Romania and Bulgaria with Balkan Travel & Tours
Having been to all but a handful of European countries, my wife and I were thinking, “Where next?” As luck would have it, she had just read Randy Keck’s article on Romania (June ’03, pg. 108). She immediately got on the Internet and contacted all the companies mentioned in the story. Each responded, and we chose Balkan Travel & Tours (325 West 38th St., New York, NY 10018; phone 888/763-4288, e-mail balkantravel@worldnet.att.net or visit www.balkan-travel.com).
Balkan’s brochure didn’t list any tours beyond early October, but the polite woman on the phone told us that anytime we wanted to leave, we would be provided with our own driver/guide. She explained that the lack of later-listed departures was because of “iffy” weather in November. The gods must have been with us, because during our Oct. 28-Nov. 16, ’03, trip to Romania and Bulgaria we had only one “iffy” day.
The land cost for the 8-night Romanian portion of our trip was $1,099 per person, which included breakfasts and dinners. The eager-to-please guide, Radu Fifea, came from J’info Tours, the local ground operator for Balkan Travel.
The 7-day Bulgarian excursion offered by Renaissance, Ltd. (the Bulgarian counterpart of J’info), cost $699 per person, land, with an additional $68 each for an add-on day.
Among many highlights of the Romanian portion of our trip was St. Nicholas Church in Brasov; in the church’s museum, Professor Oltean proudly showed us the oldest books written in the Cyrillic alphabet. In the Maramures Mountains, where on Sundays most of the valley’s villagers dress in traditional costume, we visited the Merry Cemetery in Sapanta; the carved wooden gravestones depict the departeds’ roles in life with humorous epitaphs.
In Sofia, Bulgaria, we stayed in the Radisson SAS Grand Hotel, the most centrally located hotel in the city. If there were such a classification as a 6-star hotel, the Radisson would certainly qualify. In all our travels at home and abroad, we have never experienced a better one.
Across the street from the hotel is the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, perhaps the city’s greatest sight. St. Sofia’s Basilica, the National Parliament and the University of Sofia are all within an easy walk.
Outside of Sofia we toured Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-biggest city. In its Old Town we viewed orthodox churches, a second-century-A.D. Roman theater and a rich ethnographic museum. At another museum, the Etura Open-Air Village Museum (45 minutes from Shipka Pass), we familiarized ourselves with the houses and craft traditions of the past 300 years. There were great bargains in the shops there.
The town of Veliko Turnovo was the capital of Bulgaria in the Middle Ages. We toured the remains of its past glory, including fortress walls, palaces, churches and the charmingly and authentically preserved art and craft shops on Samovodene Street. In nearby Arbanassi village, the Nativity Church was plain-looking on the outside, but within was a treasure trove of biblical scenes painted by unknown artists throughout the ages.
In both Romania and Bulgaria we found that gifts and souvenirs were unbelievably inexpensive, as were the restaurants and cafés. Both countries’ per-capita income is among the lowest in Europe ($300-$400 per month, on average), but we saw less begging there than in many more affluent countries.
In Bulgaria, roads were better and traffic was less hectic. We found Bulgaria more scenic than Romania, and it had better-groomed farmland. Romania seems to have regressed since Communist days, with many horse-drawn plows having replaced tractors.
Food is safe to eat in both countries.
We encountered many friendly people in our travels.
PHILIP & JACKIE KORBHOLZ
Stockton, CA