COLOSSAL ruins of fallen UTOPIAS
AUGUST 30 ⇾ SEPTEMBER 12
In addition to our regular group departures to the Eastern Balkans, we also offer tour services for private travel parties and lone wolves alike. As a traveller-oriented boutique operator, tailored trips and bespoke adventures are our bread and butter. Get in touch for more info on our customised journeys to the Eastern Balkans!
DAY 1• REVOLUTION-89
Breakfast meet-and-greet in the in the lobby of the magnificently brutalist Hotel Continental, our auberge of choice in central Timisoara and introductory briefing to the socialist legacy of the Eastern Balkans.
We'll spend the day touring Timisoara, the main cultural and economic hub of Western Romania and the birthplace of the anti-regime protests that led to Nicolae Ceausescu’s dramatic downfall in 1989.
Our visit will be mainly focussed on the impressive architectural heritage of the RSR (Republica Socialistă România - Socialist Republic of Romania), but we’ll also have time to admire the well-preserved elegant palaces, houses, churches and monasteries dating back to the pre-communist years.
Overnight in Timisoara.
DAY 2 • MINING HINTERLANDS
From Timisoara we’ll move deep into the mining heartland of the country and head for the Jiu Valley, the nitty-gritty basin of Romania’s once prosperous coal industry.
Travelling across a gloomy landscape of abandoned pits, decaying industrial architectures, and half-empty mining towns such as Lupeni, Petrosani and Petrila, we’ll eventually reach Târgu Jiu, a rather charming provincial city housing a striking sculptural complex by renowned Romanian polyhedric genius-artist Constantin Brâncuși.
Overnight in Târgu Jiu.
DAY 3 • SOMBER MEMORIES
Early start and transfer to Scornicesti, birthplace of Nicolae Ceaușescu, and further on towards Pitesti, the notorious site of the Pitesti Prison, best remembered for its barbaric reeducation experiments (also known as the "Pitesti Phenomenon") carried out between 1949 and 1951.
The seemingly unassuming city of Pitesti also boasts a few eye-popping architectural marvels from they heydays of the RSR, such as the extravagantly brutalist drama theatre, a towering state-run hotel (now more or less abandoned), and a massive modernist housing complex just outside the city centre.
Overnight in Pitesti.
DAY 4 • HIGH ENDEAVOURS
Leaving Pitesti and its inherent mixture of striking architectures and painful memories behind, we’ll proceed north towards Transylvania riding along the legendary Transfăgărășan, one of the most scenic routes in Eastern Europe and beyond.
In the afternoon we’ll finally arrive in Brasov, wherein we’ll indulge in a socialist-legacy tour of this formerly industrial centre that once bore the name of Oraşul Stalin, which literally translates, you guess it, into Stalin City.
Overnight in Brasov.
DAY 5 • WOODS, BEARS, AND FORTS
After an early breakfast, we’ll leave Brasov for the highlands, as the idyllic sceneries of the Bucegi National Park await us: breathtaking plateaus with snowcapped peaks as backdrop, forested slopes teeming with bears, and socialist-era mountain retreats; what more could you ask for?
Descending towards the plains, we’ll visit the mining village of Doftana, home to an imposing fort where the war-time fascist regime of Conducător Ion Antonescu used to lock up commies, anarchists, and other political prisoners, and the piedmont town of Câmpina with its little-known masterpiece of socialist architecture and public art: the superb Casa Tineretului.
If time allows, we might also stop in Snagov to visit the namesake Palatul Snagov, a former royal palace constructed in the so-called Brâncovenesc style and occasionally used as a residence by the General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and his successor Nicolae Ceauşescu, who also briefly stayed here with his wife on their foiled attempted escape during the Romanian Revolution of 1989.
Overnight in Bucharest.
BESPOKE experienceS
Embark on a time warp travel to the socialist days of yore visiting RSR-era Case de Cultura and BNR-era čitališta / domi na kulturata (houses of culture) and enjoy home-cooked traditional meals in the company of local families in both Romania and Bulgaria.
DAY 6 • BUCHAREST THE GRACEFUL
Full day devoted to Bucharest, the gleaming capital of the country, where will devote the rest of the day to the exploration of its socialist architectural heritage, lesser known neighbourhoods, authentic farmer markets, and the Soviet Heroes’ Cemetery.
Our gallivanting around and about Bucharest will also include a visit to Ceauşescu’s private mansion on Bulevardul Primăverii and his final resting place at the Ghencea cemetery, a sober site of pilgrimage for hardcore nostalgics of the epoca de aur, the Romanian “golden age” of authoritarianism.
Overnight in Bucharest.
DAY 7 • BLACK SEA BLUES
We’ll depart from Bucharest in the late morning and head east towards the classy seaside city of Constanta, the main Romanian port on the melancholic Black Sea coastline.
We’ll then spend a relaxing afternoon in Constanta, touring its diverse architectural and monumental treasures — the Ottoman-era mosque, the Art Nouveau casino, and the Victory Monument being our personal favourites – and strolling around the lively marina.
Overnight in Constanta.
DAY 8 • BACK TO THE USSR
From Constanta we’ll head south towards Bulgaria, a southern Slavic nation once famously known as “Sixteenth Soviet Republic” due to its close cultural, political and linguistic ties with the former USSR.
