English Impressions of Peles Castle, Sinaia, in Transylvania

Another day trip to Sinaia took us to Peles Castle, above the park in Sinaia where there are sometimes classic car rallies. The castle looks impressive as one walks up the curved drive, giving different viewpoints as the castle gets closer.

Built in the late 1800's for King Carol the1st, the Castle is in the style of a Bavarian Schloss.

The Castle is named after the Peles river which flows nearby.

Peles was decorated by King Carol's eccentric wife Eiizabeta, who was also a popular novelist called Carmen Silva. Not one of the 160 rooms was decorated in Romanian style, but were embellished with walnut, ebony, leather, alabaster, French tapestries and mother of pearl .

The Castle is positioned in extensive gardens landscaped in the English style.

On arrival, the short English tour was not for another hour, so we joined the longer Romanian Tour. Everyone had to put slippers on, and mine were odd sizes and kept falling off when we went upstairs. We had to keep up with the group as the Guide waited until everyone was there before he spoke. Then I tried to pick up an occasional word of what he was saying, but mainly looked where everyone else was looking, then followed the crowd as I didn't have a clue as to what was going on.

A stained glass window with the sun shining through.

The Un Romanian interior of Peles Castle

An example of the art on display. Some of the originals are now exhibited in the National Art Museum in Bucharest.

The Courtyard at the entrance to the castle where we were shown out after taking photographs. Other people were taking photos, but we were remonstrated with more than once before being shown the door. Is it cos I is black/English?, I thought to myself, but we eventually discovered that there was an extra fee for taking photos, but as we were not asked (as far as we know) when we bought our tickets we did not know this.

So, I cannot show you the Murano glass chandeliers in the Florentine Hall, the carrera marble fountain in the Moorish Alhambra Hall or the Louis xiv room containing Romania's first cinema and paintings by the young Klimt. We didn't see the latter room ourselves, before we were ejected.

A lion guarding the Castle

Puppies living under a bush guarding the grounds?

Dogs living wild are a common sight and even live in the grounds of Peles Castle.

A secret door

A waterfall from the woods at Peles

A mysterious figure in the woods at Peles

A bride and groom posing for wedding photos outside Peles Castle

We have seen many brides and grooms when we are out and about on Saturdays. White weddings seem to be very popular.

For more information on Peles Castle, see

Slideshow of Sinaia: TravelPod’s trip to Sinaia, Romania was created by TripAdvisor. See another Sinaia slideshow. Take your travel photos and make a slideshow for free.

I hope you have enjo e trip to Peles Castle in Snaia.

Pa pa    Anne-Marie

September songs and Autumn in Romania

Ignore the above, you can view it later on!

 In August,the glorious(to some) 12th, heralds the grouse shooting season in England. In Romania, the16th August is the start of the walnut harvesting season, although the walnuts are still somewhat green here ln Breaza.

The 1st September is the first day of Autumn in Romania; the first day of Spring being on the 1st March.

Mellow fruitfulness and dried lavendar from the garden.

The weather  changed quite dramatically on the 1st,  with a cool breeze suddenly appearing before a rain storm complete with thunder and lightning hit the town. Before that, it was all mists and mellow fruitfulness.

The apple blossom in May has given forth apples from the palest green to the deepest red. There are plums from yellow to damson red, and the fruit trees on the boulevards display their fruits for anybody to eat. We seem to have hops twining around fences and shrubs, and hollyhocks and hibiscus of varying hues grows well all around.

Rudbeckias and stocks are very popular garden plants, while  red geraniums, French marigolds and pink and purple petunias are favoured basket or bedding plants. 

Gardens on the main street in Breaza

http://youtu.be/lTaRMum_gWU

Some Autumn leaves.

 Gourds of all shapes and sizes are now on display at roadside stalls along with seasonal fruit and vegetables, and enormous water melons. I have fallen in love with water melons which taste much better in Romania, although it is quite a struggle trying to slice them as they have a life of their own and keep rolling away.

http://youtu.be/LyRqdzF8swY

There is a video of the storm on 20th June after theBBQ, but first, an oldie but goodie, then, more stormy weather.

http://youtu.be/QCG3kJtQBKo

Most of the leaves on the walnut trees turned yellow on the 1st September, and it feels like someone has turned down the thermostat 10 degrees, the Autumn has set in so quickly. If Spring springs into life so quicly on the 1st March I think that would be a wonderful sight in rural Romania.

http://youtu.be/NN7dCwbDDJ0

La revederee,  Anne-Marie

Salt Mines;from punishment to spa & health treatments; Slanic Prahova

What could be better than a day out at a Salt Mine?

Our day started in the high 30's, so bottles of chilled water were essential, plus jackets as we were to descend into the earth to examine the excavations in the old salt mine in Slanic, the biggest mine in Europe. The Slanic salt mine is a popular destination for locals, tourists and people who visit for health reasons.

We thought that this structure was an antique lift shaft, but as we queued and got closer, it seemed that we were expected to enter the rickety old 'lift' with wooden doors that did not quite meet in the middle or at the top of the lift. Anyway as children and old ladies did not seem scared, we shut our eyes and braved the descent into the 'salt cellar'!

