Touring Romania and former guests made possible a fantastic trip in Romania for an Ukrainian family!

The story starts in a cold evening of March 2022. The war in Ukraine started and many Ukrainian refugees were coming to Romania. I received a phone call from the train station in Bucharest where authorities were handling the wave of refugees.

I offered my services in case anyone needs transportation with our company's 8 seat van. This family from Nikolaev was in search for transportation to Bulgaria to meet their relatives there. I said "Yes, sure, we'll do it" and soon after I met them. They were so tired after many hours in trains escaping war,  but still smiling when they saw me and knew that they will reach their relatives in Bulgaria.

We started driving to the border. The translator of the group was little Denis, a 12 years old. From him I learned about the tragedy of war in Ukraine and I was so impressed. After 2 hours, we entered Bulgaria and they met their relatives. What a moment of joy ! Denis came to me and said: "Hey, George, I have a small gift for you for taking us to our relatives" ... and he offered me his pack of bisquits. What an incredible moment it was ! Before saying goodbye, I promised that I will offer them a vacation in Romania.

Months passed and we stayed in touch. I started my tours and I told my tourists about this and many of them offered their help. A special thanks to Adventures With Sarah (Sarah and Andrew) - https://adventureswithsarah.net
-    our partners,  and their guests who donated money for making this trip happen. Much gratitude to my former guests Pia Hall, Sandra Ayoub, Jane Mark and Judie Dowler for their contribution as well.

And I kept my promise. On July 12 I met them again in Razgrad, Bulgaria and started our journey to Romania. What a beautiful moment it was when we met again ! I designed for them a one week trip in Romania and we had an amazing time !
 

We stoped first in Sinaia where we visited Peles Palace and they learned about our history and the Royal Family of Romania. We continued to Brasov and, of course, to Bran Castle. Denis loved it and he learned about what is truth and what is legend about Vlad the Impaler and, of corse, about the famous Count Dracula, Bram Stoker's character.

One special time was at the Bear Sanctuary from Zarnesti where Denis, his brother Valera and their mother Liudmyla loved to see the bears and hear about  their stories.

One of the highlights of our vacation was to explore the Saxon Villages from Transylvania. They liked a lot Viscri Saxon Village and the local cuisine!
 

We enjoyed beatiful moments in Sighisoara and Sibiu medieval cities and had a fabulous time driving on Transfagarasan Road! We spent two days in Bucharest and the best moment was the adventure at Therme Water Park. What an incredible experience that was for them!

After one week together, we at Touring Romania, made new, long lasting,  friends! Again, special thanks to those of you who made this trip possible for Denis, Valera and Liudmyla! Small good gestures creats a greater GOOD which will defeat Evil. To help those in need, to help others without expecting anything in return, apart of a smile... is the best way to promote humanity!

This is the message for you from Denis and Valera's mother, Liudmyla:

"In my ordinary life in Ukraine, I am not used to being helped.  Usually I try to help.
But the circumstances are such that I need to learn how to accept help at this stage of my life.  And I pray for everyone I meet.  A lot of good people.
 God has no other hands than human hands. Now I understand what that means. I will always be grateful to your tourists and you  for everything you have done for me, Denis and Valera. It was a good lesson for my children as well: to learn how to help others in need. Thank you to everyone who helped us having this wonderful time in Romania"