Guest House in Cincsor

A romantic weekend getaway. We wanted 2 days of relaxation, just the two of us. We wanted peace, a romantic atmosphere, dinner by candlelight, reading in a hammock, drinking wine on the grass. For all of this we chose the Guest House in Cincsor (Brașov County). We got everything we wished for and even more.

The house is a former Saxon school recently restored. When you think of a school, you probably can't imagine what could be romantic about it. However, this school was designed by an architect, Fritz Balthes, and this shows in the interior. The austere exterior cannot prepare you for the warm atmosphere inside, for the light that penetrates from all sides, for the play of levels that separates the spaces. I was enchanted by the way the house was decorated.

Then there were the people there. A small but efficient and very welcoming team. Mrs. Carmen Schuster, the one who renovated the school, was our guide through the Fortified Church of Cincsor. She knows all the stories, the history of this village and of the renovation.

There is a chef who prepares three meals daily. You need to announce the day before which meals you want (breakfast is included in the room price). Allergies are taken into account and vegetarian options are offered. The food is prepared from local products but is not necessarily traditional. Although I didn't take photos (I believe romance doesn't go with phones, cameras and Facebook), I'll describe what we ate at dinner those two evenings.

The first evening we had a deconstructed boeuf salad (meaning it was with smoked duck, steamed vegetables, pea purée and just a drop of mayonnaise-based sauce), celery purée with trout fillet and green salsa (very delicious), cheesecake with raspberries and mint. The second day we had an assorted platter (stuffed mushrooms with cheese, eggplant salad, roasted peppers and pumpkin soup), pumpkin purée with duck breast and berry sauce and for dessert plum tart and walnut parfait (excellent!). They also have a selection of good Romanian wines.

Finding out that I'm passionate about food, Mrs. Schuster gave us a little culinary surprise: she served us a Cincsor specialty, schar, a pastry made from very fluffy cozonac-like dough with cinnamon. Following tradition, it was served with a small glass of țuică (plum brandy).

Breakfast is varied, with village jams, fresh eggs, Sibiu cheeses, bean pâté, zacuscă (vegetable spread), fresh vegetables, yogurt, coffee, tea, milk, apple juice.

And there's Irina, who does everything. I saw her at reception, I saw her wiping tables, I saw her serving breakfast, I saw her cooking (she made us pumpkin soup and plum tart while the chef was away at a presentation). She's tireless, cheerful and very open.

Since I only took a few photos (I quickly sneaked with my phone while Radu was checking out), I'll give you two links where you can read the detailed history of the place, accompanied by maaany photos: povestisasesti.ro and designist.ro.

Among all this we had time to visit the surroundings: Făgăraș Fortress and the Brukenthal summer residence in Avrig (only the Orangery is renovated; you can eat there, quite good, especially the summer menu offers; the garden is delightful).

On the way back we chose the road through Sighișoara. We bought buffalo cheese from Rupea (Str. Târgului, 29A; they have feta-style cheese, yogurt, sour cream, mozzarella), we visited Viscri and bought homemade bread baked in a wood oven, we bought aged goat cheese from Criț (ask in the village; they have cheese with black pepper, nigella, peppers, rosemary etc. - very good) and finally we went shopping at Casa Moda (only for men 😢 , I only got cheese).

We arrived home energized and loaded with goodies. When we opened the fridge, another surprise awaited us: it was full of fresh food, my mother had stopped by and brought us everything, including figs from Sălaj from grandma's garden and fresh walnuts. This is why this week I'm not cooking, just sitting and thinking about how beautiful it was at Cincsor 😊