have to run the water in the shower for a few minutes before it warms up. A pleasant surprise awaits us at dinner: the ciorba with haricot beans and polenta with melted cheese are delicious!

The next day is a public holiday in Romania, being the last Friday of Orthodox Easter. We couldn't have picked a better time to visit one of the country's most beautiful monasteries, founded between 1512 and 1517 by the family of the princes of Walachia and which, since 1914, has been the resting place of Romania's royal family. Crowds of people in colourful clothing throng around the monastery trying to enter the church, where strains of superb orthodox songs are drifting from. This oriental-inspired building, with its façade adorned with Caucasian-style geometric patterns, was restored in the 20th century by French architect Lecomte de Nouy. As they await the Patriarch, monks give communion bread to the faithful at the entrance to the church; inside, the fervour of the people brings to mind Russian novels of the 19th century! Grandmothers hit us with their sticks as they try to push past, while parents scold their children for arriving late for the service. Despite the impressive presence of the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox church, the choir singers - young country folk with friendly faces - joke amongst themselves, nudging each other... proof that here religious solemnity and good humour go hand in hand!

Return from Curtea de Arges to Bucharest: 150 km/93 miles (7C, E81, A1 roads)