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Report 1948: Treasures of the Balkans and Transylvania

By e3brown from Colorado, Summer 2011

Page 13 of 13: Day 13 - Finale

The tour ends after breakfast with Cosmos providing transportation to the airport for those who had purchased it.

Because of Hurricane Irene, all flights to the east coast of the U.S. had been cancelled. Delta was able to reroute us through Lufthansa for two days later. Since we had two nights to stay independently in Budapest, we decided to go back to Mercure Budapest Duna (the first hotel on the tour). The price of €65 was good and we already knew the area. We did some more exploring during the next two days but that's best told over a cup of coffee or a beer.

Favorite City - Brasov without a doubt. I plan to fly back to Budapest with my wife, rent a car and take a leisurely two day drive to Brasov and spend five days there before driving back to Budapest.

Favorite Ice Cream - Anywhere in Bulgaria.

Favorite Beer - Cuic in Romania and Dreher in Hungary

Favorite Wine - I purchased four bottles of wine in Romania without the benefit of knowing the local wines. They were all good.

Bottom Line - While the itinerary of a trip is important, it is the Tour Director and other passengers that make or break a tour. Our Director, Simona was great. She always took great care of us and had many jokes and Romanian sayings for every situation. As for the group itself, we had a couple of whiners but overall it was a very compatible group. Most everyone was experienced travelers and they knew to "go with the flow." I will take another Cosmos tour (Turkey) in the near future.