I am very impressed that you traveled primarily by bike. What year was this? We didn't see any traveling bee keepers or wild packs of dogs, either! We did see lots of farmers on horses or tractors pulling wagons of hay. This is still a popular mode of transportation.

I wish I had taken the time to find a homestay in one of the villages in Maramures. In Brasov we met up with 2 women from the Rick Steves forum who were going to stay in a homestay for several nights. The owners didn't speak any English. I'll write more about that when we get to Brasov.

shelemm, thanks so much for your comments and compliments. I really enjoyed reading your trip report about Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. The Romania portion was very helpful when I was planning our trip.

bilboburgler, I don't have the best ear for foreign languages. So throughout our trip I just couldn't make out what Romanian sounded like. When we were at Bran Castle, we struck up a conversation with a Romanian man who spoke good English. I asked him about the Romanian language, and he told us it is most similar to French with some Slavic influence due to historical interactions. That was interesting to me because I used to think Romanian was a Slavic language although it didn't really sound Slavic. I did make a point of learning a few common words, such as hello, thank you, etc. There are different versions of hello, depending on the time of day, and if you are being formal or informal.

Regarding the ethnicity of much of Romania, I did read in my guidebook that in Gura Humorului, for example, the population was 70% to 80% Zipser German (which I never heard of) in the 19th century and 20% Jewish. The Germans left after 1945 and there are no longer any Jewish people in GH, so the population is now all ethnic Romanian

ekscrunchy, I agree; the painted monasteries are worth the visit alone! In fact, while we thoroughly enjoyed Transylvania, I really believe that Bucovina and Maramures made the trip extra special.

We did have a nice conversation with a Romanian man at Bran Castle who spoke good English. He explained the Romanian language to me and also went into some Romanian history. He did call himself a conservative but doesn't like the way things are going in the US currently. Most other people did not speak English, including hospitality staff. There was definitely more English spoken in Budapest. We did not engage in any political conversations in Budapest. I've read that many Hungarians, allegedly, approve of our current President, whom we did not vote for. So we thought it best not to engage in those kinds of conversations.

memejs, I hope you are able to visit Romania in 2027, and if you do, I hope you have the time to visit the painted monasteries in Bucovina and see the wooden churches in Maramures. These two regions are fascinating, less crowded, and made our trip extra special.

My husband and I are retired so we are trying to do as much traveling as possible while we are still walking. We might have 3 trips coming up in 2026. I hope we survive!

Wow. The monastery is stunning.

3 holidays next year, Karen!!
I was envious when you were doing 2… lol

Thanks for the report on this interesting trip.

Karen, those painted monasteries are stunning, wow! I has never even considered Romania, but now you’ve got me thinking! An old friend of my brother’s is from Romania and he always tells us we should visit.

I know you’re planning Ireland for May 2026, which are the other two trips? My husband and I are spending a week in Cambodia early January, then about a week between Victoria Falls and Botswana in March. We’re very keen to visit Uzbegistan, perhaps later in 2026. We also always take an extended family vacation every year, but my nephew and wife are expecting a baby mud December, so I’m not sure how that will pan out…

Thank you Karen, wonderful TR. Havent been to Hungary or Romania, but they're on my radar now!

Geetika, you have some exotic trips planned! I've been toying with the idea of Cambodia and other SE Asian countries, but I'm on the fence because I've had stomach issues every time we traveled to China. So, I'm concerned I could have the same problem in SE Asia.

In March we are going to the Caribbean island of Guadalupe with our oldest daughter and her family. Guadalupe is French, and our son-in-law is French. His parents will be joining us from France, too. Everyone traveling with us speaks French except for Ed and I. Before we meet up with everyone, Ed and I are spending a few days in Key West (we've never been), and we will spend a few nights in Miami on our return (never been, either).

Then 3 weeks in Ireland in May. And now I am planning a trip with the same daughter and family to Yellowstone NP and Grand Tetons NP for July. This was supposed to be a summer 2027 vacation, but now our daughter has family commitments with her in-laws in France for summer 2027. So we decided to move our trip to this summer. Just starting to research!

I hope my trip report helps you in planning if you decide to go. Budapest, of course, is busy, but if you want a quiet vacation with hardly any crowds, Romania is a great choice.

September 9, 2025: More Painted Monasteries and Beautiful Painted Eggs

The hotel’s breakfast buffet is mediocre. There aren’t large selections of cheeses and meats, and the quality is average. Similar to our breakfasts at Hotel Arnia in Iasi. But it will suffice for 2 mornings.

After breakfast, we drove to the village of Manastirea Humor to visit the 16th century Humor Monastery. We didn’t know this monastery is currently undergoing restorations. We weren’t able to see anything since the monastery is a worksite with scaffolding and workmen wearing hard hats. However, there is a very pretty church literally right next door where we took some photos.

Along the way to our next monastery, Moldovita Monastery, we passed wooden houses with ornate wooden gates, hay bales, haystacks, and horse-drawn carriages carrying hay. This is still a very common and popular mode of transportation everywhere we went in Romania.

We love Moldovita Monastery! It’s probably our favorite. This monastery was founded in 1532 by Stephen the Great’s illegitimate son, Petru Rares. All the colors are stunning but we especially love the blue background of Moldovita Monastery. It’s the most intense.

