Romania's mountain magic has enchanted yet another foreigner in the form of travel writer for The Guardian, Kevin Rushby. He took one of Mircea Crisbasanu's Cycling Romania guided bike tours in the Carpathian mountains and promptly got up close and personal with wildlife, folk legends and Romania's favorite moonshine plum brandy. Rushby toured Buzau county, spending a week in the forests and mountains of the area, described by the guide as “only a day's drive from Bucharest but very wild and remote.” The article again highlights Romania's largely untapped tourism potential, and it's hard to think of anywhere else in Europe that could rival the fairytale magic of his Carpathian adventure. He describes finding himself “chasing bears through a landscape that could only be dreamed up by the Brothers Grimm: steep-sided hills covered in flowers, deep gorges and dark brooding forests.”

Mircea Crisbasanu studied engineering in the Netherlands and on returning to Romania turned his passion for all things outdoors and cycling into a business. He currently runs shorter and longer guided tours, including a number of mountain routes, the Dealu Mare wine region and the 'Into the Wilderness of Buzau' route chosen by the Guardian's travel writer last year. Read The Guardian article here.

Find out more about Cycling Romania here.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Cycling Romania)