Transylvania

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On Thursday, we took only a small bag as we were heading to Transylvania for a two day, one night, visit. We drive out of Bucharest during peak hour which was difficult and headed out on Highway 1. Our first loo stop was at a very modern shopping mall. They certainly are not short of goods and services here. We drove on, into the Carpathian mountains with the scenery turning from wide fields into mountain views along the way. Near the pretty town of Sinaia, we visited Peles Castle. This was built by King Ferdinand, royalty borrowed from the German aristocracy, and was very much in that style. It was set in beautiful gardens and we were shown through various rooms, sumptuously decorated with paintings and mirrors. Very grand. The castle was saved from the ravages of Ceacescu who wanted to replace the stunning stained glass windows as he said the inside was too dark. The custodian of the castle told him the castle was riddled by termites and Ceacescu had a horror of insects so he had it boarded up !!
For lunch we went back to the centre of Sinaia where we enjoyed some fish and then tried the Panapase, a traditional Romanian dessert. This consists of a donut
swathed in blueberry sauce and lashings of cream. Very tasty but rich. Then it was back on the bus and a drive to the town of Brasov. Here we checked into the Radisson Blu, a very new hotel opposite the large park.
After a short rest, we walked into the old town. This was fabulous. There was a large pedestrian area with cafes running full length to the town square. It was about 5pm and families were enjoying the warm sunshine and strolling along, stopping for icecreams and chips. The buildings were beautiful and they were setting up for a huge concert in the main square. We eventually chose the Mador restaurant for dinner. I opted for a seafood soup while Fletcher had a pizza. My soup was packed with seafood in a delicious tomato based soup . Fletcher enjoyed his pizza. It was great sitting there, surrounded by a happy, bustling crowd, eating and drinking some excellent Romanian wine. A lovely evening.

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