Pastel Chalet, disconnect to reconnect

 

Sometimes we need a temporary refuge away from the current problems and we love to find quiet escapes somewhere in the middle of the nature. A week ago we chose Pastel Chalet, a gorgeous retreat located in Vama Buzaului, near Ciucas Mountains.

The phone signal is non existent, the rooms have no TV (you can find one in the common lounge area), Wi-fi is slow, so it’s the perfect place for a digital detox that we all need sometimes. Our partners for this getaway were Ramona and Simona from Traveling Sisters whom you probably already know if you read our blog because we were together on several trips so far.

About Pastel Chalet

As soon as we entered in the chalet, we were pleasantly surprised by the shabby chic decor combined with Romanian motifs. Pastel Chalet consists of three different buildings (Romantic, Charm, Cozy) and the 15 rooms are furnished differently, each has something special- the color, the furniture or the design.
We stayed in the Poppy Room, a stylish room with hand-painted furniture, inspired by Romanian traditions. The room has a beautiful view over the mountains and in the morning was a real pleasure to wake up and get out on the balcony to breathe fresh air and see the snowy peaks of the Ciucas mountains. Even though the temperatures were very low (-11 Celsius degrees somewhere around noon) we had a fantastic time and we warmed up from the hiking we’ve done.

What can you do at Pastel Chalet?

If you think that we went to Chalet Pastel just to stay warm and look at the snow from our cosy rooms, you are wrong.

If you come here during fall or winter, we advise you to put in your luggage a pair of boots because the road is very slippery. On the first day when we arrived, we went on a hike through the woods at the base of Ciucas Mountains, accompanied by our guide, nea Comanita, whose childhood memories would make jealous even the most famous story tellers.

Although it started to snow when we left from the chalet and was cold, when we got into the woods, we had a warm weather, it seemed fall as our feet sank into the carpet of leaves and everything was copper, as you can see in the Cristina’s photo below.

We saw the route where once the train passed and our guide told us the animals that lived once in that wood and the name of all the trees and how to recognize them, the local legends and many others things that will let you find out if you ever visit the retreat.

We were very tired after the hiking, but happy, it was amazing! After dinner we played board games such as Dixit, Activity and „No offense, bro!”. We had a great time! At the reception you will find a lot of board games that you can borrow to play in the living room. Also, they have books and movies, Wii, a pool table and ping pong table.

And speaking of dinner, the food was delicious and they had a lot of vegan options on the menu. Dorina feared that she will have to eat vegetarian food, but then she was surprised to have options at the main dishes and even dessert 🙂 Meals are included in the package of accommodation, you don’t have to pay separately. The menu is based on traditional food and we really liked everything we tried, from soups to desserts.

The next day, early in the morning, we woke up to take some photos in the snow and at 11 we went with Enisa, the Pastel Chalet owner at the Vama Buzaului Bison Reserve, which is about ten kilometers from Pastel Chalet . The Reserve hosts about 30 bisons and some deers and has around 10 hectares of grass land. We were amazed to find out that in Romania there are no bisons anymore, and they were brought from Austria, Switzerland, Italy and France.
Enisa told us the animals names because she knew them all and many stories about them:) Enisa is not only extremely friendly, but she’s like a living encyclopedia, she knew a lot of data and information and we were so happy that she came with us. She’s such a warm person and she treated us as if we were old acquaintances who came to visit her, not as some tourists. After visiting the Reserve, we went to Urlatoarea Waterfall (there are actually two waterfalls, Urlatoarea Mare and Urlatoarea Mica), both spectacular. Although in our pictures you can’t see very wall the waterfalls (in some photos seems mud) the scenery was really beautiful, especially at the Urlatoarea Mica, which is hidden and there weren’t tourists.

You can also visit Vama Buzaului, a very beautiful village, located 5 km from Pastel Chalet. We visited when we were there at the launch of the Valley 21 project.

On our way back to Bucharest we visited Prejmer fortified church and also Harman city. Although Prejmer is more popular because it is the best preserved fortifications in Eastern Europe and was inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage list of  we were impressed by Harman, we felt like we were on a movie set for an old film.