We’ll travel along the Black Sea Riviera visiting secluded beaches, ancient forts and timeless little towns full of socialist-era charm, before eventually reaching Varna, the third-largest city in Bulgaria.
We’ll spend the rest of the day touring Varna, a true architectural paradise by the sea, wherein Ottoman, Neo-Renaissance, Neoclassic, and Zhivkov-era shapes blend, more or less harmoniously, together.
Overnight in Varna.
DAY 9 • STONE GIANTS
From Varna we’ll head west into the Bulgarian heartland towards the historical city of Veliko Tarnovo.
On our way to Veliko Tarnovo, we’ll stop in Shumen, home to the impressive Monument to the Founders of Bulgaria, and at the Zhivkov-era park of Soviet fighter jets in Omurtag.
Once in Veliko Tarnovo, we will spend the rest of the afternoon touring its interesting urban landscape, wherein Eastern European neoclassicism meets traditional Bulgarian architecture and socialist modernism all at once.
Overnight in Veliko Tarnovo.
DAY 10 • COMMUNIST SPACESHIPS
Leaving Veliko Tarnovo early in the morning, we’ll drive south to the ancient city of Gabrovo, home to an impressive Soviet-style modernist town-hall-cum-clock-tower.
From Gabrovo we’ll head to the Shipka Prohod, a scenic mountain pass through the southern Balkan Mountains, part of the Bulgarka Nature Park and historical theatre of a series of conflicts collectively known as the Battle of Shipka Pass, fought between Bulgarian freedom fighters, aided by Russian volunteers, and the Ottoman Empire.
The battle is remembered by the Pametnik Shipka, but the real highlight of the area lies just a few kilometres further east: travelling down a serpentine side road, we’ll find ourselves in front of what is arguably the most famous socialist-era landmark of the country: Buzludzha, the impressive Monument House of the Bulgarian Communist Party.
Having paid our respects to Buzludzha and the history it represents, we’ll move further south to Maglizh to visit the monument to the September 1923 Anti-Fascist Uprising and the nearby WWII memorial.
After crossing the eastern fringes of the Rose Valley, a relatively wide dale famous for its rose-growing industry, we’ll then reach the historical Thracian town of Stara Zagora.
Overnight in Stara Zagora.
DAY 11 • PLANNED FUTURES
We’ll spend the entire morning in and around Stara Zagora – a concoction of Thracian tombs, Roman ruins, Ottoman mosques, Orthodox cathedrals, Soviet sculptures and Zhivkov-era monuments and architecture – and pay a visit to the striking Stara Zagora Defenders Memorial located in the north-eastern industrial outskirts of the city.
After lunch we’ll then tour Dimitrovgrad, founded in 1947 by the recently established People's Republic of Bulgaria as a socialist model city and named after the country’s first communist leader, Georgi Dimitrov.
In the late afternoon we will eventually reach Plovdiv, the cultural capital of Bulgaria.
Overnight in Plovdiv.
DAY 12 • UNDER THE GAZE OF ALESHA
We’ll spend the day touring Plovdiv and its many historical, architectural and monumental sights, such as the touching Bratska Mogila memorial complex and the glorious Alesha Statue, a larger-than-life stone sculpture that dominates the entire city as a poignant reminder of the war-time sacrifice made by the brotherly Soviet people.
If time and current circumstances allow, our tour around Plovdiv will also include a sortie to either Stolipinovo, the second-largest Romani neighbourhood in Eastern Europe, or the townlet of Krumovo, home to a vast open-air Aviation Museum with hundreds of helicopters, planes and miscellaneous aircrafts from the glorious days of the People’s Republic.
Overnight in Plovdiv.
DAY 13 • ROSES, MOSAICS, AND MONUMENTS
After an early breakfast in Plovdiv, we’ll take a circuitous route through the Rose Valley cities of Karlovo and Kalofer – home to monumental memorials and eye-catching Zhivkov-era mosaics – and slowly head for Sofia, the no-nonsense capital of the country.
On our way to Sofia, we’ll make a final de rigueur stop in Koprivshtitsa, a lovely little town known for the authentic Bulgarian architecture of its mansions.
Koprivshtitsa also has its own socialist-era gem in store for us: the gorgeous equestrian Monument to Georgi Benkovski, a local revolutionary and leading figure in the organization and direction of the 1876 uprising against the yoke of the Ottomans.
Overnight in Sofia.
DAY 14 • SOFIA AT LAST!
After breakfast, we'll spend the morning hours touring Sofia’s communist-era legacy, before concluding our journey with a last sumptuous Bulgarian luncheon.
Free afternoon at your own leisure in Sofia to unveil its delightfully pre-Soviet concoction of late XIX-century edifices, mighty Orthodox cathedrals, and independent libraries and art galleries.
End of the tour.
2490 €
INCLUSIONS
Double/twin-room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport in Romania and Bulgaria (car/minivan), all entrance fees, English-speaking guiding service, 24/7 on-site and remote assistance.
EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, main meals (lunches and dinners), extra drinks, visa fees (if required), tips, travel insurance.
