Exploring the Saxon Villages of Transylvania

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It’s usually all about the riding but we’ve recently had possibly the best tour of the year and it was all mellow uphills and descends. Our tour was the always fun Saxon Villages of Transylvania which is a two day bike/e-bike powered sightseeing trip with cool trails, amazing historic sites and fabulous scenery.

Zorro ridin’ shotgun

Two lovely guests from the UK joined us for this outing and we have to say, the conversations were memorable. We sometimes put aside the great human connections to be made while out and about in nature. Our talks included anything from political correctness to education.

Not only that they’re a psychology and English teacher but our two guests were clearly in their element on two wheels aswell. Opting for the classic full-suspension bikes instead of the e-bikes means extra work but our group didn’t hesitate once.

Photos of Southern Transylvania in all it’s glory.

We headed off, shuttle and trailer equipped, to Criț. We rode from there to Mesendorf then we went up on the on the ridgeline in order to access  the main trail that heads to Viscri. There we visited the newly opened Prince Charles museum.

In Viscri we had a super cozy lunch at Viscri 32, White Barn. Really nice food and as authentic as it gets. We also managed to squeeze in a quick visit to the local fortified church. A first for us was to visit the Saxon villages so late in the day. Basically zero tourists in sight and a lovely “golden hour’ light.

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As we were pedalling our way back, locals were minding their daily activities, children were playing, it was a really homey and sincere snapshot of life there. At one point kids kept joining us on their roller skates, scooters, our very own Saxon flash mob caravan.

Dinner was a real treat because we had a very nice barbeque with the locals, just in time to end a lovely first day.

Some cool closeups

We started off the next morning with a very good plan that came from our guests. They goal was to find a lake to have a refreshing dip. So it happens that there is one lake in the area that we’ve never actually included in the tour. The temperatures were super high but we kept taking shelter in the forest when it got unbearable.

We started riding from Cloasterf to Saschiz where we visited the Clock Tower and the fortified church. Actually, there was a church worship in full session so we waited in the shade and drank lots of water before we could enter.

After that we soldiered on through the heat towards the main bike trails in Sachiz. Right on top of the hill before entering the main path there it waited, a beautiful mountain lake.

Without any second thoughts we all jumped in for a dip and we have to say, it was probably the most rewarding moment by far. After our quick swim it was back on our bikes for the last leg of our tour, pedalling our way down the trail that connects Saschiz to Cloasterf.

All in all, we had a wonderfully uplifting experience, both for the awesome conversations and vibes but also for the remarkable authentic scenery that these areas have to offer.

Oh and let’s not forget THE LAKE! 

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    You own a mountain bike and use it at least once a month. You like getting lots of kms under your belt off-road and want to ride more singletrack to broaden your mountain biking skills.

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