Transylvanian Expedition Chapter One: Step into The Legends of Transylvania

Welcome to Transylvania! Preferably you will arrive at the Cluj Napoca Airport, book your flight asap. We will pick you up from the airport. Just follow our sign. Our comfortable mini vans will be waiting in the parking area so we can start our amazing journey. Today we will have a longer 220 kilometers to drive until we reach our accommodation.

Preserving the memory of a beautiful countess, with a tragic fate: Claudia Rhédey, great-great grandmother of King Charles III. The first castle museum in the Maros county of Transylvania was opened in 2019, on the 20th of September in the Rhédey castle of Erdőszentgyörgy, (Sângeorgiu de Pădure, Sankt Georgen auf der Heide). This castle was once the home of Countess Claudia Rhédey, the great-great grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II,. The permanent exhibition space is arranged in five rooms: In the first chamber one can find out about the history of the family, the second is arranged as the room of countess Claudia, the third is the ballroom, the fourth is presented as the chamber of Duke Alexander of Württemberg (the husband of Claudia Rhédey), and the last room offers information about the history of the town and the castle itself. The Rhédeys belonged to a well-known Hungarian aristocratic family.

Welcome Party to Transylvania! We invite you to Transylvania's Number 1 restaurant where you will be invited to a hearty food to make you feel home. The event includes a short introduction of the food you will taste , soup, main course, desert, water, coffee and a welcome drink.

Finally after remarkable and interesting day we will be traveling to our headquarters the accommodation that will provide you two nights of shelter, in very comfortable rooms with own bathrooms. As a Transylvanian Expeditions Expert this is one of my favourite and my best choice as it is placed in a hidden and beautiful area in a valley, fully surrounded by lush green vegetation. We will stay two overnights HERE, with breakfast included. Jacuzzi, sauna and a hot tub with salty mineral water is at your disposal for an extra fee.

After your first night in Szeklerland, Transylvania we invite you to a delicious breakfast between 07:00 - 08:00. Practically you will be served a delicious breakfast to have the necessary energy for the rest of the day.

The first stop today will be take us to the worldfamous pottery manufacture village of Transylvania, called Corund. The local villagers, families practice the pottery manufacture for centuries. We will visit one of my favourite potter family dynasty, who will let you see the various steps of how these beautiful pottery products are handmade. A short snack will be also included, while everything will be explained.

In the eastern part of Transylvania, on Szekler’s Land there is a region- the only one- that was named after its mineral resources: the Szekler Salt-Region. Here, in this wonderful little region is situated the salt yard, one of the biggest places in Europe where salt can be found. The huge salt mass, which is 1.2 times 1.4 km in diameter, is slightly elliptic and it has its roots at an astonishing depth – 2.7 km. Underground world. The underground visiting place is on "Level 50” which is on 120 m deep from the surface. The private transport of the people is with buses on a 1250 m long tunnel to the entrance gate of the visiting base.

The Sovata narrow gauge steam locomotive, series 764052 is one of the 10 locomotives built in 1949 at the Chrzanow Poland factory. Two of which arrived in Romania and were preserved until 2011 in a depot in Sibiu. The locomotive is fully renovated and is running now on coal and hardwood. The train set has five gondola type cars, all wagons are between 11 to 12 meters long. And we will take a 2 hour long journey. In case of bad weather we walk around Europe s only heliotherm natural salt water lake. LUNCH in a local RESTAURANT, not included in the price.

This is the real highlight of our day. The bear watching programme runs all year round and usually starts 3 hours before dusk. The high season, from 15 June to 1 October, when the meeting time is 6.30pm, 18.30 hours. Outside the high season, meeting times change several times due to shortening days. Please check the contact details on this page for details. In case of bad weather or in case of rangers advice the programme might be called off, in this case we provide you a wellness entrance to a local 4 star hotel.

After a very long and energetic day we return to the village where our headquarter is. DINNER in a local restaurant. THIS IS NOT INCLUDED IN OUR PRICE. After dinner if needed, the hot tub with salty water, the sauna and the jacuzzi can be prepared for a nice relaxation, while sipping a glass of good Romanian wine and talking about your adventures in Szeklerland.

Adventure on four wheels, we go out on a 3 hour long Quad Tour, right from the yard of our accommodation to the nearby unique Jesus Statue where we will have several stops and we take you out to a traditional cold plate with Bacon and Sausage , local veggies slow food campfire and you will be served picknik. *(Boots, long sleeved trousers, long sleeved shirts and jackets are needed) the tour leader will provide the helmets and will give a little lesson on how to use the Quads / prior leaving a liability and insurance contract needs to be signed. We return to the headquarter, change clothes, CHECK OUT from the accommodation in Szeklerland.

With a short ride to Odorheiu Secuiesc, after a quad tour , we will step into the magic world of the Mini ATURETransylvania Park which is a brand new hit on the list of world wide travelers and bloggers, who can enjoy a complete walk in Transylvania among the miniature buildings and localities, that are very impressive and which are UNESCO WORLD Site Heritage places. The park is also giving us a short opportunity to tap into the realm of myths and legends in form of the LEGENDARY Cartoon serials presented in English.