The lift shaft looks as if it is made of bamboo, like most things in our villa.

We emerged into a dimly lit Cathedral of Salt, complete with a cross lit up on high.

The scale of the mine is soaring, with the walls and floors having the appearance of dull white and charcoal grey marble,which catches the light in places and invites you to touch it.

There are various caverns to explore, containing a playground for young children, a cafe and a 'hospital'.

The constant 12 degree temperature,the humidity rate and the air quality is reputed to be beneficial for respiratory and rheumatic conditions, and patients have been prescribed 3 weeks of daily treatment at the salt mine to improve health.

We saw children playing football and adults playing badminton, while others went to the cafe or sat on wooden swing seats thoughtfully provided.

Our Romanian hosts say that the idea is to spend a few hours down the mine to benefit from the air. The games that people play are to encourage excercise and inhalation of the air. On a hot day when the heat is unbearable outside, the children can play freely in the 12 degree temperature.

There is a statue carved from salt of  Decebalus, the ruler of the indiginous people of Romania.

The area used to be called Dacia, and included Moldova and parts of Bulgaria, Sebia, Hungary and the Ukraine.

Decebalus was the last ruler of the Dacians until 106 AD when the area was conquered by Romans and the inhabitants became part of the Roman Empire. the modern Romanian language is the closest to Latin than any other Mediterranean language.

The most frequently seen car in Romania is called the Dacia.

For more pictures, Google 'Slanic Prahova salt mine pictures'.

Mined by slaves (Romans) or prisoners in Gulags ( Russians), salt mines now are often places of retreat for health spa relaxation. Salt spa rooms are even created artificially along with steam rooms and saunas, like here at the G Club Spa in Breaza.

  I have been thinking about Solzhenitzyn's 'One Day in th Life of ' and Helen Dunmore's 'The Siege' The Betrayal'

Romanian Photo Opportunities ..A beautiful country where nature abounds

These are photo opportunities that I missed due to not being quick enough, not being able to stop driving due to narrow roads and / or no pavements, no parking spaces, invasion of privacy, or simply forgetting to take my camera out with me;

Fields of sweetcorn as far as the eye can see

Fields of sunflowers turning their heads to the sun

Jays jaywalking

Woodpeckers pecking

Storks flying

Storks nests 3 feet in diameter atop telegraph poles

An eagle strutting in a field

Horses and carts full of people and hay

Romanies selling their wares

Shrines at the roadside

Water pipes at the roadside and people queuing to fill containers with  water from the streams

Little old ladies dressed in widows weeds

A bride in a white 'meringue' wedding dress sitting in the middle of a park bench,(taking up the whole
bench)

The restaurant at the summit of the Carpathian mountains

The lake in the Carpatian mountains

The inside of Peles Castle
Well, we did take a few pics there before we were told  off!

I must try harder to take some more photographs as Romania is a diverse country with lots of natural beauty and evidence of local culture. Here is one photo of the shrine on our street in Breaza but I have seen hundreds more whizzing past on bends in the road. One has Jesus completely wrapped in clear plastic as if to keep him dry in the rain and snow.

This shrine has quite recently been re-roofed with metal sheets and is well looked after. Alot of people cross themselves when they walk past.

Behind this shrine there is a steep drop into a gorge with a river, a railway and the equivalent of the M1, but you would never guess it as it looks like a quiet country road.

Night night or Noapte buna as they say in Romania  x

Moonlight

At the last full moon, only I was bathed in it's light and the man beside me slept soundly. Earlier, the moonlight through the leaves of the walnut tree shone as brightly as sparkling diamonds, the movement of the breeze drawing attention again and again to it's glittering beauty.

The month before, I woke in the night and saw Tinkerbell fluttering daintily through a glass of water lit by moonlight. She kept on fluttering until I sank peacefully down into my slumbers, but  she was gone by morning.

The moon and stars are so beautiful in Romania. The sky is often cloudless, and the paucity of street lamps that I bemoan when walking in the dark, only enhances the natural splendour of the heavens.

The website Dark Skies Awareness has some beautiful images of the night sky all over the world, including Romania.

Did you know that there is a Dark Sky Park in Galloway, Scotland? The moon looks beautiful and mysterious in Summer or Winter. Watch and listen to this by wintermood.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwq8Qj02xes





The sun is shining now and the mystery has gone with the moonlight. Another month has gone by without an attack by werewolves or vampires.

Have a nice day,  Anne-Marie

The Dracula Experience

Leaving Poiana Brasov for Bran Castle, we came across a monument to a lone revolutionary who chose to commit suicide in 1989 ,  to draw attention to the oppressive regime in charge of Romania. He walked to the ski slope and shouted that living in Romania was like living in Auschwitz, and set himself on fire in front of horrified tourists. The martyr Liviu Babes made worldwide news everywhere except in Romania.

Later that year, the Revolution began in earnest in hot spots including Brasov, where people sheltered in the Black Church to escape the fighting, but were still shot at. The bullet holes remain on the pillars inside the Black Church.

