UUPCC Travel

UUPCC Travel
PO Box 88
Bedford, MA 01730
781-275-1710

UUPCC Annual Youth Pilgrimage

July 21 - August 05, 2008.

Our Ninth more-or-less-Annual Youth Trip for North American UU Youth ages 15 - 19.

Travel with other UU youth from around the country accompanied by long-time UUPCC Networker Lee Boeke Burke and other chaperones. Learn about Unitarian history in Transylvania and get to know the people in your partner village. Prior trips have had rave reviews from parents and youth alike. Click here to read what others have had to say about their experiences and memories from previous Youth Pilgrimages.

The trip starts with an overnight stay in the Boston area where you meet your fellow travelers and get oriented before your departure for Romania. Arrive Bucharest Otopeni then take a motor coach to Transylvania. The trip includes a 3-day visit to your partner church. Along the way you will learn about the roots of our Unitarian faith, hike in some beautiful country, meet and work alongside Transylvanian Unitarian youth and have a great time. Don’t pass up this life-changing travel experience.

16 days, $1,870 per person, Includes ground transportation in Romania, meals, lodging, guides, interpreters, and fees. Cost does not include transportation from your home to/from Bostonor round-trip airfare from Boston to Bucharest. (UUPCC Pilgrimage Service will work with a local agency to procure discounted group rates for the international portion of the air travel). Personal spending money is not included.

Tentative Itinerary:

  • July 21 - Arrive Boston. Group orientation and introduction session with chaperones and group members. Overnight Boston in home stay.
  • July 22 - Depart Boston for Romania.
  • July 23 - Arrive Bucharest Otopeni airport, transfer to motor coach and drive 3 hrs to Transylvanian town of Sepsiszentgyorgy. Overnight Parc Hotel.
  • July 24 – A morning of hiking in the mountains and visiting ancient Unitarian churches before departing for Harghita County in central Transylvania. Evening program with local youth group. Overnight Unitarian Center - Szekelykeresztur.
  • July 25 & 26 – Work days. You will work beside Transylvanian Unitarian youth on a service project TBD later this Spring by the trip leaders. Evening programs including youth-directed worship service Sat. night. Tour of historic Unitarian Church at Arkos. Overnight Szekelykeresztur Unitarian High School Dorms.
  • July 27 – Morning services with Szekelykeresztur congregation. PM departure for medieval walled-city of Segesvar (a UNESCO World Heritage site), purported birthplace of Vlad Tepes, aka Dracula. Free time to explore the town before we depart for Kolozsvar. Overnight Kolozsvar – Unitarian Center for Students & Pilgrims (UCSP)
  • July 28 – Morning tour of Koloszvár, the Capital of Transylvania.Church. Visit the Unitarian Headquarters, 1st Church Kolozsvar (which houses the rock upon which Francis David stood) and historic sites in Koloszvár. Free time to explore. Overnight Kolozsvar - UCSP.
  • July 29 – Day trip to Torda, where the famous debate with Francis David took place, and where King Zsigmond declared the Edict of Torda, one of the first declarations of religious freedom and to.nearby Meszko, the “Alabaster Village”, where Ferenc Balazs served. We will hike and have a picnic lunch in scenic Torda Gorge before returning to Kolozsvar. Overnight UCSP.
  • July 30 – Depart Kolozsvar for Déva. En route we will stop in Vajdahunyad to see a magnificent castle from the pages of a storybook. The castle at Deva (now in total ruins) is where Francis David was imprisoned and died. We will hike up to the top (about a 45 minute walk). We will have a short service, and then hike down and picnic. Overnight Deva.
  • July 31 – Depart Deva and return to Central Transylvania We will stop at the 1000 year-old church to visit the tomb of Sigismund, the Unitarian King of Transylvania. Overnight Szekelyudvarhely.
  • Aug 1 – Morning shopping excursion to the “pottery village” of Korond before departing for your visit to your Partner Church. Overnight with partner congregations
  • Aug 2 & 3 - Partner Church weekend. Time to explore, make friends, worship and get a get to know your partner village/town.
  • Aug 4 - Re-gather in Szekelyudvarhely. Group discussion to process and share your weekend experience before traveling on to Brasso to stroll & shop in picturesque city center. Tour of historic “Black Church”. Overnight Busteni/Sinaia.
  • Aug 5 - Fly back to Boston. You may overnight in Boston if you wish to fly home on Aug 12.