Agricultural Tour of Romania

Day 1 - Bucharest
Arrival in Bucharest, meet your guide and transfer to the hotel, situated in the city centre. Dinner and accommodation in a 4* hotel

Day 2 – Bucharest and Pantelimon
In the morning we visit the People’s House, the 2nd largest building in the world after the Pentagon. The People’s House was designed during the communist regime led by Ceausescu, from 1984 till the Revolution in 1989. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Palace is the world's largest civilian administrative building, the most expensive administrative building, and the heaviest building. Today it is called the Parliament’s Palace, seat of political and administrative powers, a multi-purpose building housing both chambers of the Parliament.
We then continue towards the outskirts of Bucharest to visit Agroindustriala Pantelimon. This dairy farm was, in the past, part of the elite farms for the Holstein breed in Romania. It started in 1973 when 500 pregnant Holstein cows were brought from Denmark. Today there are about 500 heads, producing more than 5.000l of milk every day. It has several milk dispensers in Bucharest, and in June 2009, they also opened the first “Farm Park” in Romania, close to the dairy farm. Last year they also started to produce yogurt and cream. It is a very good example of the transition of a former state-owned communist farm to a privately owned one. We visit the farm and meet the owner, a veterinarian who has been working on the farm during the communist times and then became the owner of it. Lunch at the farm ad then we transfer back to Bucharest for a city tour.
Bucharest is a very cosmopolitan city, full of contrasts, which is now reviving itself after almost 50 years of communism. Architectural masterpieces from the Belle Epoque and from the interwar period are now rediscovered and valued. We visit a small craft beer factory that produces handcrafted beer, unpasteurized, naturally fermented, with simple and basic ingredients and enjoy a beer tasting. In the evening we have dinner in a famous restaurant in the city centre.
Accommodation in a 4* hotel

Day 3 – Pitesti, Cozia and Sibiel
In the morning we leave towards Transylvania following the beautiful Olt valley.
We stop for lunch in a restaurant on the way and then pay a visit to Cozia Orthodox monastery, with its main church dating from the 14th century, a harmonious blend of different architectural styles. The building also provides a backdrop for a good insight into the rituals of Romanian Orthodox faith. We continue our drive across the Southern Carpathians and, in the afternoon, we reach Sibiel village, where Romanian shepherds created and still support a strong, original culture. We check-in at our traditional houses that have been restored in order to receive guests and then go for a walk in the village. We return in time for a traditional dinner accompanied by local brandy and wine.
(370 km, 6 hours transfer today)

Day 4 – Cartisoara, Albota and Saliste
In the morning we transfer to Cartisoara where we get information about an agro-tourist group with two animal farms, a slaughter house, a small meat production factory, a trout farm, guesthouse and several restaurants. We visit a small farm with Angus beef and guinea fowls and, depending on their activity at the moment, we might also get to see the slaughterhouse. Our journey continues towards Albota to visit the trout farm belonging to the same group. They have two Romanian breeds of trout: Curcubeu (Rainbow) and Fantanel. We have lunch at the trout farm with their own product. Our next stop is Saliste village to visit a traditional sheepfold with about 1.000 heads (Romanian breeds Tigaie and Turcana – mix breeds: meat and milk). We see the cheese producing process and taste the cheese they make here. Then we head back to Sibiel where we visit a traditional small peasant farm, with a few cows, pigs and chicken. Our accommodation is the same as the previous night and includes a traditional dinner accompanied by local brandy and wine.
(170 km, 3 hours driving today)

