Travel planner: The painted monasteries in Bucovina

If you want to discover a bit of the real Romania, run away from the dusty capital city and get to know some of the country's natural beauties while diving into spirituality and history, then the painted monasteries in Moldova are a great choice. By Corina Saceanu It's advisable to go by car – you can choose Suceava as your main accommodation site and from there drive around to see the monasteries in the region. You could also choose to stay in Vatra Dornei, which is a mountain resort (with ski slopes during the winter and beautiful scenery during the summer) Suceava is 436 kilometers from Bucharest– the two-lane road is good on most of the distance and it will take you around six hours, or a bit more if you stop along the way, to get to Suceava. At Buzau, Focsani and Bacau you will find shopping centers on the towns' bypass roads, if you want to stop for shopping or to have a coffee. You could also go by train and even by plane, Suceava has an airport, but there are not many rent a car choices there (close to none, but things could have changed since we visited the place a year ago; so take this with a pinch of salt). If you don't have