Together with four friends we trekked with Iulian for a week in the Bucegi, Piatra Craiului and Fagaras mountains. Over the last ten years we have done such walks in other mountains in Europe and this was the first time we used a guide. Iulian prepared our whole trip in Romania, including hotel and transportation in Bucharest and a concluding visit to Brasov. All arrangements worked out according to plan and exceeded our expectations. Iulian has everything that you expect from a good guide. He knows every track and every ridge of the mountains. Without him we would never have found the hidden paths through the flower covered meadows and never had the opportunity to be served homemade wine and potato stew under the vines in his grandmother’s farmyard. He adapts the tours to the weather as well as the condition of the group. He is always friendly and courteous and has a quiet, natural authority, which enabled him to lead without frictions a group of six individualistic people around sixty who are all used to having their own way. Iulian is more than a mountain guide. He is knowledgeable about and prepared to discuss most aspects of Romanian lifestyle, economy, politics etc. He has a friendly and personal approach with total dedication to the experience of his guests. Our conclusion when we came back to Stockholm was: “how can we ever do another trip like this one?”
Margareta and Rutger Blennow, Hans Forssberg, Helene Grundström, Annika Linde, Björn Weingarten – Sweden, June 2008
