Romania – dance and people - 11 to 25 august 2015
Dance-, hiking- and culture-trip to Transsilvania / Romania
+ Bulgaria/Koprivstica* (*look below)
This 2-week trip will first lead us to the touristically developed, but still authentic village of Sibiel on the Cindrel mountain rim (20km from Sibiu)
Program first week
Mornings: 2-3 hours dancing lessons with the experienced Romanian dancing masters Ioan and Ana Olariu for traditional dances from Transsilvania and other regions of Romania; Afternoons: Hiking and walking in the surroundings, visit of the famous local museum of Romanian glass icon art; Evenings: Various Romanian dances with Giorgio ZAnkl, meeting with the traditional dance group of Saliste, a neighbouring village; Sunday: Partecipating in the well-known traditional festival Sarbatoarea Portului Romanesc de la Gura Raului, which presents traditional dances, musics, costumes
Accomodation with local people in charming rural pensions including traditional Romanian dishes
We’ll be spending the second week in Sibiu / Hermannstadt, the 800-year old and originally German town.
Program second week
Mornings: Dancing lessons in Saxon and traditional Romanian dances with Vlad Popa, Giorgio Zankl, Silvia Macrea, co-founder of the famous ensemble Junii Sibiului; Afternoons: Visits of a typical church fortress, of the famous folk art open air museum Astra, guided tour through the town, hiking on the Cindrel mountain; Evenings: Dancing with Giorgio Zankl traditional Romanian dances, meeting with the senior dance company Junii Sibiului
Accomodation: We will be staying in the historic buildings of the protestant parish Parochia evanghelica in the heart of the town
Sibiel , although already a popular resort at communist times, has kepted its rural character. <Behind the pretty and well-cared housefronts you'll find hospitable people who have remained faithfull to the land. They coltivate vegetables in there own gardens or on fields outside the village and keep chickens, sheep and even one or two cows. So the food is simple but delicious and fresh. We'll be allowed to use the big community hall for our dance course. You will have the opportunity to buy traditional Romanian costumes which are stored in the old village scool. More about history 1MB.pdf
Sibiu, Hermannstadt in German, UNESCO capital of culture in 2007, is one of the most beautiful Transsilvanian towns. The squares in the old town centre – Piaţa mare, Piaţa mica, Piaţa Huet and others – are animated like the famous Italian piazze of Siena, Florence or Rome: there are a lot of coffeehouses in different styles – Austrian, Italian, English,… - with joyful mediterranean flair and crowded with local people and tourists from all over Europe. However, Sibiu has preserved its Transsilvanian-Saxon character which is manifest in beautifully renovated buildings, in the language and infrastructure - see the picture gallery on this site or visit www.sibiu.ro
Itinerary München(Munich) – Sibiu – München
Plane or train-tickets may be organized by me.
The train trip offers to have a 6 hours stay in Budapest - what a chance toknow the old town and the Austro-Hungarian coffee-culture in ! Travelling in this manner, you will approximate to the subject of this journey: traditions. And using the train you will care for the climate. In Budapest, we will take sleeping-cars in the night-train for arriving the next morning well sleeped in Sibiu.
For whom a flight-trip is indispensable:
Flight departure from München 11 august arr Sibiu in the afternoon, transfer with bus or train to Sibiel; flight back Sibiu-Munich 25 august arr in the course of the day
For others:
Train DB (Deutsche Bahn) dep from München 10 august, at 9.30am, arr in Budapest 5pm, dep in sleeping cars (4 pax) at 11.30pm arr in Sibiu 11 august, at 10.30am; here we will wait for other partecipants and meanwhile cast a look to the historical centre of Sibiu maybe comparing the coffeeshops with those of Budapest ; in the afternoon/evening we will transfer with bus or taxi to Sibiel (1 hour); going back dep from Sibiu 25 august, at 7.30 pm, in night-train with sleeping-cars (4 pax) arr 26 august, at 8.15 am, in Vienna; dep from Vienna at 8.30am arr in Munich at 12.30; if we don't catch the connection don't worry: there are many connections Vienna-Munich, the next an half hour later.
If you book the trip-combination Bulgaria (Koprivstica with Belco Stanev - look below!) + Romania, I will care for the connections and for the flight tickets: Departure 31 july from München to Sofia, transfer from Sofia to Koprivstica in bus or train where you will arrive in the evening; stay there for course and festival of bulgarian dances until 10 august; transfer to Romania: dep from Koprivstica in the course of 10 august to Sofia, take the overnight-bus or -train to Bucarest arr 11 august, in the morning; change and take a Mikrobuz arr in the early afternoon in Sibiu, meet the other travellers and transfer together to Sibiel in bus or Taxi; 25 august go back to Munich with flight from Sibiu
Total cost: accomodation in 2/3-bed rooms, including all meals in the 1st week (2nd week see Extra-costs below), plane or train tickets München – Sibiu and back, local transfers, dancing lessons and travel operating: 995 €; this price may vary depending on date of registration and airport of departure
Extras: self-catering in the 2nd week about 105 €; single room supplement 100 €;
Reduction for children: 150 - 250 € depending on age and means of transport; Reduction for partecipation without dancing lessons: 100 €
*Combining Belco Stanevs dance workshop in Koprivstica (900 € for accomodation, dancing lessons, visit of the festival) with my trip to Romania and booking both here you will have a reduction of 100 €, so the total costs are 1795 € for both trips from 31 july to 25 august. This price may vary depending on date of registration and airport of departure