Notes From the Road: A Research Trip in Romania

From the candy-coloured villages and the stunning Carpathian Mountains, Experience Designer Tom Abraham shares the highlights from his recent research trip to Romania. 

I fly into Bucharest, arriving on a sunny and warm November afternoon, and head straight for Transylvania, a two-hour drive north. I cross the Carpathian Range at dusk and an hour later arrive at Bethlen Estates, Romania’s newest luxury property, in the Saxon village of Cris (pronounced sris). It’s my kind of place, with a traditional exterior blending perfectly with the surrounding village homes, but bright and modern inside, with light wood floors, timber frame and tile accents, and a deliciously comfortable bed that is calling my name. 

I have a short jet lag-induced nap before dinner, which turns out to be an imaginative seven-course tasting menu created by Bethlen’s young chef, featuring fresh takes on traditional Romanian food paired with exceptional Romanian wines, including several from the immediate vicinity. So far so good!

My local guide Raluca and I start early the next morning with a brisk walk through the brightly painted village to the outskirts, where the gypsy community lives. Horse-drawn wagons pass by, heading for the fields as the early morning fog lifts, revealing beautiful fall colours in the surrounding beech forests. We pass several kids heading in the opposite direction to the village school.

We hop in the car to scope out some new bike routes for our new Romania Biking trip for 2023. I find myself wishing I had the time to be doing this work on a bike, the riding looks incredible. We pass a colourful village every 10 kilometres or so. There’s always a church at its center. Between the towns is a mosaic of fields and forests and the snow-capped peaks of the Carpathian range shines in the distance. Who knew that November was such a nice time to travel here?

In the afternoon, we drive a few kilometres into the hills on a gravel road. My guide wants to show me an ancient oak forest. We hike a short trail to the grandmother tree of the stand, a huge gnarled trunk with massive limbs spreading impossibly wide, over 800 years old. All around us stand dozens of oaks, almost as large.

The following morning we check out and head to Viscri, a village in the center of Transylvania, made famous by King Charles, who owns a house and property here. The biking looks amazing as we drive past rolling hills hosting large flocks of sheep, recording routes on GPS. We stop for lunch at Viscri 38, a farm-to-table restaurant with a great selection of local products.

In the evening we finish our long day of recording bike routes and admiring scenery at Zabola, a former count’s private manor converted to a 5-star hotel. We stretch our legs with a brisk walk into the hills, accompanied by the hotel’s three exuberant black labs. A hotel inspection follows. The spacious hotel rooms overlook two ponds and several gardens, a horse barn, a riding ring and a secluded spa building. It is a stunning property.   

In the morning we GPS a wonderful bike ride that passes by seven or eight farming villages on a quiet meandering road. The eastern slope of the Carpathians is right next to us, providing beautiful views, but the route is 65km of flat and fast riding. We have lunch, then drive to Brasov, the largest town in Transylvania, with a traditional Saxon old town at its centre. There’s a running marathon happening today, so the city centre is closed to traffic. We bump our roller suitcases for what seems like a marathon over cobbled streets to the hotel. The Schuster Boarding house is a welcome new property in the centre of town, just a few steps from the Black Church, Brasov’s iconic landmark. Created from an early 20th-century Art Nouveau building, the hotel's interior is remarkably sleek, modern and even techie. My room is bright, beautiful and spacious.

An hour later, we hike back to the car and begin scouting a bike ride between Brasov and Rasnov. The Carpathians peaks reach their tallest height in the area around Brasov and they tower above the city. The riding here is the most challenging of the trip and the views over the city from the serpentine road are awesome. I’m doubly happy about our new fleet of e-bikes earmarked for the region. 

In Poiana Brasov, the base station for the local ski area, we stop for a superb coffee (Romania has an incredible coffee scene, especially in urban centres) and a snack, then continue down a long shaded descent through forested slopes to Rasnov, another charming small city on the opposite side of the mountain.

We scout around the area, passing the notorious Bran castle, which is surrounded by kitschy souvenir stands, t-shirt shops and restaurants with Dracula-inspired names. It’s clear this place is not going to be part of our itinerary, but the surrounding landscape is truly beautiful—reminiscent of Switzerland. Returning to Brasov we wander the cobbled streets and end up at Prato, for an excellent Italian evening meal.

The next morning my third visit to Romania ends with an early flight to Sofia, Bulgaria, where the next phase of my 2023 research begins. After many fits and starts and delayed plans because of covid, I am so excited about debuting B&R’s new Romania Biking trip. It’s been worth the wait. The hotels are better than ever, the biking is fabulous, the food and wine are diverse and delicious, the culture and history are interesting, and the Romanian people are just as welcoming and fascinating as ever.