Advertisement
Published: September 26th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Our last day trip took us to Transylvania, Brasov, and the mountain castles of Romania. The whole country is about half the size of France and is crossed by the Carpathian Mountains, which is famous for its fresh air and springs. We passed several spa resorts, where our guide explained many Romanians and tourist go to for treatment in the fresh air. Quietly to ourselves, the Americans predicted, if they did not all smoke so much, they may enjoy fresh air at home!
Traffic leaving Bucharest at 7 a.m. was like any rush hour morning in Atlanta- in fact one our Romanian classmates said rush hour begins at 7 p.m. and ends 7 p.m. and he is not exaggerating. We were told that 80% of the cars on the road did not have parking places, which was evident as there were often cars parked up on the side walk, leaving a small path for pedestrians to pass. Lane lines are apparently just guidelines as cars change lanes and merge endlessly. The people drive very aggressively here, and our friends tell us there are very few accidents because everyone is paying attention. There is no way you could eat, drink, talk
Peles
This is what we saw as we approached. on the cell phone or put on make-up in this town- you would be crushed!
Outside of Bucharest, we entered the suburbs and eventually the foothills of the Carpathians. At first, I was a bit disappoint, “you call these mountains?” It was not long before our bus began the switch-backs as we headed up real mountains on our way to Sinaia, a mountain ski resort and playground of the wealthier Romanians. Our first stop was at the Peles Castle, the summer home many Romanian Kings.
Peles In 1873, Prince Carol of Germany, was brought to Romania to lead the country. Because of past corruption, the Romanian people did not trust other Romanians to lead, so they brought in a neutral King from another country - an early example of outsourcing, my business school colleagues quickly pointed out! The monarch bought 1000 acres after vacationing in Sinaia and falling in love with the region. Building began in 1873 and in 1893, the first building stage was completed. The castle would undergo several additions by several architects and attained its present-day shape in 1914. One interesting note, is that the castle was constructed with central heat and electricity and has
Brasov Lunch
My Happy Meal was delicious and my freind appreciated being able to buy beer with their meal! not been updated.
As our tour group approached the building, it was a spectacular scene. There is a little coffee and pastry shop with a plaza, where you can sit and gaze at the building. There was a mist in the mountains surrounding the home, which was breath-taking. This is the most beautiful building I have ever entered. The external architecture is German neo-Renaissance style and inside has the same elements, but many rooms are themed rooms including Italian, Moroccan, and Turkish- no USA frontier looks, sorry!
We were only allowed to visit the first floor and we were not allowed to take pictures of the interior, but it is well worth Googling to see more!
Brasov We stoped for lunch in a relatively large city of Brasvo. We had to be quick, so we stopped at the pedistrian mall for a lunch at McDonalds. As you enter this town, they have a "Hollywood" type sign up in the mountains in big white letters "BRASOV."
Braun Castle Our final stop, other than roadside bazaar’s, was Braun Castle. Unlike the relatively modern Peles, Braun has a long rich history, and is most famous for
Braun Castle
Dracula's Castle. He had a very nice view! being tagged Dracula’s Castle. The castle’s most famous real inhabitant was actually Vlad the Impaler. Located in a strategic part of the country, the villages in the area found themselves regularly under attack. Vlad was brought in to protect the people and he accomplished this in a very brutal way. Castle Braun is more like a small fortress, with an excellent defense set-up. The locals play down the Dracula myth (although the locals who sell gifts nearby do not), The vistas from this castle were the most beautiful of the trip.
Heading Home Tired, but happy, we rolled out of the Brasov region heading back to the city. Just when we thought we had seen everything, a beautiful rainbow appeared. As we approached the rainbow, it became clear, that we could see the beginning and the end- a perfect arch! None of us had ever seen anything like it as the bus pulled over so we could take pictures as it appeared to end right in house in front of us. On student said, "Thank you, Romania" and it was relatively quiet the rest of the trip.
The End I am actually posting this last blog from
Rainbow
The rainbow seemed to end right in a little house. Look closely and see a double rainbow above. the U.S. For those of you who asked about my luggage, it did make it to the hotel in Bucharest upon my return from Neptun. The end of our trip, unfortunately was the only disappointing part. Two hours (at 4 a.m.) sitting at the airport in Bucharest, lead to an add ional 2 hour delay on the plane, waiting to take off. Missing our connection in Paris, we were able to get on the last plan out. Unfortunately, we had a six hour layover, which turned out to be more like seven. We had a day in beautiful Paris, but never got to see it. Door-to-door, it was about a 26 hour travel day, with the biggest lesson learned- NEVER connect at Charles DeGaulle!
I hope you enjoyed my blog- there is so much more to say and show you, but not enough time. I am looking forward to spending time with kids and heading back to work.
Ciao!
Cindy
Advertisement
Tot: 0.136s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 50; dbt: 0.055s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb