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Zabola Estate blog

A castle in the Carpathian mountains with a turbulent history has been restored by the original family owners. The Zabola Estate’s wrought-iron gates swing open and an avenue of chestnut trees stretches before me. Beyond them lies a serene Transylvanian landscape of rolling hills lakes and gardens surrounding a grand yellow-ochre castle…

In a Europe that is becoming increasingly homogeneous, the mountains, forests and villages of Transylvania in Romania remain the last outpost of a more ancient era. Romanians, Saxons and Hungarians live in a patchwork of simple farming villages, drawing water from wells, living by near-subsistence agriculture and artisanal work.

As my little car laboured around a bend in the snowy Carpathian logging road, a brown furry figure jumped out of the forest on all fours and made off in front of the car. It was, perhaps, a sign that I had been too long in the city that I identified it as a man in a bear outfit. But as we pursued the lolloping creature, I realised my mistake: this was the real thing, a bear!

In Siebenbürgen gibt es noch viel zu entdecken – und die Chance auf einen Neuanfang. Unterwegs im letzten großen Urwald Europas, zu Naturschützern und einem rauschenden Ball. Pferdefuhrwerke, soweit das Auge reicht. Die Mähnen zotteln im Takt zum Hufschlag, Maisfelder ziehen vorbei, in der Ferne begrenzen die Karpaten den Horizont.