BUDAPEST and TRANSYLVANIA - the land of the Roma

Come with us to Budapest and Transylvania for a master class in Black and White portraiture. Capture the last peasant culture in the rolling hills of Northern Romania!

BUDAPEST and transylvania

Hone your black and white photographic eye in Budapest - considered one of the most cultural and beautiful cities in Europe.  Explore stunning architecture, history, ancient Ottoman baths and photograph this city at night. It has a tumultuous past with an edgy positive future. Our guide Zsuzsa is an artist, photographer and dancer so our time there will be special! Then we go by train to Transylvania – wooden churches, peasant life, carts and horses, carvers and hat makers. Dance with gypsies, hike to the highest waterfalls in Romania or take a steam train through the mountains. Eat in local homes and experience Romanian hospitality. A far cry from Vampires and dark castles, this part of Romania is home to fairytale like thatched roof homes, green rolling hills, and the last peasant traditional culture in Europe. We will based out of the traditional village of Breb at the foot of the Gutai Mountain and you won’t want to leave!

Our featured NGO

ROMA EDUCATION FOUNDATION
REF advocates for a fair and inclusive society in order to bring educational equity for all Roma (who we know as Gypsies). It is pivotal for Roma students to have equal chances and opportunities to access quality education, and for Roma graduates and parents to have social and economic welfare through employment. In addition,  communities need to be empowered for their voices and interests to be heard. Educational policy frameworks need to be shaped to address institutional biases by setting up a pathway to justice, equality, and empowerment where Roma have the possibility to develop our societies together. We will meet with some of the Roma children in Joseph Town and do a photography/art workshop with them. And raise funds for their foundation.

TBD

Dates – Early Fall 2024
Cost – TBD
Guests – 5-10
Arrival airport – Budapest, Hungary (BUD)
Departure airport - Cluj-Napoca, Romania (CLJ)

Quick Pack list

Camera equipment, layered clothing, light jacket, bathing suit, good walking/trekking shoes

Travel level

Comfortable, some strenuous trekking and walking. Accommodations comfortable hotels unless you choose to sleep under the stars on the mountainside for a night! We will! All hotels have full western bathroom facilities. 

Recommended Reading

• Fires in the Dark, by Louise Doughty, reveals the highly secretive and misunderstood world of the coppersmith gypsies.

• Goodbye to Budapest: A novel of Hungarian Uprising, by Margarita Morris

• Along the Enchanted Way by William Blacker who is enchanted with the Maramures region of Romania whilst traveling and returns years later to experience life there for a decade.

ITINERARY*

SEPTEMBER 8 - TRAVEL DAY
Welcome to BUDAPEST!
Accommodations:  Brody House or similar

DAY 1
We will meet for a welcome breakfast and photo class, by the Danube.
In the afternoon we will stroll this amazing city with our artist and dancer guide, ZsuZsa.
We’ll head to Kiraly Baths - the Ottoman traditional thermal baths that locals use to reset their minds and bodies.
Evening photo class, Budapest at night and in black and white 

DAY 2
Photo Class and walk to photograph architecture, lines and light (B&W)
Visit to photo gallery of fantastic Hungarian architectural photographer, Hlinka Zsolt
Central Market Hall for lunch
Afternoon free to visit shops/palace/library/museums/chairlift ride etc.
Meet for a beer at Szimpla Kert ruin bar!

DAY 3
Early morning Class and tour of Joseph town, the Roma/Gypsy area of the city.
Meet our friend, Roma women’s activist, Agnes Daroczi for coffee to learn about these oppressed people that spread across Europe. In the afternoon, we will visit shoemakers and marionette shops.
Cocktail Class
Dinner at the famed, Borbirosag Restaurant

DAY 4
Travel to Breb Romania
We are up early to get on the train to the Hungary/Romanian border to meet our van and guide
who will take us through the beautiful rolling hills of Northern Transylvania, in Maramures to our cozy homebase.
Evening photo class
Accommodations: Village Hotel in Breb

DAY 5
Dawn walkabout in the village. Catch farmers at work with horse and carts in the fields finishing up the haying, followed by a visit to Breb to photograph a traditional blacksmith and his family.
Dinner with locals - Our guide has a network of locals homes that will serve us an excellent Romanian meal!

DAY 6
Early morning class and a day trip hike to the village of Sarbi, near the Cosau river and within a couple of hours walk from Breb. Sarbi is known for its whirlpools and working watermills, and a hydro-powered system for washing clothes, rugs and blankets. We will visit with some traditional hat makers and
woollen blanket makers as well as visit two lovely churches.

DAY 7
Breakfast class and morning portrait session with Rural Romanian traditional family.
In the afternoon we go to Sapanta  (with stops in small villages and valleys along the way) to see the Merry Cemetery. It is one of the most colorful cemeteries in the world as the funeral crosses are painted in bright colors with comical poems about the deceased! We’ll visit the Honinca Distillery to get a taste of the local drink and see how it’s made.
We’ll end the day with a twilight visit to a Shepherd camp located high in the hills - we’ll photograph and visit the Shepherds, see how they tend to the sheep and make their delicious cheese.

DAY 8
Up and out early to start our journey south to the Cluj-Napoca area. Photo Class along the way.
We will pass through farmland, rolling hills and small villages and stop for a picnic along the way.
Arrive in Gypsy country just in time to have a dinner with a local family, get in touch with the Roma culture through three generations of women, and possibly have a dance! Then on to the beautiful UNESCO heritage city of Sighisoara!
Overnight at Taschler Haus or similar

DAY 9
We’ll spend the morning exploring the winding streets of Sighisoara, and then head out to embrace more Roma Gypsy culture! We will visit a coppersmith and his family, and photograph this ancient practice of making copper ladles.
Both the experience, and photographic opportunities, are magical!
From there we head north to Cluj-Napoca, a bohemian foodie paradise and Romania’s second largest city.
We’ll have a cocktail reception to show your work and a final dinner together!
Overnight at Camino Home - or similar

DAY 10
SEPTEMBER 18 - TRAVEL DAY
Flights out of Cluj-Napoca, Airport
Safe Trip Home!

*Itinerary is tentative and subject to change due to weather/hotel reservations and transportation schedule changes, but will be confirmed well before travelling.

WHAT OUR TRAVELLERS SAID

Nance — you are an engaging, motivating, inspiring teacher. Laurie, you are an organized, sensitive, flexible tour leader. Both of you are great, great fun!   ...Greta

Keep up the good work-your work is changing the world for the better-one photo/one person at a time. You certainly have changed my life forever! Many thanks! ...Dea

FEATURED ACCOMMODATIONS
VILLAGE HOTEL IN MARAMURES, TRANSYLVANIA