Trip Report - Romania, Krakow & Prague
Jun 11th, 2006, 06:37 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Trip Report - Romania, Krakow & Prague
I received a lot of information from the folks on this board and wanted to give back information from our trip. During May, we visited Romania, Krakow, Pragaue and Moscow.
We started in Romania and spent 6 days traveling around the country. We arrived in Bucharest early evening, stayed one night at the Hilton and got a good night's sleep. That did the trick as we were ready to go early the next morning. We arranged for a driver guide to take us throughout the country as we didn't want to hassle with trying to drive ourselves. Based on the advice from several Fodorites, we worked with Andrei Nichola Miclea in Bucharest [email protected] and he was fantastic - easy to work with, very responsive and very reasonable.
We started in Romania and spent 6 days traveling around the country. We arrived in Bucharest early evening, stayed one night at the Hilton and got a good night's sleep. That did the trick as we were ready to go early the next morning. We arranged for a driver guide to take us throughout the country as we didn't want to hassle with trying to drive ourselves. Based on the advice from several Fodorites, we worked with Andrei Nichola Miclea in Bucharest [email protected] and he was fantastic - easy to work with, very responsive and very reasonable.
Jun 11th, 2006, 07:37 AM
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
CONTINUATION OF ABOVE MESSAGE: I'm not sure what button I hit, but the message got posted before I meant for it too. I'll continue.
Before heading out of town, our guide took us on a city tour of Bucharest. We were surprised by the amazing architecture, especially in the older sections of the city. We went on a tour of Ceasescu's Palace which was not finished before his death. It is a huge building that is now the Senate and Administrative bulding.
We then headed out of town to get to Sinaia before late afternoon so that we could tour Peles Palace. The landscape was beautiful as was the Palace. There was a new hotel, International Hotel, where we stayed and it was quite nice. On our way back to our hotel we stopped at Orthodox Monastery that was very interesting. It was the first Orthodox Monastery we visited.
The next day we visited several places in Transylvania. Our first stop was the Bran (Dracula's) Castle. It was fun and interesting actually seeing and touring a structure that has so much lore attached to it. Our guide gave us an official "lecture" on the folklore associated with Dracula along with the truths.
We saw many horse carts through the country, but especially in this area. Next stop was Brasov where we saw the old town that had houses in the German style and the Black Church that has a large collection of Persian rugs. We ended the day in Sighisoara, which is a world heritage site due to the upper town medieval citadel.
We spent two nights in the upper town and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was enjoyable to just sit around the square and enjoy the sights around us. The area was very manageable to walk around. This was one of our favorite spots. One evening, we ate dinner at Dracula's birth place. And, of course, we felt that it was only fitting to have a glass of "Vampire" wine while in Transylvania!
The next day we toured the area and stopped to photograph a gypsy market where they were selling/trading pigs and horses. It was fascinating. Most were in horse carts with wagons for the pigs, etc., but one of the most interesting sites was a Mercedes pulling a cart filled with pigs.
We also visisted some interesting churches and towns in the area. I really enjoyed just driving through the country away from the main roads to see farmers using horses and wooden plows to till the soil.
The next day we headed to the northeastern part of the country to an area where they have painted Monaasteries. I'd never seen anything like this. There are as many frescoes painted on the outside of the churches as the inside. It was amazing. We stayed at a new Best Western Hotel in this area which was quite nice and comfortable.
On our final day of touring we headed back to Bucharest for a farewell dinner and cultural performance. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Romania and were surprised at the many sites that we were not expecting. We covered a lot of ground in 6 days and were grateful that we didn't have to do any of the driving. I'm not a very adventurous eater, but I was always able to find something I liked. The salads were amazing. The lettuce/tomatoes tasted like it has just been picked in the garden.
There were times when we just wanted a quick sandwich for lunch. We found that there were many gas stations that had "fast food" restaurants which served pre-made sandwiches which really hit the spot. We much preferred this to sitting in a restaurant for an hour or more.
We flew to Krakow the next morning. I'll continue more later. If you have any questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them.
Before heading out of town, our guide took us on a city tour of Bucharest. We were surprised by the amazing architecture, especially in the older sections of the city. We went on a tour of Ceasescu's Palace which was not finished before his death. It is a huge building that is now the Senate and Administrative bulding.
We then headed out of town to get to Sinaia before late afternoon so that we could tour Peles Palace. The landscape was beautiful as was the Palace. There was a new hotel, International Hotel, where we stayed and it was quite nice. On our way back to our hotel we stopped at Orthodox Monastery that was very interesting. It was the first Orthodox Monastery we visited.
The next day we visited several places in Transylvania. Our first stop was the Bran (Dracula's) Castle. It was fun and interesting actually seeing and touring a structure that has so much lore attached to it. Our guide gave us an official "lecture" on the folklore associated with Dracula along with the truths.
