Transylvania 1; Peles and Bran Castles

We left home early yesterday and spent most of the day travelling to Bucharest, the capital of Romania.

Romania became an Eastern Bloc country after WWII but is now a member of the EC. It has a population of 19 million, of which 89% are Romanian, 5% Hungarian, 4% Roma and 1% Muslim; it is 86% Christian. The country comprises 1/3 mountains, 1/3 hillside, and 1/3 plains and grows a wide range of grain, fruit, and vegetables, as well as having vineyards and good wines (not well known outside of the country, though).

After arriving at our hotel, it's a very quick turnaround to go out for dinner; I enjoy local beers with a traditional Romanian pastrama mutton dish, mamaliga (corn meal polenta and sour cheese) and some veg (mainly gherkins) - nicer than it sounds!

Early next morning, we leave northern Bucharest and drive across the flat countryside of the Wallachia Region towards the Gateway Town to Translvania; Sinaia. Sinaia is named after Mount Sinai and stated out as a monastery before developing into an expensive and desirable town. Here, we visit Peles and Pelisor Castles. Peles Castle was commissioned by Romania's first king, Carol I, in 1873. A little uphill from it is another Royal residence, Pelisor Palace, built from 1899 to 1902 for the heirs to the Romanian throne, Ferdinand and Marie. See captions on photos for details.

We then cross the Carpathian Mountains further into the Transylvania Region to visit the town of Bran and Bran Castle; this was once home to Queen Marie of Romania, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. There is no connection between the castle and Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, but it is now a major tourist attraction regarding the vampire (see photos). It is a great place to visit.

Afterwards, we travel to the town of Moieciu.Read more