After leaving Moldovita, we stopped at the Muzeul Oualor Lucia Condrea (Museum of Painted Eggs). The museum is named after the local artist who has spent her lifetime painting these eggs. Lucia has participated in exhibitions all over the globe. This was a highlight for me because I can remember my Polish grandmother painting eggs (real eggs) at Easter! According to my Rough Guide, there are 5,000 eggs in the museum, and they are made from ceramic, stone or wood. However, the museum’s guide disputes this. She told us there are 15,000 eggs on display, and Lucia painted real eggs, from ducks, quail, geese and ostriches, including African ostrich eggs. There is also a beautiful display of eggs painted by artists from other countries.

Next, we are on our way to Sucevita Monastery, the grandest of the monasteries. There is some interesting family history here. This monastery is a monument to Ieremia Movila (Prince of Moldavia) and to his brother and successor Simion. Ieremia’s widow, Elisabeta, poisoned Simion so that her own sons could inherit the throne. There are paintings of the Ladder of Virtue, the Last Judgement and the Tree of Jesse. All in all, we had a spectacular day of visiting these gorgeous monasteries.

We decided to try an Italian restaurant – Atipic - for dinner tonight in Gura Humorului for some variety. Ed ordered tripe soup and seafood risotto. I had a salad and pasta with cream, egg and bacon. The food is mediocre. My dish was too heavy for me.

A note on food: Romanian food is definitely very heavy on the meat so we would frequently order salads to go with our meals. We were craving fresh produce after all those heavy meat-centric dinners. And my husband is not usually a salad lover. 😊So, it’s very rare for him to order or crave a salad! I would say many of our meals were average, one was barely edible, but we did have some very delicious meals, too. So it’s not all a lost cause!

View of one of the spires of the Humor Monastery, the monastery that is being restored. I love this scene with the vibrant pink roses in the foreground.

And this very pretty church is located very close to Humor Monastery.

View from the church. Lots of pink roses!

Romanian countryside on the drive to Moldovita Monastery.

Romanian home with an elderly woman selling her goods.

The ubiquitous wooden fences and gates found throughout Romania. The fancier gates signify wealth.

Another view

Another ornate wooden gate

Horse pulling a hay wagon - a popular mode of transportation in rural Romania

Moldovita Monastery - our favorite - but all of them are beautiful. All of the monasteries are well defended. They are surrounded by high walls.

The paintings are set on a beautiful blue background.

Moldovita Monastery

A close-up view

The Moldovita Monastery ceiling

The interior of the monastery

A guesthouse for passing dignitaries on the grounds of the monastery.

Detailed view of the paintings

Perhaps these were the dignitaries staying in the guesthouse?
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In contemplation



A grand view of Moldovita

Typical Romanian countryside

This is just a very small sample of the painted eggs at Muzeul Oualor Lucia Condrea. There were numerous rooms that went on and on. Each room housed glass cases like the above, with many, many shelves, just filled with the painted eggs.

More eggs painted by Lucia Condrea

And more eggs painted by Lucea. She is a very prolific painter!

A sampling of painted eggs from other countries.

. . .and still more.

Gigantic stork's nest! We saw many, many stork nests throughout the country.

Sucevita Monastery - the last and grandest of the monastic complexes to be built in Bucovina.

Sucevita Monastery

Sucevita Monastery

It's unusual to have a porch.

Glorious colors and detail

The Last Judgement - reputedly left unfinished because the artist fell to his death from the scaffolding. Notice the devil in the right hand corner of the red river sitting on the two-headed beast.

Entry into the church from the porch.

I love the pink and red roses with the backdrop of the gorgeous blue paintings.

The grand Sucevita Monastery

And last but not least - our Italian dinner - as I've mentioned before, I craved fresh salads!

Ed's tripe soup . . .

. . . and his seafood risotto.

My pasta with cream, egg, and bacon - very heavy and filling

I adore how the architecture is distinctive, The church next to Humor Monastery is a good example. You could travel far and wide and not see that particular style. And thanks for mentioning about the gates. Again, an important distinction to denote wealth.

As always Karen your pictures are outstanding, My husband is the better photographer and so I can’t post photographs from our outstanding trip to Italy and by the way we loved the Gran Duca di York hotel in Milan.

i can give you suggestions for both Miami and Key West if you’d like as we attended a family wedding in Miami about 2 years ago and then did a few days in Key West afterwards. Plus we’ve driven down to South Beach on other Florida trips.

Karen, am so enjoying your narrative and stunning pictures, you bring it all alive for us! Romanian is a Romantic language, very different from the other Slav based ones in the region. Though I don’t remember ever hearing anyone speak it.

In Budapest we found almost everyone age 60 and under spoke perfect English, the older folks less so. Budapest is quite a young city, with a high percentage below 40-45.

You’ll love Guadaloupe, we had some very good friends from there. Key West too, that whole area is stunningly beautiful. My sister lives a little north of Miami and our brother just retired and moved there a few months ago. My sister’s fil has a house on Cudjoe Key, near Key West and we go there very often. The play of blue waters and sky is incredible.

I have mixed feelings about Miami, certain parts are lovely, others not so much.

Karen, wow what intrepid travelers you and Ed are! I've never heard of most of these places on your itinerary. Was it difficult to drive there/ follow directions? These monasteries are incredible; I have no idea they exist. OTOH they don't really call to me like some other cultural places so I guess I am happy to travel vicariously through you and Ed.

Madame397, our accommodations are all set for Key West and Miami. But I would love some restaurant recommendations if you can. Thank you!

yk, thank you for following along. I know you are busy planning your trip to Norway. The driving was very easy. Ha Ha! I can say that even though I didn't drive. But it really was easy. Ed didn't have any problems at all, and I don't think we ever got lost.