We saw many horse carts through the country, but especially in this area. Next stop was Brasov where we saw the old town that had houses in the German style and the Black Church that has a large collection of Persian rugs. We ended the day in Sighisoara, which is a world heritage site due to the upper town medieval citadel.
We spent two nights in the upper town and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was enjoyable to just sit around the square and enjoy the sights around us. The area was very manageable to walk around. This was one of our favorite spots. One evening, we ate dinner at Dracula's birth place. And, of course, we felt that it was only fitting to have a glass of "Vampire" wine while in Transylvania!
The next day we toured the area and stopped to photograph a gypsy market where they were selling/trading pigs and horses. It was fascinating. Most were in horse carts with wagons for the pigs, etc., but one of the most interesting sites was a Mercedes pulling a cart filled with pigs.
We also visisted some interesting churches and towns in the area. I really enjoyed just driving through the country away from the main roads to see farmers using horses and wooden plows to till the soil.
The next day we headed to the northeastern part of the country to an area where they have painted Monaasteries. I'd never seen anything like this. There are as many frescoes painted on the outside of the churches as the inside. It was amazing. We stayed at a new Best Western Hotel in this area which was quite nice and comfortable.
On our final day of touring we headed back to Bucharest for a farewell dinner and cultural performance. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Romania and were surprised at the many sites that we were not expecting. We covered a lot of ground in 6 days and were grateful that we didn't have to do any of the driving. I'm not a very adventurous eater, but I was always able to find something I liked. The salads were amazing. The lettuce/tomatoes tasted like it has just been picked in the garden.
There were times when we just wanted a quick sandwich for lunch. We found that there were many gas stations that had "fast food" restaurants which served pre-made sandwiches which really hit the spot. We much preferred this to sitting in a restaurant for an hour or more.
We flew to Krakow the next morning. I'll continue more later. If you have any questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them.
Jun 11th, 2006, 10:26 AM
#3
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,362
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I really enjoyed your trip report, nan. We are thinking about a trip to Romania, but everybody warns us about driving there (carts on the road, drivers do not following any rules, signs, etc).
After spending 6 days and covering a lot of territory, would you drive there? We are thinking of a similar route, but at a more leisurely pace – 12-14 days or so.
Did you make hotel reservations before hand?
We never used a driver before, how does it work? Did you have to make separate reservations for him? Did the do his own? Please tell us more about these aspects of your trip, the logistic of it. Thanks a lot
After spending 6 days and covering a lot of territory, would you drive there? We are thinking of a similar route, but at a more leisurely pace – 12-14 days or so.
Did you make hotel reservations before hand?
We never used a driver before, how does it work? Did you have to make separate reservations for him? Did the do his own? Please tell us more about these aspects of your trip, the logistic of it. Thanks a lot
Jun 11th, 2006, 10:38 AM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,037
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for this report. Romania is on my list. Now if I can just convince my husband. This should help.
Would you mind sharing information on the price of your driver? What airline did you fly from Bucharest to Krakow?
Would you mind sharing information on the price of your driver? What airline did you fly from Bucharest to Krakow?
Jun 11th, 2006, 05:06 PM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I would not attempt to drive in Romania simply because when on vacation I just don't want to hassle with it. I can watch the scenery and not have to worry about what I might run in to. The driving is crazy in Romania.
In terms arrangements, I used the individual that I mentioned in the first message who has a company in Bucharest that can make the necessary arrangements for a driver guide and hotels. The cost for the two of us was about $1800 for the six days. Since my sister and I were traveling alone, we opted to stay in the best available hotels in each area. You could probably bring the price down quite a bit by staying in 3 star hotels. Considering that the price also included all tours we thought the price was reasonable. I had the sense that Andrei would go out of his way to work with you within any budget. He might very well just book a driver for you too. I just don't know.
I meant to post some of my Romanian pictures earlier and forgot. Just cut and paste this link in your browser, http://www.pbase.com/msallen/romania_in_2006 and it will take you to my site. Just clicking on the individual picture will increase the size so you can actually see it.
I believe that there are some direct flights between There are some direct flights between Bucharest and Krakow - Tarom and LOT. Unfortunately we were not on either one of them as we were using airline miles to ultimately get to Moscow via Prague. Our original plan was to fly to Prague using miles and stopover, fly round trip to Krakow then continue on to Moscow. So much for the grand plan. As we started looking to buy a "cheap" Prague-Krakow roundtrip, the only direct flight would cost about $650 for each of us! We ended up finding an Austrian Air flight for half the price, but it required going through Vienna and changing planes. For the savings, we thought it was worth it. As a result, we spent most of the day flying. Lesson learned...
If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.
In terms arrangements, I used the individual that I mentioned in the first message who has a company in Bucharest that can make the necessary arrangements for a driver guide and hotels. The cost for the two of us was about $1800 for the six days. Since my sister and I were traveling alone, we opted to stay in the best available hotels in each area. You could probably bring the price down quite a bit by staying in 3 star hotels. Considering that the price also included all tours we thought the price was reasonable. I had the sense that Andrei would go out of his way to work with you within any budget. He might very well just book a driver for you too. I just don't know.
