W Bro Ron Wainer, PGStdB, writes

After months of planning, a large number of members of the Polytechnic Lodge recently visited Bucharest, Romania, for eight exciting days.

The trip took quite some time to plan and the necessary authorities were sought from the Chancellors’ Office at UGLE and the National Grand Lodge of Romania.

Once we were given the green light, communications commenced between our own Brother Adrian Badea and Brother Razvan Buburuz in Bucharest. Their joint planning paid off, with everyone having a first-class break. Members of all ranks from our Lodge participated in what turned out to be a jam-packed itinerary, consisting of very early mornings and very late nights!

Meeting up on a late afternoon at Stansted Airport, we had a pleasant flight over to Otopeni Airport, Bucharest, landing around 9pm.  We were met by Brother Razvan from Tracia Sacra Lodge No 412 and another driver who conveyed us in their private vehicles to our hotel in the Old Town, Bucharest. The wise members of our group snuggled down for the night in the hotel; but the partygoers amongst us, who were in the majority, hit the town until 3.30am local time!

Nursing sore heads the following morning, we pulled ourselves out of bed and explored the city, visiting the Palace of the Parliament (one of the heaviest buildings in the world, weighing about 4,098,500 tonnes), the Catedrala Mantuirii Neamului, and other tourist locations. In the evening, we regrouped for a pleasant evening meal together and managed to improve our bedtime by one hour…

Over the next few days, we travelled far and wide to the typical tourist spots, including a long journey to Transylvania to visit the famous Dracula’s Bran Castle and Peles Castle. Travelling back to Bucharest, we travelled through Transylvania’s forested  Carpathian Mountains and gorges, where huge brown Romanian bears live and sometimes wander to the roadside. Romanian brown bears can tower to over 7ft and weigh between 100 and 350kg. They are Europe’s largest carnivores, and are incredibly fast, capable of running at over 30mph. They are also great tree climbers. We did not hang around for long when making a toilet stop in Brasov in the middle of the mountain range...

One evening, we also met up with our hosts from Tracia Sacra Lodge No 412 in the famous Hanu Manuc Restaurant, an enormous and most beautiful Inn built in 1806 and modernised without losing any of its original charm. We were joined by members of Manolache Kostache Epureanu Lodge No 329. The traditional Romanian food was delicious and we were greatly entertained by Romanian Music with live performances and dancing. We were introduced to Palinca; a very palatable traditional Romanian spirit, twice distilled and aged to perfection in wooden casks: very strong, very enjoyable, and what we would call ‘fall over juice.’

We continued our sightseeing trips, sometimes accompanied by some of our Romanian Brothers. We spent a day relaxing in Therme Bucharesti. Therme București is Europe’s largest wellness and relaxation centre. It is also home to Romania’s largest indoor botanical garden with over 800,000 plants, including palm trees, orchids and other unique species all around the swimming pools. Enjoying ourselves in thermal water pools, saunas with Himalayan salt walls, a mineral pool from the Dead Sea, a lithium salt pool and a calcium & magnesium pool we came out fully relaxed and smelling good!

One afternoon, we also visited a famous Romanian Wine Bar called “1000 Chipuri” which is managed by a local Freemason. We took over the top floor of the bar and sampled quite a few Romanian wines; accompanied by meats and cheeses. We were all in a party mood hitting the town that evening.

The highlight of our trip was attending a meeting of Tracia Sacra Lodge in the Leonardo da Vinci Room of the Odeon Masonic Temple in Bucharest. Freemasonry in Romania is suspended for the Summer Equinox, starting with the Feast of St John on 21st June and finishing 21st September. As we were visiting during this period, a dispensation was considered and granted by the Grand Master of the National Grand Lodge of Romania. We received a hearty welcome from all those present and were given many gifts from our Romanian Brothers, some of whom had flown down from Cluj-Napoca in northwestern Romania to join us. The Festive Board followed the meeting; where our brotherly friendship was reinforced by plenty more glasses of Palinca until the late evening.

The Polytechnic Lodge’s visit to Romania was a memorable experience that greatly strengthened the bonds of brotherhood within our organisation. The warm hospitality and shared traditions we encountered deepened our connections and highlighted the common values that unite us across borders. This visit was a meaningful step in promoting our organisation’s principles and fostering mutual understanding. We eagerly await the opportunity to welcome our Romanian Brothers to our Lodge too, knowing that our bond will continue to grow stronger with each exchange.

This article is part of the Arena Magazine, Issue 57 Spring 2025 edition.
Arena Magazine is the official magazine of the London Freemasons - Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in the Arena Issue 57 here.