This morning we take the train north into Transylvania. Landscapes slowly change as we cross the Carpathians, leaving the capital behind.
Arrival in Brașov, one of Romania’s most beautiful medieval towns, surrounded by mountains. We explore the historic centre on foot, from the Black Church to hidden courtyards and old defensive walls.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel in Brașov
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

A full day exploring some of Transylvania’s most iconic sites — without rushing or overdoing it.
We visit Bran Castle, often linked to Dracula myths, and Peleș Castle, a masterpiece of 19th-century royal architecture. Back in Brașov, time to wander, photograph or simply sit and watch the town go by.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel in Brașov
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

We head east, crossing quieter and more rural Romania. On the way, we stop at Agapia Monastery, one of the country’s most important Orthodox religious sites, still inhabited by a large community of nuns.
Later, we drive through the dramatic Bicaz Gorges, a natural corridor carved between high limestone cliffs, before reaching Bucovina.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel in Bucovina
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

Today is dedicated to Bucovina’s famous painted monasteries, UNESCO World Heritage sites. Their exterior frescoes tell biblical stories meant to be read by people who could not read.
We move slowly, allowing time for context, observation and conversation, far from the crowds.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel in Bucovina
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

We start heading south, crossing rural Romania and smaller towns far from the usual routes.
Along the way, we visit a Roma community, spending time understanding daily life, traditions and the realities behind common stereotypes — listening, observing and exchanging rather than consuming.

In the late afternoon, we continue to our overnight stop in southern Transylvania, close to the Carpathians.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

After breakfast, we complete the journey back to Bucharest.
The afternoon is free for last walks, packing or a final coffee in the city.

In the evening, the group splits:

Option A – Those who booked the Romania only tour, will stay overnight in Bucharest.
Option B – Those continuing to Moldova, board the overnight train to Chișinău.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel in Bucharest or overnight train (depending on option)
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

Option A – Romania only:
Transfers to the airport according to flight times. End of the journey.

Option B – Moldova & Transnistria extension:

Bun venit! Welcome to Moldova 🇲🇩
Arrival in Chișinău, Moldova’s capital and transfer to the hotel.
Chișinău city shaped by Soviet urbanism, post-independence struggles and a strong sense of resilience.
Those joining only this part of the tour can arrive by plane today. Time to rest or explore locally.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel in Chișinău
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

We leave Chișinău and travel east into Pridnestrovie, a post-Soviet territory operating in a political grey zone. Border formalities are part of the experience.
For foreign visitors, it’s important to note that the term “Transnistria” is prohibited in public use locally.

As explained by PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky: “For me personally, the term ‘transnistria’ has transformed from the concept of ‘territory beyond the Dniester’ into a term that stands for hunger, devastation, murder, blood, the Holocaust. When we are called ‘transnistria’, this is deeply offensive for me personally as a citizen of Pridnestrovie.”

During our stay, we use the official name Pridnestrovie, in line with local regulations and sensitivities.

Arrival in Tiraspol, where Soviet symbols and everyday life continue as part of the present, not the past. First impressions and orientation walk.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel in Tiraspol
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

We explore the city on foot, moving between monuments, markets and everyday spaces, observing how history, religion and identity intersect in public life — not as a performance for tourists, but as lived reality.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel in Tiraspol
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

Today we experience Tiraspol on a special day. 14 October is traditionally marked by local celebrations, often linked to city festivities and Orthodox Pokrov celebrations (Protection of the Mother of God).
Depending on the year, this may include public concerts, military or civic ceremonies, street food stalls, families gathering in parks and a stronger public presence of symbols and rituals.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel in Tiraspol
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

After breakfast, we leave Pridnestrovie and travel south to Comrat, capital of Gagauzia. Here we enter a completely different cultural landscape.
Gagauzia is another Autonomous Region in the political borders or Moldova, but composed mostly by the Gagauz, a Turkic-speaking, Orthodox Christian people with autonomous status within Moldova.
We will learn how identity, language and politics coexist in this region, visiting the ethno-tourist complex Gagauz Sofrasi.
Food, music, crafts and stories come together in a hands-on way.
This is about everyday culture — shared meals, memory and continuity.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel in Comrat
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

We return to Chișinău for a final night. Time for last walks, wine bars or simply rest after a journey through layered borders and identities.

🛌 Accommodation: hotel in Chișinău
🍽️ Meals: breakfast

We return to Chișinău for a final night.
Time for last walks, wine bars or simply rest after a journey through layered borders and identities.

🛌 Accommodation: –
🍽️ Meals: breakfast