WHAT'S NEWSpring-Summer 2008 It’s true…we are lucky. We work in a business where we can share wonderful things with our guests. We can watch their faces as they spot a beautiful piece of art or a wonderful building. The thrill of discovery lights up their eyes and makes an excited smile appear on a face that previously looked tired from travel. As wonderful as this is, sometimes we get to be our own explorers and make amazing discoveries of our own – things we haven’t read about prior to our trip, or places we had not expected to enjoy as much as we do. One of several such discoveries came on our research trip to Romania to scout out our Fall tour, Romania: Painted Monasteries and Mysterious Transylvania. We were walking through the old section of Brasov in Transylvania one evening in a steady rain, feeling the cold water dripping down our backs but pressing on as time in this city was limited and there was a community-wide festival going on which would limit vehicular traffic in the morning due to a parade. So on we went, and near the famous Black Church happened upon a small restaurant that miraculously had an empty table for two, and even had a violinist and keyboardist playing a mix of classical music and American pop music – a welcome alternative to the hard rock music blasting from the nearby square. We took off our dripping coats and gratefully sank into the soft banquettes and ordered a glass of wine. Those of you joining us on the Fall tour will certainly benefit from this discovery, and we will enjoy our return visit – and we got to play the role of explorer. A lovely moment, indeed. There was also the experience of walking through the small village of Miklosvar where Count Tibor Kalnoky maintains an unusual bed and breakfast in renovated buildings of his Hungarian ancestors. These and other properties had been confiscated by the Communists and the new young Count has just won their return to the Kalnoky family. When you are a guest of the Count, you eat breakfast and a gracious candlelight dinner in the “upper” building area but most of the sleeping rooms are located in the “lower” area a short walk away through the village. After driving through countless villages seeing only the fronts of the homes located on the main street, it is an appealingly different perspective to actually spend some time on foot in this village. The Count has brought these buildings up to modern standards, though there is no phone or television, but we found the chance to exchange friendly smiles and nods and occasional conversation with the villagers very rewarding. To be sure, there were other “discoveries” as well. As people who appreciate the Arts and Crafts Movement, we were struck by the clear examples of patterns and designs that must have influenced the early Arts and Crafts designers. For example, some of the mural backgrounds on the walls in churches looked as though they could have been William Morris wallpapers and you will be forgiven for thinking many of the churches have work by Pre-Raphaelite painters. We found Romania to be a complex mixture of history and sociology. Clearly there are signs of change. Romania is still struggling to rebuild following sixty years of Communist rule. Many village residents are moving to larger cities leaving their villages in the hands of older people. As we drove through the country, we saw countless shepherds tending herds of goats, flocks of sheep, and people driving horse carts and ox carts (all with license plates). We saw stork’s nests high atop telephone poles in many villages – it’s good luck to have a stork’s nest outside your home. We saw tangible evidence of the country’s history as we traveled through areas that were influenced by Saxon and Hungarian control. Romania is a paradox – a shepherd standing in a field talking on his cell phone. Romania is always surprising. We hope you will join us this autumn, when the harvest is due. |