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| Romania |
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| Europe: Romania |
| What: |
Our ride center a Lipizzaner Breeding Stud offers Lippizzaners and local breeds through unpaved, fence free Transylvania, a land still maintained by shepherds and tradition. Saturday to Saturday, based, circle and inn to inn type tours are offered. The valley property lies in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains and is an attractive, rural area more reflective of Europe, one or two centuries past. |
| Dates and Rates: |
All rides Saturday to Saturday/ 6 days of riding/ 5 to 6 hours per day.
Startrack Ride: Begin and end at ride center on each riding day.
Start up dates: April 5, 19, May 3, 17, 31, June 14,July 5, 19, Aug 2, 9, 23, Sept 6, 20, 27, Oct. 4, 11, 18 and 25., 1 person minimum.
Costs: $1020 US/489 GBP/700 E.
Camping Trail: Uses tents and small country houses.
Start up dates: April 26, May 10 and 24, June 28, July 26, Aug. 16, 30 Group size 3 to 8 persons.
Costs: $1170 US/5606 GBP/800 E.
Fortified Church trails: Uses tents and small country houses.
Start up dates: June 7. Group size 3 to 8 persons.
Costs: $1240 US/595 GBP/850 E.
Circle Tour: involves the use of vehicle to transport to and from and inn to ride beginning each morning.
Start up dates: April 12, Sept 13Group size 3 to 8 persons.
Costs are: $1240 US/595 GBP/850 E
Additional charge for a 1.personroom in case fully booked: $30 US/17 GBP/25 Euro p.p.p.night. |
| Horsesense: |
Center maintains a herd of 45 Lipizzans one of the largest private Lipizzaner studs in Romania and now boosts 10 foals. Your calm well trained horses will carry riders up to 100 kilos/220 pounds. Some local breeds like the Nonius are also used. The area traffic to the extent you encounter is mostly carts and horses. Riders should be able to maintain a horse at all paces. Although ride speed and experience required may vary from group to group we do recommend experienced or at least advanced intermediate riders on all but the Startracks Tour. The tack is English but some Western saddles are available. |
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TO READ A GREAT ARTICLE ON THIS DESTINATION: CLICK HERE
The ride center at Merlelor is hosted by the Dutch owners Huib and Bertina and their Romanian Hungarian friend, partner and master cook Latsi. The inn lies between the Carpathian Mountains in the higher hills and the banks of the Olt River. The old nearby cities of Sibiu, Brasov and Sighisoara have been declared a UNESCO monument and are cultural hotspots in Transylvania. Halmeag is located in the county Brasov which was part of Hungary till the Treaty of Trianon in 1919. Then a great deal of Hungary, Transylvania, was given to the new state of Romania. The Hungarian name of the village is Halmâgy. The population was Hungarian but now, due to Ceaucescu's ethnical politic, the population is Hungarian, Romanian and Gipsy in equal parts. The village has about 600 inhabitants. In the past it was a prosperous farming community. Now, most of the people are pensionado's and unemployed day laborers and some small scale farmers. Because of the poor economic situation youngsters leave the country to try to make a living elsewhere, mostly in Italy and Spain. In the center of the village stands a 10th-century fortified church , with a beautifully hand painted interior. The vicar is most pleased to tell you in English or German all about his church The country also knew a great minority of Germans, the Saxons. There are over 200 Saxon villages, characterised by grand houses with large front gardens. The Saxons were brought here in the 10th-century by the Hungarian King to defend the country against the Turks. During the Ceaucescu-government they were 'sold back' to Germany and also afterwards many of them returned to their roots. Now their houses are empty looked after by neighbours or occupied by Gypsies. The saxons also built beautiful fortified churches and a special trail leads along the most interesting ones.
The surroundings are unspoiled meadows, forests, hills and streams. From the hills you have a beautiful view on the Carpathian Mountains. It borders the river Olt, which offers plenty of fishing opportunities. It is lovely swimming (with horses)and sunbathing on the riverbanks and its little tributaries. Your guide Huib is your companion and not your boss. He rides behind the group and not in front. If you want to he can also teach you how to find your way with military charts, sun and compass. Both landscape and guidance gives you a tremendous feeling of freedom |
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| WHAT TO EXPECT: |
| Getting There : |
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Transfer costs to and from Bucharest are $160 US/77 GBP/110 E per person. Driving routes can be supplied from major European cities but be advised that the roads in Romania are old and underdeveloped and you must be careful to avoid loose animals, horse drawn carts and other road danger. It is difficult to travel more then 35 miles per hour. The national currency is Lei and there are bank machines in Fagaras which offers better exchange rates then the airport. Euro lines bus Company covers Romania and for example the trip from Holland to Fagaras takes 35 hours. Ouch. |
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| Room and Board: |
| The inn is located on one of their two village farms in Halmeag and has four large bedrooms with washbasin and three fully equipped bathrooms. There is a dining room, a bar, a garden and terrace and stables for 12 horses. The main stables are situated I n nearby Cincu at a former fruit nursery. The trails will vary daily on any of the routes you choose and there is plenty of opportunity for good long canters in the hills, meadows, and woods you will ride through. Latsi (Lacy) is a professional cook with a preference for Hungarian meals, but Romania, Dutch, French and Indonesian cuisine will also make an appearance. Vegetarians will enjoy a full choice of meals and not the main course without meat. |
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| Weather: |
| Romania has a continental climate. Early in May temperatures can rise to summer level which lasts during the whole season. Evenings can be chilly. In July and early August it can be hot. Of course there can be incidental showers. |
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| ITINERARY |
Startracks Startrack Ride: Begin and end at ride center on each riding day.