I meant to post some of my Romanian pictures earlier and forgot. Just cut and paste this link in your browser, http://www.pbase.com/msallen/romania_in_2006 and it will take you to my site. Just clicking on the individual picture will increase the size so you can actually see it.
I believe that there are some direct flights between There are some direct flights between Bucharest and Krakow - Tarom and LOT. Unfortunately we were not on either one of them as we were using airline miles to ultimately get to Moscow via Prague. Our original plan was to fly to Prague using miles and stopover, fly round trip to Krakow then continue on to Moscow. So much for the grand plan. As we started looking to buy a "cheap" Prague-Krakow roundtrip, the only direct flight would cost about $650 for each of us! We ended up finding an Austrian Air flight for half the price, but it required going through Vienna and changing planes. For the savings, we thought it was worth it. As a result, we spent most of the day flying. Lesson learned...
If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.
Jun 21st, 2006, 04:19 AM
#6
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I am so glad to find your Romania trip report. I might be visiting that country this fall. Thanks especially for the details of the guide/driver, which we will need (I would be traveling with my 80 yo father whose father came from Transylvania, and my brother - can't add driving into that mix!)
Do you remember the name of the hotel that you stayed in Sighisoara?
Do you remember the name of the hotel that you stayed in Sighisoara?
Jun 21st, 2006, 05:06 AM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
gabriel, my grandfather was from a small village called Dridif, near Fagaras. My father has been to Romania twice. Once he visited with my mother while the country was still under communism. 5 years ago he traveled with my brother's family. I have never been. We hope to combine family visits to various towns and farms in Transylvania with touring and getting a flavor of the medieval parts of the region.
Jun 21st, 2006, 05:27 AM
#9
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Fagaras is a beautiful mountainous area.
Nearby are Brasov and Sibiu, opposite sides from Fagaras, among the best medieval cities that Transylvania has to offer. But I think you already know by now.
Enjoy your trip!
Nearby are Brasov and Sibiu, opposite sides from Fagaras, among the best medieval cities that Transylvania has to offer. But I think you already know by now.
Enjoy your trip!
Jun 21st, 2006, 06:26 AM
#10
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes, those are on my list, along with Sighisoara. I have seen some pictures and read about Hunedoara. Is it worth seeing this castle? I'm also interested in the St. Nicholas Church in Densus. Is this area too far?
We will not be able to get to the painted monasteries or to the wooden churches in the northwest - will have to be on the next trip!
We will not be able to get to the painted monasteries or to the wooden churches in the northwest - will have to be on the next trip!
Jun 21st, 2006, 09:44 AM
#11
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hunedoara Castle (Huniazi) is very good indeed. I haven't had the chance to visit it until now but I want to go there someday myself.
The church at Densus is not difficult to get at once you are in Hunedoara at the castle. It is near Sarmizegetusa, former Dacian capital until the Roman conquest.
Good choices!
The church at Densus is not difficult to get at once you are in Hunedoara at the castle. It is near Sarmizegetusa, former Dacian capital until the Roman conquest.
Good choices!
Jun 21st, 2006, 09:56 AM
#12
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,181
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nan, your photos are brilliant! Thanks so much for posting them.
Your trip rport is also great so far. It contains a happy combination of specific details and personal impressions, in a readable and enjoyable style. I'll keep checking in for updates.
Roumania looks fabulous, and your choice of the package of hotels and driver looks like it paid off for you.
Thanks for posting!
Your trip rport is also great so far. It contains a happy combination of specific details and personal impressions, in a readable and enjoyable style. I'll keep checking in for updates.
Roumania looks fabulous, and your choice of the package of hotels and driver looks like it paid off for you.
Thanks for posting!
Jun 25th, 2006, 05:44 PM
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mary Fran - I posted the rest of my trip report in different segments so that I could categorize them in the various countries in case folks just wanted info on just one of these destinations. I have three other segments that go with this one - Krakow, Prague and Moscow. I was afraid one report would be very, very long. Glad you appreciated the photos.
Jun 30th, 2006, 06:30 AM
#18
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks, nan, for the information about the hotel. Looks like our September trip will happen! We have plane tickets and I have just heard from Andrei with a proposed itinerary.
In Sighisoara, the Hotel Sighisoara does look very nice, and also the Casa Cu Cerb. I don't know if you saw that one.
In Sighisoara, the Hotel Sighisoara does look very nice, and also the Casa Cu Cerb. I don't know if you saw that one.
Oct 28th, 2006, 12:16 PM
#20
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,958
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Can you tell me how working with a driver works? For example: you dirve to a place and you want to spend a few hours there before continuing on. Does the driver just sit and wait for you? Also, at night, where does the driver stay?
Thanks.
Thanks.