If you want to visit Pastel Chalet you need to make reservations ahead of time because they organize various team buildings and camps for children and families and for athletes.

Our weekend at Pastel Chalet was like a breath of fresh air, it really exceeded our expectations. Clean air, positive energy, beautiful people, healthy food, for us represents the ideal vacation and the best way to disconnect from technology and connect to ourselves and nature.

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Din cand in cand simtim nevoia sa evadam din cotidian si sa mergem in mijlocul naturii pentru a ne relaxa si a ne incarca de energie. Acum o saptamana am ales sa ne deconectam la Pastel Chalet, o cabana boutique situata langa Vama Buzaului, la poalele muntilor Ciucas.

Si ne-am deconectat la propriu pentru ca aici semnalul la telefon e inexistent, camerele nu au televizor (gasiti cate unul in zona comuna de lounge), Wi-fi-ul merge destul de greu, asa ca e locul perfect pentru detox-ul digital de care avem cu totii nevoie uneori. Partenere ne-au fost Ramona si Simona de la Surorile Calatoare, pe care probabil le stiti deja daca ne cititi blogul pentru ca am fost impreuna in mai multe calatorii pana acum.

Despre Pastel Chalet

De cum am trecut pragul Pastel Chalet, am fost placut surprinse de decorul shabby chic combinat cu motive romanesti. Pastel Chalet este compus din trei corpuri diferite (Romantic, Charm, Cozy), unul din ele gazduind si restaurantul.

Cele 15 camere sunt mobilate diferit, fiecare are ceva aparte, fie ca vorbim de culoare, de mobilier sau de design. Noi am stat in Camera Macului, o camera cocheta, cu mobilier pictat manual, de inspiratie traditional romaneasca. Trolerul nostru Ethno de la Oxigen’s Life Spirit, partenerul nostru de nadejde in calatorii, s-a integrat perfect in peisaj, dupa cum veti vedea si in fotografii.

Camera Macului are vedere spre munte si dimineata era o placere sa te trezesti si sa iesi pe balcon sa respiri aer curat si sa vezi crestele inzapezite ale muntilor Ciucas. Chiar daca temperaturile au fost foarte scazute, (minima a fost de -11 grade Celsius undeva in jurul pranzului, deci nu vrem sa ne imaginam cat de frig e noaptea), a fost absolut superb si ne-am incalzit de la drumetiile pe care le-am facut prin imprejurimi.

Ce puteti face la Pastel Chalet?

Daca va imaginati ca am mers la Pastel Chalet doar pentru a sta la caldurica si a privi zapada pe fereastra, va inselati. Am facut antrenamente serioase, nu gluma 🙂 Daca veniti aici toamna tarziu sau iarna, va sfatuim sa puneti in bagaj o pereche de bocanci sau ghete mai rezistente, pentru ca drumul e destul de alunecos.

In prima zi cand am ajuns, am plecat intr-o drumetie prin padure, la baza muntilor Ciucas, insotiti de ghidul nostru, nea Comanita, ale carui amintiri din copilarie l-ar face gelos pana si pe Creanga. Chiar ne-a impresionat povestea dumnealui de viata, nici nu stim cand am parcurs atatia kilometri, mai ales ca am urcat prin unele locuri „necalcate”, nu doar pe poteci :). Desi incepuse sa fulguiasca si era cam ger cand am plecat, cand am ajuns in padure, ni se facuse cald, parea toamna, picioarele ni se afundau in covorul de frunze si totul era aramiu, dupa cum puteti vedea si in poza Cristinei de mai jos.
Am vazut traseul pe unde alta data circula trenul mocanita ce era folosit pentru caratul lemnelor, ne-a povestit de animalele care erau alta data prin zona si cele care mai sunt acum, de copaci, de razboi, de izvoarele din muntii Ciucas (de aici provine apa pentru berea Ciucas), de legendele locului si de multe altele pe care va lasam sa le aflati si voi de la dansul daca ajungeti prin zona. Ne-am fi dorit sa nu se mai incheie aceasta drumetie, a fost absolut superb.