Onwards to Dracula's Castle at Bran, which is in a village strategically positioned at a pass in the Carpathian mountains between Wallachia and Transylvania.

See how moody and ominous the clouds are at Bran Castle.

The castle must have been daunting to traders and travellers who had to pay a toll to cross the pass.

Vlad the Impaler conquered this castle centuries ago, and his name, Dracula, son of his father Dracul, which means Devil or Dragon seems to be etched into the conciousness of visitors who throng in the village, wallowing in the Dracula legend.

Look closely, there's a werewolf on the loose!

Some soul food at Bran. Everbody was eating this delicacy, so I had to give it a try. It waslike a v light doughnut mixture, fried then coated with the ubiquitous smantana and branza i.e. sour cream and one of the 2 types of cheese. The other is cascaval.

The wooden bracelet is from Bucharest; the extra weight from untold numbers of pizzas.

This is quite hard to believe, but you know when you are visiting somewhere and you look around to see if there is anyone you know, but if you are at Dracula's castle in Romania, you don't bother? Well, we had no sooner finished our nameless snack, when a voice from over the road caught our attention, and it was a very nice Romanian lady who I met at a BBQ recently, so we had a cosy chat right there and then in the shadow of the castle.

I was with relatives and they were going to a local restaurant to sample'Bulz', or polenta formed into balls with salami and goats cheese incorporated, or smoked ham and feta. There is a recipe for bulz on the BBC Good Food web site if anyone is interested.

See     www.brasovtravelguide.ro/en/brasov.../draculs-castle.php     for more information on the checquered history of the Castle.

 It's other famous resident was Queen Marie, granddaughter of  Queen Victoria who was born in Kent and transported by marriage to a remote castle in the  Carpathian mountains.

The genuine Dracula's castle, where Vlad marched the captured boyars from the Princely Court at Targoviste, and set them to work with the peasants, is Poienari Castle. Vlad lived in this remote citadel on a mountain top in a prism shaped room, from which his wife leapt to her death when the Turks finally fought their way to the top. To visit the castle, the last 4 Kms is on foot on a rough track, followed by 1,480 steps up to the castle, some of which crashed down the mountainside long ago. This location deters many people from visiting including me, but the following will give more information to the curious.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew1n6NiZnoY

There are a further 2 videos in the series, and more.

Note the comments underneath. Despite the extreme means of ruling Romania and deterring invasion from neighbouring countries, many Romanians think of Vlad as a hero who kept the Turkish Empire from expanding into Europe, forcing foreign ways and Islam onto  Christian countries.

Live and let live I say. People are people everywhere and should be able to follow their own customs and religion as long as they are not harming others.

It is over 30 degrees now, so it's Siesta time. I have some sangria for later!

Adios amigos!

Some observations in Romania

Here is the O Zone track and video I meant to send last week, with special guest Brad Pitt.

Come back Top of the Pops!

http://youtu.behljWoqTMdo

Observations in Romania


Transport seems to be mainly by 'Maxitaxi',( small mini vans) . From Breaza you can get a maxitaxi north to Brasov, or south to Bucharest via an occasional stop in a town. I have only seen buses in Ploieste and Bucharest.

There are lots of horses and carts in the countryside and the owners are not all Romanies.

I first saw  Romanies here in Sinaia, selling lilacs which grow in many hedgerows here. Many of them look Indian and wear brightly coloured clothes.

Romanies sell their wares in places where there are a lot of people/tourists e.g. Bucharest, Sinaia.

They sell fruit and flowers mainly, and the children join in the selling, sometimes on their own at quite an early age.

When we see Romanies at the side of the road, we know that either we have nearly  reached our destination, or, more likely, there is a traffic jam. Romanies have mobile 'phones and must let each other know where there are people gathered together.

Every adult occupant of the car is asked whether they want to buy fruit, which is presented prettily in a small basket lined with coloured paper, so one of us saying 'no' is not enough.

I remember one young boy's eyes when I said 'no'. The memory still haunts me. But, when you are on your way somewhere in the 30+ heat, you have nowhere to put flowers or fruit in that temperature, so the Romanies must face almost constant rejection.

I have seen someone buying a wooden stool through their car window in a traffic jam.

There are lots of traffic jams, many up and down from Bucharest on fridays and Sundays on the 'M1'.

Many roads are single carriageways and have little scope to be widened because of existing houses, rail tracks, rivers, hills and mountains. Plus, there are always some roadworks which take a long time to complete.

When it is v hot, some men lift their t shirts up and leave them stuck up around their upper chest. I often have to lookaway, but not always.

In the supermarkets, there are rows and rows of plastic contraptions to attach to the toilet rim and refills of 'toilet water' scent, but no disinfectant. I have searched for it, and considered bringing some from home, but did not want any spillage in my suitcase.

Raw alcohol is used on a cut, rather than Dettol.

Most people use scythes to cut their lawns/meadows. I think that I speak for many when I say that I am glad that I do not have to sharpen a scythe before I hack down the long grass and make haystacks.

http://youtu.be/yJpltkXRXQk

Pa pa  AM