Romania & Hungary

Budapest

     Where else would you start to get to know Hungary, than at its beautiful capital city Budapest. Our experienced local guide will take you on an all inclusive tour of the city. Introducing the past and present of the Hungarians through history, architecture and local traditions. Budapest is a city of almost 2 million inhabitants. Spread on both sides of the River Danube, to the West is Buda the historical and residential part and to the East is Pest the city center. You will get an overview of the cities most important sights and remarkable places on the tour. Enjoy a nice walk with our local guide through the royal town of the UNESCO protected Castle District. Picture the Danube and the flat city of Pest from the top of the Fishermen’s Bastion on the Buda side. Take a ride along the UNESCO World Heritage Andrassy Avenue, passing by the State Opera House, all the way out to the Heroes Square where you will learn more about the turbulent past of the Hungarians.

     In the evening let us invite you to a cruise on the River Danube to admire the illuminated city of Budapest.

Budapest, Parliament, Synagogue, Gundel, Szentendre

     Today you will get to know the city in details. Our local guide will show you into the Hungarian Parliament which is also used by the government of today. The building itself is over 100 years old and was the first building using electricity of its time. After the political history lesson our local guide will take you for a visit into the second largest Synagogue of the world. This marvelous building dates from the 1850s and it was designed in a moorish-romantical style by a Christian architect. Besides the temple itself you will also see the Memorial Tree put up in the backyard for to commemorate the lost ones of the holocaust.

     Lunch today is going to be served in the most elegant and most famous restaurant of the country, the Gundel. For the afternoon we’ll leave the city behind and take a short trip to Szentendre, which is a picturesque small town located on the Danube. Here our local guide will take you on a short walking tour to see the town’s heritage from the 1600-1700s, when the Serbs and Greeks settled the area and turned Szentendre into their hometown for some 200 years. After they almost all left, this quaint little town become the most popular place for the artist colonies popped up on the turn of the 1900s. Today’s Szentendre is a unique mixture of history, arts and architecture, and also the best place for souvenir shopping.

Godollo, Holloko, Eger

     Let’s start to explore the Hungarian country side today! Our local guide will accompany you on this exiting adventure.

     Today our first visit is at the Royal Court in Godollo where the famous palace of the Habsburg Empress Sisi is located. After the destruction of the communist times the palace was renovated and turned into a museum dedicated to Sisi and her husband Franz Joseph the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. After a refreshing coffee Sisi’ Style we head off to the Northern Mountain Range. Holloko is our next stop where during a home hosted lunch you will get acquainted with the locals and cheer up from the fresh mountain air. Holloko is listed by UNESCO because of its cultural and historical importance. Today there are only some 300 people live in the village, they are the descendants of the Paloc tribe which came to Hungary somewhere in the mid 1200s. Because of Holloko’s isolated location the Paloc people managed to maintain their old traditions and lifestyle thru history.

     This evening we will enjoy a nice Hungarian dinner with vine tasting in one of the historical vine cellars of the Eger vine region.

Eger, Szilvasvarad, Lillafured

     Eger played an important role in the Hungarian history when the Turks attacked the country. One of the main stone castles was taken in by the Turks, who settled there for 150 years. In Eger there are still traces of the Turkish occupation, as the most Northern monuments of the Ottomans. On our walking tour in the morning we will learn all about this well preserved gem of the Hungarian history.

     For lunch we will arrive to Szilvasvarad where the tasty smoked trout is farmed in the Szalajka valley. The valley is part of the Bukk National Park with an overwhelming beauty of nature. Szilvasvarad is also the home of the famous Lipizzaner horses, they were the symbol of wealth and royalty because of their elegant appearance and white color. Admire these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat. At the end of the day enjoy a relaxing evening in Lillafured, one of the most beautifully located holiday resorts in Hungary.

Miskolctapolca, Tokaj

     Today we start our day with a refreshing spa experience. In Miskolctapolca one would find the most exiting spa, a uniquely located natural cave spa. The warm water cutting its way thru the limestone for centuries forming the today’s halls of the spa. It has indoor and outdoor pools as well, the water is 30 C and has curative effects. You also have the chance to try a special massage or any other wellness therapies on the spot.

     Leaving Miskolc behind we will have lunch on the way to the most famous vine region of Hungary, Tokaj, where the “vine of the kings, and king of the vines” is made. Tokaj wines have long been the favorites of the rich, beautiful and powerful. Learn more about viniculture on our tour and enjoy the atmosphere of an aristocratic mansion of the 1800s.

Satu Mare, Sapanta, Sighet

     In the morning we start with an enjoyable drive all the way to Romania. Our first stop in the country will be in Satu Mare where we will have a tasty Romanian meal. After lunch relax and admire the countryside for a while as we drive passed the villages and fields of agriculture. In the afternoon we arrive to Sapanta the happy cemetery, which is included in the top ten most well known cemeteries in the world, the unique cemetery of Sapanta will change your opinion of mourning. Here you find colors and jokes where you would have never expected.