This will be our farewell from Szeklerland. I invite you all to a very special family owned VIP fruit brandy manufacture who are creating out of organic fruits and wild berries extraordinary good tasting high quality PÁLINKA - paleenkaa - Here we will have short guided visit through the Jamy Distillery with some GIFT BASKETS TO BRING HOME from your visit to Transylvania's Szeklerland region.

A UNESCO Heritage Site, Sighisoara offers an invaluable look into the Medieval Ages, of famous vampires, and the story of Transylvania. At the heart of Sighisoara is the Citadel, which is well-preserved and an ode to the early residents that made the city what we see today. We will have a pleasant walk through this medieval history.

The next STOP WITH ACCOMMODATION and breakfast, on OUR journey would be the village of Viscri (called Deutsch-Weisskirch in German), one of the many traditional Saxon villages in this part of Transylvania. I’ve been to Viscri before and it’s without doubt a gorgeous village with an impressive Saxon fortified church well-worth a visit. King Charles III owns a house in the village. The Viscri fortified church (Romanian: Biserica fortificată din Viscri; German: Kirchenburg von Deutsch-Weisskirch) is a Lutheran fortified church in Viscri (Deutsch-Weisskirch), Brașov County, in the Transylvania region of Romania. It was built by the ethnic German Transylvanian Saxon community at a time when the area belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary. Our next two nights will be spent here in a local renovated 18th century house.

Dinner will be at the Blue House and White Barn which is placed in Viscri one of the last authentic 12th century Saxon settlements in Europe. Viscri is a village which has maintained its architecture, heritage, and customs throughout the ages: from the brightly colored houses lining our street, to the UNESCO world heritage Fortified Church on the hill behind our orchard, and HRH Prince Charles’ cottage down the road. We’ve built a sustainable, social business model which contributes to our new community by keeping everything local. Everyone on our team and their families live in the village. We care about our neighbours and about sustaining the local economy by involving them in our work. At Viscri 32, the slow food on your table will come from a stone’s throw away. Attention> DINNER IS NOT INCLUDED IN OUR PRICE <

After our breakfast in Viscri. We had out to the house of King Charles 3 of Great Britain. This Saxon German house has been completely renovated and the nearby yard, barn and garden has been totally refurbished and rebuilt. We will visit this place first and will be able to find out why King Charles 3 has so deep connection to Transylvania. Also we will visit a local black smith. In case of the black smith will not be open we move out towards our next destination.

With a short bus ride we will arrive to one of Transylvania's hidden geological, volcanic formation. Alsó Rákos or Racosul de Jos settlement was the centre of the once flourishing basalt mining industry. The black basalt columns on its outskirts, the precipitation pond where the lava from the volcanic vent was extracted, and the red glowing slag cone in the volcanic crater and its surroundings are a nature reserve. It was formed on the site of lava erupted from a volcanic vent. It has been deepening since 1930 thanks to the impermeable layer beneath it, which collects rainwater. An emerald lake that really sparkles like an emerald. Red Volcano is also on our list to visit depending on weather and if the film serial site Django is allowing entrance or not.

After our visit to the Racosu de Jos, we drive to Rupea Saxon German fortified Citadel of Rupea which dates from 1324. It appeared in a chronicle under the name of castrum Kuholm in a story of a revolt of the Transylvanian Saxons against the Hungarian King Károly I. The Saxons used the citadel as a hideout during this time. The Fortress existed before as the center of the medieval Seat of Rupea in Transylvania. Its main purpose was to defend the surrounding population from the attacks of the Ottoman Empire. Turk invasions were common at the time in Transylvania since the area stood between the Western countries and the Ottoman Empire. Out of necessity, just about every settlement built at least a fortified church for protection, while larger areas had fortresses and citadels.

We will visit a very special place in the Saxon German village of Bunesti. One of the local GuestHouse Owner has an amazing dinner for us all. Here we take a relaxed slow pace time to talk about the great Transylvanian experiences, as it will be your last night, before we take you back to the airport. BUNESTI DINNER IS INCLUDED IN THE PRICE. Meaning, food, coffee, one schnapps, water is included in the price. Other non alcoholic and alcoholic drinks are not included in the price.

Last night at the accommodation in Viscri. Rest and relax, breath in and breath out the amazing adventures you had the chance to discover. We promise you will be remembering these memories for life.

We need to check out from our accommodation. Today early morning we will have our breakfast , say goodbye to the owners of the historical buildings and we will had back to the airport. We make sure you have all your gears packed up including gift baskets , passports and ids, and we kindly ask you to leave a positive comment and rating on our JoinMyTrip portal so other TripMates could discover and enjoy similar adventures. Thank you in advance.

On the way to Cluj Napoca we will have a few short brakes at gas stations all depending from the time frame you will have to catch your flights. It is all based upon the schedule of your flight company so we usually drive a little bit faster and safer , in order for you to make a smooth check in at the airport. Please watch out for the time frames.