Day 5 – Sibiu, Nocrich, Mosna and Sighisoara
In the morning we travel towards Sibiu for a city tour. This was the European Capital of Culture in 2007, one of the best preserved medieval cities in Romania, carefully restored in the latter years. The city is known to exist from the 12th century, rising in prominence to become an important trading town. Like other Transylvanian cities, it was inhabited by Saxon merchants organized in guilds or corporations, fortifying the city to protect its wealth. Sibiu is packed with fascinating sites to explore, from its ramparts and towers to its passageways, linking the upper to the lower quarters in a coherent ensemble. We then continue to nearby Nocrich in order to visit Karpaten meat farm, the biggest beef farm in Romania. It was founded in 2008 and its two Swiss owners who also manage a group of three big farms near Sibiu. They produce high quality beef with Angus cattle, bred on the natural pastures in Transylvania and the premium beef is sold in Romania and Western Europe. We visit the farm and have time for further discussions before we have lunch. We continue by bus to Mosna village, to visit the mixed eco- farm of Willy Schuster, one of the pioneers and promoters of eco- farming in Romania. Enjoy a presentation of the farm, discussions and then tasting of their products (cheese, jam & tea) follow. Later in the afternoon we continue our journey to Sighisoara, a medieval citadel included in the UNESCO heritage list, inhabited continuously ever since its settlement by Saxon colonists. We go for a walk around the town, including the house where Vlad Tepes also known as Vlad the Impaler (the Romanian ruler who inspired Bram Stoker’s character Dracula) was born. We have dinner in one of the best restaurants in town and we are accommodated in a 3* hotel in the centre of the city, in a historical building. (140 km, 3 hours driving today)

Day 6 – Crit, Viscri and Brasov
This morning we transfer to Crit for a visit to a World Vision Foundation project in Romania. Agrovision is a project farm, created to present and to teach the locals how to make the transition from a subsistence farm to a commercial one. The farm has about 50 heads and it must self-finance itself. Meet with the administrative members and discuss their different activities, courses for the local farmers, and summer camps etc.
We continue to Viscri (Deutschweisskirch by its German name) where we have lunch prepared by the locals, accompanied by homemade brandy and wine. During lunch we get to know the local agricultural association and chat with one of the members. After lunch we take a ride in horse pulled carriages, visiting the surroundings and seeing some local traditional craftsmen at work. We continue to Brasov, one of Transylvania’s major cities. It is also known as Kronstadt due to the presence of Saxon colonists as early as the 12th century. The city is fringed by the peaks of the Southern Carpathian Mountains and resplendent with Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architecture, as well as a wealth of historical attractions. As one of the medieval Saxons’ seven walled cities built in the 12th century, Brasov has been a popular destination throughout the ages. We have dinner in one of the restaurants in the centre and find our accommodation in a 3*** hotel in a historical building situated in the main square of the city.
(140 km, 3 hours driving today)

Day 7 – Rotbav, Bran and Azuga
In the morning, we visit a local fruit and vegetable market in Brasov before we continue to Rotbav to visit an interesting family farm. Catean farm belongs to three brothers who started their business in 1998 following in the family tradition of three generations. Now they have about 1100 sheep, 100 cows, 9 horses, 100ha arable land and 150ha of pasture. They are producing several types of cheese with traditional recipes attested since 1412 and different types of meat products which they are selling in several supermarkets in the area. We have lunch at the farm before we drive to Bran Castle. We are taken on a guided tour of this imposing structure guarding the passage between two Romanian provinces: Walachia to the south and Transylvania to the north. A beautiful building, it is best known as the home to Bram Stoker’s character, Dracula. The Transylvanian Count is based on Vlad Tepes, known as Vlad Dracul or Vlad the Impaler, the ruler of Wallachia from 1456-1462 and a ruthless despot.
We continue to Azuga where we visit the Rhein wine cellars, dating from 1892 and producing sparkling wine by the “Champenoise” method. We meet the specialist of the cellar who will explain the whole process of sparkling wine making while visiting the cellars. After that comes sparkling wine tasting and dinner at the cellars. In late afternoon we return to Brasov and stay in the same accommodation as the previous night. (140 km, 3 hours driving today)

Day 8 – Brasov to Bucharest Airport
Today we leave Brasov and drive back to the Bucharest OTP airport for our flight back home.
(160 km, 3 hours transfer)