     After the visit we continue our way to Sighet where the ill-fated building of the Maximum Security Prison is to be found, which was transformed into a museum after the fall of Communism in 1989. You will get to know how life was in such prisons, with all the struggles and pains of the days. We spend the night in a local family atmosphere accommodation.

Barsana, Ieud, Ciocanesti, Cumpulung

     In the morning get ready for a religious experience. We will take you to the old monastery of Barsana that used to be the highest wooden monastery in Europe in the Middle Ages, and still stays tall these days. The details of the woodworks are unique not only because of their beauty but also because the local masters used only their old and simple tools and not any electric modern tool, not even metal nails. The court of the monastery is a rare beauty, perhaps the prettiest garden of a Romanian monastery ever. Ieud our next place of visit, is one of the first inhabited villages on the Romanian territory, dating back to the Bronze Age. The wooden church from Ieud is considered to be the oldest in Europe and was included in the UNESCO Patrimony.

     We will have our lunch in Ciocanesti, more of a piece of art than a village, a place that seems to be out of a naive painting.

     After Lunch we cross the Carpathian Mountains on a scenic drive. In Cumpulung we learn about wood works in the local museum, and see how the wood carvers, workers used to master this old local tradition. You will find here old tools, weapons, musical instruments, machines, sculptures and all that you can imagine linked to wood.

     In the evening we will help our genuine cook to prepare our Romanian dinner, and also, with the guidance of a local master we will paint some eggs so to practice an antique Romanian tradition.

Moldovita, Voroneti, Marginea, Sucevita

     Embark yourself today for an educational Moldavian experience of religion, culture and history.

     In the morning we will visit the monastery of Moldovita, which dates back to 1532. The Painted monasteries of Moldova are the only art manifestations in Romania from the Middle Ages, a place of a breathtaking experience of colors and stories of the Bible. Next stop is at the Voronet monastery, the jewel of the Moldavian monasteries also called the “Sixtine Chapel of the Orient”. See for yourself why! The monastery was built in only three months and three weeks, to the orders of Stephen the Great. The dominant color of Voronet monastery is a specific blue that nobody succeeded in reproducing. The central scene evokes “the judgment day” and the artist painted a masterpiece of an immense complexity and a rare philosophical and theological depth.

     The black pottery of Marginea is well-known all over the world and this tradition goes back to the 16th century. Still using the old traditional way, the master potters of Marginea create unique pieces of art here.

     After Lunch a UNESCO world heritage site the Sucevita monastery is on our list. “The will of the Moldavian classic art”, said the French researcher, Paul Henry Built from the end of the 16th century. Sucevita has the best preserved paintings of all the Moldavian monasteries. The fortified monastery is surrounded by a stunning natural landscape. Tonight we learn more about the traditional Moldavian cooking.

Suceava, Iasi

     Enjoy the scenic drive thru the Moldavian country side. The route takes us to Suceava, the medieval capital of Moldova, where a strong fortress is ready to share its glorious past. The fortress of Suceava has never been conquered despite the fact that invincible armies overtaken it several times, among them we can mention the armies of Mehmed and Baiazid the Ottoman sultans, Matyas the Hungarian king or Jan Albert, the Polish king. Just besides the fortress, there is the open air museum, very well documented on the Moldovian village. It is a real authentic collection of houses from the North of Moldavia, brought from the villages in the vicinity, meant for the visitor to understand better the way of living of the peasants of this region. The Royal Inn-Suceava, one of the oldest laical buildings of Moldavia, constructed at the beginnings of 17th century. For a long time, the inn served as a venue for the princes' sons coming back from hunting in the thick forests of Suceava, for this reason its name was "Royal Inn". Today the former inn houses hosts the Bucovina Rural Art Museum.

     In the afternoon we arrive in Iasi, the largest Moldavian city, where we have dinner and a brief drive through the city by night.

Iasi

     Today in Iasi we will walk the historical centre, situated between the exquisite neo-gothic Palace of Culture, the landmark of the city and the Union Square where the Eiffel Company built hotel Traian. On the way we will learn more about the history of the Viennese neo-classical National Theatre and the largest Orthodox cathedral in the country. We will also visit the beautiful Iasi University, the first one in the country with a very good reputation even today. The Cetatuia monastery is also on our program, which is an interesting mixture of a fort, a monastery and a former royal court.

     We keep the afternoon free for you to explore the city, take some pictures and do some shopping.

     Later on we will meet for our last dinner together, which we will spend in the most famous Iasi restaurant, Bolta Rece founded in 1786 that still keeps the spirit of an old Moldavian inn.

     On the next day we take you to the Iasi airport.