Prima zi s-a incheiat cu noi obosite, dar fericite. Desi ne propusesem sa jucam Activity si alte jocuri de societate, nu am mai reusit, pentru ca eram frante- dupa cina ne-am dus direct la culcare. Am recuperat in seara urmatoare, spre satisfactia Dorinei, care e mare fana Activity si ar juca ore in sir. Am invatat si Dixit si ne-am amintit si de „Nu te supara, frate!” pe care nu il mai jucasem de cand eram mici. Ne-am distrat grozav, puteti vedea si in vlogul pe care l-am facut acolo 🙂 La receptie gasiti o multime de jocuri de societate pe care le puteti imprumuta pentru a juca in living. De asemenea, aveti si carti si filme, Wii, dar si masa de biliard si ping pong.

Si apropo de cina, mancarea este delicioasa si au si optiuni vegane in meniu. Dorina chiar se temea ca nu o sa aiba ce manca si o sa aleaga ceva vegetarian, insa a avut surpriza sa aiba si optiuni la felurile principale, ba chiar si desert 🙂 Mesele sunt incluse in pachetul de cazare, nu trebuie sa le platiti separat. In meniu predomina mancarea traditionala si noua ne-a placut mult tot ce am incercat, de la ciorbe si pana la deserturi.

A doua zi, la prima ora ne-am trezit sa facem cateva poze pentru ca tocmai ninsese, iar la ora 11 am plecat impreuna cu Enisa, proprietara Pastel Chalet, la Rezervatia de Zimbri Vama Buzaului, care e la vreo zece kilometri de Pastel Chalet.
Rezervatia gazduieste in jur de 30 de zimbri si cativa cerbi si ciute. Am ramas uimite sa aflam ca in Romania nu mai exista zimbri, iar acestia au fost adusi din Austria, Elvetia, Italia si Franta.
Senzatia rezervatiei sunt cerbii Petrica si Vasile, care sunt extrem de sociabili, dar si fotogenici 🙂 In tabara zimbrilor se remarca Misu si Mitica, despre care Enisa ne-a spus o multime de povesti 🙂
Enisa nu doar ca e extrem de amabila si ospitaliera, dar ni s-a parut o enciclopedie vie, stia o multime de date si informatii si am fost extrem de incantate sa o cunoastem. Ni s-a parut o persoana extrem de calda, care ne-a tratat ca pe niste cunostinte mai vechi care au venit la ea in vizita, nu ca pe niste turisti.

Dupa ce am vizitat Rezervatia, am mers la Cascada Urlatoarea (sunt de fapt doua cascade, Urlatoarea Mare si Urlatoarea Mica), ambele spectaculoase. Desi in pozele noastre nu prea se cunosc asa de bine (pare noroi in unele), in realitate era superb peisajul, mai ales la Urlatoarea Mica, care era mai ascunsa si nu erau nici turisti.

Mai puteti vizita si Vama Buzaului, o comuna foarte frumoasa, aflata la 5 km de Pastel Chalet. Noi nu am mai mers pentru ca o mai vizitasem cand am fost la lansarea complexului Valley 21.

Pe drumul de intoarcere spre Bucuresti am vizitat si cetatea fortificata de la Prejmer, aflata la 37 km de pensiune, dar si cetatea Harman. Desi Prejmer e mult mai cunoscuta pentru ca e cea mai bine pastrata fortificatie din Estul Europei si a fost inscrisa pe lista patrimoniului cultural mondial UNESCO, pe noi ne-a impresionat Harman pe care nu trebuie sa o ratati, te simti ca si cum ai fi pe un platou de filmare pentru o pelicula veche.

Daca doriti sa vizitati aceasta oaza de relaxare numita Pastel Chalet trebuie sa va faceti rezervari mai din timp pentru ca sunt organizate si traininguri si tabere pentru copii si familie sau pentru sportivi.

Weekendul petrecut la Pastel Chalet a fost ca o gura de aer proaspat, noua ne-a intrecut asteptarile. Aerul curat, energia pozitiva, oamenii frumosi, mancarea sanatoasa, pentru noi reprezinta vacanta ideala de  deconectare de la tehnologie si conectare la natura.

 

         














 delicious vegan food

 

 

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