Glimpse on Romania

Transfer from Tulcea by ship, cruising on the Sulina channel, to Crisan, a magnificent fishermen village in the heart of the Delta.
On the way you will see that human life and all activities are completely dependant on the waters of the great river: fish, small animals, fruit and even building materials are transported by rowing boats. Often, boats are also used as “local cabs”, transporting people from shore to shore. On the surrounding lakes, masses of swans are getting ready for a snap. Spend the afternoon enjoying the gorgeous view of the sunset over the willow forests and the purple reflections in the Danube.
Dinner and overnight in a 3* rural guesthouse in the heart of the delta.

The boat will take you to narrow channels, where you will discover what the birdwatchers simply call "the paradise of birds". Depending on the season, you can expect to see Dalmatian and White Pelicans, Pigmy Cormorants, Purple, Squacco and Night Herons, Little and Great White Egrets, Spoon Bill, Glossy Ibis, Swans, Ferruginous Duck etc.

Raptors include the Black Kite, Osprey, White-tailed Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Hobby and Red-footed Falcon. Terns include the Gull-billed, Sandwich, Black, White-winged Black, and Whiskered. Crakes and Warblers are present too. The very discreet human intervention allowed more than 1000 plant species to survive in the Delta.
White and yellow water lilies decorate the lakes. Forests of oaks stand covered by lianas, giving them the aspect of a tropical forest. You will also discover villages where fishermen continue living in a centuries-old way of life.
Dinner and overnight in the same guesthouse as the day before.

Dinner and overnight in a 3* rural guesthouse in the region of Brasov.

Departure for Sinaia, surnamed “the Pearl of the Carpathians”. Visit the impressive Peles Castle. The castle was built under the supervision of the First King of Romania, Carol I of Hohenzollern, at the end of the 19th century.
Lunch in a restaurant in Sinaia.

Return to Brasov, the "Crown City" of Transylvania, named "Kronstadt" by the Saxon colonists. Enjoy a tour of the old medieval city: visit the Council Square and the Black Church - one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Romania and the biggest church between Wien and Istanbul.
Back for dinner and overnight in the same rural guesthouse as the previous day.

Continue for Prejmer (Tartlau) and Harman (Honigberg) to visit the two 13th century fortified churches, both present in the UNESCO heritage list. Lunch in a restaurant on the way.

Time permitting, stop in Sambata de Sus and visit the Brancoveanu Monastery. The monastery was built during the second decade of the 17th century by Constantin Brancoveanu, Prince of Wallachia, on the ruins of an older wooden monastery erected at the beginning of the century by his grandfather. In 1785, on the order of the House of Habsburg, the monastery was partially destroyed, being restored only in the beginning of the 20th century. Nowadays the monastery governs the most important school of religious painting.
Dinner and overnight in a 3* rural guesthouse in Marginimea Sibiului.

In the morning, visit the open-air section of the ASTRA ethnographic museum, located in the middle of a magnificent landscape, with cool forests and sunny glades surrounding a beautiful lake. The museum offers in its 6 sections an elaborate demonstration of pre-industrial folk technology and development in Romania. Lunch in a rustic restaurant in the museum`s park.

In the afternoon visit the old center: in the Large Square, the city center since the 16th century, is located the Council Tower, one of the main symbols of the city, a 14th century fortification tower that has been successively rebuilt over the years. The building nearby used to be the City Council's meeting place. Continue with the Small Square and the Huet Square, the Bridge of Liars and finally the Evanghelical Church, two other city symbols.
On the way back, visit the glass painted icons museum in Sibiel.
Dinner and overnight in the same location as the previous day.

With its architecture, the monastery marks the period when the original Byzantine architecture was adapted to Romanian culture.
Continue to Curtea de Arges and visit the monastery Curtea de Arges, resting place of several Romanian kings.

Built by Neagoe Basarab, the monastery is related to the legend of Manole, according to which the wife of the master stonemason Manole was embedded alive in the stonewalls of the church, sacrifice meant to ensure the success of his work. The prince who ordered to build the church decided the scaffolding to be removed, which left Manole stranded on the roof, so that he could never build a church as beautiful as this one again. In an attempt to escape, Manole made himself a pair of wings out of wooden shingles, but they were of no avail, and he would crash to the ground like Icarus and die. Upon his crash, on that very spot, a spring would gush forth, which is now called “Manole's well”. Today people would throw coins in its basin, to make their wishes come true.
Lunch in a restaurant in Curtea de Arges. Continue to Bucharest.
Dinner in a restaurant and overnight in a 3* hotel in Bucharest.

Visit the Stavropoleus Church, Lipscani Street - the old commercial street, the University Square. Stroll on the Union Avenue and continue with a visit to the Palace of the Parliament, one of the largest buildings in the world and definitely the largest building in Europe. With a surface of 350 000 square meters, the “Palace of the People” (as it used to be called during the communist regime) is on the second place in the world, after the Pentagon from Washington DC, being also 10% larger in volume than the Gizeh pyramids.

Lunch in a restaurant. In the afternoon visit the open-air section of the Village Museum, in the Herastrau Park, to admire village architecture and crafts from all over Romania.
Farewell dinner in a restaurant and overnight in the same 3* hotel in Bucharest.