Start up dates: April 5, 19, May 3, 17, 31, June 21, Oct. 4, 11, 18 and 25., 1 person minimum.
Costs: $1020 US/489 GBP/700 E. |
| The inn based ride runs from Saturday to Saturday and offers 5 to 6 hours a day in the saddle and you will never ride the same trail in that 8 day period. Program includes full board, drinks with meals including house wine, beer and mineral water, and overnight stays at the inn. It is suitable for singles, couples and up to eight participants |
Arrival and departure on Saturday's
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Camping Trail: Uses tents and small country houses.
Start up dates: April 26, May 10 and 24. Group size 3 to 8 persons.
Costs: $1170 US/5606 GBP/800 E.
Fortified Church trails : Uses tents and small country houses.
Start up dates: June 7. Group size 3 to 8 persons.
Costs: $1240 US/595 GBP/850 E.
Circle Tour: involves the use of vehicle to transport to and from and inn to ride beginning each morning.
Start up dates: April 12 Group size 3 to 8 persons.
Costs are: $1240 US/595 GBP/850 E.
Additional charge for a 1.personroom in case fully booked: $30 US/17 GBP/25 Euro p.p.p.night. |
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| ITINEARY: |
Example of Trailitinerary, dependent on new routes, wheatherconditions and groups’ wishes |
| Day1: |
Arrival at the airport, transfer – about 3 ½ hours - and arival at the Inn. Making aquaintance with the horses and see the herds of cows, goats and buffaloes come home. Just land and enjoy a fine drink, wining and dining and thinking about the good sense of life. |
| Day2: |
Choosing the horses and make a trialride for the day. We go to Sona and have a drink at the ASObar and eat our readymade lunch with breakfast, overthere. We might meet with the old forester Traian. We go there up the hills and go back along the stream of the river Olt. We pass the “7 Mamelle”, the seven tits. We walk, trot and canter just to see what everybody likes and is up to.We spend the night again in the Inn after again a nice dinner and of course the local Pálinka. |
| Day3: |
We now leave the Inn and head for the village of Dacia. Thè national car in Romania is named after that village, but you hardly ever see a car overthere, so you wouldn’t say that. The traffic consists of horsedrawn carts and of course horses as Transylvania is the most horsepopulated area in Europe. The trip is rather long and goes through rough terrain with a lot of canters. We stay the night with Dorina (with one tooth and her little bit odd father) and we stable the horses thereto. It is an old Saxon house and we have dinner in the garden at long tables. Latsi and Bertina take care overhere for your fine dinner. In the morning you wash yourselve with lovely fresh wellwater and the loo is the loo. |
| Day4: |
We now go the pittoresque village Viscri ( in German Weisskirchen) where is a beautiful fortified church. The village is heavely subsidised bij German Saxons who had their parents’ roots overhere, which shows on the renovated houses and other buildings.
We stay here on private addresses which are managed bij the local mayor’s wife. Again Latsi and Bertina come overhere with your fine dinner and oats for the horses. The sanitairy circumstances overhere are simple bit they’ll do. |
| Day5: |
After a pritty good though contental/english breakfast as you preferably will not have Romanian corn to start with, we take off for Selistat, which is one of the other premises of the Merlelorstud. You ‘ll find here a cosy Saxonhouse with sleepingfacilities as dormitories and two complete bathrooms. Again simple but adequate. It has a cosy diningroom annex bar. The horses graze in the garden on which you have a view while sitting at the fire. Sometimes the local pub offers a discodancing. This also is a rather long trail with some speeding up. If the weather is up to it and everybody of the group is willing to, the Selistat-destination can be changed into a campingdestination, being Barcut. Here one stays in tents near a sheperdssummercamp, without any form of comfort, though you can see with clear weather THE WHOLE OF THE MILKY WAY, with the accompanying sound of cows- and sheepbells, sitting at the gigacampfire on which Latsi prepares another fine meal. An experience never to forget. |
| Day6: |
After a relaxed start we saddle for the trip from either Barcut or Selistat to Cincu, where the stud is seated. This is a somewhat shorter trail. After arrival we do some sightseeing on the stud and the village of Cincu. We relax sitting on the hill near the huge campfire, look at the Carpathian mountains and hear the CincuChurchbells. We enjoy a barbecue and have a sound sleep on real beds. The sanitairy comfort is basic. |
| Day7: |
We really need an English breakfast to face today’s trip as it will be a pritty long ride from Cincu to the Halmeag-Inn. The last day of riding. Of course we have again lunch in either the free field or in a little village in a local shop annex bar (they are always both).
Then coming “home”, a real nice hot shower or bath awaits you after all the simple but natural feeling that you didn’t have to wash down your natural skinprotections.
Here awaits you again a dinner you’ll never prepare at home. |
| Day8: |
Sorry, but you leave again. It is always too short. You pack and be brought to the airport, but hope to see you again! |
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| Exclusions and Restrictions: |
Excursions, the trip to Romania, collect transfer, foreign distilled drinks. Additional charge for a 1.personroom in case fully booked 25 euro p.p.p.night.
Minimal age 16 years old, accompanied no minimal age.
Riders should be comfortable at all paces. |
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