Wow another big day! We awake early as we have our pick at 7.30 and it is 15 to 20 min walk away. It is overcast and cool this morning. It is only about 10 degrees when we head off after a quick breakfast. It is a full bus with 50 plus people on board.
Our first stop is two hours away at a town called Sinaiai where the Peles castle is located. It is closed on Tuesdays but we are still able to look from the outside. The traffic is heavy until we get away from Bucharest. Our guide tells us there are 2.5 million people in Bucharest and 1 million cars. While there is a very good public transport system people love their cars. Our guide, Michael, continues talking non stop, pointing out the buildings and monuments until we reach the countryside. Then he gives us a history of Romania and then how Transylvania became part of Romania. He only stops when we get to castle.
The drive covered some beautiful countryside and we climb up to 1100 metres through forests and valleys in the Bucegi mountain range Sinaiai is a very beautiful town with lovely houses and buildings it looks very Bavarian.
It is bitterly cold when we get off the bus. There is a stiff breeze and it goes right through you. It feels below 10 degrees. Peles castle was disappointing, the grounds were lovely but there was scaffolding covering a lot of the best parts. We were given a time to be back on the bus and were told there was only one toilet for the men and one for the women, so do not leave it too late as there might be a queue. Sure enough it was busy. We got back on time but one group of five were late. Michael was not happy and told them so.
We then head off for Brans castle about 90 minutes away. We climb further to 1800 metres, along the way we pass another castle that was used by Netflix in making the Wednesday series. During our ride there Michael gives us an explanation of how and why the castle was built, its fall into disrepair and eventual restoration. He also explained Vlad the Impalers (Dracula) role in the area.
The castle was very interesting with small rooms, many winding narrow stairs and low headroom. It is still bitterly cold! We have time to get something to eat at the shops and to check out the gift stores. There is trashy items and then there is junk. Sorry there really wasn’t anything worthwhile to purchase. We have another three different late returners. Ann has also decided she does not want to live in a castle.
We now have a short 1 hour drive to Brasov which is one of seven “German” towns in Romania. While Romania is mostly orthodox, having been converted to Christianity by the Apostle Andrew, these German towns are mostly Lutheran. It was in this town that Vlad fell in love with a young girl called Katherine. They had a long affair and after the town leaders tried to stop her, because Vlad was not of their blood and beliefs, they humiliated her. When Vlad found out he rounded them up locked them in church and burnt the church down. They then continued their affair. His name as the Impaler came about when he was ruling the area and his punishment for any crime was implement! Needless to say crime was not a significant issue during his reign. We have nearly two hours in Brasov and must be back on the bus by 3.45. Everybody is on time and we now have over 3 hours back to Bucharest. As we get down from the mountains the sun is shining and it is much warmer. We have a rest break an hour from home, one person gets left behind! Michael is not good at counting. We return and pick him up. As we reach the outskirts the traffic leaving the city is horrendous. As we get closer we get stuck in traffic as well. We eventually reach our drop off at 7.30 pm.
We decide to find somewhere to eat on the way home and have a lovely pasta meal. We eventually get home about 9 pm. and covered another 388 kms.
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