A five day break driving around the Tuscan countryside was a welcome break from the hussle and bussle of Bucharest and CME-Pro TV and also a chance to spend more time in one of the great holiday destinations of Europe, Italy.
I have always seen Italy, especially mid and Southern Italy, as Romania with money. The lifestyle, personalities of the people and, the further south you go, the towns themselves have a similar feel to Romania. If Transylvania is the future northern Italy with the industriousness of Milan and Turin then Bucharest and Constanta are Rome and Naples.
My first trip to Naples in 2002 was an eye opener from the moment that the train pulled into the central station. From the chaotic queue for the taxis from the way the taxi driver spoke and drove to the quality of the roads and buildings and the manner of the people (either horizontally relaxed or leaping up and down with emotion about some minor issue) reminded me of Bucharest.
This most recent trip was supposed to take me away from Bucharest and my other places of work, London and Kiev, and Tuscany did that perfectly. What it also did was light up a way forward for type of Romanian tourism that is beginning to gestate and should be nurtured to capture the international market for those who want to get away from it all but still have access to creature comforts of home and something to do whilst they are in the sticks.
Agro-tourism seems to be the generic name for this new form of tourism, although I am yet to fully understand why it is so-called and I am happy to report that I easily managed to avoid any form of potato harvesting, fruit picking or cow shed cleaning during my stay.
What I did experience is a few days of rest and relaxation in a picturesque spot on top of a small mountain on the Umbrian/Tuscany border. The hotel itself was a renovated old hamlet that had initially been built by a Count many hundreds of years ago and is now 15km up a winding road from the nearest town of note (Todi) and would therefore be unsustainable as an ongoing residential location.
Instead the latest Count, who still owns the hamlet, has teamed up with a group of people who have converted the main castle into a dining and social areas with the surrounding cottages now supplying the bedrooms. Almost all of the food is sourced locally with fruit and vegetables grown in the hamlet and olive oil pressed just behind the main castle building.
The accommodation is on the simple side with solid wooden furniture, stone-flagged floors, large en suite bathrooms and fresh sheets and towels every day. There is also a basic breakfast and a feast of a supper every evening with reasonable (and endless) wine thrown in. In addition to the accommodation and Pasta, veal, beef and multitude of sauces ensured that every night you slept on a full stomach. Added to meals being included there are mountain bikes available, mapped walks in the local areas and organised activities. To receive all of this there is a daily payment of Euro 65 per person, with no need to pay for anything else during the stay.
The surrounding area includes citadel type towns filled with tourist focused shops where you can buy a piece of Tuscany to take home with you (pottery, pasta and Pinoccio seemed to be the favourites) interspersed with Renaissance and pre-Renaissance churches with the cities of Firenze and Siena close enough for a day”s outing.
Brasov may not be Firenze and Sighisoara isn”t Siena but they are still well worth seeing and the Saxon towns and villages between Brasov and Sibiu can hold equal attraction compared to a small Tuscan town. If Bran castle and the like sold more than red vodka and kitsch Dracula-related carvings tourists may even buy something when they visit. If a good quality café with a clean toilet with toilet roll is available then even better!
For the agro-tourism sites themselves, Romania can offer locations of equal or superior beauty to those I saw in Italy and there are plenty of activities available, particularly in the mountains, where skiing, horse-riding, golf and mountain climbing can be added into a package of activities to those who wish to get out of the city and back to nature for a few days. Romanian cuisine may not be up to Italian but its is still varied and interesting enough to appeal to international tourists as well as those looking for a breather from Bucharest.
Whilst a weekend break in Bucharest probably isn”t top of most people”s short holiday destination list, a location only two hours away from Otopeni, particularly with the exotic name, Transylvania, is of appeal. The only problem I foresee is that of cost. I speak from ignorance about what has already been achieved in Romanian agro-tourism in the mountains but I have received offers from some of the higher-end resorts in the Delta and these compare expensively with hotels in central London.
The e-mail offers I am receiving for mountain accommodation for New Years Eve (always a great opportunity to lighten one”s wallet in a short period) are laughable listed next to alternative New Year”s Eve weekend breaks in Budapest, Prague, Paris, Rome and Nice. The exceptionally modest hotel in Poiana Brasov offered to me cost more for four days that every other European location save for Nice, with the Poiana hotel on the bottom rung of star ratings. It goes without saying that four nights in an Austrian ski resort with ten times the kilometres of piestes and a lift pass included is also cheaper.
Herein lies the possible flaw in the plan for agro-tourism in Romania. Italy can be reached from any European country, including Romania, very cheaply on budget airlines. Romania cannot be reached without paying the prices that TAROM or British Airways charge. In addition to this I am struggling to recall the last time that I had value for money in a Romanian hotel that compares with what we received in Italy. Romania”s future in tourism may, somewhat ridiculously, be hindered by one of the cheapest countries in Europe being uncompetitive in its pricing.
To check out what is on offer first hand the next holiday spot will be Agro-tourism, Romanian mountain style. Watch this space for the review.
* Oliver Meister is an English lawyer based in Bucharest working for CME, a US company that invests in television stations in Eastern Europe, including Pro TV, Acasa and Pro Cinema in Romania. He is also a director of Pro TV SA, the operator of the Romanian television channels CME has invested and is part of the management team that supervises the television station Studio 1+1 which CME owns in Ukraine